ALL THE while, we thought Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong was already out of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), now investigating the corruption-laden flood control projects of the government, as well as other infrastructures.
Why was he part of the ICI team that came to Davao City to look into the situation of flood control projects undertaken in this part of the country? What happened to his irrevocable resignation?
Indeed, his being part of the probe team that came to the city last week is one intriguing scenario in the ICI, which is slowly losing credibility.
On the other hand, we believe that the ICI team missed inspecting a lot of national government projects that could have given the body lots of relevant inputs that could make its trip fruitful.
Yes, the ICI probe team should have looked into the massive solar street lighting, the asphalt overlaying of even newly concreted roads, the uncompleted concrete bridge at the boundary of barangays Tacunan in the third district and Catalunan Grande in the first, and the long-overdue Magtuod-New Carmen-New Valencia road expansion and concreting project.
Why the ICI team fixated itself on only a few projects, we have no idea.
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We have learned of this rumor of a plan by the national administration to appoint a permanent Mayor of Davao City from a fellow media person and contemporary of the late editor Tony Ajero–Serafin “Jun” Ledesma.
According to Ledesma, he heard it from some knowledgeable sources that now Acting Mayor Baste Duterte will be relegated back to the Vice Mayor position that he won during the May 12, 2025, election. His father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was unable to assume office as he was arrested, reportedly on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the alleged crime against humanity. The elder Duterte is now detained in The Hague, Netherlands. As a consequence, the winning Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte assumed the position of mayor.
We have no doubt as to the legality of Vice Mayor Baste assuming the position that was not assumed by his father because of his detention out of the country. What we are strongly doubtful about, not only as to its legality but also as to the motive, is the rumored appointment of a mayor. And the reported person to get the slot is the defeated mayoral candidate during that same election, lawyer Karlo Nograles.
Our take on this issue is that appointing a new person to be mayor of Davao City will most likely be the last straw that could break the back of the Davaoeños’ patience.
We can be certain that such a move by the Manila-based powers cannot be considered by the people of the city as not borne out of politics and the desire of the national administration to ease the Dutertes out of the political picture in this southern metropolis
However, the question is: Will the Davaoenos take such politically motivated action just sitting down with their arms folded on their breast? We do not think so.
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A civil society organization, the Mindanao Alliance for Progress (MAP), is calling on local government authorities, fellow civil society groups, and the general public to take stronger measures to “ensure the city’s readiness for heavy rainfall and other weather-related emergencies.”
The call was a way of raising consciousness among Davao City residents of the disastrous outcome of the floods in Cebu brought about by typhoon Tino.
Yes, given the present level of vulnerability of the city to flood because of the continuous “rape” of hillsides to give way to supposed development, appropriate measures and strategies must be crafted and undertaken in the event that nature will exact its revenge.
Come to think of these: Hectares upon hectares of once farmlands planted to coconut in several barangays in Tugbok district are now levelled to give way to massive residential subdivision projects; hillsides in Magtuod are wiped out of its trees for the development of high-end housing communities; a large plain somewhere nestled in the lowlands between New Carmen and Biao Matina is prepared for a memorial park!
With the coconut trees gone, the remaining forest wiped out on the hillside, it is beyond any person’s understanding how to deter the downflow of rainwater and the soil erosion when nothing is left to prevent the phenomenon.
With the seeming lack of policies of the city government to effectively rein in the so-called “development aggression,” many are now asking how long the Davaoeños will remain safe from floods and massive landslides.
Now they cannot be prevented from asking: “Is Davao City another Cebu in the making?” Well, if our policymakers remain complacent, the possibility that it will is nearing certainty.
