A tale of two buildings

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IF you still need any proof that something is terribly wrong with the priorities of our highest government officials (not just at present but perhaps since time immemorial) then take a close look at two government-funded buildings that to this day remain unfinished.

One is the now-infamous new Senate building that is rising within government property (the Navy-Marines reservation, I think) in the Fort Bonifacio section of Taguig City. This building is visible from the Skyway, an all-glass structure that to me looks less like a legislative building and more like a POGO headquarters.

I’ve questioned why the Senate building was being built in Taguig, rather than, say, inside the Batasang Pambansa complex so that both Houses of Congress could be co-located. Aside from the separate locations, there’s an even bigger problem — a P20B (and growing) one. And from the sound of it, this P20B hole might be a bottomless pit into which you and I, the Filipino taxpayer, are actually falling because we were pushed into the hole without us even knowing it.

‘… you’re just a lab rat on which experiments on the art of misgovernance are being conducted, and will continue to be conducted every day, for the rest of your life.’

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To add insult to injury, think about this point that a friend stressed to me recently: the P20B (and growing!) expenditure is for an office building for 24 Senators! Soon that will amount to an expenditure equivalent to P1B per Senator!

I’d characterize that as unconscionable with a capital U. Jeesas.

On the other hand, there’s another government-funded building that also needs to be completed — the P1B National Institutes of Health Research building inside the UP Manila compound along Pedro Gil. The building is an all-steel structure designed to house the key research laboratories of the 16 institutes and centers under the NIH and built to international standards required for health-related research. Completing it will help unlock funding from abroad that will be used in the study of health-related issues affecting each and every Filipino from cradle to grave. But, no surprise here, when the building was first proposed more than a decade ago the estimate needed was P1B; it was never released on time, so the P1B when finally released could only fund the building mainframe and externals. Now, if I am not mistaken, an additional P1B will be needed to complete each of the 19 floors that will house the NIH offices and research laboratories.

One billion sounds like a huge amount, but when you find out what the NIH does for you and me, you’d wish they’d be given ten times more.

In contrast, 24 senators are spending P20B (and counting) for their offices.

Now if you don’t find anything wrong in this scenario then don’t complain about the state of our affairs.

But if, like I do, you think this is unconscionable, then speak up. Otherwise, you’re just a lab rat on which experiments on the art of misgovernance are being conducted and will continue to be conducted, every day, for the rest of your life.

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