People’s Ville Is Not a Political Trophy: It Belongs to the People of Davao

The story of People’s Ville in Calinan, Davao City should never be reduced to a question of political credit.

This is not about which politician should receive praise. It is not about whose administration should claim ownership. And it should never become another political trophy to be displayed during election season.

People’s Ville is about the people.

More importantly, it is about recognizing the role of the Local Government of Davao City and the people of Davao in making a public housing initiative possible and meaningful to the families it serves. Public projects are built through public resources and public institutions. They are made possible by taxpayers, government employees, local communities, and institutions that work together to deliver services. No elected official personally owns a government housing project simply because it was implemented during their term.

The proper recognition, therefore, should go to the institution and, ultimately, to the people. The Local Government of Davao City is not merely a name attached to a map. It is the government closest to the communities it serves. Its responsibility includes responding to the housing needs of its residents, coordinating with national agencies, facilitating services, and ensuring that developments become functioning communities.

That role matters. So does the contribution of the people of Davao.

Every public investment represents the collective contribution of citizens. Taxes, government revenues, public land, government personnel, and community participation all form part of the machinery that allows projects to move from plans to reality. That is why the story of People’s Ville should be told as a story of public service it's not a personal political achievement.

The families who live there should not be told that their homes belong to one politician or another. Their homes are part of a public housing effort intended to serve them. The roads, facilities, services, and other public investments connected to the community are likewise not personal gifts from politicians. They are responsibilities carried out by government on behalf of the people. This distinction is important.

When public projects are presented as personal accomplishments, the contribution of ordinary citizens is easily forgotten. The taxpayers who helped finance government programs disappear from the story. Government workers who planned and implemented projects receive little recognition. Local institutions that provided years of coordination and support can be overlooked. That should not happen.

People’s Ville deserves a different narrative.

It should be remembered as an example of what can happen when government institutions and communities work toward a common purpose: providing families with a place to live, build their lives, raise their children, and become part of a stable community.

The credit should therefore be institutional and collective.

The Local Government of Davao City deserves recognition for its role. The people of Davao deserve recognition because public projects ultimately exist because of and for them.

This does not diminish the role of national government agencies or other institutions that may have contributed to the project. On the contrary, acknowledging every legitimate contribution makes the story stronger and more truthful. But the narrative should not be turned into a political ownership dispute.

Government projects are not private property.

They do not belong to mayors, governors, congressmen, presidents, or any individual official. Elected officials are entrusted with public resources for a limited period. Their duty is to serve the public and ensure that government programs reach the people who need them.

• The people, not politicians, are the permanent owners of public institutions.

• That principle should guide the way People’s Ville is remembered.

• Instead of asking, “Who gets the credit?” perhaps the more important question is:

  
  

“How did the people of Davao, through their local government and public institutions, make this community possible?”

That is a question worth answering.

And as People’s Ville continues to develop, the focus should remain on the residents. Are their homes safe and sustainable? Do they have access to basic services? Are transportation, health, education, livelihood, and other community needs being addressed? What more can government do to improve their quality of life?

• Those are the issues that matter.

• Political administrations will change. Officials will come and go. But the people remain.

• The families of People’s Ville remain.

• The people of Davao remain.

  
  

And the Local Government of Davao City remains an institution whose responsibility is to serve them. So let People’s Ville stand for what it should truly represent: not political ownership, not personal credit, and not a campaign trophy but a public investment made for the people of Davao and a community that belongs to the people it was built to serve.