(DISCERNING readers of a cerĀtain age would call it a senior moment. But when I wrote in this space last Thursday, July 29, that ChiĀnaās GDP of US$10,000 is second highĀest in the world, it was plainly a misĀtake, no excuses, no seniority issues. Ten thousand dollars is NOT Chinaās GDP, itās Chinaās per capita income!)
Make no mistake about it, it looks like President Duterteās order to mayĀors and LGUs to āreclaim all public roadsā is a big deal to them, a colosĀsal production that required a meetĀing with the Department of Interior and Local Government and a memo instructing them to finish the job in 60 days, or face suspension.
At first, the order was to clean up in 45 days, then like whimpering chilĀdren begging for candy instead of a spanking, the mayors were given 15 more days because they needed time to address āproblematic issues.ā Hah, the mayors are the problem. Look at them, look at the mayor of Manila, who did it on his own and cleared DiĀvisoria in 45 hours, without the backĀing of MalacaƱang, DILG, or PNP.
Sixty days to remove obstructions on the streets? Are those roadblocks the size of atoms and molecules that cannot be seen with the naked eye? Are they not big enough, many enough, troublesome enough? Sixty days is long enough to forget an orĀder, or is that what the mayors need? For Secretary AƱo to be so busy with other things that he will forget his own memo?
I was in a town in Cavite not far from Tagaytay City at 3 p.m. last Wednesday, a regular working day. On a two-lane street, the church, market, school, stores and shops provided a lively backdrop for passing cars and pedestrians. Lively it was, but trafĀfic was choked by the usual obstrucĀtions ā illegal parking and waiting, vendors and their wares ā and an unusual sight. A funeral was going on right there on the sidewalk, spillĀing just several inches onto the street. Under a purple overhang, a uniformed band seemed to be waiting for their conductor or sponsor or the coffin to show up. The name of the funeral parĀlor was prominently displayed on the tent-like contraption.
All these I observed because the traffic allowed me to. Without the car slowing down, I wouldāve missed this unique, only-in-the-Philippines scenĀery.