Herbie Gomez THERE is something terribly wrong with the bridge construction projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Opol, Misamis Oriental. These greatly inconvenienced Cagayan de Oro-bound motorists and those heading towards the direction of Iligan. I have been told of how some people missed their flights at the Laguindingan airport because of the way these projects were carried out. So, okay, DPWH stopped work on one of the bridges because of the complaints. But why would anyone even think of working on the two bridge projects on the same busy section of a highway and in the same town all at the same time? They did, and the result was disastrous. Was there even a coordination with the town government of Opol and the capitol? If none, then Opol Mayor Max Seno and Gov. Bambi Emano should register their protest over the glaring lack if not, absence of common sense in the implementation of these DPWH-funded projects. It should be a cause of embarrassment to the town and provincial governments that found themselves helpless and unable to clean the mess of the DPWH and its contractor in their territory. At the end of the day, Mayor Seno’s town and Gov. Emano’s province are the ones being hurt by whoever planned the lousy implementation of these projects. The traffic situation in Opol became so messy that it even reached a point when the traffic czar of neighboring Cagayan de Oro, lawyer Egay Uy, announced that the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) would field its traffic aides to help in managing the vehicular traffic flow there. What? In a town of a province where the RTA is not recognized and where it has no jurisdiction? Talk about embarrassment. And I don’t know if the engineers of DPWH and the contractor realized the damage they just caused Misamis Oriental’s tourism. Next time, do it one at a time. •• Talking about tourism--Bambi Emano is actually correct in barring tourists from some parts of Misamis Oriental. The guy has made tourism his flagship program and has been working to strengthen the province’s tourism sector since 2013 regardless if his efforts are effective or not. As such, he is the first person to really feel hurt by the renewed clashes between soldiers and Maoist rebels in his province. As I write this, the governor is watching everything he has worked for going down the drain. But what do some officials expect him to do? Pretend that everything is okay when it’s not okay, and allow tourists to risk getting caught in the crossfires? Downplay the ongoing military and New People’s Army operations, and take back the order as what has been suggested to the capitol? Or, worse, keep the information from the public? That would be a great disservice if not, a betrayal of public trust. In situations such as this, tourism, sadly, can take the backseat. Bambi’s decision did not come out of nowhere. The reason was not imaginary. Such decision, which I suppose was very difficult for him to make, came after the capitol received an advisory from the Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion that knows exactly what’s happening on the ground. The battalion is also getting its direct orders from a “hardliner,” 4th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr., who has openly declared that if he could have his way, it has to be an “all-out war” against the NPA. And so it’s understandable why, overnight, tourism became the least of the capitol’s concerns. Between the Army and the Department of Tourism (DOT), it’s not difficult to understand why the governor gave more weight to the military’s advice on the matter. The latter simply does not know what it’s talking about. When lives are at stake, when people can get killed, government can forget tourism for a while. When people are dead, there will be no tourism. The dead don’t do tourism. Pastilan.