At a Baptist Church gathering in his home province of Tarlac, President Benigno Aquino III once again displayed his fantastic disconnect from reality.
Said the President: “When I was asked about our lack of infrastructure, I felt tempted to say: What other infrastructure had we not put in place?”
At the third Asean Connectivity Forum held in Seoul last week, it was revealed the Philippines ranked eighth among 10 countries of the Asean in terms of quality infrastructure, better than only Vietnam and Myanmar.
President Aquino said that in some provinces, his administration even exceeded its target, resulting in the lack of cement, steel and workers like carpenters, electricians and plumbers. Gravel and sand are also scarce in some areas, the President said.
We wish we could share Mr. Aquino’s optimism, but it would run counter to common sense. We need not look farther than Metro Manila, where the punishing traffic has been blamed on the rising volume of vehicles without the corresponding improvement in road infrastructure.
Public transport has not just stagnated, but worsened under this administration, which outrageously still blames its predecessor for all the things—and they are many—it has failed to fix.
Mr. Aquino prattled on about various road projects in the works, but all we can see is the deterioration of the quality of life of the people and the inability to use their time and resources productively, precisely because of poor infrastructure.
We can, however, understand the compulsion the President may feel in citing gains where there are gaps. After all, he is courting the people’s votes for his anointed one, former Secretary Manuel Roxas II who would keep him out of jail while continuing the straight and narrow path besides, whatever that means.
What he perhaps does not get is how his imagined successes would always only highlight the actual failures. Imagine what a relief it must be to be rid of such a leader.
