Build, Build, Build

…then, destroy, destroy, destroy

By Apolinario Villalobos

That is how it is in the Philippines. Infrastructures are built and left to deteriorate due to haphazard maintenance. Bridges are provided with lights such as those of Quiapo and Sta. Cruz in Manila, followed by colorful launching complete with media coverage and ribbon cutting, then left to the mercy of vandals and the natural elements due to the negligence of local governments. All airport terminal buildings are in sorry state, one of them even with periodic failure of a lone escalator, while the other one always lands on the pages of broadsheet due to falling ceiling panels. The other one is reported to be with clogged toilets.

Once the “underside” of the LRT (Light Rail Transit) was colorfully painted by a mayor of Manila City, but when he lost in the election, the winner upon assumption of post, practically “deleted” the mark of the previous mayor. Millions of pesos were spent for paints to cover the former “design” and color of posts of the transit system and for the new paint, complete with outdoor plants that in time wilted due to their new environment. Today, the “underside” is again in sorry state. Highways and roads that are still in tip-top condition are destroyed to give way to new “toppings” every time new officials assume post or when the term of the incumbent is about to be finished.