“DARING to take the MRT Challenge,” with Sen. Grace Poe, DOTC Secretary Joseph Abaya and Malacañang Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte taking the notoriously inefficient public transport system, may have translated into good photo ops and some brownie points for the officials, but I still can’t see what good it did for the suffering public.
At the very least, one expected some really brutal expressions of disgust from Poe and a vow to kick butts, bouts of anguish and shame on the part of Abaya, and a resolve on the part of Valte to never, never again rationalize the state of the country’s consumer rail system.
Sadly, what Poe, Abaya and Valte did was a clumsy publicity stunt yielding nothing for the public than consuelo de bobo.
We really could not have expected more than consuelo de bobo from Abaya whose utterances and responses to complaints about the MRT and the NAIA betray an unrepentant public official who is in denial about his incompetence and that of his department.
Valte, on the other hand, should be reminded that a spokesperson is not supposed to engage in a publicity stunt, unless she is planning to run for congress or barangay captain.
But it is Poe who has been particularly disappointing. Having perceived her as a fresh new personality, a level-headed public official, quietly determined to perform her senatorial duties as well as possible, her publicized MRT ride struck me as pure showbiz. Classic Barnum and Bailey.
She should have read up on how St. John XXIII, while still Pope, would sneak out of the Vatican disguised as an ordinary priest to check on his flock. Nobody recognized him because nobody was supposed to. In contrast, Poe had photographs taken to show that she was dutifully sharing the suffering of the commuting public. Get it?
I suggest that the next time Poe decides to check on the miserable condition of her constituents, she should make sure she is in disguise and her publicity team should not tag along. Even her close-in security should remain invisible.
She should also come equipped with a hidden camera to record the actual suffering and complaints of the public. She could then play back the video during a session of her sub-committee on transportation, to put the incompetents at DOTC to shame.
At any rate, since she has already missed the chance to take the “MRT challenge” incognito, Poe should at least be more vocal about the scandalous condition of our transport system and be prepared to roast on live coal the DOTC officials responsible for the mess.
I’m writing this piece in Singapore. Needless to say, there is no comparison between the MRT of the Lion City and the transportation system in the Philippines.
Abaya and, before him, Mar Roxas, bear much of the onus – four years of it – but they cannot be held to blame alone for the distressing state of our public transport system. Originally designed to provide low-cost, efficient and comfortable public conveyance for the residents of the metropolis, our rail system has suffered the neglect and the incompetence of past and present administrations.
I remember having taken the LRT from Baclaran all the way to Grace Park and then back to Baclaran, just to get a feel of the new light rail system. It actually started off very well and held the promise of more conveniences to come.
This was in 1984, during the extended and already rocky incumbency of Ferdinand Marcos. For those interested in trivia, the Manila LRTA system was the first metro system in Southeast Asia and was built three years ahead of the Singapore MRT.
But, typical of our genius for spoiling a good idea, the LRT and then the MRT were allowed to deteriorate, with each year leaving the system worse off than before.
In fact, one could say that our consumer rail system epitomizes the state of our beloved country. We once were ahead of other Asian countries in many things, including economically. But with each new set of leaders taking advantage of an uncaring, unthinking citizenry, not demanding better performance, and continuing to elect thieves and incompetents, the State of the Nation was, inevitably, downhill most of the way.
Of course, there would be times when there appeared to be hope offered by a new president, but things always managed to turn out for the worse. We can’t seem to rid ourselves of the habit of confusing popularity with competence, being “mabait” with being “marunong,” and being able to mouth impressive slogans with actually delivering on the promise.
Worst yet, we must bear with public officials who have no sense of shame. Where officials in certain countries would commit hara kiri or resign in the wake of mishaps or instances of incompetence, our public officials cling like leeches to their posts, bearing with insults, swallowing contempt, reminding themselves that “lilipas din ang hiya.” (the shame will pass).
And worst of all, we must suffer the fate of unthinking, unbending, blind loyalty on the part of the president – this current one, particularly. Not surprisingly, problems are never solved, because those who created or caused the problem in the first place are coddled and allowed to create more problems.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m writing this in Singapore, a country that was once a backward colonial outpost with no natural resources and riddled with corruption, according to retired Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in his book, “From Third World to First: The Singapore Story.”
It took a fresh batch of committed public officials, willing to live within their means, unforgiving in their campaign to cleanse their city state of thieves and grafters , and unrelenting in their pursuit of excellence, to make Singapore what it now is.
Is it possible for the Philippines to reverse its downhill habit and struggle back to the top? Why not? But it won’t happen soon and certainly not in the remaining years of the Aquino administration.
We just have to be realistic and dig in for many more years of suffering while, hopefully, fresh young public officials like Grace Poe will sink their teeth into the problems that beset us, and resist the temptation to mount publicity stunts and gain brownie points.
Let’s also stop kidding ourselves about Tuwid na Daan. It won’t be straight enough, as long as we have a president whose loyalty to his country ends where his loyalty to his friends and party mates begins.
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