The NTC in Butuan: Still looking for reforms

Last Tuesday (Nov. 11), it was Butuan City’s turn to host the National Transformation Council (NTC) the first to be held in the island of Mindanao. Just looking at the Facebook photos of the event, which was jampacked with people, one can very well say that this event was very successful. The NTC was publicly introduced in Lipa, Batangas last Aug. 27, then it came to Cebu last Oct. 1 then on to Butuan. I understand that come December, it will be the turn of Davao City to host the NTC, then it goes to Manila.

The NTC is the only non-political entity seeking genuine reforms that would benefit the majority of the Filipino people, rather than what is happening today, which benefits only the political elite. Because of this political imbalance, it is also linked to the grave imbalance in the distribution of wealth where only the top 40 wealthy families control nearly 90% of the country’s money. So if we change our political system, then things would augur well for the greater majority of the Filipino people.

But how can we even start reforms when President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III is no longer interested in seeking an extended term of office? With that issue out of the way P-Noy is no longer interested in Charter changes. This only shows how selfish P-Noy is… because this country needs real reforms via changes through a Constitutional Convention (con-con) but that avenue has been shut down by P-Noy. So it is only the NTC talking about reforms for the betterment of our nation.

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Remember the issue of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX)? Apparently, even despite the protestations of the Makati Business Club (MBC) that the bidding was in order, no less than Pres. Aquino has made up his mind, saying that this is the “most fair thing to do given the circumstances.” So what’s the score here? That the original bidding for this project was rigged? If so, how come there’s no investigation on this? It just makes me wonder how DPWH Sec. Rogelio Singson feels about this decision.

This is what happens in the world of business when big business conglomerates, close to the President use their influence to win infrastructure projects. Another issue about big business is that recent Court of Appeals decision affirming a joint use agreement between Globe Telecom and Bayantel regarding the use of frequencies assigned to Bayantel.

Smart Communications filed a petition questioning the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) approval of the joint use by Globe and Bayantel for those frequencies…but in the end last Oct. 24, the Special former 12th Division of the Court of Appeals rejected the motion by Smart Communications. The CA pointed out that the NTC “cannot be said that it acted with grave abuse of discretion, the grant of the joint use was made subject to fail-safe conditions and upon approval of the rehabilitation court.” Now who was it that said that Globe Telecom and Smart Communications was a duopoly? I think those who said it were totally mistaken!

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Last Thursday was a very exciting day for me as I had the honor and the pleasure to have Don Jose “Pepe” Rodriquez as guest on my talk show, “Straight from the Sky” which we will be showing come Dec. 1. Whenever I met up with Don Pepe, he always brings back memories of our days with my mentor the late Sir Max Soliven as they were bosom buddies. I’ve always asked Don Pepe to be on my show and finally he made it to my 771st show.

Don Pepe was in Cebu for the launching of his 5th book entitled “Front Pages of Philippine History.” It is a compilation of selected front pages of Philippine newspapers from Don Pepe’s personal archives; some of them as far back at the turn of the century… many of them in Spanish. This book was sponsored by the Manila Bulletin’s Don Emilio Yap and boast an introduction by Nobel Prize winner in Literature Mario Vargas Llosa.

I recommend this book to all journalists because it gives you a historical timeline of the front-page news in the Philippines. Some of those front page news would even surprise you… making you conclude that not much has changed in the country since. As they say, the more you want to change things… the more things stay the same.

For instance, there was a headline dating back to 1952 entitled “Pork Barrel Eliminated!” Independence Day on July 4, 1946 was front-page news and it just makes you wonder… why the Philippines today celebrate Independence Day on the 12th of June? As I pointed out many times before, no one, not even a President should monkey around with our history. Thank you Don Pepe for launching this book in Cebu as it is one of the most interesting books about Philippine journalism that I’ve ever seen.

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