Young Binay shows rare leadership

A lot of things have happened to the young mayor of Makati that must have made him wise beyond his youth. And from what I saw last Thursday, he certainly has what it takes to lead the country’s premier city.

His televised argument with DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo on how to deal with the situation at the burned out Laperal squatter colony made me wish all our mayors in Metro Manila are just like him. The young Binay insisted on proceeding with the demolition of the squatter colony despite the violence then taking place. Robredo wanted to dialogue and give the squatters a few days to cool off.

Someone shouted at Junjun Binay that he will never win an election again in Makati and he shouted back that he didn’t care because it wasn’t just about politics and that they will thank him in the future for doing what is right. Indeed, the young Binay is correct. He had to break the vicious cycle of fires and crime in the privately owned Laperal Estate. It was a difficult decision for him to make but making it is the price of leadership.

The Vice President trained his son well… how to stand on principles. There is a time to be a politician and there is a time to show the kind of leadership this nation badly needs. I was disappointed with Robredo, the award winning local government leader. He seemed tired and punch drunk. Maybe troubleshooting so many crisis situations all over the country in the past few weeks is wearing him down.

Robredo was also being naïve if he thought giving an inch to the squatters would solve the problem. Binay knew better because he had seen the same situation countless times before. It was now or never. The local government had to make a stand or forever be bullied by squatter syndicates that profit on the miseries of the homeless.

Having said all that, I have to say we have been dealing with the problem the wrong way through the years. I have a first hand experience on the matter. Many years ago, my father bought a 600 square meter lot he intended to give me in the vicinity of Don Antonio Heights in the Commonwealth area in Quezon City. But by the time I was ready to use it, it was already part of a sprawling squatter colony.

 I talked to then QC Mayor Mel Mathay. He gave me two options: he will have a City Hall unit demolish the shanties in my lot or I could sell the property to a program that will give the squatters a community title they can pay for over time. I didn’t want blood on my hands that was certain to flow in a demolition. I figured that even after my lot is cleared, I would be surrounded by unfriendly squatters. So I opted to sell the property via the community mortgage program.

Of course I felt aggrieved because the property had sentimental value. My father religiously paid for it on installment through many years. I had been paying the realty tax on it for years too and got peanuts as compensation. I knew I was just one of many property owners similarly victimized by a social problem that was not being properly addressed by successions of national leaders.

It is part of the country’s economic development problems. Life in the countryside had always been so bad that people migrate to the cities and settle wherever they can. Government housing programs through the years have proven ineffective and riddled with corruption. The problem has become too big to solve for many national and local leaders. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see the young mayor of Makati stand his ground.

Still, the Makati Mayor must also understand that the relocation areas in Bulacan and Calauan, Laguna are not exactly ideal. There are little or no sources of livelihood there and transport cost back to the city for work is prohibitive. Ignoring the livelihood needs of the relocated squatters is precisely what is wrong with our government’s approach to the problem for years.

I have seen first hand the difficulties experienced by Gina Lopez when she moved squatters from Estero de Paco to Calauan. She actually had to build a new city there complete with an elementary school and a community center. She had to put up a skills training program so people can have income producing activities. She had to worry about peace and order as well. With all the resources thrown into the relocation area, its future is still up in the air.

What would probably work better is an on-site solution… a multi-level building in the area where the legitimate residents can be assigned units as in a condominium. Knowing that they are not being thrown out would have helped prevent the violence that broke out. I am sure the residents would appreciate a place with basic facilities they can own and not have to deal with the squatter landlords.

For the long term, the development of MRT links to relocation areas like Sapang Palay in Bulacan to the city would make the resettlement areas more viable. I want to believe that no one really enjoys being a squatter but when people run out of viable options, they take what they can. In the end, it is the state of our economy that determines what we can reasonably do about the problem.

But I don’t think it is hopeless. I am sure there were squatters in Shanghai and Singapore many years ago. But try looking for such squatter colonies now and you won’t find any. What they have are rows and rows of high rise housing buildings close to, if not well within the urban areas where jobs are available. And of course, they have efficient mass transport systems.

I do not buy the excuse that we do not have money to solve our housing problem. The scandals in our various housing agencies involving billions of pesos being lost clearly indicate we have resources that are just being misused by the people entrusted to run our housing programs. With an administration that wants to be known as essentially honest, all we now need is the competence to deal with the age-old problem.

As for the Laperal estate, maybe JunJun can ask his father who is responsible for the housing efforts of this government to build a multi-level housing project for the original residents on the site. The private sector owner of the property should participate in a community mortgage program like the one I sold my lot to in Quezon City. The property owner will not get market value but at least, they will feel good they contributed to a solution of a thorny problem. After all, they must have written off their property a long time ago.

Ombudsman

The Ombudsman, Mercedita Gutierrez, should be commended for resigning rather than dragging the country in a public trial that will take time and attention away from seeking solutions to many of our urgent problems. Now, P-Noy will have no more excuse in pursuing an effective anti corruption drive.

Who should replace her? Off the top of my head, I would think that retiring Justice Conchita Carpio Morales would make a credible Ombudsman. And to replace her at the Supreme Court, it would be great to have Katrina Legarda. We need fearless women lawyers of their caliber and integrity to help Justice Secretary de Lima clean up the system.

NorthRail

Why is Angeles Mayor Ed Pamintuan saying re: NorthRail that “it’s not China’s fault because it only lent the money.” Is he lawyering for China now? In the first place, China’s not totally clean when it insisted on assigning the project to a contractor that was essentially a trader that had no experience in building a railroad ever. More importantly, we are still re-negotiating with China and Pamintuan’s statement weakens our negotiating posture. If Pamintuan did a better job re-negotiating it during his watch at NorthRail, we wouldn’t have to do this over again. It is also unpatriotic.

Incidentally, while the accomplished work was officially placed at 20%, experts say 10% is the more accurate figure due to sub-standard work.

Marriage

In the midst of the excitement over the Royal Wedding, Rosan Cruz texted this one:

Q: Why does a man marry?

A: Lack of experience

Q: Why does he divorce?

A: Lack of patience

Q: Why does he remarry?

A: Lack of memory

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. He is also on Twitter @boochanco