SOCIAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS IN CEBU

A. What is a “SOCIAL ISSUE”?

It is an issue that has been recognized by society as a problem that is
preventing society from functioning at an optimal level. It is an issue
that relates to society's perception of people's personal lives. Different
societies have different perspective and what may be "normal" in one
society may be a significant social issue in another society. Social
issues are distinguished from economic issues. Some issues have both
social and economic aspects, such as immigration. There are also
issues that don't fall into either category, such as wars. Thomas Paine,
in Rights of Man and Common Sense, addresses man's duty to "allow
the same rights to others as we allow ourselves". The failure to do so
causes the birth of a social issue.
B. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A SOCIAL ISSUE?
1. The public must recognize the situation as a problem.
2. The situation is against the general values accepted by the society.
3. A large segment of the population recognizes the problem as a valid
concern.
4. The problem can be rectified or alleviated through the joint action
of citizens and/or community resources.

C. LIST 10 SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN CEBU

1. Water Crisis
Metro Cebu similar to Metro Manila have been experiencing water
shortage even before the dry season has been officially declared.
Water-rationing has been implemented in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue,
Talisay, and Lapu-Lapu and also in the towns of Consolacion, Cordova,
Liloan, and Compostela due to the low supply of water. The water
levels of the two dams here in Metro Cebu has receded greatly forcing
the water districts to implement rotating service interruptions.
2. Poor Sanitation and Garbage Disposal
Although there is a law in Cebu that requires for their garbage to be
segregated, it is only applicable in Cebu City and thus when you reach
Mandaue proper or any other areas would serve no purpose. Thus,
never really tempering the attitudes of the Cebuanos on proper waste
disposal and management. Additionally, although there are laws in
place for the segregation of garbage in the city, the dump-trucks and
other personnel in charge of proper garbage disposal dump the
segregated garbage into one dump rendering the segregation useless.
3. Proper Job Compensation
Metro Cebu has always been a hub full of people hailing from the
different provinces and islands that has surrounded it. Most of these
people come to the city for job opportunities. Unfortunately, even
these job opportunities that they have found in Cebu is inadequate due
to the fact that these jobs are low-paying and have little to no benefits
especially for jobs involved in construction. They have grueling hours
of work for little amount of money. Some of them don’t even get to
receive SSS or PhilHealth benefits.
4. Lack of Transportation
We may say that Cebu is already over-run by vehicles but you must
also notice that every morning and every night, countless people are
still waiting along the side walk for a ride in the metropolitan areas of
Cebu like in Mandaue and Cebu City. This is due to the fact that even
though there are a lot of vehicles it is still not sufficient for the masses
of people for their commute and because of the slow turnaround of
these public transportations thus creating traffic.

5. Irresponsible Drivers
There are many drivers in Metro Cebu falling in this category due to
the fact that the LTO are prioritizing monetary gains over the
education and discipline of the drivers. Since they can just pay a fixer
to “fix” their driver’s exam, they can get away from learning the
proper rules of driving.
6. Irresponsible Pedestrians
If there are irresponsible drivers, there are also irresponsible
pedestrian who cross the street without using the proper signs. Even if
the pedestrian lane is staring at point blank, they still choose to not
use it. Some even ignore skywalk, which insures them of safety, to
cross the road because it is faster. I have mostly seen these occurring
in the areas of Colon.
7. Street Dwellers
Street dwellers are a social problem because no matter how many
funds we allocate in trying to help them there are still countless of
them roaming the streets of Colon, Mango and many areas in Cebu. It
may be due to the lack of help of the DSWD because of corruption of
maybe because these people treat begging as a form of livelihood.
Whatever the case maybe, it still does not change the fact that they
are a social problem.
8. Illegal Settlers
In Pier 3, there are countless illegal settlers in the area and I have
witness countless demolition activities employed by the local
government to drive away these illegal settlers but no matter what
they do, they still keep coming back and building their shanties. It is
very aggravating to see the endless cycle because you know that even
if they demolish these shanties of theirs once again, it does not matter
because once the demolition team leaves, they will once again build
their shanties.
9. Floods
 We see countless construction workers building and rebuilding our
roads every day and we sometimes wonder, “what are they doing?”
Because no matter how many times they work on our roads, it just
doesn’t work, we still experience floods no matter how little the
downpour is especially in the downtown areas of Colon and we can
conclude from the fact that the road needs to be fixed every 6 months
that these “constructions” that they show to the public is only that,
something to show to the public that the “local government is using
our taxes to better our lives”.
10. Unclean Seas and Bodies of Water
Cebu used to be a haven for people wanting to take a nice dip in the
beach or in rivers or in lakes. Now, you need to take at least a three-
hour drive to get to the nice beaches. The Mactan Straight is full of
garbage and now, you and barely recognize the rivers and lakes
running all over Metro Cebu because of the sludge and garbage in the
water. What used to be a source of water and fun activity is now a
haven of snakes, pests and things you don’t want to touch with a ten-
foot pole.
D. FACTORS THAT CAUSE A SOCIAL PROBLEM
 Poverty
 Corruption due to Poverty
 Lack of discipline
 Lack of education
 Unemployment
 Rapid urbanization
 Rapid population growth
 Caste discrimination
 Lack of guidance to the youth