Water everywhere

This is the time of year when the urge is strongest to migrate. There’s water everywhere except in the taps. Where there’s too much water in the streets, there’s no electricity. When there’s no electricity, water pumps aren’t working. So there’s no potable water, yet the water concessionaires in Metro Manila are demanding a rate increase.

As usual, pavements are again disintegrating in the continuous downpour. In front of the Dampa seafood market on Sucat Road in Parañaque, the pavement around a manhole has collapsed, making one lane on an already narrow street impassable.

Why am I singling out this particular spot? Because in the past year that short stretch of road in Parañaque has been torn up then restored twice, causing massive traffic jams. There was nothing wrong with the road when it was first torn up; now there are enough potholes to justify yet another repaving.

These substandard roads cost taxpayers millions of pesos every year, and I’ll bet a hefty chunk of the money goes to fat commissions. The Department of Public Works and Highways, where a crackdown on corruption seems to be underway, can discourage substandard work by promoting accountability. Every public works project must have a sign prominently displayed, identifying the contractor with its address and contact number. The sign should also specify the target date of completion as well as the budget for the project.

Local governments should list down all these details so that when something goes awry after a project’s completion, responsibility can be easily pinpointed. If the car you are driving ever falls into a road digging that has no proper warning signs, you’ll know whom to sue.

At the DPWH, there must be a record of the officials who sign contracts for even the smallest public works project. These are public records that must be open to scrutiny. If some shameless crooks in that department can collect millions of pesos a year in reimbursements for vehicle repairs, think of how much they demand in commissions for road repair contracts.

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Each public works project must declare: "This is where your taxes go." Instead what we get are markers announcing that a particular project is being undertaken due to the initiative (and the pork barrel) of some congressman or local government official. We’ll be seeing more of such signs as the campaign period approaches.

Taxpayers can retaliate by keeping those names in mind and not voting for them. The sad reality, however, is that people who don’t pay taxes — and I don’t mean the tax evaders, but those who have no income to tax — will see those names, be impressed and vote for them. And there are a lot of these non-taxpayers.

This is another reason the urge to migrate can be overwhelming, and not just during the rainy season.

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Then there are the buses and jeepneys. In the darkest hours, in the heaviest downpour, in the widest roads, there will be certain spots in Metro Manila where traffic will always be heavy. Why? Because buses and jeepneys have turned the street into their terminal, leaving only one lane for other vehicles to pass.

This can’t be possible without the approval of the police commander in the area. And why would the cops give their nod to this? We all know why. If you want to minimize traffic, sack the police station commanders with jurisdiction over any area where mass transport vehicles have set up illegal terminals.

As long as the station commander shares his… uh, earnings… with his superior officers, however, he’ll keep his post. And that’s why we’ll always have traffic jams, rain or shine.

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But you have to hand it to the Pinoy spirit. In the midst of calamity, with floodwaters threatening to wash away their homes, our people are there on TV, laughing, waving and saying hi mom, making funny faces. They grin as they traverse flooded streets on boats and flatbed trucks. There’s no suffering so great, it seems, that we can’t get used to it, and even endure it with a smile.

That Pinoy spirit is one reason people think twice, thrice about migrating. Instead of leaving, we should just kick out all the misfits in government.

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NOT THE OPPOSITION’S KEEPER: There you go, Erap and Kuya Edong. Sen. Blas Ople says he should not be held responsible for any possible breakup of the opposition. He says he’s just an insignificant cog and it’s up to the leadership (meaning, Sen. Ed Angara) to hold the opposition together. He’ll vote with the opposition on July 22, for old time’s sake, then "take a leave" from opposing. That has to be the strangest party leave ever. And remember, Ople said, he didn’t ask for the job, it was offered to him. DFA, here comes Ople?

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FAILURE OF INTELLIGENCE: Bernadette Tamayo has come a long way. A few years back we were reporters at the Manila City Hall. Now she’s an "unidentified ASG personality " with a bounty for her capture. Wanted posters lump her together with the worst of them — Ghalib "Commander Robot" Andang and the top guns of the Abu Sayyaf. This episode would be hilarious, were it not for the suffering it is causing Tamayo. And if her face is on those wanted posters by mistake, what do we make of the rest of those pictures?

What are our intelligence officers doing, apart from trying to dig up dirt on Sen. Panfilo Lacson and scratching their butts? No wonder we had to call in the Americans to neutralize our homegrown terrorists. Now I’m really inclined to believe those reports that "star witness" Ador Mawanay managed to swindle military intelligence officers of millions of pesos. And the officers can’t even go after Mawanay — they are too embarrassed to admit in public that they have been conned.

You can still get back at adorable Ador, guys. Put his face on those wanted posters, like Tamayo, and dangle a price on his head. Then he’ll never be able to sell another hot cell phone again.