Inside Philippine politics & beyond

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By Raïssa Robles

Did you miss me?

I missed you all. I missed writing. I missed blogging and posting on Facebook and Twitter.

When I got to Singapore, my laptop suddenly simply refused to boot up. My Globe roaming on the two mobile phones I brought totally failed.

Fortunately, YMCA Hotel at the end of Orchard Road where I stayed had wi-fi. So at least I could Face-time with an iTouch.

This must be a sign, I thought, to give digital life a rest and simply be a tourist.

This will be a meandering post where I will share what I saw and thought of.

First things first.

A surprise at NAIA airport

Physically, nothing much had changed at NAIA terminal.

Yes, the ladies’ washroom which President Benigno Aquino personally went to has much brighter lighting –

Lady’s Room at NAIA – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

Compared to months before –

Lady’s Room at NAIA in March 2011 – PHOTO by Raissa Robles

But no one bothered to  make the paint finish better in the ladies’ washroom.

A demonstration of our “puwede na” mentality right at the gateway of our capital: The lady’s washroom at NAIA after some renovation – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

As for the  Internet connection made available on six computers, I know that at least two of them don’t work –

Only one of these 3 free Internet PCs were working – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

So much for the travel tax being paid. Where does it really go?

One thing has changed, though, at the airport terminal. For the very first time, a Filipino immigration official asked me a question before she would stamp my passport to let me exit the country: “What’s your work?”

“Journalist,” I said.

“Are you working in government?”

“No,” I said. “Why are you asking? This is the first time I’ve been asked that question,” I told her.

She explained that immigration had become very strict in allowing government officials and employees to depart ever since former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tried to skip the country late last year. She said it was part of PNoy’s “Matuwid na Daan.”

I asked her if the same kind of strictness applied to those working in the presidential palace. Yes, she said. In fact they had a recent case where an underling of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa tried to leave the country and when told that a travel order from a superior was needed, Ochoa sent an immigration official a text message saying the underling had his go-ahead.

But the immigration official did not budge until Ochoa faxed a signed letter granting the underling official leave and allowing overseas travel.

The immigration officer told me that even foreign travels of any government employee of functionary in all three branches of government that was strictly for leisure or vacation now need authorization from higher-ups. She said barangay captains, congressmen, mayors and governors are not exempted from these requirements.

She told me this regulation has long been there but it was the first time it was being implemented to the letter since “Arroyo tried to flee.”

By the way, I definitely knew I was in Singapore when at Changi Airport, I overheard a little girl inside the washroom squeal in delight – “Ma, ang ganda ng CR.”

Changi Airport’s women’s washroom – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

 

Singapore’s newest attraction

Perhaps like many Filipinos who go there, half my time in Singapore was spent asking myself – What makes Singapore tick? Why did it develop by leaps and bounds while the Philippines regressed?

The Philippines has at least 13 huge natural waterfalls. Singapore has none.  But the very day I arrived there, the Singapore government switched on the country’s third man-made waterfall splashing down from a man-made mountain.

I learned about this new artificial waterfall by accident that Friday night when on my way to Kinokuniya bookstore I spotted a poster saying that my favorite singer Jason Mraz was performing one night at the Gardens by the Bay. I did not know where that was but I found my way by following the precise instructions printed on the poster.

I wasn’t able to get in because all 16,000 seats were sold out. However, I saw this weird structures in the distance and I told myself I would return to check them out. One of them turned out to be “The Cloud Forest” featuring a man-made waterfall and mountain.

The giant clam-shaped buildings contain The Cloud Forest and the Flower Garden in the Gardens of the Bay complex – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

It was marvelous. But I felt sad because it demonstrated yet again Singapore’s amazing ability to make something out of nothing; while the Philippines has the uncanny knack of turning something into nothing. For instance, we have made our verdant mountain range in Luzon balder than PNoy’s head. And we are now in the process of eroding our lovely black sand beaches by mining these for magnetite for shipment to China.

It seems to be a cursed gift we have – making lovely natural things into barren, ugly wrecks.

