By Brian Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has reiterated that immediately acting on the problem first rather than pointing fingers remains as his guiding principle on crisis management.
In the third part of the “BBM Podcast Episode 2” aired on Friday, the President discussed his administration’s initiatives and directives geared towards addressing various issues affecting the masses, particularly in the energy and transportation sector.
“I’ve always approached ‘yong mga problemang ganito, mayroon lang ako laging in my head na sinasabi, ang una mong reaksiyon: Fix the problem, not the blame,” Marcos said.
In response to the power crisis in Siquijor, the Chief Executive said that the two generator sets deployed from Palawan to the island province are already functioning and the government has also provided fuel.
“Ang mahalaga rito, hindi mo pinaparusahan ‘yong tao. So kahit na kung sino ang nagkamali, hindi ‘yan ang priority natin. Ang priority natin eh makapag-deliver ng kuryente sa bawat bahay. And that’s what we did,” he said.
Marcos added that the review is also underway to determine whether the Siquijor Island Power Corporation (SIPCOR) was compliant with the terms of the contract for power distribution in the province.
“Nire-review na namin. Alam mo like any contract, kung non-compliant ka, that breaks the contract,” he pointed out.
Marcos admin focused on restoring San Juanico Bridge’s normal operations
During the same interview, the President warned concerned government officials to raise the load limit of the San Juanico Bridge to 12 tons from the current three-ton limit for all vehicles by December or they might get axed.
“Ang schedule namin dapat by December, before the end of the year, ang puwede nang gamitin ng sasakyan hanggang 12 tons,” Marcos said. “That’s a test. Sabi ko ‘pag hindi niyo natapos ‘yan, tatanggapin ko ‘yong resignation niyo.”
According to Marcos, every bridge needs major maintenance every three years—however maintenance works on the San Juanico Bridge have been neglected for a long time.
“Nagulat ang aming mga engineers. Sabi nila, ‘malala na pala ito.’ Dahil ’yong maintenance sa nakaraang ilang dekada hindi naman ginawa. Sabi ko, bakit? Wala bang record ‘yan? May record naman. Lahat nung job order completed. Pero tingnan mo, puro kalawang. Hindi nila ginawa,” the President lamented.
As an emergency measure, a Roll-on, Roll-off (RORO) cargo ferry system is currently in operation to reroute heavy vehicles that are not allowed to cross the bridge, giving priority to trucks carrying perishable goods such as food supplies.
“Sorry na nangyari ito at alam ko ang nararanasan ninyo, nararanasan ng mga transport operators, ang nararanasan ng ating mga negosyante. Kaya’t aasahan ninyo talagang minamadali namin na maayos kaagad ito,” Marcos said.
“And we’ll make sure that you will be safe. We will bring the services of San Juanico [Bridge] back to normal.”
-jpv
