Cimatu’s order
It’s good that Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu has ordered his people to pay attention to the rivers in their jurisdictions, even if in reality they can only do so much. The order will at least prod them to go to the government officials who can really make a difference as far as our river systems are concerned: the executives of local government units.
Our rivers are victims of unplanned urbanization and government’s loss of focus. One needs only to walk the length of our rivers to realize this. This is also what has killed many of the beaches in Metro Cebu. As communities sprout in the riverbanks and near the beaches, so too the rivers and beaches die. Just look at the rivers in Cebu City and the beaches in Talisay and Minglanilla.
The good thing is that those rivers and beaches can still be saved by executives of concerned local government units who are armed with political will with the needed help and advice of environment officers. Okay, this is not only about political will but the government officials jettisoning politicking, the bane of governance.
Rivers in Cebu City, for example, are true rivers in the mountains or in places where riverbanks are not overcrowded with structures of both informal settlers and business establishments. And communities of informal settlers are rich sources of votes during elections while business establishment owners are also sources of campaign funds. They can actually influence policy-making.
The rehabilitation of rivers is much more thoroughgoing than mere clearing the rivers of obstruction. Yet during the terms of both Michael Rama and Tomas Osmeña, which span decades, vows of clearing waterways of obstructions failed because they can only gingerly touch the obstructionists.
But already blocked and polluted rivers and beaches should not even be the only concern. There are still rivers or certain riverbanks and there are still beaches that have not been reached fully by urban blight. They need attention from local government executives as well— and more importantly, protection.