The kind of leaders we need
The Mandaue City Government is planning to establish a lifestyle zone “that would allow for partying and revelry, but in a safe and secure environment.” In establishing the lifestyle zone, Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing would consider its proximity to the police stations, fire stations and residential areas.
“In almost every other country in the world, nightlife establishments are located in a centralized area in order for law enforcement to not be stretched out in case of untoward incidents,” the mayor stressed.
No, this article is not about the viability or logic of the plan. We are mentioning this to illustrate a point about leadership. Quisumbing is a first time mayor and only in his late 30s. Since he took office, we have heard of a number of innovations that he wants to realize in Mandaue during his term, with the lifestyle zone idea being the latest.
We always say that the reason the holding of free, fair and regular election is an indispensable for democracy is, because with it, the people are given the chance to express their will and change their leaders. What we forget, though, is what the regular change of leaders will bring: dynamism in governance. If leadership is stagnant water, elections serve to replenish it.
Cebu City is the province’s main urban center and has been led by only two politicians in the past two decades. It is obvious that the city has become stagnant and has been feeding on its past glory and on the dynamism of the private sector. Part of the blame would be on intense partisan politicking and on its leaders losing their creativity and their capacity to think out of the box. Or why, for example, has its leadership failed to come up with a better solid waste disposal system?
The same can actually be said of the Provincial Government, with its officials merely going through the motions of governing but not innovating. For all its faults, the administration of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia had better imagination as far as finding ways to push the province’s growth.
Some local government units in the city do seem to desperately need new kind of leaders, those who are innovative and are not burdened by too much politicking.