Construction

I have noticed that NO ONE in the Philippines knows how to do proper masonry work with cement blocks.  It looks to me like the mortar they use is deficient in some way.  The blocks are haphazardly stacked, and the mortar looks like it is crumbling as soon as it is dry.  Of course most new construction uses poured concrete pillars and beams for structural load bearing, and the cement blocks just fill up space.  Still, it seems like a poor policy to take an inherently unsound structure and cover it over with stucco. Perhaps this is planned so the building won't last very long.  Still, I think a really good mason could figure out what is wrong with the mortar and make a lot of money building really good buildings.

There is a tremendous amount of construction that was started, but when the money ran out, the project was just left to rot, and the tropical climate is very obliging and brings rot and ruin very quickly.