Items in the SOCA I wish to hear

Starting next week, government chief executives from the city mayors to the president of the republic will meet their legislative bodies. By then, they will have each reined the government for one year already. I am not certain if town mayors have adopted this practice too. Ostensibly, these executives will inform their legislators what they have accomplished during the past year, and outline what they intend to do in the incoming administrative year as well as in the remainder of their terms. In this high profile encounter, the executives are supposed to tell their lawmakers the state, to mean the status, living conditions and degree of livability, of their respective jurisdictions. Thus, the terms State of the Nation (SONA), State of the Province (SOPA) and State of the City (SOCA). In effect though, they will address their constituencies.

In the addresses that we have been hearing all these years, we are normally bombarded with innumerable items. There are so many things revealed that we tend to forget most, if not all, especially that we are coaxed to applaud each issue they talk about.

I do not expect anything less, this season. Our leaders will simply tell us what we have seen daily, the past twelve months. Probably, there will be nothing new. For instance, I will hear from President Rodrigo Roa Duterte about his war on illegal drugs, his acidic tongue on America and his friendship with Communist China. Of course, he will say sorry for the destruction of Marawi City and promise to rebuild it, conveniently forgetting that at the beginning of his term, he boasted of his being a Mindanaoan who understands its deep-seated culture and therefore he would make it a haven of peace. It will then be just his usual talk. Nothing more.

Having said that, I would rather hear from our beloved mayor, Tomas de la Rama Osmeña.  From him, I hope to hear, among the many he might tend to dwell on, just two concerns.

First. I wish the honorable mayor to tell us specific plans on garbage disposal. He wasted his one year quarrelling with Honorable Councilor Joel Garganera, and such concerned agencies as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of Health on the closure (and his re-opening) of the Inayawan landfill. As a consequence, mounds of uncollected rubbish can be seen in this city that he claims to be second to none.

I wish to inform the mayor that for one year now, no garbage collector has come to pick up our garbage. To dispose of my trash, I bring it to my place in a mountain barangay every Saturday and bury it there. I do not know if there are other city residents who are also denied of this city service called garbage collection. Considering my modesty, I may not be the biggest taxpayer in the city, but I also contribute to the city coffers. Out of the city revenues, we the citizens, to include me, are supposed to be favored with such basic service as solid waste disposal.

Second. Traffic has worsened beyond the level of acceptability. Time was when I traveled from home to school in ten minutes. Today, it takes me one hour to negotiate the same distance. Of course, the spiraling number of vehicles may be the main cause and this is not within the authority of the mayor, but traffic management is his domain. I have yet to hear the mayor on his plan on what to do with: (a) roads on which informal settlers have built their homes; (b) streets that are now utilized as repair shops or as service and parking areas of businessmen; (c) sidewalks that are now occupied by vendors, because to me they contribute largely to our bad traffic flow.

Just those two items, mayor, in your state of the city address. Please.