To twit or not to twit

Secretary Mar Roxas has been known to be a populist particularly for consumers. As such, the Secretary should ask the NTC why Smart and Globe are allowed to sell “Twitter service” as a separate package instead of being in the same category as SMS or text messages.

I am told that in other countries sending out a “Twitter message” costs the same as sending out an SMS or a text message. But in the Philippines, the telcos have been allowed to sell them as a separate service.

Consumers are sold a daily rate at around P50, a post paid “Unli” monthly rate approximately P999 or use “Internet access” which is difficult to track for actual use and cost.

Given the breakthrough value of Twitter for mass communication, as well as the “cartel-like” business methods of telcos, Secretary Roxas should get his staff to do comparisons with other countries. The Philippines has been an exceptionally profitable market for telcos, but abuse should not be tolerated.

It’s time for the NTC to be more pro-active rather than just being “ministerial” in the performance of their duties.

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The President has now come to realize why foreign investors still don’t flock to the Philippines, in spite of his very strong anti-corruption campaign.

In one of several “arrival” interviews, P-Noy was quoted as saying that certain barriers still remain which strongly discourage foreign investments. Reporters pressed the President to cite at least one, to which the President answered: the high cost of electricity.

Not only is electricity very expensive in the Philippines, there are still many places in the country like the province of Batangas, where electricity service remains at the level of “barangay electrification”, meaning power to give you light and run a radio but not much more.

For the last 17 years I have had a “love-hate” relationship with the Batangas Electric Cooperative II, trying to convince them to invest on the necessary transformers and equipment so that local consumers can also invest in machinery as well as more appliances.

Sadly, officials of BATELEC II seem to be more concerned with having more customers and electric meters than installing transformers that would stabilize electric voltage at 220 instead of 190 to 200 volts that regularly burn out machinery and appliances.

Unfortunately, many parts of the country suffer such a mess because local government officials do not live in their area of responsibility and do not experience the inconvenience and destructiveness of such poor services.

Many governors, vice governors, mayors and vice mayors of provinces or towns outside and around Metro Manila are actually “transient residents” who merely drive to work and often stay at first class hotels or resorts in their towns and provinces.

As a result, these “Living Out” politicians are clueless.

Yes, Meralco is horrific in terms of prices but in fairness, the power supply is standard, stable and reliable.

Electric cooperatives on the other hand are so inefficient that their power charges are not any cheaper, sub standard and their customer service is so bad that people get the run around.

I don’t know if governors like Vilma Santos or mayors like Lipa Mayor Sabile has any real power or influence over electric cooperatives. But if constituents have to pay for their own individual transformers to power up their homes, then we should put up billboards to warn investors or business people: Doing business in our province requires bringing in your own power plant!

What is the ERC doing about this huge problem?

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A dedicated supporter of President Noynoy Aquino views the appointment of incoming DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas as a political masterstroke.

Personally, I believe that the President was blessed with “Divine Intervention” since his masterstroke would not have been possible if Sec. Ping did not resign.

It would be wise for the President and Secretary Roxas to chart the course well in advance, and to make sure that the DOTC becomes one of the most transparent departments of the executive branch.

We all wish and will pray for Secretary Mar to succeed at his many tasks at the DOTC, but it goes without saying that entering the DOTC is the equivalent of entering the “Promised Land” or the Den of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves.

It will require the biblical equivalent of doing battle with the giants in telecommunications. Overcoming the fear or corruption in the department will require turning down the enticements and pressure from media moguls fighting over limited resources in the broadcast industry, and investigation of anomalous transactions and contracts in the past.

As difficult as all that may sound, it is in fact “the good news”.

If Mar Roxas stands and delivers with integrity and excellence, his performance at the DOTC will make him a viable President in 2016. I would however caution the President and Secretary Roxas about belittling the destructive potential of corruption.

As P-Noy indicated, there is corruption in the DOTC. It is public knowledge that many have profited from using their powers in the DOTC to the point of establishing an almost perpetual fountain of “kickbacks” even after leaving the DOTC.

With the benefit of hindsight, we can show how those who profited from corrupt acts and partnerships have lost that which they desired most, or lost those who loved them the most. They have either been booed or voted out of public office, their family torn apart, their marriage broken and their former glory gone.

Sadly, in the unexplainable concept of “Divine Justice”, I have known one or two cases when those who profited from corruption watched powerless as their children became “victims” of disease and injury.

Today the DOTC enjoys the attention and interest of the President himself. At the helm is the most trusted man under the Aquino administration. With their power, failure is not an option.

No it was not a masterstroke on the President’s part, it was divine intervention.

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