Skate park

The Cebu City Government is set to build a skate park at the city-owned lot behind Fort San Pedro. Since Ma. Victoria “Minnie” Osmeña donated P5 million for the project, City Councilor Eugenio Gabuya, deputy mayor for sports, said the City may have to shell out more money to complete the project, the Phase 1 of which he hopes to finish between February and March next year.

But first, in projects like this one, design is crucial. Since complaints on the matter have surfaced, the question needs to be asked: were expert skateboarders, like Asian Games gold medalist Margielyn Didal, asked for their inputs? Surely Gabuya, even if he is deputy mayor for sports, is not a skateboarder, so he couldn’t be dictatorial on the design.

And why the apparent rush to build it as shown by the seeming failure to reach full consensus on the design? What Gabuya did not say is that February and March next year are followed by May, the election month. Was that among the things being considered before proceeding to the construction phase?

Which reminds us of the underpass project in Mambaling that has caused much anguish already for commuters using the south national highway. There is now the promise that the project would be completed or at least the area would already be passable a few months from now, meaning, yes, before the May 2019 elections.

Perhaps we need to hold elections every year because it is only during this time that incumbents running for reelection would find ways to initiate projects for target sectors and complete projects that have caused inconvenience to constituents because of the lack of well thought-of plans and because of work delays. Meaning, it is only when election nears that politicians work better.

To be fair, however, having a skate park should be a welcome development especially for skateboarders inspired by Didal’s feat.