What is keeping our Davao City Councilors busy these days? We are not aware that there is any proposed ordinance introduced in the Council that has of major significance to the lives of city residents that is being seriously studied and debated upon by the honorable representatives of the people to the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
We are not also aware that the Council is looking into long-existing ordinances that may not anymore be attuned to the present times thus requiring some amendments to make it more applicable.
Yes, there are hearings called supposedly to investigate certain issues affecting governance like the one that calls the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to shed light on repairs of roads that clearly are far from needing repairs. We also read reports on the Council calling the attention of the Apo Agua Infrastructura and the Davao City Water District (DCWD) to give the local government justification why until now certain roads that have been destroyed during the pipe-laying of huge concrete pipes are not being restored.
We supposed all these are “in aid of legislation.” But has any of our councilors gone over national laws and city ordinances governing such project implementation where government properties have to be destroyed so the project can be effectively implemented by private businesses?
If there are laws, ordinances, or signed agreements on the matter why cannot our councilors just have their research unit scrutinize the documents? Perhaps all they need is not new legislation but simply implement or invoke what is or are provided in the law or ordinance, or the agreement.
May be we are correct in our assumption that the Council does not have a unit charged to undertake research or review of existing ordinances or even study local laws of other cities and provinces in the country.
Personally we believe that this unit is of extreme importance in the City Council if it has to be effective in its crafting of relevant ordinances that will make it easy to govern Davao City.
And we suggest that each of the councilors shall have one or two of his staff given the same responsibility so he or she can come up with his own responsive proposed ordinance.
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Year after year every time Labor Day is commemorated protesters representing militant labor organizations and their backers complain of the same issues – low minimum wage, unfair labor practices by employers, workers harassment, and lately their opposition to the public utility jeep phase out.
What does all these mean? What else but as far as the demonstrating workers are concerned the government and the employers have not done anything to even approximate their desired wages and workplace conditions.
As a former member of the country’s work force we agree with the protesting workers’ presented condition. But we believe that there has to be a middle ground where they have to meet and agree on the viability of the workers’ demand.
Yes, industries and other businesses that are providing the workers their jobs have to survive and in order for these establishments to do so they have to have enough resources to sustain their operation. Chances are, if the government agrees to mandate employers to satisfy to the fullest the workers’ demands then either, the industries and other businesses fold up, or will be forced to retrench workers.
Then what will surely follow is there will be more jobless people. Or, worst, the collapse of the economy that could lead to serious depression.
It would be like the river of humanity drinking its own water until it dries up. All the more that the dreaded “thirst’ cannot be avoided. But if all stakeholders – government, employers, and the workers – come to agree at certain level of ease in their existence then all will be much happier knowing that attaining the happiness is coming from each one of them (stakeholders).
