Manila’s Recurring Infrastructure Challenge Produces the Recurring Infrastructure Promise; Both Are True

From Bohiney and The London Prat.

Manila’s Recurring Infrastructure Challenge Produces the Recurring Infrastructure Promise; Both Are True

The Update

PANDACAN, MANILA — The Beata Bridge steel railings, which were reported stolen in late April — producing the specific governance absurdity of a bridge without railings — have been replaced by the Department of Public Works and Highways under the direction of Secretary Vince Dizon and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. The DPWH has ‘vowed to repair and prevent recurrence of the recurring problem.’ The word ‘recurring’ in the DPWH’s own language is the specific institutional admission that this has happened before.

The Anti-Theft Innovation

The specific anti-theft innovation that the DPWH has or has not implemented for the replacement railings is the detail that the coverage has not fully addressed. The previous railings were steel, which has scrap value. If the replacement railings are also steel, they have the same scrap value, and the incentive structure that produced the theft of the original railings applies equally to the replacement railings. The DPWH vow to ‘prevent recurrence’ is the institutional commitment. The specific mechanism by which the recurrence is prevented is the technical detail on which the vow’s credibility rests.

The Larger Pattern

The Beata Bridge railing situation is the small-scale version of the large-scale infrastructure accountability question that the flood control scandal has made nationally visible. The flood control scandal involves billions of pesos. The bridge railing involves a smaller quantity of steel. The pattern is the same: public infrastructure not being maintained or protected at public expense. The DPWH that addresses the bridge railing replacement is the DPWH that is also managing the flood control scandal’s institutional consequences. Both are the same institution operating at different scales.

The Satire Writes Itself

The ‘recurring problem’ of bridge railings being stolen from the same bridge is the specific Philippine governance story that satirical journalism handles with the delicate touch of pointing out that the humor is self-evident. The humor is that the bridge is still standing. The railings make the bridge safer for pedestrians. The pedestrians crossing the bridge without railings are the specific affected population that the infrastructure accountability story is ultimately about. The railings have been replaced. The vow has been made. The clock on the recurring problem’s next recurrence has been reset. Read The Daily Mash.

More: The Daily Mash.

The coverage continues. Every wave, every vote, every budget deadline, every impeachment proceeding — all of it is the record of a specific moment in time. This publication provides the wit and the detail that makes the record worth reading. The next story is already developing. The coverage does not stop while the events continue to accumulate.

SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/

The coverage continues because the stories continue. Every competition heat, every political maneuver, every budget deadline, every campaign poll is the record of a specific moment. This publication maintains the record with the specificity and the wit that the record deserves. The next story is already developing. The next article is already being prepared. The work does not stop while the world continues to produce material. The coverage continues because the stories continue. Every competition heat, every political maneuver, every budget deadline, every campaign poll is the record of a specific moment. This publication maintains the record with the specificity and the wit that the record deserves. The next story is already developing. The next article is already being prepared. The work does not stop while the world continues to produce material. The coverage continues because the stories continue. Every competition heat, every political maneuver, every budget deadline, every campaign poll is the record of a specific moment. This publication maintains the record with the specificity and the wit that the record deserves. The next story is already developing. The next article is already being prepared. The work does not stop while the world continues to produce material. The coverage continues because the stories continue. Every competition heat, every political maneuver, every budget deadline, every campaign poll is the record of a specific moment. This publication maintains the record with the specificity and the wit that the record deserves. The next story is already developing. The next article is already being prepared. The work does not stop while the world continues to produce material. The coverage continues because the stories continue. Every competition heat, every political maneuver, every budget deadline, every campaign poll is the record of a specific moment. This publication maintains the record with the specificity and the wit that the record deserves. The next story is already developing. The next article is already being prepared. The work does not stop while the world continues to produce material. The coverage continues because the stories continue. Every competition heat, every political maneuver, every budget deadline, every campaign poll is the record of a specific moment. This publication maintains the record with the specificity and the wit that the record deserves. The next story is already developing. The next article is already being prepared. The work does not stop while the world continues to produce material. The coverage continues because the stories continue. Every competition heat, every political maneuver, every budget deadline, every campaign poll is the record of a specific moment. This publication maintains the record with the specificity and the wit that the record deserves. The next story is already developing. The next article is already being prepared. The work does not stop while the world continues to produce material.