Perhaps, I thought, we could learn a thing or two from Singapore which became independent only in 1965, while we have been independent since 1946.

I found some of the answers I was looking for in “The Cloud Forest”, the first newly-opened attraction in the 54-hectare Gardens by the Bay complex on reclaimed land that seems to be Singapore’s version of a Disneyland on climate change and the environment.

Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay – Current Cost: S$1 Billion – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

Upon entering one of the domes shaped like a giant clam shell, a welcome blast of cold air greeted me. I realized that the dome containing “The Cloud Forest” or man-made waterfall and mountain was fully air-conditioned.

At first glance, the waterfall disappointed me because the falling curtain of water wasn’t thick enough like Philippine waterfalls.

Man-made waterfall falling from a man-made mountain – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

However, as I walked inward, I realized that the mountain and the waterfall were both green, technological marvels. Both had been entirely built from scratch on barren land. Keeping those thousands of plants alive and plastered on the mountain was a monumental task.

Plants have been coaxed to grow on the man-made mountain, sort of like a giant flower arrangement – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

Flowers on the mountain – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

A volunteer guide at the mountaintop explained to me that the plants on the seven-story mountain were arranged following their natural ecology. Those at the very top were plants and flowers normally found on tropical mountain crests, and so on.

I have taken lifts up the Eiffel Tower and roller coastered up and down Space Mountain and Indiana Jones’ Mountain of Doom in Disneyland Paris. The Singapore Cloud Forest was a refreshingly different experience. Unlike the Eiffel Tower where a walk down is only for the brave and strong, I could easily walk all the way up the Cloud Forest mountain because of the gentle elevation of the walkway that wound all the way up.

It was dizzying to look down, though. But I did in order to take photos.

It’s a long way down form the walkways – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

The walkway experience made me feel as if I were in the movie sets of “Avatar” and “Jurassic Park”.

Walkway in Cloud Forest – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

Walkway in Cloud Forest – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

Walkway in Cloud Forest – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

Bird sounds were even piped in to give the illusion of a tropical forest. I wonder if there are plans to put a robot dinosaur in there in the future.

The mountain is hollow inside and honeycombed with rooms and elevators. There are rooms to watch videos on ecology and climate change.

Was it worth the 20 Singapore Dollars I paid? Actually, the fee entitled me to go inside an adjacent “Flower Dome” but I had to skip that in order to experience Ku De Ta at the 57th floor – the rooftop of Tower 3 – of Marina Bay Sands Hotel nearby. It’s a cafe by day and a disco at night. It has a view of the adjacent infinity pool and the Singapore skyline.

The Infinity Pool at Marina Bay Sands Hotel – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

To go back to the Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore government has already spent at least one billion Singapore dollars on  the entire complex, which is far from finished.

Of that, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome cost S$400 million, according to the Singapore Straits Times. Putting in storm drains, power transmission lines, roads and walkways contributed to the cost overrun.

Keeping the entire complex in tip-top shape is expected to cost S$50 million yearly. The complex is projected to recoup its initial capital of S$1 billion in 10 years.

The complex tries to be a model of waste management and recycling. Plant waste is used to generate power, which cools underground water pipes, which in turn cools the air to a temperature far below Singapore’s humidity.

To help earn money, eateries will be placed inside the complex and the first store has been put up selling souvenirs such as exotic plants grown in the domes preserved inside hard plastic.

Marketing ecology, the Singapore way – shop at the Cloud Forest – PHOTO BY Raissa Robles

 

Lessons of The Cloud Forest

The building of The Cloud Forest is an example of how the top-down form of political leadership works wonderfully well in a city-state like Singapore. The idea of building a “Green” amusement and educational complex started in 2004. It took Singapore eight years to bring that concept into reality.

Compare that with the Philippine experience in constructing a third international airport terminal at NAIA. By 2004, the NAIA 3 was nearly complete and poised for operations. Eight years on, it has yet to be fully utilized due to unresolved legal, business and corruption issues.

Many Filipinos claim what our country needs is a “Lee Kuan Yew” to run our government.

I wonder if they know what they’re talking about.

Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore, a city-state  of 5.18 million people – of which three million are Singapore citizens. The Philippines is a country of nearly 90 million people spread over 7,100 islands. With around 700 square kilometers, Singapore is just a little bigger than Metro Manila (636 square kilometers).  But MM with 11.8 million people has over twice Singapore’s population.

I think  Singapore is sui generis – a former sub-state that was actually amputated by Malaysia from its federation of states in August 1965. With its back against the wall, Singapore had to sink or swim.

It was Singapore’s fortune to have Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister. PM Lee wrote in his book “The Singapore Story” (a copy of which I was given by a senior Singapore embassy official) that the Malaysian federation’s PM Tunku Abdul Rahman and other leaders took this extraordinary step of tossing out Singapore from the federation because they “feared that if ever they shared real political power with the non-Malays, they would be overwhelmed.”

Before Singapore was booted out of the federation through a simple resolution approved by the Malaysian Parliament, followed by a royal assent, leaders from Singapore had thought that “an independent Singapore was simply not viable,” Lee Kuan Yew wrote. “Now it was our unenviable task to make it work,” he said.

He noted then that at that time, Singapore was a small island of only 214 square miles with a native population of two million – three out of four of them of Chinese descent – then heavily dependent on the presence of former British colonizers to boost its economy.

Today, 47 years later, Singapore is a First World country that continues to outpace Malaysia. And of course the Philippines.

And this is partly thanks to Filipino talent that Singapore was able to harness. As Lee himself wrote in his book:

Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours…

How we’re different from Singapore

As I said, Filipinos have often longed for an authoritarian leader but when a leader starts behaving in authoritarian fashion, he or she immediately comes under severe criticism and is accused of being “dictatorial”. I guess our bitter experience with Ferdinand Marcos has thoroughly spoiled for us the concept of a strong leader who puts the interest of the nation above and beyond his family and himself.

Lee Kuan Yew himself had harsh words to say about Marcos whom he said  “pillaged his country for over twenty years.”

And so it seems there is this huge disconnect between our longings and our actual expectations of our leaders: They are not supposed to act on matters of national importance without prior consultation and consent of various sectors of society.

Ours is more of a bottom-up kind of political set-up – the very opposite of that of Singapore. For this kind of political  structure to work, however, an active citizenry is a must, along with an incorruptible press and judiciary.

For most of our nation’s political life, we have not had an active citizenry that would hold the feet of erring leaders to the fire.

But certain moments of our history shine because ordinary citizens took it upon themselves to be active politically. These are: during the Katipunan Revolt, the Philippine-American War, the resistance against the Japanese in World War II, the election of Ramon Magsaysay, Corazon Aquino, Joseph Estrada and Benigno Aquino III to the presidency.

Perhaps the trick which we haven’t quite mastered is to harness this –  and embed citizen action in all phases of our national life and not only during elections.

Do you know that in Hong Kong, one of the arguments that some officials use for not allowing the Hong Kong people to  elect the HK Chief Executive by direct vote is the Philippines? We are set up as an example of how democracy DOES NOT WORK.

It is high time we the people evolve our own brand of political governance, something really made in the Philippines, and show the world it works.

 

Comments

  1. “Philippines has the uncanny knack of turning something into nothing. For instance, we have made our verdant mountain range in Luzon balder than PNoy’s head.”– tawa me to the max dito..hehee

  2. hi ms.raissa, welcome back! we missed you a lot. so nice your post of singapore adventure!
    i think phils can do better. we are much larger in area and in people. :).

    • Speaking of pasalubong, Raissa’s gifts to us are her eyes and her writing. Through these, she allows us to see Singapore and the Philippines from unique perspectives, from toilet bowls to soaring waterfalls. The comparisons, whether valid or not, jog our consciousness and shape our awareness of what is possible. She wields her magnifying glass, so appropriately her gravatar, from the shoddy paintwork in restrooms to the ineffable beauty of flowers on a manmade mountain. In doing so, she transforms the magnifying glass into a temporal telescope whereby we can catch a glimpse of the future awaiting us. But only if are bold enough to seize it.

      • Awww. Gee.

