Filipinos and work ethic

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Snowy79
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Just to add to the fun the local power company is upgrading the high current power lines. They have completely switched off the grid and following lots of complaints from businesses etc had assured that there would be no brown outs as they were rigging up 6 huge generators to supply power for the 300 days they say it will take. 

They set a date to disconnect then discovered they never had environmental compliance certificates for the generators so couldn't use them. With one week to go they fired the manager of the electfical company but in Filipino style he refused to leave and with some supportive workers has baracaded himself into the office. 

The mayor and a few others stepped in assuring the generators would be in place and changed the cut off date by one week. They finally switched the power off last week with only 4 generators working out of the promised six. Since then there's been brown outs every day and voltage fluctuations from 180v to over 285v. Some electrical appliances have blown that I know of and you can physically hear air con speed up and slow down. Most resorts and bars are unplugging non essential appliances and are now running on private generators yet the electrical company aren't explaining what the problem is. 

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mogo51
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3 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

We are having a horrendous time in Puerto Galera at the moment. They are upgrading the road from Puerto Galera to Sabang and making a complete pigs ear of it. For some reason only known to them they dig up the cracked concrete in about 400m stretches then try to use a roller to flatten what's left. Due to the rainy season it turns the road into a mud bath with mopeds sliding everywhere and hidden rocks under the mud for added fun. I've been here just under 3 months and in that time they've dug up about 880m and concreted properly about 100m of road the full width and two strips about 100m long on one side of the road. At this rate it'll take about 3 years to complete. The road previously only had large cracks running along it. Now with the parts dug up and traffic dragging the mud in their tyres it's turning into a death trap. It can be one week between seeing any workers. 

Sorry Snow did you expect anything different.  We are having the same problems here in Nth. Luzon.

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Snowy79
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52 minutes ago, mogo51 said:

Sorry Snow did you expect anything different.  We are having the same problems here in Nth. Luzon.

I'm just surprised heads aren't rolling over this. I've given up riding my motorbike and using jeepneys to get about. They must be throwing a dart at a map when deciding what part to work on. The road was cracked before and all they had to do was start at one end and do 100m each side of the road per week. By now they'd have completed a couple of km at least. It has to be seen to be believed.

Even putting gravel on what was there and building a new road on top would have raised the road, prevented flooding and given the new road a stronger base. They're literally building on mud now. 

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Jollygoodfellow
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Speaking of roads. Today on a one way street that has been widened to 3 lanes I saw 2 fully grown trees still in the new lane so you have to change lanes to avoid a major accident. About 80 meters further up there was another one. No barriers or warning signs just trees sealed into the new lane. I dont know the name of the road but it's in Cebu city. Wish I got a picture.  :89:

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MikeB
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1 hour ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Speaking of roads. Today on a one way street that has been widened to 3 lanes I saw 2 fully grown trees still in the new lane so you have to change lanes to avoid a major accident. About 80 meters further up there was another one. No barriers or warning signs just trees sealed into the new lane. I dont know the name of the road but it's in Cebu city. Wish I got a picture.  :89:

Cutting trees is a big thing in the Philippines. A few years ago when they were widening the National Highway (a single lane road) from Carcar to Naga, the so-called “Running Priest”, a Fr Robert Reyes, parachuted in and wrapped white ribbons around the centuries-old acacia trees slated to be removed for the project. The approvals for the removals had already been given and many of the trees were old and diseased from lack of care and thousands of advertisements being stapled into the trunks. He succeeded in intimidating the head of the agency to rescind the order which stopped the desperately needed project dead. About a year and a half ago one of the huge old trees fell and closed the road for more than 6 hours. That road is the only way to get from the south to the nearest major medical trauma center in Naga. I doubt it will ever be completed. Now I read he’s protesting the tree removals for the BRT Project in Cebu City. Let’s see how far this project gets. 

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robert k
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4 hours ago, MikeB said:

Cutting trees is a big thing in the Philippines. A few years ago when they were widening the National Highway (a single lane road) from Carcar to Naga, the so-called “Running Priest”, a Fr Robert Reyes, parachuted in and wrapped white ribbons around the centuries-old acacia trees slated to be removed for the project. The approvals for the removals had already been given and many of the trees were old and diseased from lack of care and thousands of advertisements being stapled into the trunks. He succeeded in intimidating the head of the agency to rescind the order which stopped the desperately needed project dead. About a year and a half ago one of the huge old trees fell and closed the road for more than 6 hours. That road is the only way to get from the south to the nearest major medical trauma center in Naga. I doubt it will ever be completed. Now I read he’s protesting the tree removals for the BRT Project in Cebu City. Let’s see how far this project gets. 

Waiting to hear "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" The cycle of life, Plant new, young, healthy trees as replacements.

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mogo51
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12 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Speaking of roads. Today on a one way street that has been widened to 3 lanes I saw 2 fully grown trees still in the new lane so you have to change lanes to avoid a major accident. About 80 meters further up there was another one. No barriers or warning signs just trees sealed into the new lane. I dont know the name of the road but it's in Cebu city. Wish I got a picture.  :89:

Warning signs on roads are not an often used item as I see it here.

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Clermont
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Jollygoodfellow, trees to the Filipino's are like cattle are to the India, shame on you for suggesting removing them, even if they are in the path of the road, :hystery: 

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mogo51
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On 8/29/2017 at 5:11 PM, mogo51 said:

I was watching over the past 3 weeks at the progress of a new spiral staircase at the pool water slide in the resort where we live.

It has taken that time to finish about 2/3rds of a 2 level staircase. Always 2 or  3 there and at least one standing 'supervising'.  Was pre fabricated and only needed installing.  Still to go, concrete footings, top fixation of the staircase, some more 'spot welding' etc.

Would think at least another one and a half weeks work there.

Update, now 7th September and much has been done???  The pre fab stairs are now in place, but not secured at the top, which I would have thought to be a basic safety issue.  The concrete footings are now in place, but not last weekend when locals were using the damn thing.  Nor was it blocked off from  use. Still see another couple of days here before they have the party.

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Mike J
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On 9/1/2017 at 3:37 PM, mogo51 said:

TIP - this is Philippines, same when in Thailand a well used saying - TIT this is Thailand.  Just shrug the shoulders and lay back.

Here the local will tell you; "Only in da Philippines" and sometime add an eye roll. 

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