THE WHOLE morning yesterday, our eyes were glued to the television, switching from channel to channel every now and then. We were hoping the supposed charity boxing event between Davao City Acting Mayor Baste Duterte and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III would by televised live, so we already consumed a whopping four cups of black coffee between 8 to about 11 a.m. but still there was no sign of a boxing match.
Shortly thereafter, we saw on some vlogs posted on social media that Torre was at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum raring to meet Baste. The latter however, was a no-show. That was when we started believing earlier reports that the Acting Mayor of Davao City was in Singapore together with some family members.
Frankly, we do not know who between the two supposed ring combatants had the last wild laugh. Was it Baste? Or was it General Torre. We are certain that Baste, in inciting the Police Chief into a fistfight, did not expect that Torre will bite the bait with a condition that the latter felt would put him in a compromising situation whichever way he responds to it. So the acting mayor decided to make an honorable retreat by traveling to Singapore leaving a request that the date of the fight be moved later.
Torre, meanwhile, appeared proud after winning by default. But he was unsuspecting that his showing up at the supposed venue revealed one possible undesirable trait of his. That is, like his boxing opponent, he is also willing to stoop down to the lowest level of unprofessionalism if only to settle a score.
Like Baste, Torre preferred to meet the former’s rage with rage. They seem to not care that they are bringing the name of the Filipinos in the deportment they manifest in agreeing to a brawl instead of a dialogue among professional leaders in the country.
With how the Davao Chief executive would want to settle his deep disagreement with the PNP chief, we can only hope that the country will not go back to the mode of settling leadership issues during the medieval period. That is, the last surviving monarch gets to lead a kingdom, or the remaining emperor in battles fought gets to rule an empire.
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The Davao City investment and Promotions Center (DCIPC) now sees the need to amend the local government’s Zoning Ordinance. The office wants that the amended local legislation also reflect the changes in the Investment and Incentives Code.
Christian Cambaya, the head of the DCIPC investor and servicing unit, said in a radio interview that amending the ordinance is aimed at improving the investment climate of the city.
Well, for a number of times we had been pushing through this column, any of our councilors must introduce measures that are attuned with the present times. And one of our unsolicited recommendations is to look into the City’s Zoning Ordinance because laws of that kind usually end up outdated by the passage of time and the fast-changing requirements of development.
Say, certain areas in Davao City were declared under the Zoning Ordinance at those times as light industrial zone. But it turns out to be the target areas of investors for heavy industries. There were also areas in the city’s peripheries still categorized as agricultural or forest land. But suddenly large real property developers want to locate their large residential subdivisions and commercial enclaves in there.
The city government, so wanting in attaining the level of development its officials have long aspired, agreed to the immediate spot zoning with hardly any regard to the potential effects of such approval to the environment.
Now, we see the slopes of Magtuod and nearby hills devoid of trees. In their stead are sprouting high-end residential subdivisions. Going north via Cabantian, what used to be areas planted to coconut trees and forested roadside flats are now home to massive low-cost, medium, and high-end residential and economic enclaves.
Even in inner barangays in Tugbok district, what used to be huge coconut and fruit tree farms are now gone to give way to new housing development including a large memorial park.
Frankly, we are not against development in our Davao City. What we feel many are aggrieved including us, is the seeming “flexibility” of the existing Zoning Ordinance supposedly to allow development to come.
Yes, when investors scout for space for their business they always prefer areas closest to the city proper or those convenient for the transport of their merchandise or easier accessibility of their target clients.
Thus, the result is the overcrowding of development in the city’s urban and suburban areas. In the process the city’s rural communities remain deprived of development. The result? Poverty in these places of the city is perpetuated.
Hence, we deem it very timely for the City Council to consider the DCIPC proposal for the amendment of the Zoning Ordinance with focus on the dispersal of development to areas where this is most needed.
Should this amendment be done, several other problems pervading in the city will be addressed. Among the problems that will be solved are the agglomeration of squatter communities in the downtown areas, the city’s burgeoning vehicular traffic congestion, congregation of commercial sites in the city center, and the lack of job opportunities.
What about all these Your Honors?
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