Invisible DPWH contractor

August is called the GHOST Month by many Chinese friends and a lot of them were hurrying to finish deals and projects because they consider the Ghost Month largely difficult if not “unlucky.” One businessman I know, who was transferring from one office building to another even arranged weekend operations just to finish it before August. Unfortunately the same can’t be said about DPWH contractors who love to tear up roads to make sure that government officials can’t turn back on their commitments. The problem is some of them actually turn into ghosts any time of the year and take their time rotating work crews and finishing projects. A lot of this has resulted in making Secretary Mark Villar look bad.

For example, people driving from Robinsons Pioneer and the Boni, Mandaluyong tunnel everyday have been cursing a “missing” DPWH contractor who dug up the sidewalk and part of Pioneer Street as part of a drainage rehabilitation program and has left the project largely unattended if not abandoned. What makes it worse is that all their debris and unfinished work has eaten half a lane from the already too narrow road. If traffic was bad before the project, it has now become a nightmare for all the commuters coming from EDSA and Mandaluyong as they squeeze through the Pioneer disaster area! I called Mr. Jimmy Isidro the PR man for Mandaluyong City and I learned that even the local officials of Mandaluyong have already called the attention of the contractor but got no results. Last week, Mr. Isidro promised to call the contractor to City Hall and give them a warning. One week to date the mess remains the same. We suggested that at the very least, Mandaluyong should have a temporary lane splitting/rerouting in the area so that the greater volume that builds up would have at least 2 lanes.

It might be worthwhile for LGU officials to drive around their areas of coverage every now and then especially where new condominiums are being built. I have noticed here in the Barrio Kapitolyo area that ongoing construction has resulted in excavations that disrupt traffic flow, steel mats that cover excavations are a serious risk to pedestrians and vehicle owners, one condo developer even has shuttle buses parking and eating up space as they wait for the next shift. Just as bad is the littering and garbage left behind by every work shift that has their merienda or snack time. You find food wrappers, plastic cups, straws and more left in canals or gutters! The local Barangay should fine the condo developers for littering and obstruction!

In the mean time, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar should have these kind of contractors investigated and banned from such projects. Another thing the good secretary ought to do is to make it mandatory for contractors to mechanize and use power tools when undertaking projects inside Metro Manila. Many projects take forever to finish because contractors rely too much on manual labor especially when digging canals and trenches or doing post project clean up operations. If a DPWH project has the potential to disrupt or clog traffic or people movement, then the rule should be use machinery and minimize manual labor! Secretary Villar should also make a rule that contractors NATIONWIDE can only demolish or bore out major roads for limited distances so parts of the old road etc. are still usable.

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One of our OneNewsPh correspondents came up with an analogy for the mad rush during the last day for filing UPCAT applications. She compared it to the feast of the Black Nazarene in UP Diliman. The only thing missing was the cross because there were certainly thousands of flagellants and penitents who must have regretted joining the mad rush only to be denied. Sadly the mad rush they say were mostly from public schools, and as history has proven most of them won’t make it past the test, because at least 90 percent of those who make it are highly educated and financially well off students.

That being the case, we have to seriously study and provide for better quality education in our public schools. The government has successfully shown that they can give higher salaries for public school teachers, which is why many teachers from private schools have migrated to public schools. The question is, did it translate to vast improvement in the quality of teachers and teaching? It is now time to work on slowly improving curriculums, programs and facilities so that students in public schools won’t be discriminated against in terms of UPCAT results or employability. Such ideas may help qualify public school students to pass entrance or admission tests, but it won’t solve the problem that our population grows every year by 2.6 percent (?) but the government has not proportionally and intuitively expanded the number and size of state universities and colleges or SUCs.

I know our legislators like Sen. Chiz Escudero are looking for just and equitable solutions, but all that ever gets you are compromises and remedies, but not real life changing results! Bite the bullet now, foot the bill and take care of our youth so that the nation has a competitive future, not just population growth.

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