Lumintao Bridge: Epitome of Poor Keenness

The Lumintao Bridge is at the verge of falling down thus pulling down our local economy, the quality of government service and the peoples’ trust and confidence with authorities. Specifically those top brasses at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the province.

As early as October last year, the riding public from all walks of life already informed the authorities about the situation of Lumintao Bridge. For their part, both the municipalities of Rizal and Calintaan sought the attention of the Provincial Government and the DPWH-Mindoro Occidental District Engineering Office but no specific major intervention was made except for placing warning signs and barriers made up of twigs atop the structure. As nobody is displaced in the area then to mitigate violations, heavily loaded trucks and heavy vehicles continue to ignore the sign and the thorny barrier. Until the rainy season was officially declared and flooding occurred due to incessant rain brought about by southwest monsoon. The bridge continues to tilt and move downward on the downstream side of the river.

In his letter dated June 19, 2018, DPWH District Engineer Josefino M. Melgar, Jr. informed the public, specifically the local government units, that the agency is temporarily closing the bridge “to ensure the safety of the travelling public and to avoid more damages to Lumintao Bridge.” In a meeting with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan live-streamed at Radio Mindoro Network Facebook Page on that same day and in response to the query of SP Sonia C. Pablo, who hails from Rizal town and doing her oversight function as legislator from the Second District, Engr. Danilo S. Muniz, head of maintenance in San Jose District, assured the august body that the bridge will be passable in just a matter of 5 days. It is now on its 8^th day since it was closed. Bokal Pablo, needless to say, wants an immediate and effective solution to the problem.

Not to dwell on the hellish situation atop the troubled infrastructure affecting the travelling public, it hampers the delivery of services by the local governments, our economy in general and it epitomizes the neglect of the agency whose main thrust is to provide and manage quality infrastructure facilities and services that are responsive to the needs of the people in the pursuit of development. This is Lumintao Bridge’s coordinate: 12.5239857, 120.9879682. Google earth it and you will find the true score in the last few days and see it for yourself.

The Rizal Municipal Police Station on June 21, 2018 inquired with Engr. Melgar on the estimated cost damage of the bridge and it is pegged at Php 35 million. No doubt, this sorry predicament that we are into is due to both natural and man-made explanations, rolled into one. Emergency and disaster reduction efforts were made though by nearby local government units.

Aside from Lumintao Bridge, it is also reported that the Pinamanaan Bridge in Barangay Mabini, San Jose is in a volatile situation too. There are also various reports from other bridges in other municipalities that need attention. To my mind, any land development projects like putting up and repair of bridges in flood- prone rivers need more than civil engineering. The DPWH must get a lesson from this situation. Civil engineers in the department and the local governments in the province should be informed and be familiarized on storm water issues, basic hydrology and water resource engineering. It would boil down to the problem of governance and political vision from the lenses of the people.

As of this moment, according to Celestino C. Aroc III, maintenance foreman for DPWH, they are now re-channeling the river and after that, his crew could start to erect steel poles to support the broken part down the bridge. The work is snail-paced says many of the observers and regular passers-by.  

Neglect comes in many forms. The DPWH, as proposed by many concerned citizens, must issue an updated, (again, updated!) inventory of bridges within Occidental Mindoro to know the status of said infrastructures. This report is vital in the crafting of an effective intervention plan on rehabilitation, repair and replacement of a particular bridge. There is no substitute to general information and public knowledge. The people have the right to know. The Occidental Mindoro District Office of DPWH, as of 28 December, 2016, Lumintao Bridge (B00084MR) is posted as a permanent and concrete bridge with a “Fair” rating.

There could be no neglect if proper planning on maintenance was enacted in the most fitting time. I was informed that the root of the problem started when a huge timber was stuck at one foot of the bridge creating a strong current that made the foot rickety. The timber dawdled there for months hammered constantly by the angry river during heavy rain, said some locals. Logic dictates that in the planning, the repairs are logically to be implemented during the so-called dry season which is the most conducive season of the year for such activity. Why is that every year construction and maintenance work on the roads and bridges started just before the onset of the monsoon? It is the poor who suffered most.

