Hoping for the best

THE NEW CITY council, the 19th for this young city, has started settling down after a very subdued race among members of a single party.

This new body of legislators is headed by a neophyte politician, but whose pedigree cannot be questioned. Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte maybe new to politics but he is a member of the third generation of the Duterte political clan, starting from his grandfather Vicente, the governor of the undivided Davao, and father Rodrigo, no less than the President of the Republic and the first one from Mindanao.

Not only does he have a political lineage, Baste, as he is fondly called, also has siblings who can help him sort out the legislative puzzles that he may face along the way. Big brother Paolo and elder sister Sara, both served the position he is occupying and have been elected to other posts, with Sara leading the executive branch and his brother pushing for the legislative agenda of the city in the House of Representatives.

Add to this is the fact that most of those who got elected to the legislative body are either returnees or relatives of former members – they having the knowledge on how to craft local ordinances. Putting this into context, then one can conclude that the city is in good hands.

The city, therefore, hopes that with a fresh mandate, this new group of local legislators will be able to come up with local laws that the city badly needs for its growth and are designed to ensure inclusivity.

Looking forward, the city constituency is hoping that with this new group of local legislators, the city’s growth acceleration will be faster than expected.