'Short time' mentality

Business and government policy in the Philippines is run in the same manner as motels are usually run all over Pasig and Sta. Mesa: It’s mostly based on a “Quickie” or on “Short Time”.

When President Erap Estrada mumbled his famous line: “Weather-weather lang yan” he also cast light on how Governance and business policy in the Philippines is based on the changing favors of a “political season” or the prevailing political power.

We have all come to live with the practice if not the fact that government in the Philippines is based on a 3-year local tenure, or a 6-year Presidency. As a consequence of this election-based system of governance, business and governance in the Philippines is all about who is in power and what their vested interests are all about.

Although the economists and tourism experts love to talk about medium term development plans, the Millennium goal or a 50-year tourism plan, the sad fact is local government autonomy as well as patronage politics has doomed all national policies and programs to perpetual blockade and interference.

For the longest time, national officials, particularly for education have grieved over the death of public education in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. But people at DECS can’t fix the problem because they don’t have their own Army and the money is in the hands of the LGU officials.

Doctors have lamented how the local autonomy code has placed health programs in the hands and at the mercy of governors and mayors. As a result most of the money now goes into building a “sports arena” which is the latest symbol of modernity among governors and mayors.

What’s strange about it is that nothing has been done to review and reform the system or the law. None of the affected Cabinet members or their underlings has the professional commitment or courage to challenge what is wrong. The local government autonomy may be full of good intentions, but from the looks of it, the law has become a weapon of defiance and abuse.

In the last couple of weeks we have been presented the perfect showcase of how governance and policy reflects the “Short time” and “weather-weather lang yan” system.

When the Supreme Court decided with finality that the big three oil companies must leave the Pandacan Oil refinery many people believed that it was a sign of urban evolution and the evolving “Green” governance of Manila. Two weeks later the new City Council revised the city ordinance, which effectively “Over-powered” the Supreme Court decision!

Ironically, the man in the middle, Mayor Fred Lim has to take the heat for things done by both councils, old and new.

When Mayor Fred Lim recently returned to power he found himself faced with a decision of the Court of Appeals concerning tax increases imposed by the previous City Council through an ordinance. In effect the court judged that the tax increases were unwarranted. As a result Mayor Fred Lim walked into office to find a court order telling the City of Manila to refund or restore the “unjust taxes” of several years and amounting to many millions of pesos.

Mayor Lim is now caught in the middle of a rumble involving an oil depot whose clients pays taxes to the city of Makati and not Manila. A Supreme Court that does not tolerate disrespect, and the public who hates the oil companies as much as they distrust politicians.

I don’t know if it’s too late for Mayor Fred Lim to do a Pontius Pilate and wash his hands but however he decides on the matter, one thing for sure is that the environmentalists are eventually going to crucify him before the Supreme Court even gets into the act.    

So where is the problem?

Perhaps our problem begins with the absence of a well planned and legally protected system where economic development programs, urban development, education and national health programs can be put into place and protected by both the court and the law from predatory politicians, political prostitutes or opportunists who will redefine the rules and the system with no concern for the people.

The members of the Supreme Court should take advantage of the current situation and call for a meeting of the minds with the Executive and the Legislature in order to address this growing problem of conflict of interests. Programs, policies and legislation cannot have the shelf life of a banana or a stay in a motel or when an administration is replaced.

Many lease-based properties all over the country is often based on a 25-year, 50-year, or 99-year lease contract. Zoning laws are supposed to be based on a community’s needs and concerns and not simply on the taxes the local government can collect. A health program or an educational campaign is based on periods longer than the terms of the Presidents, past and present. 

In a country where we decide who becomes President or what tele-novela we watch is based on surveys and ratings, it is tragic that surveys and studies are not done to determine the needs and wants of the people. Government agendas are based on what the leaders are familiar with, what they can profit from but not on successful business models and programs done by our neighbors in the region.

Development plans ought to be like mini Constitutions that define the framework of programs and policies. Necessary amendments may be introduced but only after a long, and guarded processes that requires the consultation and approval of all people concerned not just those out for a “Quickie”.