No time yet to dance the Cha-Cha

In instant public opinion surveys conducted by various media outfits, the trend is an overwhelming NO to the proposal for Charter Change. Apparently, the great majority of our people agree with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s observation that the time has not yet come for the nation to dance the Cha-Cha.

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There are very compelling reasons why the 1987 Constitution should not yet be tinkered with. For one, Cha-Cha will be very divisive. Even now, so many issues and events are dividing our people, making it terribly difficult to get everyone together in the task of nation-building. To foist the issue of Cha-Cha on our people will further divide our country.

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Another reason for saying no to Cha-Cha at this time, as President Macapagal-Arroyo stated, is that the exercise will be very expensive. At a time when the country’s scarce financial resources must be used for the most urgent priorities, to utilize them for a charter change campaign would be most unwise.

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Just imagine the huge amount of money that will have to be spent to launch and then implement the Cha-Cha. Millions of pesos for information materials that will have to be produced and circulated by the Commission on Elections. Millions for public dialogues to be conducted by Congress. Millions for lobby groups that will be out to protect their own vested interests. Millions from prospective candidates who would want to be delegates to the Constitution Convention, if a Con Con is chosen as the mode of amending the Constitution. Millions upon millions of pesos for related Cha-Cha expenses.

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Why not use this money instead to revive struggling industries? To build low-cost homes and school buildings. To boost agricultural production. To build roads and bridges. To develop idle lands into productive farms. To promote peace and order. To wipe out the insurgency and banditry problems. To hike the pay scale in the government service. To enhance the quality of public service. To improve the delivery of basic, simple but very vital services to the people.

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First things first – and the immediate, first steps that must be undertaken, not only by the national leadership but all sectors of society, is to resurrect the economy and give our people. especially the masa, the chance to survive, feed their families, and educate their children. These things come first, way ahead of dancing the Cha-Cha.

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We never run out of problems of our own making. Take that recent noise raised by various groups on the NAIA International Passenger Terminal 3 (IPT3) project under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme. The sound and fury is certainly going to send wrong signals to the private sector. Apparently, politics and business competition still dictate the implementation of private sector initiatives.

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Note that the NAIA 3 passed rigorous evaluation by the Coordinating Council for Private Sector Participation (CCPSP) and was endorsed by the NEDA Investment Coordinating Council (ICC). In fact, the CCPSP, which is an agency under the Office of the President, has upheld the validity of the project and the contract between the government and the Philippine International Air Terminals Company (PIATCO), The NEDA-ICC and the House committee on transportation have likewise endorsed the B-O-T project.

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As background information , the NAIA IPT 3 was conceived in 1990 after a master study by the Aeroport de Paris showed the need for a new international passenger terminal to address the projected increase in air traffic to and from Manila. Eventually, the IPT 3 project was bidded out under the B-O-T scheme. Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corporation (AEDC), composed of the country’s top taipans, submitted a bid of P135 million compared to the P17.75 billion tender of the PLATCO.

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The principal critics of NAIA 3 are airport ground service companies currently operating in NAIA 1. Their criticism is anchored not on the legality or necessity of the project but on the impending change in the rules of the game. At NAIA 1, the MIA Authority is the operator; in NAIA 3, a private sector company, PIATCO, will be the operator.

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What must be taken into account is that the NAIA 3 facilities will be more modern and newer than from those in NAIA 1. Moreover, all public utility fees will remain under MIAA regulation. In addition, all other charges for the use of the terminal facilities will be based on market rates or rates consistent with good business sense.

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Note, too, that it would cost more money and will take a longer time to put up a new international gateway in Clark instead of NAIA 3 in Manila. A Clark airport alone without NAIA 3 will require the construction of a modern railway system connecting Pampanga to Manila.

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To encourage the private sector to invest in a huge airport project, the investors must be able to recover their investment. It is this issue of viability that is the main reason why the contract calls for the prohibition by the government for Clark to operate beyond its present capacity or the develop a new terminal for Clark unless the 10 million passengers capacity for NAIA 3 is reached.

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Apparently, there are many advantages in pushing through NAIA 3. No cash-out of government money for the construction of the airport facilities. No administrative and operational expensed by he government. Net guaranteed revenues for the government. Ownership of the NAIA 3 facilities at the end of the concession period. These, among many others, make the NAIA IPT 3 project palatable.

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Here is another inspiring article passed on to me by civic leader Margie Juico, and it teaches us how to cope with the troubles that come our way:

Do you take your troubles home with you?

The carpenter I hired to help restore my old farmhouse had a pretty rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work in the morning. In the afternoon, his electric saw quit. At the end of the day, his ancient pick-up truck refused to start. As I drove him home, he sat next to me in stony silence.

When we arrived at his house, the carpenter invited me to meet the family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly in front of a small tree, and touched the tips of its branches with both hands. He then opened the door and underwent an amazing transformation. His face wreathed with smiles and his voice was filled with laughter. He hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

When my visit was over, the carpenter walked me to my car. When we passed the tree, my curiosity got the better of me. So I asked him about what he had done earlier.

"Oh," the carpenter replied, "that’s just my Trouble Tree. I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure. Those troubles don’t belong in my house. That why every night when I come home, I just leave them outside hanging them on the Trouble Tree."

"In the morning when I head off to work, I just pick my trouble up again," the carpenter, smiling, added. "The funny thing is, the troubles I pick up in the morning are not nearly as many as I remember hanging on the tree the night before."

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THOUGHTS FOR TODAY:

Don’t run ahead of God
let Him direct your steps.
He has plans and time for you.
God’s clock is never early or late,
it always strikes on time.

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Real friends are not those who are always around
when everything is almost perfect.
They are the ones who dig deep into the ground
when you are down just to put you up
and say everything will be all right.

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My e-mail address: <[email protected]>