Eyesore: Cebu Chokes Up in Complex Webs of Dangling Cables

Natural wonders aplenty, historically-rich, amiable and talented people, Cebu is one of those places in the country with a most well-defined character, distinctively separating itself from the rest. When outsiders think of Cebu, they could think of either Sinulog festival or Catholicism or the Santo Niño or Magellan or Lapu-Lapu or white beaches or waterfalls or whalesharks or mangoes or danggit or singers. It is vibrant and poised to becoming a force to be reckoned with, if it isn't yet, in the world stage, not just the capital Manila.

However, I am saddened by the local government's utter ignorance of the mere value of Cebu, aesthetically-wise. It boggles the mind why nobody gets bothered by ugly dangling cables everywhere. I am lenient to seeing those in small towns, for there's not much cables anyway, not just yet. But in big cities such as Cebu, the main city, adjacent cities Mandaue and Talisay, and touristy Lapu-Lapu, electrical wires connected, in bundles, from post to post to houses or commercial buildings, aren't just an eyesore but a matter of public safety.

Anybody can get electrocuted if there's live wire awaiting an unknowing casualty, and there's high probability of it when an electrical post gets knocked down by, say, a typhoon, a recurring disaster 20 times over, yearly in the country.

Back to aesthetics, it's understandable any photographer scratches his head every time he takes pictures of landmarks, especially in cities. What could have been a picture perfect shot would be not without photobombing ugly wires suspended up in the air. The government just doesn't pay premium for the importance of landmarks at their purest facade.

I suggest to go for underground cables. It's safe and free the cities up of much repulsiveness. It's the only way to save Cebu from becoming a land of contrasts -- scenic natural wonders in the countryside but ugly aesthetics in cities. And we haven't even delved deep into Cebu's poor infrastructures, mind you.

Time will come when Cebu gets suffocated by its own ignorance of basic aesthetics and public safety.

In a not so distant time, small towns might follow suit, suffering the same unfortunate fate as their big sisters's.

The Most Expensive Trash Cans Are in This City

One sunny morning, I was treading along Osmeña Boulevard, which is one of the major thoroughfares in Cebu City -- the Queen City of the South and the second most important city in the Philippines after Manila.

But despite all that royal moniker and being in league with the most elite (elite my ass!) cities in the country, I was wondering why the city couldn't afford even trash cans. Yes, the simple bins where we throw in rubbish and every refuse imaginable! 

From Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) to Robinsons Mall Fuente, not a single trash can was in sight on the pavements along the busy boulevard, which stretches over a kilometer long. 

Thank goodness to only two private enterprises that mind that cleanliness is indeed next to godliness. So basic, isn't it? Carry on, 7-Eleven and Robinsons! The segregation bins you had placed outside your buildings were the only saving grace every Cebuano should be thankful for! 

No wonder the city is flooded with litter! Even though every Cebuano should have taken the higher ground in the first place by not throwing away their garbage anywhere (discipline, people!), the absence of trash cans perpetuates the idea that it's OK to do the ugly deed, because the government doesn't even care. 

Is it really so hard to think that heaps of trash in the city invalidates the beauty of Cebu's beaches and waterfalls? Can't we make the streets sparkling clean alongside the city's growing number of shiny skyscrapers? Can't we make Cebu a clean and green city? 

So for now, I am yelling this: Shame on you, Cebu City government! A dirty city doesn't make it first world! Trash cans aren't made of gold, are they?