Philippines Quake & Infrastructure Failure - Reminder That Corruption Kills

[Russlenat]

This photo is from Bogo City Hall in Cebu after the recent magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the Philippines. You can see how badly the structure was damaged, columns shattered, walls cracked, parts of the facade falling apart. It really raises the question: were these buildings ever built to proper standards, or were corners cut along the way?

The quake has already caused devastation:

■ At least 26 people reported dead, with injuries still climbing.
■ A sports complex collapsed in San Remigio during a basketball game, killing several, including coast guard and fire personnel.
■ Power and communication lines went down, and dozens of public buildings were damaged.

Now here’s the part that outsiders may not always see: in the Philippines, infrastructure projects are often linked to corruption scandals - substandard materials, ghost inspections, or padded budgets. Just weeks before the quake, the government even launched a probe into infrastructure corruption, promising that “no one will be spared.”

So while the earthquake was natural, the scale of destruction also exposes human failure. If buildings like city halls and sports complexes can’t even withstand this, how many lives were lost not only to nature, but to corrupt practices in construction?

Is this simply nature’s doing, or is it also the fault of corrupt systems that let unsafe buildings stand?

source ; https://www.onenews.ph/articles/with-photos-videos-magnitude-6-9-quake-jolts-cebu-multiple-deaths-reported

[Fortify]

I am not a building engineer and the only thing I know about earthquake protection on buildings is Japan does it very well. I'd guess that it takes a fair amount of extra expense and some high quality engineering in order to keep it standing. A 7 on the Richter scale quake is quite powerful and poorer nations generally don't have the resources to build everything to those standards. There may be some corruption involved, but what are the actual requirements for buildings to be able to withstand? Mother nature can be extremely violent and even the best equipped countries can suffer from collapses or downed power lines, so that is nothing new.

[Natalim]

Look at those columns- it really does look like fried chicken, full of breaded coating but the actual chicken inside is so small. That’s why we call it substandard. First it was the floods that exposed whether the infrastructure was durable or not, and now this one, it’s undeniable that it looks very substandard.

Makes you wonder how much budget was really given to this project by the government. Maybe only 20% of the actual cost was used, while the rest ended up in the pockets of the crocodiles (corrupt officials).

[Guccho]

I want to say something. 6.9 magnitude earthquake is strong but we know that in Japan or Chile government buildings do not collapse even after a larger quake. This is because they strictly follow building codes and there is very little room for corruption. Unfortunately in the Philippines the opposite is true with substandard materials bribed inspections and budget cuts being reported regularly.

I did a search and found that the 2013 Bohol earthquake also saw similar collapses. At that time the government promised to curb infrastructure corruption but a decade later the same tragedy happened again. I think nature is responsible for something different but if human mismanagement and corruption increase the death toll every time then calling it natural is only half the truth.

[Zlantann]

Is this simply nature’s doing, or is it also the fault of corrupt systems that let unsafe buildings stand?

Opposing political leaders might be using these disasters to score cheap political points. Natural disasters sometimes cannot be predicted, controlled or avoided. The magnitude might be far above what we think. But in the case of the Philippines, there have been reports of corruption. So it is possible that corruption contributed to the level of destruction that was suffered in that country.   

Look at those columns- it really does look like fried chicken, full of breaded coating but the actual chicken inside is so small. That’s why we call it substandard. First it was the floods that exposed whether the infrastructure was durable or not, and now this one, it’s undeniable that it looks very substandard.

Makes you wonder how much budget was really given to this project by the government. Maybe only 20% of the actual cost was used, while the rest ended up in the pockets of the crocodiles (corrupt officials).

Areas that are prone to natural disasters always have a high standard for buildings. The government building should be the standard for others since they have enough funds to make it solid. But when there is corruption, these buildings will be built with substandard materials. Sadly, the Philippine government is toiling with the lives of people because of criminal tendencies.     

[Russlenat]

Is this simply nature’s doing, or is it also the fault of corrupt systems that let unsafe buildings stand?

Opposing political leaders might be using these disasters to score cheap political points. Natural disasters sometimes cannot be predicted, controlled or avoided. The magnitude might be far above what we think. But in the case of the Philippines, there have been reports of corruption. So it is possible that corruption contributed to the level of destruction that was suffered in that country.   

Let’s set politics aside, it’s very clear in the picture that this is substandard work.
If we side with one political group, we’ll just end up being biased. we just need to look at what actually happened.

of course, it was a natural disaster, but this could have been prevented if the building was built to proper standards.

Aside from this, there was even a gymnasium that collapsed where many people died and got injured.
If it had been built strong enough, that wouldn’t have happened.

[Majestic-milf]

Opposing political leaders might be using these disasters to score cheap political points. Natural disasters sometimes cannot be predicted, controlled or avoided. The magnitude might be far above what we think. But in the case of the Philippines, there have been reports of corruption. So it is possible that corruption contributed to the level of destruction that was suffered in that country.

