Running wild

“Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint” (Proverbs 29:18).

BANGKOK, Thailand – We have had two major wake up calls regarding fuel and power this year, but the people responsible for this matter are still sleeping on the job.

For several months now, Filipinos have experienced almost weekly price increases in fuel. Last week leaders from Mindanao hit the panic button telling Malacanang to do something about the power shortage in their region. So far the only action I’ve seen from anybody came in the form of press release.

The P-Noy administration may have very little to offer in terms of hardware or budgetary support to address the two-headed problem of runaway prices and power shortage, but that does not mean nothing can be done.

What we need is leadership, vision and a plan.

In terms of leadership, I’m sorry to say that no one from government or the private sector has really stepped up to tell people “WE” can do something about our consumption, fuel efficiency, and alternative energy development etc. Everybody has been talking but no one has been “leading.”

No one has cast a vision where Filipinos can cut their electricity and fuel consumption by 10 to 15 percent per person or per household because they don’t want to piss off the business sector. Several people are now promoting greater participation of Filipinos in the Earth Hour where we go lights out for an hour to reduce global warming. If we can promote Earth Hour and things such as “the 3 O’clock habit”, why can’t we have a vision called “-10” or “-15.”

Clearly we need people to lead or carry the message that yes, all of us can do something about fuel prices and power shortage: we can start by using less of it. When you have a simplified approach such as “-10” that ordinary people can do, people will run with it.

When there is Leadership and there is Vision, there must also be a plan.

So many Filipino experts have their own ideas of how to deal with the problem, but no one has yet come up with a simplified plan that respects and recognizes even the smallest of ideas. If only the village chief has a word on the matter, there won’t be a wholehearted support for “His” idea because the rest of the tribe were ignored.

A true leader will make sure that everyone in the playground will get to play or take part and will be able to contribute something. Only by doing that will everyone take ownership of the vision and the plan. With that in mind, we can introduce the element of fun by holding contests or competitions much like science fairs where students, households, barangays, government offices as well as private businesses and offices can submit ideas, concepts and plans on how they can achieve “-10 ” or “-15” in their specific location and situation.

This way whatever ideas are put into place they won’t be an imposition. The contests can even be subdivided so that students compete with students, agencies versus agencies etc.

Instead of having a problem we actually have a golden opportunity before us that will allow us to discover the ingenuity and practicality of all Filipinos.

It excites me to imagine what organic or nature based ideas Pinoys will come up with on how to reduce the use of air-conditioners in schools, offices and government buildings. What will students of engineering, design and architecture come up with? How will the private sector and government employees respond in terms of creativity to cut their costs on transportation and lighting?

So you see, it’s not just about coming up with profit oriented, business based ideas such as fuel blends like ethanol or bio fuel. It should be more about how to reduce the use of fuel and power by consciously living our lives in line with a vision and a plan.

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Last time I checked out of the Philippines, I still went through the “inconvenient” process of explaining that I am not the “Luis Beltran” who is on the immigration watch list by order of a former RTC Judge, who is now Supreme Court Justice Lucas Bersamin.

Like a number of Filipinos who share the same name with several other individuals, I have experienced the inconvenience of being momentarily delayed at the NAIA while the duty officer gets his or her OIC to initial and OK my declaration that I have no hold departure order against me. Because the process only takes about 5 minutes and because BID officers are pleasant and almost apologetic about the “same name” technicality, I have learned to take such matters in stride.

So when I learned on the Internet that the Bureau of Immigration recently put out an order to purge the BID data banks of expired or five-year-old Hold Departure Orders or Watch List Order (WLO) I immediately wrote this column to praise the BI, particularly Commissioner Ric David who I know has long wanted to delete stale or expired HDOs and WLOs.

The BI decision does not cover HDOs issued by the courts, so poor little me will still have to patiently endure the inconvenience of “same name” technicality. Nonetheless, I praise and admire the BI leadership for displaying proactive management as well as political will.

Not only will the BI declog or clear their files of 6,000 dead files, they will ease the burden and inconvenience of people who have to go through such humiliating experience. More importantly, it will put a stop to the “escort service” form of corruption at the NAIA.