It isgovernment’s lack of vision
Possibly, Philippines is only the country that has no efficient railway system, or shall we say we have no railway system at all. In the early years here was. Passengers and goods traveled from Tutuban in Divisoria, Manila up to Damortis in La Union. There was also the southern lines, the so-called Bicol Express. In the northern line, the trains made several stops along the route. After making a stop in Malolos, Bulacan it also stopped in San Fernando and then again in Angeles. In my teen years, I took an unforgettable joyride
with a girl friend up to Damortis. The reason I can’t forget it because it was on the way that my girl friend pretended to be asleep and rested her head with her long wavy hair on my shoulder while I busied my eyes of the passing landscape. A part of my childhood was lost when the train going to Damortis stopped on its track.
Oh, how I wish to recreate that now that I am in my senior years, possibly with a new partner with her head again resting on my shoulder. Enough of dreams!
Under the Macapagal Arroyo administration, an effort was made to revived the lines. Funds were made available and a Chinese construction firm, the Sinomach undertook the construction. Holy smoke, nothing came out of it because at the very start it was already attended by corruption. The people whom Arroyo trusted to finish the project somehow reportedly pocketed huge slice of the borrowed funds from China Eximbank. What I’ve heard is that the contractor was able to collect despite only 25% of the project was completed. Those responsible were laughing on their way to the banks. The Aquino government failed to prosecute those responsible. Even the Duterte administration seems have forgotten all about it. I presume up to the present times the government is still servicing the loan since a sovereign guarantee provision is attached to it. This is so sad.
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Traffic everywhere. The country is losing billions of pesos everyday. The simple analysis will indicate it is a direct consequence of obvious inaction by past and present leaders both from the national and local levels. We can no longer ignore how cities and other urban areas getting paralyzed due to traffic gridlocks almost happening everywhere. Build, Build, Build program by the Duterte administration may come as a relief maybe in about ten years or God knows when. Subways in Metro Manila and other cities never left the drawing boards.
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Progress is not a quaint idea. Vision and looking towards the future were detained in the past by most of government leaders. This I wrote sometime ago. Look at our towns and cities today. They are no longer liveable and this is due to lack of vision among the leaders of yesteryears. I insist on repeating this. How many presidents of our country came from the central and northern Luzon, say Elpidio Quirino, Ferdinand Marcos, Ramon Magsaysay, the two Macapagals and the two Arroyos. What happened to their advisers? There was never a national strategy to this effect.
Almost all streets in Metro Manila are clogged. The main arteries, like the Epifanio De Los Santos (EDSA), Quezon Avenue, Roxas Boulevard and the secondaries are virtually park areas if seen from above. Too stressful driving around Metro Manila anytime of day and night. And coming from Pampanga going to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Mall of Asia, Solaire and City of Dreams casinos you might as well forget the trip. Just stay home. There. are checkpoints everywhere due to the pandemic that create traffic jams.Government policies have their consequences. Our country is in need of more infrastructures now more than ever because of the burgeoning population. It is most welcome, but a word of caution. Don’t over borrow.The government debt is several trillion pesos already. The yellow light is blinking. Duterte’s economic managers should fear for a possible debt crisis.