Pit Señor, kang mayor kini

Viva Pit Señor! I know it’s the same old ritual to greet our readers, Pit Señor, but this year it is written and spoken with a different weight. After all that Cebuanos have been through last year, and with the recent Binaliw tragedy, Pit Señor is said with a vow and a breath, with a refusal to lose heart.

Pit Señor is not only a festive shout but also a form of supplication, an appeal to the Señor Sto. Niño to hear one’s prayers, and often followed by the name of someone you are carrying in your heart, like “Pit Señor, kang Mama kini, ampingi siya.”

Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival had barely warmed his seat when Cebu began taking trial after trial, especially the northern Cebu earthquake and Typhoon Tino. The Binaliw landfill collapse is the most recent tragedy, with fatalities already climbing to 27 and rescue and recovery still ongoing as this is written.

On his social media page, you can see the work in the way the mayor carries himself. At his age, he may still endure the job’s physical and mental rigors, but it also means that each crisis, mostly the consequences of decades of neglect of past administrations, lands heavier when too many come at once. And so this year, I find myself saying: “Pit Señor, kang Mayor Nestor kini, ampingi siya, lig-ona siya, giyahe siya.”

Some people may find it unusual that, as a columnist, I would pray for the mayor, when the stereotype of journalism is criticism at arm’s length. I know our leaders are far from perfect, and you hear all sorts of things about them in the snake pit world of politics. Still, I am conservative when it comes to leadership and governance. Critical engagement with our leaders does not mean a lack of respect for the office, or for the professional and personal burdens that come with it.

Fiesta Señor is a happy and especially remarkable occasion for a new city head, presiding over one of the biggest religious and cultural festivals in the world. The mayor deserves every bit of the limelight, the handshakes, the parties, the joy, and yes, even the perks that come with being at the helm. Yet with all that has happened, with trials piling on, he has to enter these occasions almost on tiptoe, mindful of the contrast. While we gather and celebrate, rescue teams are still at the Binaliw landfill, equipment still humming, searching for survivors, and, sadly, for bodies that have been buried for days.

Six months have already passed since our officials took office on June 30. The grace period in politics is over. The knives are out, to borrow the language of a mystery film streaming on Netflix. The public will begin to demand results, not excuses. And the tangled world of politics is about to assert itself again, especially with the barangay elections later this year. Expect the familiar grinding of the political machine. Social media teams from rival camps will begin weaving their narratives, feeding the public half-truths, quarter-truths, and outright lies.

No one will be more exposed to this than the Cebu City mayor. Garbage is the kind of issue that is always visible, and therefore always weaponized. It is also the one issue for which Mayor Archival is expected to have answers. He has built a reputation around sustainability. That becomes both credential and burden.

If the garbage problem worsens, people will demand proof of those credentials. His critics will treat every delay or misstep as evidence that the credentials were only campaign branding. Yet the reality is that with the Binaliw landfill tragedy and the urgent need for sustainable solid waste management in Metro Cebu, decades of neglect and lackadaisical implementation of waste management policies have no quick fixes.

Thus, my Pit Señor supplication for the head of the city is that he be guided in setting his strategic priorities, that he not let the petty details and the noise around him distract him from the larger mission BOPK and his administration have set for themselves, and that he is able to surround himself with people he can trust to do the jobs they were tasked to do.

Pit Señor, para sa mga nangaluya kini, dasiga kami. Pit Señor, para sa Sugbo kini, panalipdi kami. Pit Señor, para kang mayor kini!