Garrison

Asked by reporters the other day about the presence of Chinese garrisons on islands claimed by the Philippines, President Aquino intoned the usual mantra: “We would have to check and verify that.”

That very day, in one newspaper, there were photographs of pretty sophisticated structures built on at least three islands in the Spratlys. The structures had satellite communication disks on their roofs. They appeared pretty sturdy and capable of housing electronic equipment as well as armaments.

I suppose the President’s staff could examine the structures themselves using Google Maps on their laptops. Or they might pick up a copy of last Tuesday’s newspapers that carried the photos. How long might it take them to “check and verify” these structures?

Days before that encounter, after our own Air Force pilots reported being buzzed by Chinese fighter planes and shooed away from their routine patrol, Malacanang told us the same thing: the incident will be investigated and intelligence information will be gathered before we mount a diplomatic protest. Did we have any reason not to trust the report of our own pilots? Are we suggesting our pilots were hallucinating when they reported what they did?

Days have passed and the matter is still being investigated. The Chinese Defense Minister was in town and there is no report that we dared complain about the incident — especially since, before our Air Force was chased away, two Philippine Navy patrol boats were nearly rammed by Chinese warships.

I recall, years before, Manila complained loudly about Chinese structures being built on the contested islands. Beijing’s official position then was that the structures were facilities built by fishermen as rest areas.

Today, Beijing’s official position is that the sophisticated structures were weather observation facilities. If so, we desperately need to be told why there are redundant facilities in islands closely positioned. Are the Chinese expecting dramatic climatological changes in the area?

Manila’s official position, it appears, is to dilly-dally, wondering aloud if these structures were “new” or were old, presumably covered by our earlier protests. I suppose that if it is decided they were “old” structures, then we should not be bothered by their presence in islands we claim as our own.

Weeks before, we found out that seismic studies the DOE was supposed to be doing in a reef that is well within our borders were called off. An official admitted they would continue only after the DFA gives clearance. Presumably, the DFA will clear the operation only when it determines they will not displease Beijing. The seismic studies were undertaken to confirm deposits of about 440 million tons of oil — which might be a windfall for our fuel-scarce economy.

The two Philippine Navy boats chased away by Chinese warships were, by the way, patrolling the area where significant oil deposits have been detected.

I might grant that there are ceremonious diplomatic routines that might need to be done before we move on a clump of little islets claimed by many other countries. The greater the likelihood of oil deposits in the area, the more heated the competing claims become. Still, why does it seem we always yield to China’s pleasure when dealing with our own territorial claims?

De-computerization

Anyone who buys a Lotto ticket should marvel at what modern information technology can do. Tens of thousands of bets are taken every day. One can take a “lucky pick” combination and the system juggles up numbers for the convenience of the betting client. Minutes after the winning numbers are drawn, the system tells us if anybody won and where the lucky ticket was sold.

If only all government services were as benefited by information technology as the Lotto is. Government services may be accessed with least inconvenience. Millions of man-hours will be saved. The public will be spared so much exasperation.

There are a few areas of government benefited by computerization. The most visible lately has been the LTO-IT project. This is a project organized on a Build-Operate-Own scheme and is participated in by Stradcom, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and E-PLDT.

For over a decade now, the project interconnected 200 sites nationwide, enabling services for car registration and license issuance to be shortened dramatically. Today, one can even renew drivers’ licenses in the malls.

The automation project pays back government immensely. Since this project started, the LTO was able to increase the volume of its transactions. Today, the LTO makes about P15 billion annually from the increased transactions and has become a major profit center for government.

Each working day, the LTO handles about 65,000 transactions. Without the IT backbone provided by Stradcom, this daily volume of transaction simply could not be done — without great delays and numerous hitches.

That IT backbone could actually disappear very soon, condemning all of us to lining up for hours and breeding fixers like flies. The reason is that Stradcom has not been paid by LTO even as it needs P200 million monthly just for operating the system. To date, the unpaid fees that the LTO failed to remit the IT-provider amounts to P1.017 billion.

The IT-provider cannot go on for very long shouldering the operating costs and might have to shut down operations — all because of some whimsical decision by LTO chief-on-leave Virginia Torres. When the shutdown happens, there will be chaos affecting the hundreds of thousands who transact with the agency.

That potential shutdown will also blow a gaping hole on our credibility as an investment destination. Foreign investors I have talked to the past few months say their stakeholders are worried about the inhospitable investment climate in this country. The possible Stradcom shutdown will confirm the worst said about our country.