Doables

Several contentious provisions were stricken out, but the Supreme Court vote was unanimous: the Reproductive Health Law does not violate the Constitution.

Eight provisions were declared unconstitutional, but the SC decision in this aspect was reasonable. It means the law will not be rammed down everyone’s throat. This is important for such a controversial measure, making implementation easier.

It’s the latest victory for President Aquino, who from his days as a lawmaker had supported the RH measure, and who expended a lot of political capital to see the bill passed by Congress.

A little recognized achievement of P-Noy is that his confrontations with religious groups have strengthened the separation of church and state. This is a principle enshrined in our precious Constitution but blatantly violated in the past, both by religious leaders and politicians whose stay in power depended on religious support.

P-Noy did not owe his landslide election victory and continuing popularity to any religious group. He did not change his stand for RH during the presidential campaign.

When he assumed power, he reportedly tossed aside (literally) the large pile of papers sent to the Palace by the religious mafia, endorsing individuals for appointment to many of the thousands of vacancies in the new government.

The downside of this victory is that P-Noy will soon have one less excuse for failure to achieve inclusive growth. The birth rate is expected to slow down as the government begins giving away pills, condoms and contraceptive services for free to anyone interested.

With a more manageable population rate, the benefits of economic growth in Asia’s second fastest growing economy in 2012 should be able to trickle down quicker to the grassroots.

In this age of instant gratification, it surely won’t happen as quickly as expected. Impatience for solid achievements and diminished expectations will hit in time for the campaign for the 2016 elections, where P-Noy is expected to work for the victory of his handpicked successor.

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In his last two minutes, the pressure is growing for P-Noy to produce more tangible achievements. This has to be among the reasons for the flurry of public works projects all over Metro Manila, apart from the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next year in Manila.

P-Noy is also under pressure to show a significant improvement in the poverty rate. This has barely moved under his watch, to the consternation of economic planners. Also baffled are supporters of the conditional cash transfer program.

The few big-ticket projects launched since 2010, while useful, reinforce public perceptions that it doesn’t matter who’s in power: the same .001 percent of the population keeps getting richer and the poor, poorer or without improvement.

P-Noy, now on the defensive after being described as “an awful manager” by his own former presidential campaign manager, can count on some positives in the second half of his term to dent such perceptions.

Economic figures remain encouraging, even as institutions such as the World Bank call for more and sustained structural and financial reforms.

Our army of workers overseas, 10 million strong, won’t come home en masse any time soon even if BPOs beckon. Their multibillion-dollar remittances will continue buoying growth figures.

Business confidence remains high, although P-Noy has to do more to make this (and the country’s investment grade) translate into actual job-generating investments.

One of our most respected business leaders, who often expressed frustration over national events in the past, is now more bullish, and I don’t think it’s a simple case of mellowing with age. He told me economic growth is being felt by the middle class and he expected this to spread to the lower income brackets.

The victory for RH will be received well by business groups, which pushed strongly for the RH Law. Positive perceptions do translate into positive plans for investment in the Philippines. Those plans must translate into action soon.

Foreign investors remain impressed with the Philippines, and this should not be wasted. The other night I attended a reception at the French residence for a visiting business delegation led by Philippe Matiere, executive director of Matiere SA. The company has built roll-on, roll-off ramps installed all over the Philippines and is currently building boats for the government.

Engineering group Thales is also happy that its project, funded by JICA or the Japan International Cooperation Agency, to provide Philippine airports with the Communications Navigation Surveillance / Air Traffic Management system is finally moving forward, with completion expected in November next year and full operation in mid-2016.

Twenty of France’s top companies were represented in the delegation. French Ambassador Gilles Garachon, who has been assigned to several other countries, said he considered the Philippines “the most promising.”

France is allowing Cebu Pacific to fly to Paris, which should be good for two-way tourism. The French are interested in investing in our tourism infrastructure; our government wants to lure French travelers, many of whom are unaware of Philippine attractions. We also lost potential tourists after European carriers ended their direct flights to the Philippines.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez was at the reception and his enthusiasm was infectious. He presented the video used in tourism marketing blitzes. The video can truly entice foreigners to visit the Philippines.

Once the travelers are enticed, however, the problem is our poor tourism infrastructure, but Jimenez is undeterred. If certain national government agencies are slow in doing their part to attract travelers, Jimenez says he goes to local government executives, whose constituents will benefit from any tourism boom.

Tourism is one of the sunrise industries pushed for development by the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce. The industry can create employment and livelihood opportunities, preserve the environment, and make the masses enjoy economic growth. This challenge should be easier than working for the passage of the RH Law.

The ruling on the RH measure is a significant victory for the administration and adds points to business confidence, although its full impact will be for the next president to reap. After winning this battle, there are other doables for P-Noy, whose time is running out to dispel criticism of jobless growth.