Built not to last

Finally, a respite from traffic-causing road reblocking — tearing up sections of a damaged concrete pavement, repairing the base layer, and then pouring a fresh concrete surface layer.

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Way back in January 2009, the World Bank had debarred seven contractors, three of them Philippine firms and four Chinese, plus one person from bidding for WB-funded road projects.

This was after the multilateral lender established collusive bid-rigging for contracts under phase one of the Philippine National Roads Improvement Program, which was partly funded with a $150-million loan from the World Bank.

The debarments were for periods ranging from four to eight years, but one Philippine firm, Manila-based E.C. de Luna Construction Corp. and its owner Eduardo C. de Luna were permanently debarred. Today the company is still operating in the country, and is still building roads.

For a long time, the World Bank had considered corruption a political problem. It began directly linking corruption to underdevelopment - and a major hindrance to its work - only in the late 1990s, beginning with a speech in 1996 by then WB president James Wolfensohn who described corruption as a “cancer.”

Among the WB’s early findings in its studies was that road projects were favorite sources of corruption in the developing world. The quality of the road network, the Bank noted, is often an indicator of the level of corruption in a country.

We can see this in our looted Philippines. For as long as I can remember, I have wondered why our roads are a patchwork quilt of disjointed construction and repair work.

It’s not unusual to see patches of concrete pavement laid side-by-side with asphalt along a five-kilometer road stretch. Potholes and cracks on concrete are also repaired with asphalt, and vice versa.