Why is Cebu City losing out to Iloilo City?

Every time there is a barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election, every Tom, Dick and pundit always reminds us that the barangay and SK elections are apolitical, meaning it should not be placed in the same level of a political exercise like the way we elect our local government or national officials. But is it really apolitical as what the framers of the 1987 Constitution wanted it to be?

Well, proof of the pudding is, as they say, in the eating. I just read The FREEMAN news that Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña admitted that he spent for the printing and distribution of flyers, which contains the names of the incumbent opposition barangay captains who allegedly failed to liquidate and return the city’s aid to them. The mayor already sued at least 14 barangay captains allied with the opposition for their alleged failure to liquidate and return the financial assistance given to them three years ago. Good or bad, this is a form of politicking!

But then one of the woes of the Philippine government is that we have weak institutions and one of the weakest (not to mention corrupt) is the Commission on Elections (Comelec). When elected government officials campaign for or against a particular barangay or SK candidate, it is politicking. But I’ll bet that our Comelec officials won’t even dare sanction Mayor Osmeña for publicly acknowledging this fact.

Perhaps the Comelec should also release a list of names of those seeking barangay or SK posts if these people are relatives or supporters of current political parties? That should be a big help. But next time pundits debate on the issue that the barangay and SK polls should be apolitical, we should tell them to tell that to the Marines!

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If there is anything going for Pres. Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte, it is that he isn’t the type of person who clings to a rabid pro-Duterte supporter that he named to an important government office. He has the political will to remove that supporter if he makes a mistake in office. This is exactly what happened to Tourism chief Wanda Tulfo Teo for making that P60-million advertisement deal for the TV programs of her brothers on PTV-4.

Meanwhile, her replacement, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, came in so fast it sent many tongues wagging. People say that she is a good choice to lead the tourism department as she has proven competence in her government assignments. Some even said she will ensure that the DOT would be corruption-free!

Others say that with the impeccable record of the Romulo Family in public service, she is good leader for the tourism department. The venerable Gen. Carlos P. Romulo is her grand uncle, Alberto Romulo her father, and Roberto Romulo her uncle --all former foreign secretaries. Honestly, I know her father and her brother very well, but she is a total stranger to me, so I will reserve my thoughts about how she handles the tourism office.

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When we visited Iloilo City for a day trip a month ago, we saw things that one can say that they have surpassed Cebu City for the crown of “Queen City of the South.” First off, their downtown area was sparklingly clean. We toured their downtown area and it literally put Cebu City to shame! The Iloilo City Development initiative which they copied from our I.T. Park has put Iloilo City on top of the top 10 list of most competitive cities from 2014 to 2016, which means that Iloilo City was among the front-runners of the more than 100 cities assessed based on their economic dynamism, efficiency, and infrastructure.

Then a couple of days ago Iloilo City inaugurated their new addition to top hotels in the city with the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott. In Cebu City last December, the Marriott Hotel closed its doors. Finally, unlike Metro Cebu, Iloilo City doesn’t have the bad traffic that haunts motorists every day. I was in Lapu-Lapu City the other day and from Marigondon, it took me an hour just to get to the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and another hour from there to my office in midtown Cebu City. We have been beat by Iloilo!

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