It's very bad that some leaders choose their own selfish gain over the overall wellbeing of the people they are supposed to be protecting. Like you said, natural disasters can be brutal and can't be predicted but the damage it would cause can be reduced if the right things are done. Let's say the earthquake was just exposing the wicked acts of the corrupt leaders and in subsequent times they can prepare fully to fight against such losses happening. My heart goes out to those victims who lost their lives and to their families though.

Areas that are prone to natural disasters always have a high standard for buildings. The government building should be the standard for others since they have enough funds to make it solid. But when there is corruption, these buildings will be built with substandard materials. Sadly, the Philippine government is toiling with the lives of people because of criminal tendencies.     

I don't know about the Philippines and the level of recurring earthquakes but places or countries like this shouldn't wait till lives have been lost before adequate be taken but when you have corruption that's as thick as this, there's now two problems to solve.

[Ziskinberg]

The committee in the Senate that was tasked to investigate the massive corruption in flood control projects was suspended. you can really see how the head and the Senate president are making ways to protect their corrupt allies, since some of them were already named in the last hearing.

This is sad news for the Philippines, especially for us people who were victims of this massive corruption.
it was already getting close to pinpointing the mastermind, and then this happens.

Lacson: Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing suspended ‘until further notice’

MANILA – The Senate has suspended the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects “until further notice,” committee chairman Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Saturday.

In a text message, Lacson said the hearing was initially scheduled on Oct. 8 upon the request of Sen. JV Ejercito to summon the former regional director of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region IV-B.

Lacson said he checked with the Justice department if the Discaya couple’s “tell-all” affidavits were available.

“I also checked with the office of the executive judge of Manila RTC if they have concluded the investigation on the possible violations of the notarized document involving TSgt Guteza and Atty Espera,” the Senate President Pro Tempore said in a text message.

“Having been informed that both would not be ready within one week, not to mention that the [Blue Ribbon Committee] hearing will be in conflict with the budget and CA hearings, I informed SP Sotto of the cancellation until further notice,” he added.

[coin-investor]

It's one calamity after another, and these calamities are exposing substandard projects. The government should focus on persecuting these corrupt officials.

Substandard projects and ghost projects were once heard of, but it was hard to prove. However, these calamities have exposed the extent of substandard projects.

The Marcos administration has a lot to do, and hopefully, he can bring these perpetrators to justice before the end of his term. I hope the next president, whoever they are, will also be vigorous in prosecuting these corrupt officials. I feel sorry for our country, which has been heavily plundered, and there s political instability too.

[aioc]

So while the earthquake was natural, the scale of destruction also exposes human failure. If buildings like city halls and sports complexes can’t even withstand this, how many lives were lost not only to nature, but to corrupt practices in construction?

This validates the feelings of the people; they are angry, and they want justice because the amount of money that these corrupt contractors and officials robbed to th emoney is just imaginable money that should gone to make their lives safe and healthy, these money should have been allocated to the health and education sector but it went to the piocket of these corrupt officials, this is just unforgiveable.

Is this simply nature’s doing, or is it also the fault of corrupt systems that let unsafe buildings stand?

The amount allocated to these projects was enough to keep the structure of these buildings safe and strong, but because of the corruption, only 30% was allocated to the projects, making these buildings substandard the 70% goes to the pocket of these corrupt officials.

[kotajikikox]

Is this simply nature’s doing, or is it also the fault of corrupt systems that let unsafe buildings stand?

What the nature is doing is exposing the substandard works of those in position. These infrastructure were made to withstand disasters like an earthquake. The fact that a lot of infrastructures were easily ruined means that there was something wrong with how it was built.

[Mrbluntzy]

So while the earthquake was natural, the scale of destruction also exposes human failure. If buildings like city halls and sports complexes can’t even withstand this, how many lives were lost not only to nature, but to corrupt practices in construction?

Is this simply nature’s doing, or is it also the fault of corrupt systems that let unsafe buildings stand?

source ; https://www.onenews.ph/articles/with-photos-videos-magnitude-6-9-quake-jolts-cebu-multiple-deaths-reported

Honestly, natural disasters can have unpredictable effects on buildings and landed structures but in an environment where the natural disasters happening there has already been known, there are some extra ordinary measures that should be taken in consideration to prevent so much effect that the disaster will cause on buildings.

I live in a country where some regions are usually being affected by flood during raining season, those regions that are being affected by flood take very extrem measure when building houses there and the houses built there are very solid that they don't collapse but few years ago, a few houses there collapse but no body was killed because the people living there has already moved out when the flood started.  The few houses that collapsed there were built by same engineer and with solid materials but yet the house collapsed. Therefore  I would say that natural disasters can sometimes have unexpected effect.

@OP, this building that collapsed must have been as a result of low quality materials being used for the constructions which is as a result of corruption in the system but on a second note, good quality materials must have been used and yet the earthquake still struck bad on the building but talking from experience of what happened in my regions, anything is possible.

If they actually used very poor materials for the construction, that's really terrible because they should know better about the earthquake disaster happening there and now that this collapse has taken the life of some innocent victims of circumstances are they happy?