Earthquake: Unearthing anomalies

An earthquake has a handful of synonyms.  Sometimes, it is referred to, in ordinary conversation, as tremor or temblor.  Scientifically, it is referred to as volcanic activity or seismic activity.  While we may call it with different names, however, it basically means just one thing.  When the earth shakes, it means destruction.   For one, almost a generation ago (on Monday, July 16, 1990, at 4:26 PM), a 7.8 tremor struck Northern Philippines and took the lives of about 1,621 people, mostly, in Central Luzon and the Cordillera region.  Just last week (Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at 8:12AM) another one struck Central Visayas crushing stone churches (in Bohol) and cutting Cebu’s Basilica’s belfry to the ground, among others.  Worst, it killed hundreds in Bohol and a handful in Cebu.

Just like many tragedies in the past, this one also brought about the best character in most of us, generosity.  Sadly, however, some traditional politicians took advantage of our brethrens’ misfortune by letting the voting population know of their superficial concerns through massive exploitation of photo opportunities.  On the other hand, some sectors took some religious spins on this tragedy.  Probably because most structures that are crushed to the ground or rendered useless are catholic churches.

Whatever the personal motives or interpretations shall be, the fact remains that scientifically, tremors do happen once in a while and depending on its strength, may or may not bring about destruction to anyone.  If it does happen, the weaker structures will suffer the most.  Knowing fully well that these churches are several centuries old and have endured countless of shakes, the structures must have, through time, weakened.  Thus, when a tremor of such intensity shook Central Visayas, these structures crumbled to the ground.

Notably, this tragedy has brought about revolting attitudes on some and the best character of the most of us.  To some extent, however, nature has conspired with well-meaning citizens, to do good as well, in unearthing potential anomalies.  For one, as photos reveal, some kilometers of damaged concrete roads and bridges in Bohol don’t have or have insufficient steel bars.  Apparently, with inadequate steel bars, these roads and bridges cannot withstand temblors of such magnitude.  Thus, certainly, when these infrastructures were built, some unscrupulous people must have siphoned enough money and rendered actual construction destruction-bound.

The same is true in Cebu, in fact, a lot bigger. This is the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in a lot owned by the City of Mandaue that was paid for by the people of the Province of Cebu.  While it is true that it was built to accommodate that pressing need of the national government to have one due to the country’s hosting of the 12th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit, the fact remains that it was built at a mind blowing cost.  Not only that, it was completed just six (6) years ago.  Thus, it is supposedly new and sturdy and has not been really challenged by thousands of tremors like the centuries-old churches.  Yet, its interiors crumbled.

To recall, after summing up all costs incurred in the construction of the CICC, the amount has breached P800 million.  Knowing fully well that the lot is owned by the City of Mandaue, then, such costs represent construction materials/supplies and labor alone.  If anyone has visited the CICC before the tremor took away some lightly bolted structures from equally weak beams, he will certainly realize that he doesn’t need a strong academic background or a 40-year experience in construction business for him to know how blatantly padded it is.

Moreover, as far as we know, the provincial government (during Gov. Gwen Garcia’s reign) engaged the Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corporation (PETCO) to manage the property.  Despite PETCO’s known expertise, returns haven’t trickled in.  What certainly drip are water from roofs peppered with huge floor-flooding leaks.  Thus, it is safe to conclude that the CICC is poorly constructed.  Therefore, it’s either, the contractor usuriously earned a lot or the project’s proponent siphoned a lot more.  In both cases though, we, the taxpayers, suffer the most.

Indeed, battered and mangled, the CICC is every square inch a fiasco.  During construction, it was gained.  During operation, it was drained.  Fortunately though, in the tremor’s destruction, these (anomalies) were bared.

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