This is the best lesson we learned: as we value the appearance of the Lumintao Bridge’s structures we must understand that it should function not as mere utility. And in this particular case, it became an epitome of poor keenness, if not neglect…

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(Photo: from Divine Pascual Martizano’s FB account)

Walang Kasarinlan sa Ilalim ng Pundilyo ng Iba

Sa lente ng siyensiyang pampulitika, hindi interchangeable ang salitang “kalayaan” at “kasarinlan”. Ang una ay literally means “freedom,” habang ang “kasarinlan” is a more appropriate translation for “independence.” Sa alinmang diksiyonaryo, ang katumbas ng salitang Ingles na “independence” ay  “kalayaan, kasarinlan, pagsasarili, independensiya.” Pero sabi ko nga, hindi ito ang saktong kahulugan kung political science ang pag-uusapan.

Kahit hindi na bansa, kahit ang indibidwal na lider-pulitiko, kapag sa pundilyo lamang ng mas nakatataas sa kanya iniaamot at iniaasa ang sariling pamumuno, ang kanyang nasasakupan ay hindi magiging magiging malaya kailanman. Ang isang bansa (o lider) na susunod-sunod lang at bubuntot-buntot sa kanyang padrino at hindi makapag-isa ay lider na mas masahol pa sa salabay na walang gulugod!

Kasarinlan at hindi kalayaan ang nakamit natin noong Hunyo 12, 1898 bagama’t kahit kailan ay hindi pa naman tayo naging ganap na malaya at nagsasarili bilang bansa sapul noon. Ipalagay na, kahit na ang nakamit natin noong Hulyo 4, 1964 ay kasarinlan din at hindi kalayaan. Noong 1898, nagkaroon tayo ng kalayaang gumawa ng ating sariling batas at ihalal ang ating mga pinuno, ngunit naging tunay malaya na nga ba ang mga Pilipino matapos ang 120 taon? Hindi ba ang mga patakarang pampulitika at pang-ekonomiya na ipinatutupad sa atin ng ibang bansa ay kolonyal pa rin?

Nagkakaisa ang mga diksiyonaryo na ang katumbas ng salitang Ingles na independence ay “kalayaan, kasarinlan, pagsasarili, independensiya.” Maging sa mga poster at slogan ngayong KALAYAAN 2018 mula sa mga sangay ng pambansang pamahalaan ay iisa ang kahulugan nito, mas wasto na ating gamitin ang katangang “kasarinlan” na siyang layon natin upang makawala sa kolonyalismo at pailalim na panghihimasok ng ibang bansa. Mapa-US man yan o Japan, lalo na ang Tsina. Sa kasarinlan, kalayaan sa panghihimasok at pananakop ng ibang bansa ang ating pinag-uusapan.

Ang dokumentong Espanyol na binasa sa Cavite Viejo noong Hunyo 12, 1898, ay pinamagatang Acta de la Proclamación de la Independencia del Pueblo Filipino. Officially translated ito sa ating wika na may pamagat na “Katitikan ng Pagpapahayag ng Pagsasarili ng Bayang Filipino.” Sinasabi sa “Katitikan” na ang “mga naninirahan sa mga Islas Pilipinas” ay “malaya at nagsasarili [libres e independientes] at may karapatang maging malaya at nagsasarili.” At naniniwala naman tayo na tayo ay totoong nagsasarili na nagsimula daw kay Aguinaldo hanggang kay Duterte. Ang soberenya ay nananatiling nasa papel lang ‘ata.

Idinagdagdag pa ng “Katitikan” na “sila ay dapat lumaya sa pagsunod sa Korona ng Espanya; na ang lahat ng pampulitikang ugnay sa pagitan ng dalawa ay ganap na pinuputol at pinawawalang-bisa at dapat na maputol at mapawalang-bisa; at tulad ng alinmang malaya at nagsasariling Estado, mayroon silang ganap na kapangyarihan na magdeklara ng pakikidigma, makipagkasundo sa kapayapaan, magsagawa ng mga kasunduang pangkalakalan, pumasok sa mga alyansa, pangasiwaan ang kalakalan, at magpatupad ng lahat ng gawain at bagay na tungkuling ipatupad ng mga nagsasariling estado.”  Ganito sila sa Espanya noon, papaano naman tayo sa Tsina ngayon?

