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| True American grit ... and true gripes! |
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| - Griffin reports - |
| Asian Spirit BAe ATP - Low-season equipment to Basco! |
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| Asian Spirit BAe 146-100 - High-season equipment to Basco! |
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| Prepare for landing! |
| Mahataotown and the Abad-Macapagal Ship Shelter! |
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| Mahataotown and the Ship Shelter with the 2-lane Interior Highway to Itbudtown in the foreground! |
| A quarter of Ivasays don't have water! Here is something else to chew on. Today, right now as you are reading this article, fully one-fourth of the population of Basco does not have water! On the island, every town except Itbud has a water shortage or no water. The political where-with-all In the province, the islands of Itbayat and Sabtang don't have running sweet water for their |
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| ARCHIVES |
| ITBUD - [First the bad news ... then the good!] Hello and good day to you all! I am going to say this: As a reporter I would not be eating too well now. To be specific, I think I would be fired by all reputable and non-reputable papers. I just find sitting down and writing the news boring and I'm glad I was a Coastie and a firefighter; I do better than I say. I have always subscribed to the theory that "actions speak louder than words." I would like to take this time to thank all of you that have stopped by and written to say how much you have enjoyed reading my articles and I hope that there will be many more to come - just not every week or month! First the bad news! Well, elections came and went, the old was voted out and the new came in, and started with all of the same mistakes all over again, and they will be replaced by others in the future, and they will do the same things too, and things will always be the same as they have always been, and nothing will be done because if the politicians actually did accomplish something of great importance, then they wouldn't have anything to promise the next time they have elections. And, that's a sad state of affairs for this island and province to have. The people here deserve so much more, and what they have now is because of the hard work of the business community, not the government or its bureaucrats. When government officials point at something and say I got you this, the first thing that runs through my head is: what were you thinking when you came up with this idea. A Good Example: At the airport we now have a very beautiful terminal and inspection area. It cost millions of pesos to build and the contractor doesn't even live here on the island, but the workers that did most of the work do! But the big question is why wasn't the money spent procuring the land needed to make the runway longer, and an all-weather landing strip, with lights? What's first, the egg or the chicken? populations. The solution stares the governor in the face every morning: Water for the whole island and the way to provide it to the other islands, but is there the political where-with-all there to provide the population and visitors to the island with clean drinking water? I will have to retract something that I wrote earlier in this article. I have found out that they did drill a well in Basco and they did find water. The only problem is the water is so hot that they could boil an egg in seconds. But, when God hands you a lemon, what are you suppose to do? - That's right, you make lemon juice! Not here; the officials' sealed it up, and walked away, after all no one has a use for hot mineral water! For my readers, one of the most expensive resorts that you can go to in the States is a mineral hot springs in Colorado, but I don't think you will be seeing that here. No, we seal off gold and diamond mines here because we don't think ahead here, the fact is we don't think at all, and we don't need the revenue to help the people of the island have a better future. There is a new protected weather port in Mahatao; it has no running water, no electricity; it has no sewage facilities and it has no sanitation facilities; and garbage is piling up in on one end already, and it's only been opened a few weeks. Again, thinking wasn't used when planning this venture. Of course, in all fairness I have to say that they are still working on the port so maybe they will get around to these small details. (This is American sarcasm in case my readers don't pick up on it.) There is no infrastructure in Batanes province; what is to pass as an infrastructure exists only in the minds of the politicians and their cronies. Example: I'm walking up Amboy St. in Basco talking to someone about the need for traffic control in some of the towns, and he is laughing at me and telling me that traffic control isn't needed in Batanes because there aren't any vehicles to control. WHAM, he is run down by a man on a bicycle that wasn't paying any attention to what's walking into the intersection, then as they are picking themselves up, a motorcycle plows into them mess. No one was hurt seriously except for some bruises and bumps and a large hurt ego. But the guy got mad at me because I now have a point, and he looked bad. Go figure! The Highway System! On the main highway that runs around to Imnajbu from Basco, there are points that are so narrow that some of the newer trucks that the Highway Department owns have torn off their fenders or gotten stuck. What is sad is the explanation that is given to cover up this gross inadequacy: "Well, it's always been this way!" Kind of reminds me of Lemmings. In case you don't know about Lemmings, they are the little rodents that run off the cliffs because they always have. ... then the good! But what's good that;s been happening, you ask? Well, we have a new type of four-engine jet that comes and goes from Manila to Basco in an hour. It's some sort of STOL aircraft; very quite and comfortable, and carries 80 passengers. I've flown twice in it and I have to say I was impressed. I will give you a warning: If there are not a lot of passengers, they will switch aircraft and fly the older 40 passenger turbo-prop. As of this writing the flights are Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Subject to change, of course, without notice! Saturday is an iffy proposition and I'm not sure that it's long for use. I think it is a test by the Asian Spirit Airline to see how it will go over, and they still use the four-engine turbo prop for Saturdays run. We also have a gas station where you can pump your own gas and diesel fuel. Several new picnic areas have been built around the island and are in use a lot. BATANELCO has been working hard and we have lots of electricity most of the time. I'm sure that in time they will figure out how to install a grid system and outages will be even fewer. With all of the electrical engineers that they have, I'm sure that it is just a matter of time before we see smooth electrical power. Oh shoot, there is that sarcasm again. [Take it easy, Big Griff. - TIR] They don't have electrical engineers that work directly for BATANELCO. Merit hiring isn't something we do here. The best qualified are not in positions to help solve the problems that need resolving and because people that are not qualified to be in control are in control, and the problems mount higher, and aren't tended to. Will you please leave my office! I once asked the question, "Why don't you run your main power lines through the interior next to the road that is being improved everyday?" Answer by one of the people in charge: "Because if we put the lines through the interior, when they break we can't get to them."Question: "They are next to the road that is in better shape than the perimeter road - wider and better maintained." Answer: "Will you please leave my office!" [The original plan was through the Interior, but there was too much power-politics! It's just not right that Ivana, the former seat of government, was suddenly at the end of the run! - TIR] What I suspect is that if the power goes through the interior, this would make Ivana at the end of the power run and subject to frequent interruptions in electricity. So that's not going to happen. Of course, if they tied the two lines together, they would have a loop system and fewer interruptions, and the beginning of a grid system! [The original plan through the Interior could have been more efficient! Many politicians think micro rather than macro!] [We're seeing it again in the cellular phone system? The topography, notwithstanding, does it take that many cells and/or cell sites and still no complete coverage of the tiny island? - TIR] OH, wait I'm sorry this idea didn't originate from an official with BATANELCO. At the end of the term of Governor Gato, there was an awards ceremony in Manila with many awards given to BATANELCO, and its senior Leadership for outstanding this and that. If it operates in the red all of the time, what's outstanding about that? I paid a sizable chunk of money for the transformer that helps with the power to my house. It's supposed to be mine, but each month I pay an additional amount: "For electricity I don't use." And all of the people that have transformers for business and home are charged this additional amount and BATANELCO still gets awards! A quote from "Quotations" by Dr. Laurence J. Peter - "Leadership is action, not position." --- Donald H. McGannon Just a thought! ______________________ Pass the word to your families here that helmets are meant, to be worn and not carried. Our dear friend Manning Baldomar here in Itbud removed his helmet and had a low speed accident. He probably will not be the same if he recovers, and today, riding down the road was a man with his wife/girlfriend on the back of the motorcycle; neither had a helmet on and the man was carrying his. The head is not a bouncing ball, people. As bad as the roads are here, I would wear full gear. Take care folks and see you soon on the byways of Batanes. - Mike Griffin, December 2007. |