Only a token interest in debt-for-equity

It's odiously strange that in matters spelling the difference between national economic survival and sheer perdition, Filipinos could afford to stand insouciant, carefree sans concern. Our priorities often run counter to empirical and pragmatic necessities that fit to a tee the vulgarism "Only in the Philippines".

Our preoccupation for politics that breeds dirty elections and the endless wranglings tops the roll. More nettling as the flippant and skittish "tamsi" and "sayaw", are the flamboyant showbiz gay gossipers lionized by our women folk, only next to the telenovela.

But the Filipino national pastime is still gambling. Even the poor man's checkers game of "dama" is an excuse for betting. Its variation that accents the negative - the "perde gana" - epitomizes our psyche to gloat victorious even in defeat. Such "perde gana" negativism seems an anthropological anomaly in our genes and, is a Filipino attitudinal let-down.

Moreover, we tend to ennoble the cheap, the tawdry, the fancy, and the folly, or the minutiae and the trivia, than things or values that really count. Instead of hitching for the whole pottery of perfection in all its exquisite beauty, the Filipino instead gets sidetracked in its shards of imperfection. The mentality is for loose change as an end

Take that fuel-saving "Khaos super turbo charger" invented by Pablo Planas, former PUJ operator and mechanic Only QC Mayor Belmonte, among the LGUs and the government, took interest in the gas-saving invention by 30 percent that reduces MV pollution, and improves engine efficiency, as technologically proved and experimentally also proven in road tests. While USA, Germany, et al. offered millions to buy Planas' rights which the latter declined, our government has, even until now that crude oil has soared sky-high, not moved to capitalize on the economic life-saver.

The latest damper in our "perde gana" policy is the nation's apathy towards "debt-for-equity" or Millenium Development Goals (MDG) proposal initiated by Speaker Jose de Venecia, to bail us out by 50 percent of our $55B foreign debts.

Despite the unflattering "trapo" attribution, Joe DV has the uncanny and unerring nose and ears of a Delphian oracle in matters of national interest. He did the legwork with the world creditor nations/banks, like the IMF and WB, and with UN Sec. Gen. Koffi Annan, touched base with other debt-stricken countries, on the "debt-for-equity".

With GMA's leading role in the Sept. 12-14 UN Security Council and Gen. Assembly, she got the world's receptive reaction to the MDGs. Added to the original 8 African debtor nations granted debt cancellation by the G8 in Gleneagles, Scotland, 10 other debtor nations mostly from the poor African continent, have their foreign debts written off recently by the IMF.

With the MDG's aim to cut world poverty in half by year 2015, hopefully our turn for ease off - not total write off - will not be far behind. Imagine, of the 1/3 automatic debt servicing for our $55B debts from the annual national budget - P1.05 trillion for 2006 - $27.5B or half thereof is adjusted as "equity" of creditor banks in our "development" and "poverty" projects, and only roughly 1/6 of our national budget has to be debt-serviced.

Surprisingly, barely lackadaisical enthusiasm, instead of a slew of interest, has been shown by Filipinos so far, except for GMA and Joe DV. Not even a tepid or lukewarm stirring concern from any senator or congressman, or any business taipan, or any banker or economist, or economically-oriented NGOs, etc. or, for that matter, from media outlets - print, radio and TV - has been shown to thrust an exclamation point to the debt-for-equity scheme.

Where's our concept of priorities?