Our version of a totem pole

If you come from the west service road and go into what is commonly known as C5, you cannot miss this obelisk cum bust of somebody who must be turning over in his grave.

The first time I saw it, I had to exclaim at the ugliness of it. I do not know why but what comes to mind is a decapitated head stuck on a raised bayonet. Since construction had just started, I figured that there was still so much to the whole structure.

Well, it's been months and we've seen improvements every time we've passed it but I do not think the structure will be any different. They've already started the landscaping.

It will still be a raised bust, reminiscent of my daughter's Lego creations in her early years - brick upon brick piled high and topped by a lego chicken she had back then.

My husband says he's seen something like it in an Asian country -- it could have been Singapore, but I am not sure. At any rate, I tell him that the one that he's seen cannot be as ugly as the one at C5. The nearest memorials I can think of are totem poles, which are a lot more creative, eye-catching and inspiring.

I learned just recently that the bust is that of Carlos P. Garcia, the eighth president of the Philippines, fourth president of the Third Republic, who served from 1957 to 1961. The "Bard of Bohol" has an ugly marker honoring his memory.

Considering his contributions to our country, I understand why a major road is named after him. And though the taxpayer in me grieves, I do understand why a marker has been put up to honor him.

I grieve because it does nothing for the taxpayers. Second, it does not do justice to Garcia. It is ugly. Third, I cannot escape this fact every time I have to pass by it.

A news report says that the marker was set up by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), in cooperation with the Bohol Association of Metro Manila, PCPG Foundation, Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado and the provincial government of Bohol.

So, the MMDA didn't work blind on this one and had help from CPGarcia's 'kababayans'.

I wish though, that if they had to put up a marker to honor Garcia's memory, they might have as well made better use of the taxpayers' money and put up something better.