What is our vision for the city?

Manny Valdehuesa

CAGAYAN de Oro, our city, is on a three-way crossroad today. We are all standing in the middle of it. And in next year’s election we shall be called upon to decide which way we want our city to go.

One fork in this three-way crossroad points the way to where Mayor Oca Moreno with his 8-point program wants it to go. Another fork points the way to where ex-mayor Dongkoy Emano led it along the path of patronage and “piso-piso” land grants that were the hallmarks of his administration. And still another fork is the direction to be charted by Congressman Rufus Rodriguez, which is still a question mark because he has yet to define his vision.

How clearly their vision means to us, how well they present their alternatives, will help us decide which way to go. But the more important vision is the one rarely discussed or defined—the citizenry’s vision. Our vision.

It is our vision that must guide our government and our community’s development. This is our city. We are its sovereign citizens. Our vision for its development and welfare must take precedence over any prescription of people in government. No traditional politician, or trapo, should take liberties with our development without our approval or say so. They are mere public servants, stewards of our resources, our caregivers.

Now is the time we must look into every aspect of our community life and define our expectations. It is not enough to listen to politicians. It’s more important for politicians to know how we want them to govern. At the same time, we should also review our own performance, how attentive we are to our community’s affairs.

Citizens have an essential role in governance, one that is just as important as the role of officials. They have their job cut out for them; but ours remains murky and unclear to many. In fact, together with the officials, we are the prime determinants of quality of life. Whatever promises or plans our leaders make affect us all. It is why we must monitor them and the outcomes of their performance.

We must be concerned. Governance is our concern. We have a right to expect satisfaction. This right behooves us to assert ourselves, to monitor everyone in government, to provide feedback, and let officials know what satisfies or dissatisfies us. In other words, we need to do what Bishop Tony Ledesma calls a Social Audit, or what others call a cost-benefit analysis. Not only will it inform everyone about what’s happening, it will hold a mirror to officials for a sense of how well or how badly they do their job.

Let not our audit or analysis focus only on the leaders. Let us look inward too, and look into ourselves and the rest of civil society, keeping in mind the integral nature of government and people: that a polity is one and indivisible, that collaboration is important for inclusive development, that citizen participation is essential if we are to have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Then can it be said that because of their stewardship and our cooperation we have become good, productive citizens. We become better citizens, working side by side with better leaders, resulting to a better community as a whole—democratic, caring, participative.