State of the nation

Are we better off today?

That’s the basic question that every State of the Nation Address (SONA) must answer.

The benchmark, as Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III delivers his SONA today, will be the quality of life in 2010, when he assumed power on the promise of battling corruption.

In his third SONA, President Aquino is expected to dwell on the progress of his main campaign. At the start of his term, he had identified the ombudsman and chief justice at the time as major hindrances to his anti-corruption efforts. Now that both officials are out of the way after impeachment by the House of Representatives – twin feats that I had doubted would succeed – expectations are higher that the anti-corruption effort will gather steam.

As important as filing criminal charges against the corrupt (and securing their conviction), however, is institutionalizing changes in governance so that everyone will realize it can no longer be business as usual.

Is the system better today than in July 2010? Do we get our driver’s license, vehicle registration and business permits without running into red tape and fixers? Is there less corruption, whether large-scale or penny ante, in the agencies seen as the most corrupt? In surveys, the worst have always been the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs, and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Under new management, there seem to be fewer complaints about corruption in the BIR, but investors continue to grumble about smuggling, especially in areas controlled by influential politicians.

As for the DPWH, Roxas Boulevard, repaved only three months ago for the 45th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank, is again disintegrating after several days of heavy rain. Is the deterioration inevitable, or the result of rushed work, incompetence, or cutting corners to make up for corruption costs? P-Noy should ask the DPWH.

But I was pleased to see a large billboard in Pasig a few weeks ago, without the name or face of any politician. Instead the billboard identified the contractor of a public works project; the project’s specs, contract cost and implementation date; the contractor’s address, and the source of funding: simply “PDAF.” That’s the Priority Development Assistance Fund, euphemism for the congressional pork barrel. Whose PDAF it was, I couldn’t see in the billboard. This practice should be institutionalized like the ban on wang-wang.

Contrast Pasig with Paranaque, for example, where the Olivarez and Bernabe clans are outdoing each other with billboards posted everywhere, bearing the faces and names of father-and-son politicos, laying claim to government projects or congratulating city residents for every imaginable event.

Among the most resistant to anti-corruption efforts are local governments. Local executives who protect the business interests of relatives and cronies are among the biggest hindrances to investments and healthy competition.

If the detailed provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019), the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713) and related laws were to be strictly enforced, our jails would be overflowing with local government executives. Toss in a number of lawmakers as well. Can P-Noy’s anti-corruption efforts reach these officials?

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The word from Malacañang yesterday was that P-Noy would cite in his SONA “undeniable” gains in his anti-corruption efforts, poverty alleviation, regaining investor confidence, and increased infrastructure projects.

Expect mention of the cases filed against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her former officials (rushed in time for the SONA, according to her camp) and the ouster of Renato Corona as chief justice.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said yesterday the long-term objective is to maintain the “developments toward a virtuous cycle of sustained growth, prosperity and peace.”

The country looks headed for investment-grade credit rating after a series of upgrades. Business process outsourcing continues to boom. Rising labor and production costs in China are also making its less prosperous neighbors, the Philippines included, more attractive for foreign direct investments.

Still, we’re waiting for more investors to come in.

Last week P-Noy told ANC he was no longer keen on his flagship public-private partnership program, which he had hoped would be the answer to the inadequacy of the nation’s infrastructure in many areas. He said the incentives dangled to attract PPP participants, which could mean higher costs for the public, were no longer needed.

P-Noy needs big-ticket investments to create the jobs necessary to achieve his long-term goal, which is to end the mass exodus of Filipino workers and bring most of those overseas home.

The strength of the economy, built on the backs of those workers, is a hindrance to reforms needed to make the nation competitive in the global economy. The tiny privileged group in Philippine society that controls wealth and power uses the strength of the economy as an excuse to protect personal interests, maintain the status quo, and resist reforms that are necessary for sustained and inclusive growth.

Making economic growth inclusive is a major challenge for P-Noy. Another challenge that requires his immediate attention is public safety.

The increase in tourist arrivals will be cited in the SONA today, but the tourism campaign can be derailed by rising criminality.

As of last night, former Philippine Tourism Authority chief (and former STAR reporter) Nixon Kua remained in critical condition after being shot in the face Saturday night by a robber in a gated village in Calamba, Laguna. The robber, who fled with a bag he grabbed from Nixon containing P90,000 in cash, also wounded Nixon’s brother.

The attack comes on the heels of an admission by the Philippine National Police that the crime rate in Metro Manila is up by almost 64 percent in the first six months of the year.

P-Noy has so far pursued his main campaign promise of fighting corruption with an intensity that critics say borders on obsessiveness.

But people inevitably demand more from their president: safe water, food, shelter, decent jobs, health care, proper education. And yes, personal safety. These are among the gut issues in mind when the question is asked: Are we better off today?