‘Made of steal’

There goes the meme of all memes. Filipinos, as usual, turn to humor when things turn bad or ugly, as a way of dealing with all that’s happening in this surreal nation of 120 million, and in the hope that it might actually get the attention of incensed and corrupt politicians.

“Mahina talaga ang tulay, kapag made of steal,” says one meme that’s been going around. A friend shared it with me, posted on the Facebook account named Kkmpnk.

It didn’t specify which bridge, but the post, dated March 3, came on the heels of the collapse of a section of the 990-meter-long Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela on Feb. 27.

The bridge collapsed when the third span of the structure, measuring 60 meters, gave way, leaving six people injured.

Six people, including a child, were injured and taken to the hospital, according to the Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Official, according to The STAR’s March 1 report.

Imagine crossing over a bridge and suddenly, it collapses.

What a joke and what a dangerous situation we’re in. Even more dangerous is that it could happen anytime, anywhere to anyone of us, given the quality of infrastructure we’re seeing in the country today.

The Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge was a decade in the making and at a staggering cost of P1.25 billion. Add to that some nearly P300 million for retrofitting before it was opened on Feb. 1. And yet, it collapsed in less than a month after it opened.

I wouldn’t be surprised if authorities find corruption as the culprit for this substandard bridge. We already know that taxpayers’ money is being moved around for infrastructure projects that translate to hefty kickbacks for our politicians.

Ask the big contractors and they will tell you how it works and how it has gotten so much worse under the current administration. They will tell you that because of the commissions our politicos are asking from them, they are forced to cut down somewhere, including on quality materials.

As our March 1 editorial pointed out, “The collapse of the bridge comes on the heels of legal challenges before the Supreme Court over the padding by Congress of the DPWH budget for 2025 from what was originally proposed in the National Expenditure Program submitted by the budget department, making the amount larger than the appropriation for the entire education sector, in violation of the Constitution.”

This is why when the rains come our roads turn into lunar craters. Flood control projects are a favorite source of kickbacks because they’re impossible to monitor. But obviously, with the heavy floods that submerge Metro Manila whenever there is a heavy downpour, these projects clearly don’t serve their purpose.

Investigation

President Marcos must show the public that he will not tolerate this. It’s time for authorities to conduct a full investigation into the matter.

The Senate is planning to do just that. They should call the contractors and the suppliers.

The challenge, though, is for the Senate to actually hold the culprits accountable, even if they turn out to be their fellow lawmakers.

Last year, the Magapi Bridge in Balete, Batangas also collapsed, and before that, in 2022, the Bantilan Bridge, also in Batangas, collapsed, as did the Carlos Romulo Bridge in Bayambang, Pangasinan.

There were many similar incidents in other parts of the country. A full investigation must indeed happen to check if our contractors are compliant with current infrastructure standards.

This isn’t just about having roads riddled with potholes or ugly, pedestrian-unfriendly footbridges. It’s about people’s lives.

We put our people’s lives in danger if we continue to allow contractors, in cahoots with politicians, to build roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects that are “made of steal.”

Game of steal

Speaking of stealing, the board of directors of this posh and uber exclusive golf club is deliberating on allegations of cheating lodged against some golfers during a recent prestigious tournament.

If found guilty, the cheaters will either be kicked out of the club or suspended. The board was scheduled to meet last night (Wednesday, March 5).

It is possible that by the time this piece comes out, the board will have already decided on the matter.

Here’s what I heard. The accused members did not follow the cross-scoring rule, which in golf tournaments means that players do not score their own game. Instead, the other team in their flight keeps their score to ensure fairness.

In this case, the golfers supposedly took both scorecards and recorded the scores for everyone.

“This is a no-no in any golf competition,” club insiders said.

Another issue is the “gimme putts.” In competitions, a putt must be completed by holing the ball. In casual games, players agree to count a putt as made without actually putting it in the hole, possibly improving their score. While some tournaments allow gimmes, this particular competition did not and yet, it allegedly happened.

Thus, to put it simply, the main issue is that the golfer or golfers involved allegedly did not properly score their games.

Not surprisingly, members of this exclusive club aren’t happy, especially because golf is supposed to be a gentleman’s game. Cheating is a no-no. They say that whoever cheats in golf can cheat anywhere.

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Email: eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.