        Thanks for the kind words, springwoodman. You wield your axe with precision.

  5. Raissa, I read a lot in your blog about weaknesses in the Philippines, a lot about better solutions in other countries. As a consultant I often met similar situations, employees complaining about company weaknesses. To improve however, the one building on strengths is much faster than the one fighting weaknesses. We have to go fast, the world is not waiting for us.

    The Philippines has great strengths. It’s gentle people, their enthusiasm, intelligence, solution oriention, strong values among the ordinary people, gaiety, ability to go on whatever happened… 7000 islands, geothermal energy, it’s location in the middle of the new world: Asia… and I could go on for many more paragraphs.

    Change too will have to come from the young generation, their picture of the future can only be a bright one. We cannot keep reminding them on how bad everything is here, how impossible the task, that will not unleash their talents. This administration is better than the previous one, imagine what the next one could be! We have champions in many fields, let’s foster the new champions and in many more fields!

    Can we not spent a blog on current day hero’s? On incredible first-rate realizations? (More than just getting rid of something bad.) On how to give more power to the next generation? (Enrile might be amazing at 89 (?) but he will not drive the needed change for very long, but I read about a 26 years old mayor in Palawan.) On what our strengths are and how we can capitalize on them?

    Welcome back, the better lighting in the lady’s room at NAIA is a good start!

    • Thank you very much, Coco.

      And don’t forget the tightened immigration watch on junketing government employees :)

      The other points you mentioned – I plan to do that. You read my mind.

  8. I’m a frequent traveler to Singapore as well as in other Asian cities but Singapore does not impress me much. Actually there is much Singapore in several places in the Philippines but not the other way around. Incheon airport in Korea and its amenities are way ahead of those of Changi’s. Since I’m a smoker, the smoking area in Changi is terrible, but that of Incheon is hotel-like. Singapore is litter-free? wait a second… you’ll find cigarette butts where most Indian-looking ppl are, and you will likely to follow how they throw or insert their litters. Traffic discipline? You have to adore more the Japanese. Instead of trying to copy or emulate Singapore, we can try all the good things of each of every Asian countries/cities. One thing I noticed that people tend to behave well when their surroundings are clean and comfortable. Pinoys abroad are more disciplined, law-abiders and willing to change. And that is something we can do back here in the Philippines.

    • Put the discussion in perspective. While there are a lot that are better than Singapore’s (Seoul’s airport, Japanese discipline, etc), the point is Singapore does A LOT of things better than the Philippines. Let’s make this a “how to make a better pinas” discussion, rather than a Sing bashing event.

    • Parang old joke lng na>>>wala kau sa LOLO ko>>>hehee..anyways..

      it ends up pa rin sa tanong na>>. What can I do about it?

  12. Welcome back Raissa!Thanks again for your amazing post with those awesome photos!

    I’m sure you had a wonderful time!You deserved it!

  13. When I was on my way to Singapore, I said to myself that I will test the vaunted efficiency of Singaporean bureaucracy by counting busted street lights and potholes. After 4 days and nights, not even one busted street light nor pothole was seen by me. AMAZING!!!

    A Singaporean friend told me that they do have busted street lights/road ruts but these are replaced/repaired within hours of complaints.

    In Feb of this year, I informed MMDA thru Facebook to call the attention of Bonifacio Global City regarding off color digital counters ( red for go signal ), I did not receive any acknowledgment nor action on their part. In May, I followed this up with MMDA thru Facebook as nothing has been done regarding my observation.To this date, nothing has been achieved. MORE AMAZING!!!

    Notice the difference?

    • Yes, and don’t forget to mention the outdated traffic signs….U-turn signs where there there are actually no u-turn spaces, no-left-turn signs where left turns are actually allowed. Haaay, ang layo natin.

    • @bengo

      You will be more dismayed if you heard or read from the news why Metro Manila suffered deep flooding last July 3, 2012 due to heavy rains even if it was just a low pressure area. The reason was 661 manholes and drain holes were covered with asphalt by the contractors during the asphalt overlaying of city streets. Now it is the subject of an investigation to determine if the DPWH supervising project engineers were remiss. Obviously they were.

      • Our public officials and employees,including evrybody involved can do such stupid things, days and nights. Why? Nobody is kicked out or fired like they didn’t know what hit them! Poor leadership! We or many of us lack even the most basic common sense. How can we expect to face sophiscated or complex situations?

      • As was done with an unfit Chief Justice, these erring city engineers should also be made accountable. Tama na yung pasensya and ok na yan mentality, everyone should be made accountable. They caused so much grief, and hardship to the citizenry not to mention the impact on economic loss dahil sa baha, pagsasara ng schools, offices, factories, etc. Dapat sampahan ng kaso, iresolve ang kaso ng mabilis and ikulong ang mga yan, para ipakita sa lahat na kailangan ng pagbabago sa mentalidad ng buong gobyerno at bansa. May sample na sa big fish, para matauhan lahat, sample naman sa mas maliit na isda. Who’s the Manila executive right now, di ba si Alfredo Lim. He was known for being tough in the past, kailangan he follows through on this! We need to stop mediocrity in all levels.

      • parang may narinig ako sa balita na sinagot na iyan ng dpwh. wala raw kasalanan ang contractors, ang main objective raw nila ay pagandahin ang kalye.
        ang puna ko, tila gatasan na iyang asphalt over-laying. hindi ako sang-ayon sa karamihan ng mga in-overlay. kakaiba para sa akin ang proseso dito.
        sa ibang bansa, ang overlay ay ginagawa pagkatapos kayurin ang ibabaw ng asphalt road. at nire-recycle ang asphalt material. sa ganoon, hindi naiiwanan ang mga existing structures at establishments. same elevation lang.
        at hindi rin matatabunan ang mga manholes.
        iyon ang totoong pagpapaganda.

      • It’s true [email protected] …APATHY to our government employees especially those who are not within the circle of graft and corruption but we have the said COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY that can be inflicted to the big bosses, the department heads, Governors, Mayors, district engineers, project managers and the likes…….. But how come most of them evades prosecution and conviction……. Hindi rin po magbibitiw sa katungkulan mga ito dahil makakapal ang mukha at wala sa mga bukabularyo nila ang ” courtesy resignation”…….. PINOY must not bargain his “TUWID NA DAAN” to his aligned LP and other parties, even to the extent of lossing Senatorial Candidates next election, ” Kung Hindi same same tayo , Hindi mawawala ang GRAFT sa ating bansa.

  14. Raissa, your Singapore short-break adventure informs me what Singapore is. N’er been there.I don’t know when. But thanks for sharing with me and us all the highlights of man-made beautiful things that great place can do. We can only envy the Singaporeans’ acts of determination to live like they should. A small space but like they have a big space!

    They envy us too! We don’t harness much of what we have. Instead, a lot of mess happens trying to do something good. We get lost doing it for reasons we know or don’t know. No focus. Nature gave us a lot Singapore couldn’t have. They envy us! They shake their heads we waste it.

    Imagine your short-break showed us Singapore made man-made waterfalls inside a man-made shells! With flowers and plants! In our “gardens” we cut ’em down and even century-old trees! In Tacloban, in Baguio it happened. Nobody until now knows who gave the “word” to do it. They shakes their heads on us! They envy us! We envy Singapore.

    Your article makes us dream of the illusions. Singapore’s dreams comes into reality! My belief is what Singapore can do we cannot do. Not in the next 50 years. We can only dream but cannot do. Thank you Raissa. We just need a person with a strong adjustable will to lead us through, not a dictator but just a strong-willed leader. For the time being, we don’t see that person, maybe never will in the next 50 or so years from now.

    Welcome back! You’re back to our “game” ‘Pinas’ style! Let’s have FUN! Singapore can envy us on it too!

      • A lot of guys in the provinces would love a writeup/pictorial on new and amazing sights in MMDA similar to what you’ve made about Singapore. Thing is, we seldom go to Manila and when we do we don’t know where to site-see.

  15. Thank you for posting the greatness and beauty of Singapore. How i wish i could experience the beauty of this place someday.