Perhaps they should keep that heinously overpriced but grossly underused pedestrian crossing over EDSA as a monument to the time the DPWH was at its worst: seduced by kickbacks and impervious to the public welfare.
That pedestrian crossing – derisively called “Mount Kamuning” and “Stairway to Heaven” – is sufficiently grotesque. But it speaks so much about how a public agency succumbed to corruption and held such contempt against the public.
This was the DPWH before public outrage over the looted flood control funds forced deep institutional reform. This was the DPWH before the logic of corruption was overpowered by plain common sense.
Through its worst period of governance, the DPWH was the playground of criminal syndicates, conspiracies between politicians who appropriated public money and contractors who executed the final act of theft. This was the agency that left bridges half-built for decades, that routinely repaved otherwise good roads fro the money and that the production of substandard construction materials was an industry by itself.
Under DPWH supervision, the Maharlika Highway, the country’s logistic spine, deteriorated into a muddy, potholed stretch. It was a road people avoided if they could.
In his final months on the job, the former DPWH secretary wanted to close down EDSA, the capital region’s most vital artery, for two years. This was to give way to a P17-billion plan to “rehabilitate” the nation’s most notorious stretch of road.
Two years of closure and P17 billion to burn. The plan would have inflicted cruel and unusual punishment on commuters – and on taxpayers. The traffic mess alone might have cost our economy trillions. Had the flood control scandal not happened, the administration might have gone along with this crazy plan.
In the wake of the public works scandal, the administration was forced to replace the public works secretary. Vince Dizon, initially recruited from the private sector to fix the similarly problem-ridden Department of Transportation, was asked to head the DPWH. His mission was to repair a broken agency and resurrect it as a mission-driven department.
Among the first things Dizon did was to completely overhaul the original EDSA rehabilitation plan. The new public works secretary put common sense in command. He ordered work on the indispensable avenue to be done at night when traffic was lightest.
Phase 1 of the rehab plan, started Dec. 24 last year, was executed quicker than expected – and with none of the massive inconvenience the original plan would have inflicted. Without sacrificing quality, the rehabilitation was completed at nearly a third of the original estimated cost. This proves the original estimated cost was bloated for graft.
The new technologies for a better road long existed. But they were set aside during the many years when the avenue was constantly “re-blocked.”
Over the past few months, the new roadbuilding technologies were finally used. Motorists using the completed portions of EDSA feel the difference in road quality.
During the Holy Week break, the rehabilitation of EDSA proceeded at a faster pace – and with better sensibility. In a few more months, the rehabilitation of this vital motorway will be completed at far less cost than originally proposed.
The urban apocalypse need not happen. Vince Dizon, by sheer determination to get things done, saved the population of Metro Manila from enduring the mess the original rehab plan entailed.
We hope Dizon does with the Maharlika Highway the sort of work we saw him do with EDSA. The nation deserves a DPWH that is fully restored to its institutional health – and to its sense of mission for national development.
Not yet
At literally the 11th hour, Donald Trump called off his threat to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure. Another scheduled apocalypse has been averted – for the moment.
In his most desperate utterances, Trump threatened to erase a whole civilization in a matter of hours by way of intensive bombing. This exactly fits the definition of genocide.
Despite his wild threatening words, Trump eventually realized he did not have the logistics to carry out his nightmare scenario. An attempt to bomb Iran “to the stone age” would have spiked energy prices and killed the capital markets. The whole world would have slid into recession before he could hit the last Iranian bridge or power station.
In the end, the American president pulled an Iranian proposal from the files and declared it “workable.” That proposal was on the table for days. It would grant Iran control over the Strait of Hormuz and full sovereignty over its nuclear pile.
Israel is reportedly unhappy about aborting the massive bombing campaign. Tel Aviv wants Iran’s industrial capacity completely degraded before any ceasefire is discussed. But they want Iran destroyed using American arms and putting American lives at risk.
It is not clear if the ceasefire includes the Israeli attack on Lebanon. Tel Aviv signals its military campaign there continues – notwithstanding mounting casualties. But they could see another defeat here.
While the complications are being sorted out, the US-Israeli assault on Iran has exacted its costs on the rest of humanity. Oil prices will remain high for at least a year. It might take up to three years to restore Qatar’s natural gas production to its former level. All the supply chain disruptions guarantee high inflation and lower growth this year and the next.
Trump may walk away from this insane war. Everyone else cannot.