Notoriety up north

published 15 Sept 2008

North of the Metro, that is.

In October last year, I published a column titled “Unapologetic” in this same space. I complained about the inordinately long time it was taking authorities to complete the repair of the Tullahan Bridge along McArthur Highway, right at the boundary of the cities of Valenzuela and Malabon. Residents were promised that the bridge would be opened to traffic by Oct. 15, 2007. And authorities did make good on this promise. What they did not say was that on the following day, they would close the bridge again because the work had not yet been completed. It took another two or three weeks before the bridge was opened—and it had been closed since March. Imagine the adjustment people had to make.

And now, wouldn’t you know it, I am writing about the same place again.

In the past several week, people going in and out of Valenzuela City—that includes me so I have first-hand knowledge—have been bearing the diabolical traffic conditions in the now-notorious highway. The culprit? Apparently, both approaches to the bridge have been found prone to potholes. The epicenter of the road works—and the resulting traffic—is the same bridge that had been repaired only eleven months ago. Is it too much to expect it to still be in good condition?

But no, the 2008 road works have been deemed necessary. Two or three lanes have been blocked off and the north- and south-bound vehicles take turns moving. On a bad day, and at a bad time, traffic stretches for kilometers in both directions. Imagine how it is when it’s raining. Nobody is spared from this scourge—whether you are a student taking public transportation or a professional driving your own car, you have to queue up, anyway. In my part of town, traffic has become the great equalizer.

Trust me, I am not being parochial here. Of course, as a resident, I could just be venting my ire and using my column space to further it. But when I made an effort to get the side of the city government, I realized what we had was the same universal malady that is responsible for the many sloppy things in this country.

The city public information officer, Ma. Theresa Menia, returned my call last week (fortunately, city officials’ contact numbers that appear in the local government Web site are real, functioning numbers). I had earlier sent her a text message where I introduced myself and basically asked: “What gives?”

Menia summed it up quite well: “It’s the problem of the Department of Public Works and Highways.” In fact, she said, the mayor, Sherwin Gatchalian, had already written Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane complaining about the situation.

I was aghast to learn that all my city’s executives could do about the matter was COMPLAIN.

Did they not realize the effect the traffic had on its residents? Why, if I were a student, I could easily lose my cool and fail an exam. Or worse, fail to show up for my test altogether. If I were an office worker, I would be less productive and more disoriented at work. I would probably have morphed into a grouch upon reaching home. How many businesses would not be done in the city because of the perception—actually, a reality—that Valenzuela was isolated?

The most obvious questions come to mind, and the public works department may have to answer them. Soon. Why do the roads need to be repaired again? What kind of materials were used the first time? What kind are being used now? Good Lord, will this become a yearly thing?

According to Menia, the department has promised the mayor that the works would be completed within 30 days from when they started, sometime in the third week of August. Today is the beginning of the third week of September. And it does not look like the work is finished.

She also said that the agency told them the rains and the resulting floods (we are notorious for that, too!) were making things difficult for the contractor. Excuse me? How in the world can you schedule work in August/September and NOT expect it to rain?

People are angry, and Menia says they at the city hall are only too aware of that. They are angry, too. Right.

In fact, she says the mayor has remarked that maybe they should put up a sign at the construction area announcing that the project was not the local government’s but the DPWH’s. Quite a change from the usual tack of politicians who plaster their faces and names in billboards so the public would know it is them who are behind certain projects. Then, again, Menia is joking, They are just getting desperate as well.

Actually, the people don’t care if it’s the mayor’s office of the public works department’s project. It’s an us-or-them world. There are officials who are in the position to do something, and who get paid from taxpayers’ funds. On the other hand, there’s us, ordinary people who expect our leaders to do their jobs. We just want to get to our destinations on time and not have to make generous (onerous, actually) provisions for travel. This compromises all the other things we must do besides.

And it is definitely not fair to think that just because people have been used to such inconveniences, these are now less objectionable. We have had our quota of raw nerves. Give us a break.