Is anyone in charge?

A Facebook friend posted that it took him a miraculous 30 minutes from Quezon City to NAIA, three minutes to check in and one hour and forty five minutes to clear immigration.

For the past two weeks, I have been seeing photos posted on Facebook showing the long lines at immigration. This is a clear failure of governance.

The problem with immigration agents has been a long festering one. President Duterte vetoed a provision in the Congress-approved 2017 budget allowing the continued use of the so-called express lane fund for the payment of allowance and overtime for immigration personnel.

President Duterte said using the express lane funds for overtime pay of BI personnel had no legal basis. Money collected in this way should be deposited as income to the general fund, along with other such government fees.

That sounds reasonable to everyone except to the immigration staff members who lost a source of extra income. The practice has been going on through several administrations and the President thought the illegal practice should stop right now.

Budget Secretary Ben Diokno explained: “What occurs is an illegal augmentation of their pay. Through the express lane fees, they created another compensation scheme, separate from what all other government officials and employees follow. “

Come to think of it, why should anyone pay any express fee at all? Government is supposed to treat everyone with courtesy and efficiency. People deserve express service at no extra cost other than our usual taxes.

There is one other reason why the practice is illegal. The budget secretary said immigration agents had been receiving unlawful allowances that were up to 400 times their basic salary. “Civil service rules allow the payment of allowances of up to 50 percent of basic pay only,” the budget chief pointed out.

A solution offered by Diokno would be for the BI to step up hiring new personnel, since there are more than 900 unfilled positions in the agency. Diokno also pointed out the bureau has P245 million in the budget for compensation for service rendered beyond office hours. He also insisted there’s no way the President’s veto could be revoked.

Anyway, it has been a simmering battle between the budget chief and the immigration people, supported by their commissioner and the secretary of justice who supervises them. In the meantime, immigration officials have been filing leaves of absence and even resigning.

The number of agents reporting for work at the airports cannot handle the number of departing passengers. This causes a lot of inconvenience and even extra expenses associated with missed flights.

I heard even customs examiners assigned to the airports have prepared a draft order that requires airlines to pay overtime charges for their services beyond office hours. I thought they had fixed that problem during the last administration but here it is again.

The airlines argue that rendering customs inspection services is a government function and as such, government must be responsible for whatever overtime pay is being sought. Providing customs services is not an 8-5 office job but a 24/7 operation.

What is happening at the frontlines in our airports is embarrassing for the nation. In the midst of chaos, it is justified to ask: Is anybody in charge?

The Cabinet members involved should have fixed the problem a long time ago. That it has not been addressed speaks badly of the management skills of this administration

Maybe it is time to automate at least the re-entry of Filipino citizens. We have seen computerized immigration kiosks in many airports abroad. Only the entry of aliens is still being handled by an immigration officer. It is time to introduce the immigration service to the digital age.

And now here comes Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano who wants to scuttle the computerized system of seeking an appointment to apply or to renew a passport. He is reacting to complaints that the DFA website is difficult to access and appointment dates are full for months.

Using the internet to schedule an appointment date for visas is working well for the US as well as other embassies here. The problem with DFA’s passport system is technical in nature. They have a lousy access provider who can’t give a quick and secure way to get the business done.

The solution is technical as well. Maybe, a change in the access provider is called for. DICT should help. Provision must be instituted too, to prevent some people from making date reservations for resale to those in a hurry. This clogs the system.

One other problem I heard is the inability of the government printer to produce the number of passports required. Maybe upgrade the printer’s capability, change the printer or add more printers without sacrificing security.

But discarding the digital approach will bring back the long lines. It is foolish for Mr. Cayetano to think that people can just walk in to file an application and walk out with a passport. There will once again be long lines of people. Many would even sleep at the doorstep of the DFA to be among the first in line when office hours start.

It was President Duterte himself who said he hates to see long lines of people waiting for government services to be dispensed. Cayetano must avoid going back to the old system that produced all those long lines outside the DFA offices.

As the Duterte administration marks its first year, it is fair to ask if things have changed for the better or at least starting to. The President should crack the whip and make his officials govern effectively or resign. It cannot be business as usual… specially for front line services.

Build build build

The disappointing first quarter GDP figures can be blamed on government’s failure to carry out their programs beyond glitzy PowerPoint presentations. This is exactly why I had been skeptical about their Build Build Build program. Here is how economist Ciel Habito analyzed the numbers:

Government consumption spending grew from 7.8 and 8.4 percent in 2015 and 2016, respectively, but barely inched up by 0.2 percent in the first quarter this year. Public-construction spending grew by a hefty 19 and 28 percent in the past two years, but grew only two percent in the first quarter.

Even government services, largely measuring aggregate salaries paid to government employees, grew by 7.2 percent in 2016, but by only 5.5 percent in the first quarter.

Budget Secretary Ben Diokno has been telling us they are allocating larger budgets and are willing to incur larger government deficits for the sake of growth. But it appears that the implementing agencies—especially those in transport and public works—have not been up to the challenge. The numbers clearly show it.

They make us salivate with visions of a subway system when they can’t even complete a four kilometer railway extension quickly. Our airports are experiencing overcapacity utilization, but no relief in sight. Again I ask: Is someone in charge?

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco