Feature:

City Slayers: They just
can’t get enough!

By Pepin

Let me get this straight, I know in any other cities around the world, there are many folks who want to do some vicious stuff. But the only question lingering on my mind is “Why?”

I strolled in downtown Iloilo last Saturday. It was in the middle of the day and I felt the scorching heat of the sun on my skin. It was terribly hot. I had just finished lunch, but my stomach was craving for more foods and fluids. I only got my digital camera with me, and my mission was just simple – to find out the crimes of people whom I labelled as “city slayers.” And these are what I discovered:

The missing link

As far as I can remember, it was last 2007 that the Mulley Loney bridge was finally restructured. It was quite a picturesque site with the Iloilo River as its perfect backdrop. But three years have passed, and the concrete fences at the sides are already ruined. Some of the pillars that hold these fences were already having cracks and were leaning towards the water. Some of the probable causes for these are the extreme forces of nature, but let us not discount the fault of human nature. Those feral and fuming selves of some people can put this bridge down in no time.

The scrambled words

Who would have not liked “self-expression?” its great to let the world hear about what you think. But for people who cannot speak up, they put it in writing – not on paper but on every single public property. From the walls of government buildings to the large columns that support the flyovers, you would always notice these peculiar signs and words that would make you burst your hearts out against vandalism. Those words are definitely not art, and the thoughts of the words are not even worthy of an attention, so I hope those darned kids will stop scribbling with spray paints.

The remains of anxieties

Well, a lot of people in the city are smoking despite the strict ordinance against this habit. But people will smoke, no matter what, especially if they bear a lot of problems on their heads, or simply just to chill out. But what is niggling is that a lot of these smoke-weeds do not know how to dispose their butts; I mean cigarette butts, on the proper place (and it’s on the trash can). They just toss their finished or unfinished stick anywhere in the city and it is so ghastly.

The reasons for the final destruction

Garbage! Darn, these things are everywhere! When you are on your way at the sidewalks, they are there. When you are sitting on the park, they are still visible around you. Can’t this world ever know how to dispose them properly? What is sad is that a lot of these have been lurking on the river too for a long time (boxes, shoes, diapers, sanitary pads, soda cans, etc.), and people are becoming dormant when they see them. They do not know what to do about this problem, or they just don’t want to participate. If these pieces of garbage will pile up for the next twenty to thirty years, let’s just flip our luck to be saved from the upshots of global warming.

The tangles

All around the city proper, you will notice a lot of electrical cables intertwining with each other. They surely look like a mess, and they are a mess to look at! Not only that, but these can most likely start a fire disaster anytime. What’s worst, you cannot identify if there are any “jumpers” or illegal connections affixed on those knotty cables.

The other hitches

This list will go on, but I have to mention other stuffs that probably need our attention. The broken landmarks, the unrepaired pathways, the unattended landscapes, and the hundred of ads that are posted illicitly everywhere make this city look appalling. We can’t just boast our tourism industry through loud noises of drums every Dinagyang, or serving our guest with the finest Ilonggo cuisine. We need to make this place pleasing to the eyes, not only for them, but most especially for all the people living in this city.

I ended my trip not with a happy memory. On the last hour, I had an encounter with a male teenager at one part of the city. He was throwing large stones at the light post, and he is aiming for the bulb. People, young and old, were laughing at him because he can’t simply hit it. And there I stood behind him, calling his attention and scolded him. He fled away as if he has done nothing. Errr… if only you were not a kid! I finally went home and with a sigh, I finally exclaimed “what a day!”