Sa isang usapin na lang tayo pumaling. Ang pambu-bully kamakailan ng mga Chinese Coast Guard sa ating mga mangingisda sa ating teritoryo sa Scarborough Shoal sa West Philippine. Maliban pa ito sa ka-traydurang pagtatayo nila ng mga pasilidad sa ating mga nasasakupang isla. Sa kabila nito, kani-kanina lang sa Kawit, sa pagdiriwang ng Araw ng Kasarinlan, mismong si Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ang kaututang-dila ni Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua. Hindi ba ito pinaka-nakaririmarim na tagpo sa makabuluhang araw na ito?

Hindi kaya sinadya ng mga nauna sa atin na i-interchange ang “kalayaan” at “kasarinlan” para iligaw tayo sa katotohanan na hindi pa tayo nagsasarili. At isa pa, dahil sa ang salitang “kalayaan” ay ‘sing lawak ng galaxy at  subject sa iba’t-ibang depinisyon, teorya, karanasan at pananaw na depende sa ating mga pinaniniwalaan, inihalili nila ito salitang “kasarinlan” na mas kongkreto at tuwirang tumutukoy sa pananakop at pakiki-alam ng isang bansa sa kapwa niya bansa. Bagay na gusto nilang i-tone down upang tayo marahil ay patuloy na mabuhay sa ilalim ng pundilyo ng ibang bansa hanggang sa wakas ng panahon. Well, produkto lamang ito ng aking kalayaan sa pag-iisip. 

Ang mamuno sa ilalim ng pundilyo ng ibang bansa (o tao man) ay pananatiling alingawngaw at anino na lamang ng iba. Tayo ay mananatiling pala-asa, walang angas, pala-suko at atubiling bansa.

Gabayan nawa tayo ng kaluluwa ng ating mga bayaning nagpakamatay at pumatay para sa ating kasarinlan. Mabuhay ang totoong kasarinlan ng Pilipinas!

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Photo: DFA

Of Judging and the Entertainment Kiss

Each time a high government official appears in public, the good citizen among the crowd must think like a courtroom judge and not a freak show audience. Governance must not be reduced to entertainment. 

Incidentally, in any court of law, buffoonery is greatly considered contemptuous. With few exemptions, here in this ever-seeking-for-justice country of ours, some incumbents or aspirants for national political positions are pundits in their own buffoonery!

Every now and then, a controversy or scandal transpires from public appearance of our sitting president, be it in Davao City or in Seoul. About the so-called Korean Kiss, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Assistant Secretary Marjorie Jalosjos herself said that it was “just part of entertainment”. Well, entertainments too are subject to judgments and criticisms. Judges scattered around every corners of the earth coming in different political colors and brain sizes.

Taking the risk of stepping into the realm of lawyers, I would like to share some thoughts from a book I read some days back. The book is titled “Law and Philosophy” (Appleton Century Craft, NY; 1970; pp 408 – 409) by Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr. He was a United States federal judge. Born in Houston, Texas, Hutcheson received an LL.B. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1900, according to Wikipedia. There’s a chapter there discussing types of intuitive judgments rendered by courtroom judges and what produces them. The author categorized them into five types.

The Intuitive Judgment, according to Hutcheson, is a product of a hunch or a feeling been reasoned out. The Aleatory Judgment is a product of something depending on the throw of a dice or on chance, random and a thing that avoids thinking. Pusillanimous Judgment is the product of fear of apprehension of displeasing authority or showing a lack of courage. Venal Judgment is a product of bribe, corruption sometimes offered but of late, often demanded. And lastly, Asinine Judgement which is plainly a product of an ass!

The 5^th  item is our usual doughnut, complete with its hole…

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Photo: mfwa.org.

Sources: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/998783/dilg-exec-on-presidents-seoul-kiss-just-part-of-entertainment?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1528433235

Remigio Agpalo & the Local Dance

Only a tiny portion of our province's population was able to know the legacy of the late Prof. Remigio E. Agpalo, PhD, the political scientist who was born in Occidental Mindoro.

To commemorate his 90^th birth anniversary this coming Sunday, this little space is this lowly blogger's humble tribute to him.

Born in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro June 10, 1928, 3rd of 8 children, born to Paulino Agpalo and Paulina Escalona, Remigio studied college at the University of Maine and returned to the Philippines in September 1952 to fulfill his promise of sharing his gift of academic quest and taught at UP in 1953. He later went to University of Indiana and took his doctoral studies. Agpalo taught at the University of the Philippines (UP) for almost 50 years and was laid to rest February 10, 2008. He succumbed to prostate cancer. He was 79.

