Wanted: A regional director for tourism

It seems that the Aquino government is headed for more problems with the non-stop accusations by Arch. Oscar Cruz that two of his undersecretaries (and three others) were reported to be on the take from Jueteng lords. DILG Undersecretary Rico Puno already denied allegations that he took the Jueteng bribe; however, he publicly admitted that he has been approached by Jueteng operators and offered the bribe.

The DILG Undersecretary was lambasted by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago saying, “If it is true that he has been approached by Jueteng operators, why did he not kick and scream immediately? Those fixers who allegedly contacted him are guilty of the crime of corrupting public officials.” I fully agree with Sen. Santiago. At the very least on his own, he should have filed a case of attempted bribery against those Jueteng intermediaries to teach them a lesson that the rules under the Aquino have changed. But have they really changed? So far we haven’t seen much.

The only time when Usec. Puno made this information public was when Arch. Cruz revealed that at least two undersecretaries have been getting Jueteng bribes, to which he merely dismissed as untrue. So now, it is the word of pro-Noynoy Arch. Cruz against the closest friend of Pres. Noynoy Aquino. Whom should we believe? This issue calls for a Blue Ribbon investigation because we’re only getting denials.

With DILG Sec. Jessie Robredo’s job in peril because of the Aug.23 bungled hostage rescue, this issue could very well explode in the sense that when he was Mayor of Naga City, Robredo was about to stop the Jueteng operations with a no-nonsense campaign. Now whether Robredo would “spill the beans” on what he knows about Puno’s involvement about the bribery issue, we shall see this in the days to come.

The other high official that allegedly got a bribe was recently retired Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Jesus Versoza. To complicate matters, Jueteng lords have also tagged the man who took over his job as head of the PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo as a recipient of bribes. This is what I mean when I said that the Aquino government is headed for more trouble, especially in the way they run the PNP. Earlier, when Manila Police Chief Magtigay was removed from his post, he was replaced by Senior Inspector Villaroman who only stayed on the job less than 24 hours because the media learned that he had a case of extortion against a Hong Kong resident. Whatever it is, the Aquino administration just can’t get it right when it comes to the PNP.

P.Noy was in Cebu the other day to meet his yellow volunteers and the Cebu businessmen who gave him a wish list of the infrastructure needs of Metro Cebu. I can only hope that P.Noy or at least Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Sec. Rogelio Singson would oblige our wishes and prepare a six-year budget for our infrastructure needs. On this one, I’m just crossing my fingers.

Just a little reminder for our friends. During the Presidential Forum dubbed “Choices and Voices for 2010: An Encounter with the Presidentiables” last January, when then candidate Noynoy Aquino was asked what infrastructure programs he had in store for Cebu, P.Noy merely said that he would first consult with us. Well, I hope that the meeting P.Noy had last Wednesday with the business chambers was the consultation that he promised. But infrastructure projects have long gestation periods, so we can all take time on which infra project should be a priority for us.

Cebu’s economy is fueled by our Tourism Development and until today, P.Noy has not appointed a permanent Regional Director for Tourism more than two months after the Aquino government took the reins of power. Perhaps the people in the tourism industry should have been there to ask P.Noy why no one is in charge of our Tourism industry here.

Meanwhile, the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry will kick off a US$3 million feasibility study for the Cebu-Bohol Friendship Bridge before the end of the year. This project had its beginnings at the Regional Development Council (RDC-7) when we sold this idea to the RDC, which was warmly accepted. It’s been two years since we presented it to the RDC and we have written columns about the economic viability and feasibility of this project.

During the election campaign, only former DND Sec. Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. agreed that this bridge should be funded and he made sure that whenever he made speeches in Cebu or in Bohol, he mentioned this project. Alas, he lost his Presidential bid, but we haven’t lost our hope that someday, you and I can drive all the way to Bohol. P.Noy has brought hope to our countrymen; I just hope he won’t disappoint us.