Energizer

Vince Dizon is prize catch for an administration quickly running low on energy and enthusiasm.

It is never easy to draw executive talent from the private sector to serve government. Pay in the public sector is low by comparison. The bureaucracy is often immovable. There is always too much politicking going on. There are too many bosses to be appeased.

In a word, working for government is exasperating – even excruciating. If you shine too brightly, someone will shoot you down. If you step on sacred toes, someone will drag you to the ombudsman. If you trip on vested interests, you will be brought before some congressional kangaroo court and properly demeaned.

Vince had done his time for government – with aplomb. He was appointed president of the BCDA when the New Clark City was being rushed in time for our hosting the Asian Games and when the Clark Airport was nothing. He built both during his brief three-year stint.

Serving President Rodrigo Duterte, Vince donned several hats. He was Presidential Adviser on Flagship Programs and Projects, president and CEO of the BCDA when the massive Build, Build, Build program was in full swing and then deputy chief implementer of the COVID-19 effort. For his work, he was awarded one of the highest civilian honors by the president he served: the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Bayani.

While wearing many hats, Rep. Joey Salceda recalls how Vince Dizon helped him pass the tax reform program. This was the centerpiece fiscal program of the Duterte administration.

When the pandemic broke out, he was pressed into service as vaccination czar. He had to procure vaccines that did not yet exist, find a way to pay for the supply we need and disseminate the doses efficiently under extreme lockdown conditions.

Some might have taken such an assignment as cruel and unusual punishment. Vince saw the assignment as a surmountable challenge. He somehow found enough vaccine doses and distributed them, including those that required low temperature storage, even as transport and travel were severely curtailed.

Shortly before the pandemic broke out, he invited us to observe the construction work going on in preparation for the Southeast Asian Games. His office was spare: the walls adorned only by quotations from select philosophers. But his energy filled the place.

Vince took us to the sports complex being rushed at New Clark City. There was a sign at the main gate counting down the number of days they had to complete the daunting project. Apart from that, there were a few half-constructed buildings and a lot of dust.

He assured us the project would be completed in time, Olympic pools and all. We were all a bit incredulous. When the pandemic hit and travel was restricted, we thought the thing would never get done. But he pulled it off, even after he was assigned to the pandemic task force. Our hosting of the Southeast Asian Games happened without a hitch.

He pulled the same magic with the Clark International Airport, setting the stage for the construction of an international-grade terminal and attracting regional airlines to open routes from the facility. Today, the Clark airport is bustling with activity, especially after San Miguel Corporation, managing the NAIA, consigned all propeller-driven flights to the outlying facility.

This man has an incredible talent to get people working and processes moving.

After the Duterte presidency, Vince moved to the private sector where his unique talents were harnessed – and properly compensated. But that respite could not possibly last too long for a man of exemplary executive talents.

When Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista, pleading health concerns, resigned from the post, few were surprised Vince Dizon was chosen to replace him. Fewer were surprised Vince accepted the challenge.

Notwithstanding Bautista’s exemplary effort, including the landmark privatization of the NAIA, our transport sector remains extremely problematic. Our ports remain congested. The rail system planned for Luzon seems bogged down. Regional airports need serious upgrades if we are to develop our tourism industry. The transport modernization program remains contested. EDSA is quickly slipping into immobility.

Our principal regulatory agencies for land transport – the LTO and the LTFRB – continue to be beset by incompetence. Inter-island freight costs remain higher than global averages. Inefficiencies contribute to the food inflation that punishes the nation’s poor.

When he takes over the Transportation portfolio next week, Vince Dizon will have a lot to unpack.

First, he needs to attract investments to our transportation sector. Last year, foreign investment flow into the Philippine economy declined dramatically. It seems the international investment community pushed us out of the radar screen. Economic statesmanship has been seriously lacking. Politicking constantly rears its ugly head.

Second, he must whip the transport regulatory agencies into better shape. We still cannot issue license plates for new vehicles promptly. Our transport information system remains incomplete.

Third, Vince must find a way to get our projected rail system moving. We need either foreign assistance or private investments to get this done.

Fourth, domestic shipping remains inefficient. This is fatal for an archipelagic economy.

All the new road space in Metro Manila is due to private investments in tollways, often resisted by bureaucrats. A new tollway from Taguig to Quezon City will finally be built, entirely on private initiative.

We need the best Vince Dizon can deliver to sort out our transport mess.