THE AQUINO administration, along with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, stumbled yet again on its “excuse trail” and “excuse detours” with another excuse, this time regarding its flood control system for Metro Manila.
“This can’t be done overnight.” I don’t even need to recall who actually said those words because these are what Filipinos have been hearing from everyone in Malacañang for quite some time now. The excuse has been given not only in relation to the flood control system; it’s the same excuse that’s being used relative to high poverty rates, the growing number of unemployed Filipinos, and the long-running problems in the Bureau of Customs and in Philippine education. This “This can’t be done overnight” excuse is repeated every time there is a problem the Aquino administration has to address with a degree of urgency.
Malacañang should refrain from giving excuses for its inability to solve perennial problems because I’m sure many Filipinos are getting sick of its excuses. It should instead just address and act on the problems and produce the intended, expected results. By saying that the flood control system will take years to install, the Aquino administration is basically telling Filipinos to expect more floods to hit the country and cause millions of them to suffer.
Had the Aquino administration done a better job at providing assistance to those affected by floods, that would have helped. However, based on past events, we can only conclude at this point that the poor, the ones most affected by the floods, have been the most often ignored by the Aquino administration.
—MIKE LOWREY,
det.mike.lowrey@gmail.com