'Remedyo' vs. 'sistema'

Time flies so fast. I can’t believe I’ve been based here in Singapore for eight months now. It seems like it was just yesterday when my wife Teemy and I were packing our stuff and preparing for our adventure here in the Lion City. And while the adjustment period was tough, I can now say that we are fully acclimated to our new world. Finally, we’re all settled in.

This doesn’t mean that we’ve become jaded about Singapore. I am still awed by this amazing country’s system and efficiency. I still marvel at the Esplanade Center, Sentosa Island, the Night Zoo, and the Marina Bay area. When I feast my eyes on these tourist spots, I can’t help but be mesmerized. Of course, just like any other place in the world, Singapore is not a perfect country. On occasion, riding the MRT can be hell, not only because it’s packed, but because sometimes the mixture of body odors is just not right. No matter how efficient they are here, they still can’t perfect the art of deodorizing an MRT train. There are also a number of areas in Singapore that are not that clean. If you go to Chinatown or places like Geylang or Arab Street, you’d never think you’re in Singapore. Recently, Mas Selamat, a militant extremist who was detained in a Singapore jail, was able to escape, leaving everyone to wonder how the heck he was able to bolt out of the clutches of the Singapore police. Two weeks ago, there was this big brouhaha about a member of parliament firing the Singapore table tennis coach for not being around when one of his players lost in the Beijing Olympics. There was a lot of finger-pointing and badmouthing. It felt like I was watching the regular POC and PSC debates, which usually come right after every failed sports campaign. So when you think the Philippines is such a bummer, don’t fret — Singapore has a negative side, too.

What makes Singapore so efficient and so nice to live in is that Singaporeans are very good at creating systems — and once they’ve created an efficient system, they make sure that everyone sticks to it. Whenever they are faced with a problem, they don’t look for a patch-up solution; they try to look for a systematic, long-term solution for it.

One example is the bus and MRT payment system. What they’ve done is create a centralized payment system whereby you just buy what they call an “ez-link” card — load it up with money (just like what we do with our mobile pre-paid cards) — and that becomes their “transportation wallet” with the exact fare being paid every time you use it.

­ Another simple system they’ve implemented that makes riding public transportation a breeze: front door for entrance, back door for exit. Thus, on a bus stop, you don’t have chaos with people trying to go down and get on through the same bus door. I’m not sure if this system can work in Manila.

One thing that amazes me here is the traffic system. Sure, there are occasional jams, but two-hour traffic jams are unheard of. You know what they did? They taxed cars heavily. In Manila, you can own a Toyota Vios for around P700,000. Here, a Vios costs close to P2 million. Even if you’re rich enough to own a car, they will try to discourage you from driving it by imposing a lot of road taxes and fees. Result: no traffic and they get to move around more freely and thus become more productive.

In the Philippines, we have a different approach to problems. What we do is to cut off the pain at the soonest possible time. In other words, hahanapan natin ng remedyo. On one hand, this is what’s great about us as a people — we are resilient, we find ways, we don’t need a manual on how to do things. The problem with remedyo is that we don’t plan on how to avoid the problem in the future.

A classic example is the pothole situation. Every year on EDSA the same potholes come up. In fact, I can be very specific. In the southbound lane of EDSA, between Guadalupe and Estrella Street, I’ve already memorized in my mind where the annual potholes will appear. They will always come out at the spots where there’s a patch of low-quality asphalt. Every year, when the rains come, these holes reappear and then some guys will do a quick asphalt patch-up job — and then the next year the holes will be back. Why can’t we cover the entire EDSA with grade-A asphalt that lasts for years, like the stuff they used on the North Expressway?

Our ability to have diskarte does us good, but we shouldn’t limit our God-given talents by simply coming up with instant remedies. If we can find remedyos for the short-term, what stops us from trying to find remedyos for the long-term?

We have to learn our lessons from the past. Look at New Orleans. They knew exactly what to do when Hurricane Gustav was approaching this time. Their new levees held up and their new drainage system worked well.

So whether you are facing a problem at work, in your family, or in a community project, harness your creativity at finding long-term solutions. You have it in you. You are a Filipino. You have it in your DNA.

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Thanks for your letters, folks! You may e-mail me at rodhnepo@yahoo.com