Fruits of Daang Matuwid

I would be among the first to say our journey down Daang Matuwid with P-Noy on the driver’s seat had been far from smooth. But that’s to be expected, given the rotten road he has inherited when he assumed office.

The journey however, has so far been remarkable largely because we embarked on it at all. It is probably still largely symbolic to many people but even then, there were those who liked what they saw. There had been a notable optimistic change in outlook for our country during the past three years.

The favorable reviews from business, economic and political analysts from all over the world wouldn’t have been possible in the past regime. Our new investment grade credit status is to a great extent anchored on the perception we have an honest leader in P-Noy.

I am among those who appreciate P-Noy’s honesty and perseverance in pushing Daang Matuwid but also want to see movement beyond mere hopes and dreams. Thus, I have been relentless in pushing this administration to go beyond the rhetoric and start producing results that people can appreciate.

We have been frustrated by the slow movement in PPP, a flagship program. Daang Matuwid can also be more credible if there is noticeable improvement in the fight against corruption in such notorious government agencies as the Bureau of Customs.

I have all but given up hope on such key government agencies such as DOTC. I am almost sure they would be extremely lucky to deliver one or two major infrastructure projects before P-Noy goes back home to Times Street.

Of course I realize the ways of the bureaucracy are difficult for rational people to understand. Our government rules are designed to scare honest officials so as to delay decision making in vital projects but the out and out crooks are still able to steal with impunity from the public treasury.

Still, there are enough bureaucrats and agencies in government who quietly deliver on the promise of Daang Matuwid. I am often pleasantly surprised when I hear of such things happening.

For instance I found out during a recent visit of GSIS general manager Robert Vergara to The Philippine Star editorial office that they were able to significantly bring down reinsurance costs simply by following the rules strictly. The funny thing (or maybe not so funny) is that the same reinsurers who gave inflated bids in the past regime magically reduced their bids when they realized that this time it is strictly Daang Matuwid.

Vergara told me that since 2011, they have saved more than a billion pesos simply by strictly following the rules. For the 52 accounts that were bid out in 2012, savings generated compared to the 2010 premiums, was P656 million; compared against the 2011 premiums, savings of P437 million were realized.

Gee… that’s sounds like the margin of corruption before Daang Matuwid. Does anyone want to make three guesses where those billion pesos went? And what about the private sector counterparties to those bloated contracts… would they care to explain the difference in their costs for the same coverage? Fighting corruption involves private sector entities dealing with government too.

Vergara also cited the National Grid Corp of the Philippines as an example. There was a time when NGCP, a private company running government assets, wanted to buy their own insurance coverage because the GSIS cost was obviously exorbitant. One of the NGCP directors is a pillar of the local insurance industry and knew they were being screwed but can do nothing because rules gave GSIS exclusive right to provide coverage.

Now, Vergara said a significant amount of savings of P84 million was realized in 2011 against the 2010 premiums. This, despite lower deductibles in 2011 compared to 2010. No significant savings for 2012 though considering the losses incurred by NGCP in 2011.

Last week, there was also another heartwarming story. The Court of Appeals indefinitely stopped the government from implementing its contract with the Japanese Nagayama consortium for the development of the Nampeidai property in Tokyo, Japan. This is one of our three war reparations properties that the Arroyo administration disposed of. The two other properties were in Kobe, Japan.

This was such a scandal in Japan and among the Filipinos in Japan. I imagine WW2 veterans who suffered as well as the relatives of those who died cannot understand how the Arroyo government can put a price on their sufferings.

When P-Noy took over, key administration officials were appalled our own government was losing the battle to retain this property in our own court --- the Pasay City regional trial court ruled in favor of the Japanese consortium, even issuing a writ of execution. Because of that, the case in the Japanese court also could not move to our favor.

The reversal of fortunes is welcome. In the ruling last week, the CA acted on the petition filed by the Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario, Philippine ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez and Bids and Awards Committee for Nampeidai Property Development Project chair Carlo Carag. The petition was also closely attended to by Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza.

With the CA ruling, the Japanese court ruled in our favor and we recovered the Nampeidai property last Saturday, June 1. Finally, our flag is proudly flying again in a property that should not have been sold in the first place.

I see this as another victory for the Daang Matuwid. Karma is working double time as Gary Teves, Ate Glue’s principal architect for disposing of these heritage properties in Japan, lost his recent electoral bid in his home province where his family is the long reigning political dynasty.

One other important achievement of Daang Matuwid is the great improvement in fiscal management. This has allowed the government to increase spending on social safety nets. While such programs like the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) are controversial, these are something we need to do to address hopeless poverty and hunger among a large portion of our people.

Through CCT, more than 3.5 million Filipinos, can now afford to keep their kids in school and receive basic healthcare services. There are now more public schools and teachers to attend to our young population and we have put in place the K-12 program to improve the quality of the education that they receive.

Funds are also now available to expand public health insurance so that more vulnerable families can have access to basic healthcare. And because of the progress toward a peace deal with the MILF, these services are also now available to vulnerable families in ARMM.

There are other things that Daang Matuwid made possible. Reform legislation like RH and sin taxes, for instance were almost impossible to get passed by Congress until P-Noy stuck his neck out and put his considerable political capital towards having these laws passed.

Open Skies is another reform measure past administrations couldn’t get passed due to intense opposition from vested interests. It is a vital component of our revitalized Tourism program that will attract 10 million tourists and create jobs in the countryside.

And who would have thought it was possible to replace the ombudsman and the chief justice? The reason why P-Noy focused on these two individuals is to serve notice that we need to clean up our judicial system for the economy to thrive. Who will want to invest in a country whose judicial system is reputed to be the best in the world that money can buy?

As P-Noy embarks on the homestretch of his term, he needs to quicken the pace not just of reforms under Daang Matuwid but the pace of delivering actual infrastructure and vastly improving delivery of services. In a future column, we will tackle the limits of Daang Matuwid.

For the meantime however, the administration must deliver more good news to show Daang Matuwid is more than a propaganda line. Time is running out and no matter how attractive a concept Daang Matuwid may be, its luster will fade in time unless more concrete accomplishments are delivered by key agencies like Customs, DOTC and the airport authority people, among others.

It is time for P-Noy to crack the whip and demand performance from his people.

Basis

Saw this post and thought it was funny.

Gay marriage and marijuana being legalized on the same day make sense. Leviticus 20:13 – “if a man lies with another man, as with a woman, he should be stoned.”

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