‘Promise tracker’ for incoming officials

Hopes are high that better days are ahead because the two top officials can work together. Mayor-elect Nestor Archival and Gov.-elect Pamela Baricuatro have been doing press interviews together on their joint plans and have also been making the rounds at public events, including a recent talk before the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

It’s a welcome change to hear words like “unity” and “collaboration” after years of political divisions. Many voters feel they made the right choice, and the mood in some circles is almost celebratory.

But after the applause fades, what comes next?

Together, Archival and Baricuatro have pledged to:

• Honor the 2016 93-1 Land Swap Agreement to resolve a decades-long dispute over land ownership involving thousands of urban poor residents. Outgoing Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia had reportedly hampered its implementation. Baricuatro, however, said she would uphold the agreement and work with Archival.

• Prioritize health services. Baricuatro said she intends to reallocate provincial funds toward healthcare. Archival, meanwhile, vowed to complete the long-delayed Cebu City Medical Center within his first year.

• Push for infrastructure. Archival has called for the completion of the Metro Cebu Expressway (MCE) project and said Baricuatro has promised her support.

Every electoral exercise is filled with promises of better services, cleaner government, more jobs and improved infrastructure. These promises were made in exchange for public trust. But that trust should not just be given and then forgotten. It must be earned and continuously tested.

One way to do this is by creating and sharing a promise tracker. Citizens, journalists, civil society groups and students can help list down what the new mayor and governor have said and committed to during the campaign and after their victories.

This includes official platforms, public statements, social media posts and media interviews. The goal is not to nitpick or criticize their every move but to build a public record of expectations, then measure performance against it.

This tracker wouldn’t be just a tool for critique but also for engaging the public in what their leaders have promised. Sincere leaders will welcome the transparency. Those who aren’t may resist it. Either way, the public has the right to know and the responsibility to ask.

Holding public officials accountable isn’t the job of watchdog organizations alone. In a democracy, citizens have a role to play in keeping governance honest and effective.

Optimism is a good place to start. But it should lead to action. After the cheers and photo ops, governance begins and so should our watching.