Little Cebu

Cebu is a great place but sometimes I really feel like it's going nowhere. It's a big town and is still growing but it seems we're still stuck in "small town" mentalities. That's our problem as Filipinos; we don't think big.

Our streets are still 1950's era. Sure, there's been road widening in some odd parts, but on the whole, our streets are too small. We don't have any rail system or mass transit networks. How can we call ourselves a modern city and not have a mass transit system? There's a plan to implement BRT system but it's moving way too slow. To put it in perspective, I was still an undergraduate when they were talking about implementing it. It's also doubtful if it would work as I explained before.

There's no overall plan. Development just happens here and there. Urban sprawl is getting worse and squatters clog our natural waterways. Yes, I call them "squatters". Sometimes I'm not in the mood for the politically correct pieties. It seems that if it rains for just a little while, everything floods. You'd think a people used to living in a tropical climate would have prepared for such a thing but no. Every year it's a ritual. 

The streets are full of garbage. Even now there's an issue with garbage collection. Garbage collection! It's one of the most basic services the government should provide but we're failing at even that. The traffic gets worse and worse as more cars are on the road every year and the streets remain the same. 

People are rude and don't follow the rules. Civic duty is out the window. People get shot in the streets and nobody blinks an eye. It's like that HBO show here, anybody can die. The drug problem persists in our society like a cancer. Anybody who tries to fight it seriously ends up dead. Beggars and thugs roam the streets. Corruption is a constant so why do I even mention it.

I look out the window of the jeepney or taxi and see a city with no dreams. Nobody talks about Cebu and what it could be. If I ask a person on the street where he thinks Cebu will be in a decade or two, I doubt he'll have anything good to say. I don't hear any politician talking about our future. All they care about is holding on to power for just one day more. Ordinary folk don't give a shit and just want to go on with their lives and get home in time to eat fast food dinners and watch their soap operas.

When will this end?