The political picture that Agpalo emphasized decades back remains relevant even today. In his book “Pandanggo sa Ilaw : The Politics in Occidental Mindoro” published in 1963 he wrote, “The elite exploited these (Filipino traditional) values and brought them into play, together with their material potentials, to their own advantage. The unsatisfactory economic situation, the general poverty of the population, the insufficient education … as well as broadening gap between the elite and the masses…” (pp. 83). For me it is a very imaginative as well as accurate description or emblem of how politics is practiced in the whole country until today.

The Pandanggo sa Ilaw is a native folk dance where his political concept is derived. The dance which originated in Lubang Island is described in terms of the following according to Agpalo himself: 1) the participant dancers, 2) the objects the dancers carry or hold, and 3) the way the participants dance. The participants are male or female, two or more of them, who carry lighted glass oil lamps on their heads and the back of their hands. Dancing to the rhythm of lilting music, they sway and balance, go around the stage or dance floor, intermingle, manipulate the glass lamps with amazing and spectacular deftness, and maneuver for dramatic and arresting position on the floor. Swift of hands and agile of feet, the dancers do not trip or drop the glass lamps that they carry.

Here’s the analogy: The dancers are the politicians (and their staunch supporters and the citizens in general) and the glass lamps are the political powers while the stage is the political arena. Agpalo wrote further, “The movement of the political actors can be compared to those of the dancers; these consist in skillful manipulations and manuevering. For this reason, the political actors, like the dancers, are fascinating to watch.”  In his another book called "Adventures in Political Science" at full length he explained, “Unlike the politics of ideology where the ideological doctrines guide, direct, and dominate the political process, there are no doctrines guiding and directing the political actors in Pandanggo sa Ilaw politics. Thus, elections, legislations, administration, adjudication, and other processes of the government in this system are not ideology-oriented ... What interests them are personal and practical matters -- what favors can be allocated to supporters and burdens imposed on non-supporters; what personal traits certain public officials or citizens have or do not have; what party can grant favors and what group cannot give patronage; and the like. In other words, Pandanggo sa Ilaw politics is oriented towards personality, practicality and material goods." Now, who says that this isn’t true today? Our “dancers” (read: political leaders) been lingering on the “stage” (read: political positions) almost for life resting the proverbial “glass lamp” (read: political power) in their hands endlessly amusing and fascinating the “audience” (read: citizens) with stunts and trivialities in between, as emphasized by their critics.

Dr. Remigio Agpalo did not stay in Occidental Mindoro most of his life except during his twilight years and that's maybe the reason why only a few of us know him. He was called the Father of Political Science in the Philippines and the leading political scientist during his time. Dr. Remigio E. Agpalo’s invaluable collection of books were turned over at the DLSU Library in June 10, 2013 and afterwards, Ms. Christine Helen Perez-Eustaquio, the daughter of Dr. Agpalo, delivered the Remarks of Circumstance and shared some stories she has about her father. Well while known in the intellectual circle, only a few knows Dr. Agpalo in his province because he did not stay here for long.

Only last month, I stumbled from the web a book titled “Dance & Politics: Moving Beyond Boundaries” (Manchester University Press, 2017) by Dana Mills. Mills, stressed that, “Our political world is in constant motion. Our lives are continually shifting. Collective communicative structures which have held us together in various forms of communal life are relentlessly being challenged by new languages.” In our context, I believe that these “new languages” suggest aspirations of the common people, the masa, and the non-hardliners. What they hoped is a first-hand dance with different dancers on the deep-rooted stage holding firmly and efficiently the sacred but desecrated glass lamp. 

Mills’ book expounds on why dance is political and how it can articulate political perspectives. As such, therefore, searching for and learning a new “dance”, like searching for and learning new politics, provide opportunity and outlet for those who are fed-up of this national situation...

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Photo: https://www.geni.com/people/Remigio-E-Agpalo/6000000027893713165

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN3Wa-FHyzo

http://librarynewsette.lasalle.ph/2013/06/remigio-e-agpalo-collection.html 

http://newbooksnetwork.com/dana-mills-dance-and-politics-moving-beyond-boundaries-manchester-university-press-2017/