Wishes for the New Year

My wish list for the New Year revolves on a better life for every Filipino — more food on the table, better health and longer life, and a healthier economy that give our countrymen more job opportunities.

May we truly have someone who will champion the cause of Filipino fishermen and farmers. This means fighting for more funds for the much-needed farm-to-market roads, new and rehabilitated irrigation systems, and better support systems that would lessen the cost of bringing food to the dining tables.

Being an election year, let’s pray that the money for agricultural projects don’t end up in the political machinery kitty’s black hole. I would instead like to see Secretary Arthur Yap going around talking to the sector’s constituents rather than always being part of the President’s entourage.

It would be nice to see our livestock industry members getting their act together, and looking for ways and means to lower production costs of raising chickens, hogs and beef. Again, aside from keeping market prices at a stable level, this could discourage the entry of imported meats.

We’ve survived the last regional epidemic of bird flu and foot-and-mouth disease on hogs. I hope we can keep it that way.

Better health

May we have more of those low-priced but equally effective drugs that many of our ailing countrymen need. Enough of those legal impediments that multinational drug companies raise just to be able to prevent the entry and sale of cheap medicines in the country!

Our lawmakers should quickly pass into law that proposed bill seeking to amend the Intellectual Property Code, thereby making medicines more affordable to Filipinos.

While the average Filipino is living longer, this does not mean that they are healthier. The cost of health care is rising, and our government must do something to address this issue. Already, the sick are in the habit of not taking the full dose of medicines prescribed to cure their ailments because they do not have enough money.

But more than providing affordable remedies to our sick countrymen, a program to prevent illnesses should be seriously looked at. This will involve promoting a healthy lifestyle and eating habits to bring down the number of diabetic, hypertensive and kidney failure cases.

Taking advantage of the OFW resource

In corporate gobbledygook, the statement about human resources being the company’s best asset does not always ring true. Fortunately, in the case of the Philippines, its human resource indisputably is its biggest asset — at least in terms of bringing in the bacon from dollar-denominated overseas jobs.

Filipino seamen, doctors, nurses, caregivers, teachers, even our domestic helpers are still valued over other nationalities. Let’s keep it this way. To address competition, we should look at ways of further enhancing those traits and skills that give us the competitive edge.

What I want to see in 2007 is a massive pooling of the OFW money that could be channeled to enterprising ventures that could bring about changes in the local economy. Those call center jobs, while helping bring joblessness down, are not forever.

The country needs to build on something that can be relied on to bring in more jobs and income. If we’re too late in building our manufacturing capability simply because countries like China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, even Indonesia, are now so much more efficient, then we should think of something else.

Perhaps it’s time the private sector, including our moneyed overseas Filipino workers, paid attention to developing the country for medical tourism and retirement homes for those ageing Europeans and Americans.

Getting infrastructure in place

Finally, with the EVAT finally bringing in the money to our ailing government coffers, our legislators should agree to allocate more incentives or resources to upgrading our infrastructure – mass transport systems, railways, airports, roads and bridges.

For those vital infrastructure systems that have been privatized, government should strengthen its regulatory powers with a view to hastening investments of the private sector.

Isn’t it time for Shell to decide on whether it will mothball its Batangas refinery or open up to public ownership? Let the new oil companies continue with their support for biofuels. This way, consumers have a wider choice. Hopefully too, the country is on its way to less imported fuel dependency.

Sun Cellular may have jolted its giant competitors to bringing about lower call and text messaging rates, but this upstart industry player needs a little help from the National Telecommunications Commission to continue with its role of keeping its bigger competitors on their toes. I hope Sun survives.

Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, seems to be in better shape especially after it briefly edged out the country’s flag carrier in income during the third quarter of 2006. More Filipinos are now starting to learn of the conveniences of flying sans the perceived high cost.

It’s great that other new local air carriers are following suit, and are taking the missionary routes that Philippine Air Lines has abandoned. Now, if only domestic sea travel rates could be lowered further – but without sacrificing on safety, please.

Lastly, here’s hoping that 2007 will finally see the full privatization of the country’s power assets. Electricity rates continue to be high, to the detriment of industrial growth and the Philippines’ competitiveness in the world market.

We need the construction of new power plants soonest. Otherwise, we may once again experience those devastating brownouts that undermined economic growth in the late 80s.

Happy New Year!

I could list a hundred more items that plead attention: less graft and corruption, no more exam leakages, lower school dropout rates, better English proficiencies, double-hulled oil tankers, less red tape, a more efficient bureaucracy, less politicking, better disaster response, less libel suits, more shrimp exports, and so on.

I guess I just have to be patient and hope that solutions are underway. Otherwise, be sure I’m going to tackle them in the coming months. Here’s wishing for a bountiful year to all of us.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected] or at [email protected]. If you wish to view the previous columns, you may visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz.