EDITORIAL — After Singapore, Venice

Aside from making Cebu City into something like Singapore, city authorities want to achieve something else; to make the Parian Estuary something like the canals we see in Venice, Italy.

“We are having a special attention to Parian being a heritage area. We will be recovering it and establishing a Venice-like area where it will become navigable,” said Task Force Gubat sa Baha co-chairman Gerry Carillo.

There is no doubt this is something we actually want. A Venice-like canal that tourists can navigate and something that features different stops of particular interest along the length of it would be wonderful indeed.

However, we also must not fool ourselves into thinking that something like this will be easy-peasy.

Like making Cebu City into something like Singapore, it’s not just a matter of cosmetics. Improving some areas or making them look good alone just won’t cut it.

Same as the Singapore goal, the Venice goal requires a change in attitudes and in discipline. Particular how people get rid of their trash and how they follow the city’s structural ordinances, among others.

Making the Parian Estuary not just navigable but also clean enough for tourists will take years, if not actually decades, of rehabilitation. Authorities have to make sure people don’t build near or over the water, that people don’t throw their trash into the estuary. This is something people likely won’t do at the start of an ambitious project but are wont to do over time or when authorities aren’t looking.

Of course, this doesn’t just mean keeping the area of the estuary itself clean, this means the miles and miles of river leading to the estuary itself has to be kept clean as well. That means more areas to watch for for people throwing their trash in or, even worse, their wastewater or untreated sewage.

We already have our hands full trying to make Cebu City Singapore-like, now they want something out of Venice too. There is no doubt that both projects are good, but it’s probably best to achieve one first before the other.