Daang Matuwid.with potholes

It doesn’t take a genius to decipher that the current administration’s “Daang Matuwid” slogan is the rallying call of a large scale marketing plan meant to instill hope amongst otherwise jaded Filipinos. However, as much as we want to see the Government move in the right direction, we can’t help but be just a wee bit skeptical about its ability to do so sans old, decrepit practices. Yes, we definitely welcome the battle cry to take the steep, straight, narrow road towards moral recovery (and eventually economic prosperity). But is it at all feasible? Is it possible to actually go from corrupt to clean in one fell swoop? We seriously have our doubts.

These doubts were once again fanned immediately after the onslaught of Typhoon Falcon. As we all know by now, Typhoon Falcon drenched us all silly during its almost weeklong rampage. While it wasn’t as destructive as Typhoon Ondoy, it threw at us its fair share of rainfall. In its wake, it left a familiar signature on our already battered roads – potholes galore.

Now, as easy as it is to pin the blame on the previous administration’s perceived lack of good moral practices, this is one boo-boo that just can’t be passed on just like that. For example, it hasn’t been two months since the short, southbound portion of C-5 that starts at the foot of the Pasig flyover and ends at the access point of Bonifacio Global City was paved with an obviously flimsy layer of asphalt. The asphalt layer was placed a couple of months ago (obviously at the initiative of the current administration) because the potholes in the said area were multiplying like cockroaches. Immediately after Typhoon Falcon’s tantrum, the potholes were back. Is this the result of inferior quality asphalt? You bet! Is this oh-so-tiring occurrence something we ought to expect from a government that has vowed to give us quality service? Heck no!

C-5 is a mere example. Potholes have begun to sprout all over Metro Manila. And they’re not relegated to small portions of side roads. Main arteries like Roxas Boulevard and Macapagal Boulevard have their share of craters the size of which could put the kind found on the moon to shame. And let’s not even get started with that hellhole called EDSA…

Towards the end of Typhoon Falcon’s Philippine excursion, we attended a “motoring industry forum” where one of the guest speakers happened to be Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Cristino L. Panlilio. During the course of the forum, Usec. Panlilio proudly shared to all in attendance the government’s plans to build hundreds of kilometers more of roads not just in Metro Manila but also across the entire country. My apologies to the good Undersecretary, as I may sound like I’m sour-graping at obviously good news, but are we also to expect these new roads to give birth to potholes after each downpour? These new roads, can we really expect them to be the kind that are “matuwid” in every single way?

The obvious conclusion many Filipinos draw from the spouting of these potholes is that there are some people in the government who cut corners – and eventually gain a little income – while they provide us with substandard “service”. “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” was President Aquino’s battle cry during the last presidential campaign. Consequently, we can alter the statement a bit to read “Kung walang corrupt, walang maghihirap”. In other words, if the current government is truly as clean as it proclaims itself to be, then we shouldn’t be suffering through the same kind of lackluster “service” we have unfortunately grown accustomed to.

Unfortunately, we see more of the same. Again. And again. And again. The cycle of corruption is bound to stop someday. There is such a thing as hitting critical mass. People will eventually decide that all this silly short changing must be put to a stop. It does not, however, begin and end with chanting a mere slogan. I know. I graduated from the University of the Philippines more than a decade ago. Back then we used to shout slogans until our lungs pleaded for help. But change didn’t come because of all the screaming. Only through decisive action can we hope to instill some form of positive change.

And so we go back. Are we all truly on the straight and narrow simply because the lot of us say so? Are we really trekking this so-called “Daang Matuwid”? Or are we merely screaming out the slogan until our lungs plead for help? I’m not pointing any accusing fingers straight at anyone. I am merely stating the obvious. It’s a cycle we’re all too tired of seeing. If this truly is a “Daang Matuwid” that we’re on, then I suppose we’ve been down this road before. It looks eerily the same to me (and I’m sure to a lot of other folks). The only thing that changes is the location of those nasty potholes. We can only hope that someday, pag matuwid na talaga yung daan, we’ll have roads without potholes. Rain or no rain.