I think a sign of acclimation to the Philippines is coming to terms with the fact that at some point every day you will become smelly, sticky and sweaty. In the beginning, its easy to get upset about this, but after awhile, it just becomes a normal part of the day. Sometimes, it will happen on my short walk to work and on less humid days the feeling will escape me until a little after lunch. Smelly, sticky and sweaty. Its just reality, nothing more.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to witness local politics in action here in Lagonoy. To set the stage, let me explain that Lagonoy once had a public market. First erected in 1927, it stood pretty much as is until a fire completely destroyed it in 2011. Since then, vendors (farmers, fisherfolk and the like) have been selling food on the sidewalks of my town. The mayor's office, the planning and engineering departments have developed a proposal to create a modern public market at a cost of 80m pesos. Yesterday, I went to a public hearing where representatives from these departments explained their proposal to the townsfolk.
I imagined that people would be excited about this opportunity for growth and development. What I witnessed was almost theatrical. The covered basketball court was packed as the details of the project were being unveiled. Feasibility studies demonstrated the need, architectural drawing unveiled the concept, and the planning department explained how the project fits inside of the Local 10 year land use plan. Suddenly a smartly dressed woman approached the table and took an available microphone. An attorney, she began to lambaste the proposal claiming that the project could not possibly cost 80m and that there must be horrible corruption afoot! Next, an older man wearing army fatigues (a former city councilman) took the mic and began complaining, yelling about the same thing. As he was laying the mic down, he collapsed on the floor. Was it a heart attack?
Fire and rescue people, police rushed the man and carried him by arms and legs to a chair nearby where he was fanned to consciousness. No doctor appeared... no blood pressure check. No water. Apparently, the gentleman had become so worked up that he fainted... or feigned to faint (my thought). Before long, he rose from the chair and walked off. Well, you can imagine the attention this raised in the crowd! The meeting had become completely undone! But the meeting went on. and on.
All told about 3.5 hours of attack. Brutal accusations. It became obvious that there is complete suspicion regarding the role of government in big projects like this. And these feeling are well grounded in history. Corruption is rampant here. Even the Vice President of the country is involved in a huge corruption scandal that has rocked the national administration. It just goes to show you how difficult the job of development actually is. How can a rural community grow in the absence of a public market? The need is painfully obvious, but the presenters chose to focus on this, the demonstrating the NEED rather than the real issue: How to justify a cost of 80m pesos for an open air public market?
Why, in proposing this to the public, didn't the officials have the foresight to demonstrate just how the 80m would be spent? No budget was presented. Was there some other public market in a part of the Philippines that had been developed sometime in the recent past? What was the cost per square meter of that project and how did it compare to this proposal? How could these government officials fail to appreciate the opposition they would get?
When I spoke to someone afterward, they claimed that they were expecting this outrage. That those who were asking all the demanding questions were from the opposition party to the mayor. And while I can believe that... I am still struck by how ineffective their preparation for this political attack actually was. Political theater.. a tragedy.
No comments:
Post a Comment