Metro Manila should have one gov't

I know it will never happen. The politicians will never allow it. But it is clear Metro Manila should have just one government... one governor... elected and not appointed. All these local cities comprising Metro Manila are ill equipped to provide for what are needed to improve the quality of life of residents.

Floods, disaster preparedness, traffic management, mass transport system, waste management, air quality among others all require a metro wide approach. The MMDA as presently constituted has proven itself legally insufficient to perform the work we think it should be doing because the local politicians won’t let it.

I have always had strong feelings of frustration at how our political leaders in Metro Manila are unable to effectively work together on these problems that are beyond their political boundaries. Those feelings were stirred once more as I read a BusinessWorld story last Friday about how Metro Manila has slid in the ratings of cities deemed providing the best quality of life to Asians working abroad.

It is bad enough Metro Manila is not among the top 10 in the list. We have now slipped one notch to 25th among 49 Asian cities, with Depensar, Indonesia overtaking us in ECA International’s latest Location Ratings for expatriate living conditions. Compared to over 254 cities in the world, Metro Manila is ranked in the middle-third. We are the 142nd in the list of cities being considered good for Asian expatriates. Last year, we placed 138th.

I am not surprised. Expats may live in gated communities where the amenities are at par with some of the best in the region but they have to go out of Forbes Park and the Makati villages to go about their business. That’s when the reality of Metro Manila hits them.

The biggest turnoff for business expats has to be our chaotic traffic conditions. Personal security should also be on top of their list of concerns. The inadequacy of our infrastructure from transportation to flood control makes Metro Manila a hardship post from the perspective of expats. Petty corruption in the streets is a constant irritant.

Of course for us natives, we can’t help snicker when expats earning in dollars, spending in pesos and living in Forbes or Dasma rate our capital a hardship post. But there is no denying that our national and local governments have failed to come up with a unified approach to the common problems of Metro Manila. Maybe, if we had a Metro Manila Governor, instead of the dozen or so Mayors, we can start looking at Metro Manila’s problems from the proper wider perspective.

The ECA International report would have us believe that Asians assigned abroad would be better off working in Singapore. The city state is a consistent top placer in the annual ranking which compares living standard indicators such as climate, health services, housing and utilities, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, personal safety, political tensions, differences in culture, distance from home and air quality.

Singapore surely scores high on all those points. But as my son who now works in Singapore complained to me, Singapore is boring and claustrophobic. The only thing that keeps my son going is the opportunity his job gives him to travel a lot around the region.

In any case, Metro Manila remains out-ranked in the report by secondary cities in Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Brunei, and Vietnam. We place higher, however, than several cities in India, Laos, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, North Korea and Afghanistan.

Globally, the top 15 best cities for Asians to work and live in are: Singapore, Sydney, Kobe, Yokohama, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Canberra, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Dublin, Vancouver, Wellington, Antwerp, Brussels and Bern. Hong Kong, despite its horrible air quality, maintains its position as the best Chinese territory for Asians to live in, followed by Taipei and Macau. Mainland Chinese cities Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen followed.

That’s the story of our lives these days. In international rankings, we are almost always ranked in the triple digits. The thing is, we shouldn’t be this bad. We have what it takes to be among the best. But the small minds of our politicians will forever keep us down.

It is time we start thinking hard about a Metro Manila government with teeth. We need a metro government that can take care of problems that go beyond current local boundaries. Traffic. Air quality. Water supply. Flood control. Disaster preparedness. Garbage and sanitation. All these go beyond the capacity of any one city to handle effectively. We need an elected Metro Manila Governor with a mandate from the people to control these local kingpins we call Mayors.

Unless we can address our problems on a metro wide basis, we will continue to lose our competitiveness and the quality of our lives will continue its a downward spiral to unbearable mediocrity.

Sugar prices

Sugar planters have expressed concern that despite the substantial drop in the millgate price of raw sugar from the peak of P2000 per bag in mid-January to P1,579 today in the Visayas, retail prices in Metro Manila have remained high. There had been a substantial drop in what the farmers are receiving for their produce, yet this is not being reflected in the retail prices.

The farmers do not want to be blamed for the high prices consumers are paying even as farmers are actually getting less money for their produce. The traders must be unjustly making a killing at the expense of consumers.

It is a different story in Cebu. Here, sugar prices have gone down substantially, to as low as P40 a kilo. Cebu does not have a sugar refinery. It is a net domestic importer of refined sugar. How come that average retail price of refined sugar in Cebu is cheaper by more than P7 per kilo compared to prices in Negros where several sugar refineries are located? Where does Cebu get its cheaper refined sugar?

The planters think this is an indication of smuggling taking place. They have called on the DTI to act before smugglers start inflicting further damage to a majority of the sugar producers who are marginal farmers. Because of the strong social implications of sugar prices to both farmers and consumers, government should take note and do what is necessary.

Censorship

I am outraged that our local censors would justify banning two films made for the current election season using language that censors in China would use. Two of films, directed by internationally acclaimed filmmakers Jeffrey Jeturian and Brillante Mendoza, were rated X by the MTRCB.

Jeturian’s film for ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel, focused on the state of the economy. The film, called “Ganito tayo ngayon, Paano na tayo bukas?” The MTRCB said in its decision that the film was X-rated for “undermining the faith and confidence of the people in government.” The MTRCB can’t seem to distinguish between the Arroyo administration and the Philippine government. There’s a big difference.

Mendoza’s film, “Ayos Ka” is a music video whose hopeful soundtrack is a stark contrast against images of poverty, prostitution, drugs and murder. The MTRCB claimed Mendoza’s film is “injurious to the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines and its people.” Again, it is the failure of the Arroyo administration that is injurious to the prestige of the Republic and pointing that out is what our election is all about.

The AmBisyon 2010 film series was being produced in the public interest, to offer the nation on the verge of a critical election the chance to focus on issues, not personalities. Twenty of the country’s most powerful voices in cinema have offered their talents gratis to each create a short film on a chosen issue.

Ganito na ba tayo ngayon? If we allow them to get away with it, we will end up no different from China and countries that take no pride about freedom of expression as a right guaranteed by our Constitution.

Political joke

Here is a good joke someone texted to me.

Tanong: Bakit hindi puwedeng plataporma ni (a candidate for VP) ang climate change?

Sagot: Kasi masama sa environment ang plastic.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. This and some past columns can also be viewed at www.boochanco.com <http://www.boochanco.com>