More harm than good in building spree

About a month ago, we voiced our fears regarding the government’s flagship program “Build, build, build,” that the industry and bureaucracy are not ready in terms of competence and integrity for this program.

Not that these assets we will never have, but that these intangibles are the necessary foundations we must first strive to build, before we can embark on a massive building spree of mortar and brick structures.

Now, serious questions about the P3.2-billion Chico River Pump Irrigation Project sadly points to the validation of our fears.

In fact, two points highlight the concerns we raised. One deals with integrity as exemplified by the confidentiality clause, which is absolutely a no-no for a government project and could only mean there is something wrong to hide about the project.

The other deals with competence and probably integrity, too: the hiring of a Chinese company to do the job.

The Duterte administration is pursuing its programs at breakneck speed like a runaway train, but seemingly without a well-conceived plan of execution. If left unchecked, “Build, build, build,” like “Operation Tokhang” before it, may end up doing more harm than good.

CRISTINO S. SANTOS, [email protected]