DURING the preparation of the President’s annual speech called the State of the Nation (SONA), Cabinet officials are called upon to contribute to the President’s report by providing him details of their achievements, ongoing projects and programs, and plans in the immediate future.
Most of the time, these reports are expected to be made part of the SONA, and so the heads of various departments and agencies of the government tended to accentuate the positive in their work, putting a premium on the superlatives and even hiding the negatives. This is common human behavior, especially for officials who enjoy the advantages and perks that go with a top government office.
Some Cabinet members who have very few accomplishments to report to the President instead state their big plans and goals for their department. One such agency is the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) led by Secretary Manuel Bonoan, whose flood control projects were a complete failure because as we write this editorial, huge floods have displaced over 636,000 individuals in 521 barangays which were impacted by the southwest monsoon or the “habagat” nationwide.
‘By and large, it is best to assess the reported achievements of every department and compare these to what is palpable and obtaining on the ground.’
Another Cabinet member who is remiss in his job is Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos who supervises the PNP, the agency that greatly mishandled the biggest shabu haul, in Alitagtag, Batangas. Come to think of it, whatever happened to the perpetrators of this biggest attempt to smuggle drugs into the country?
Going back to the DPWH, on the day President Marcos Jr. is to report to the nation on the status of his administration’s programs, huge floods have inundated 295 places in the country. And it’s only “habagat,” not yet a typhoon or storm that brings an even greater volume of rain water.
Secretary Bonoan said the DPWH will construct more national roads covering 30,000 km and flood control projects along principal river basins throughout the country. He said the biggest road project the DPWH is looking to implement is the Daang Maharlika, the 3,000-km main trunk line of the Philippine National Road System from Laoag City to Zamboanga City that was started by President Marcos’ father, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.
He said 74 of the Marcos administration-approved 175 flagship projects will be implemented under the stewardship of the DPWH. The target is to widen congested roads not only in Metro Manila but in other regions’ metropolises.
Bonoan also announced on government TV station that six more bridges will be constructed across Pasig River. He said these projects are in various stages of preliminary construction and the target is to finish all within the term of President Marcos. The DPWH is also implementing 1,900 flood control projects nationwide this year.
Well, they better hurry up because the floods are already here, even before the typhoons and La Nina.
The secretary talked about convergence programs with the Department of Tourism which build roads and other infrastructure projects near the tourist destinations, aside from farm-to-market roads in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture.
The most popular convergence project of the DPWH now is the luxurious and highly controversial new Senate building in Bonifacio Global City, the budget of which has shot up from P8.6 billion to around P26 billion until its proposed completion months from now. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has claimed that Sen. Nancy Binay, the DPWH, and the private contractor are hiding information from him. The new chair of the Senate committee on accounts is hinting that there is corruption in this project, and the DPWH should come up with explanations to refute his allegations.
By and large, it is best to assess the reported achievements of every department and compare these to what is palpable and obtaining on the ground.
