THERE are many stories of President Duterte driving around incognito as a taxi driver at night in Davao City when he was still its mayor, supposedly to find out the real situation on the streets.
It’s not a bad idea for him to do it here in Metro Manila, where he certainly won’t miss spotting one of the major causes of traffic jams: various constructions, road repairs and diggings.
During the Arangkada Philippines Forum 2018 in Pasay City last Wednesday, Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) President Ramoncito S. Fernandez noted that while the government targets to ease traffic congestion in the National Capital Region by building more roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, these are also expected to worsen the traffic situation in Metro Manila.
“The government needs to be ready and committed to address the challenges of implementing each infrastructure project. It has to do this with more vigor and political will. Perhaps, with the same intensity as it is dealing with the current problem in Boracay,” Fernandez said.
Sadly, we have noticed quite the opposite. Whether the public works are being done by the national government through the Department of Public Works and Highways and its private contractors or the local governments or even the water companies, a lot of them seem to be textbook examples of project mismanagement. They are causing the most inconvenience to pedestrians and commuters for the longest time, when they should be causing the least inconvenience for the shortest time.
One can never come to terms with the idiocy that characterizes the implementation of some of these projects. Just a stone’s throw from this newspaper’s office, for instance, is less than a kilometer of road being paved that has taken months to complete, so long in fact that, at one point, the few workers paving the road already constructed a shack on the sidewalk to stay in (it was later torn down).
The same lackadaisical pace is replicated everywhere, it seems. How many times have we come across a sign, saying “Caution: Men working” or “Pls. bear with us, construction ongoing,” and find ourselves looking only at barren torn roads, closed lanes and construction equipment and machinery lying idle around the site with only a handful of workers working, if at all.
We cannot argue with the noble intentions behind these public works. We, of course, welcome all improvements being made on our streets, roads, bridges and other infrastructure. We applaud that our taxes (at least the portion of them that don’t line the pockets of corrupt public officials) are being used productively through these projects, which also boost employment.
The same goes for water companies laying down or repairing pipes so we could have potable water from our taps, so we won’t need to buy purified water, or so we could have stronger water pressure without the need to use electric pumps and be able to save on electricity bills; of course, we welcome these projects, too.
However, we share the sentiments of the MAP and surely many of our citizens, and humbly make this appeal: This is the 21st century. Surely, there is a faster and better way of building and repairing things. Please employ efficient contractors with a sense of urgency, especially since these constructions, road repairs and diggings are causing traffic gridlock, making the situation as hellish as can be.
If other countries—our Asean neighbor like Singapore, for example—can finish roads and other infrastructure in such a short amount of time, with the quality of work not suffering one bit, why can’t we, when the budgets for our projects are not cheap at all. We hope that the Duterte administration can find contractors who can use innovation and modern technology to get the job done more expeditiously for its “Build, Build, Build” agenda.
Faster infrastructure work can only mean smoother traffic flow, a better quality of life for our people and increased economic competitiveness for our country.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano