AS I write this piece, I am enjoying the view of the Saigon River from my hotel, the Majestic Hotel which dates to 1925. The main center of the city is dotted by beautifully preserved and restored colonial buildings that enhance the sense of history and culture of this nation that up to 1975 was devastated by the Vietnam War. Across the river, the frenzy of construction and real property development defines the skyline in what used to be decades ago a vast swath of rice paddies.
All over the city, one can feel the vibrancy and the energy of the Vietnamese people on the move. Towering above the Saigon skyline is the Landmark 81, the tallest building in Vietnam and one of the tallest in Southeast Asia reaching up to 462 meters tall with 81 floors. Right below the hotel, the Thu Thiem Pedestrian Bridge under construction begins to rise to cross the Saigon River to connect the Bach Dang Wharf from the main district, where I am, to the new urban development in New Thu Tiem riverpark. This 721-meter pedestrian bridge reminds me of my unforgettable experience jogging across the beautiful Passerelle Simone du Beauvoir in Paris crossing the Siene River from Parc du Bercy a few years ago.
At the cost of one trillion Vietnamese dong (about P2.4 billion), Thu Tiem Pedestrian Bridge is not funded by the Vietnamese government. In a remarkable demonstration of love for its country, the local company, Nutifood, donated it as its gift to the people of the city. Knowing this, it pains me so much to be reminded how our corrupt politicians together with their private sector cronies, instead of giving to the country, had instead plundered trillions of taxpayers’ money to line their pockets. As many have said, the reason for Vietnam’s rise is not because it is a communist country but because its people are more nationalist than communist. As long as the Philippines is run by corrupt people, both in the public and private sectors, who are devoid of love for our country, we shall continue to remain poor. At the scale of plunder that continues to grow every single budget year, it is not unthinkable that eventually, Laos and Cambodia may overtake us in economic growth. We can only hope that more Filipino companies give that much to the country. We can only hope that Filipinos be driven by love for our country than by being rabid and unthinking followers of politicians who profess love of country but in their actions and decisions have never cared for the country at all. Many corrupt Filipino leaders are prone to taking than giving. They look at their positions as entitlements and privileges rather than opportunities to serve the people.
Because of this lack of love for country, we continue to miss opportunities. Even before the construction of the Kalayaan Bridge which connects Bonifacio Global City to Ortigas, many, including myself, advocated for its design to give generous space for pedestrians instead of cars. Such advocacy to move people than cars is supported by scientific data that doing so will be more effective in decongesting traffic in the city. At the cost of P1.6 billion funded through government funds, the cost of the Kalayaan Bridge is a mere half of the P2.4 billion Thu Tiem Pedestrian Bridge donated by Nutifood to its country. For decades, our public works leaders have focused on moving cars instead of people. The lack of space for pedestrians and commuters reflects the lack of empathy of our leaders for the plight of ordinary Filipinos. Instead of lifting the dignity of Filipinos, our leaders glorify themselves in the privilege of being driven by chauffeurs and being exempted from long queues as VIPs. Hence, while making policies and in allocating government resources, these unpatriotic leaders make decisions to further their privileges instead of lifting the common people. Because with their privileges and entitlements they live entirely different lives from the rest of the population, they have no empathy for how majority of our people suffer.
How many of our leaders experience the hardships and hazard of daily commuting? How many of our leaders do grocery shopping? How many of our leaders experienced lack of electricity as a child growing up? Or lack of potable water? How many of our leaders experienced homelessness or understand living in slums? How many of our leaders grow and farm their food? How many of our leaders experience floods in every rainy season?
Vietnam emerged from war four decades ago, but its generation of leaders who suffered the vagaries of war that made millions of them refugees, are now driving innovation and economic development with empathy for their people and love for their country.
For the Philippines, our future lies on our capability to see through the misleading façade of politicians and choose the ones who truly possess love for our country — not by their words that can deceive but with their actions that build our dignity as a nation.
