Physically present but mentally absent

They would have been fired – they should have been fired.

New reports indicate that when DILG Secretary Año called for a general meeting of local government officials to discuss the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, some mayors did not attend while others sent proxies or representatives. If anything this already tells us what many local officials think or feel about the rehabilitation plans for Manila Bay or of Secretary Año. Sorry for this analogy but its like calling a gang of rapists to a meeting to discuss how they can restore the dignity or virginity of their victim.

Was the meeting simply a heads up where the DILG Chief was going to tell the LGU officials that henceforth all laws related to environmental protection and conservation would be and should be enforced by LGUs?

Was Secretary Año planning to solicit the cooperation of co-conspirators to the rape of Manila Bay? Was the DILG Chief going to make an appeal to mayors to relocate their estero pooping and garbage dumping illegal settlers and sacrifice thousands of lost votes in just a few months? Or was he going to call for further shut down of tax-paying, bribe-giving business establishments that flush their chemical, commercial, and residential waste on LGU constructed and funded drainage canals that are a rich source of kickbacks from contractors year after year?

If this was or is the case, I am reminded of what the character Mabini said in the movie “Heneral Luna”: “Nasubukan mo na bang hulihin ang hangin?” or have you ever tried catching the wind? I admire how Secretary Año goes by the book and by protocol but I fear that he could be setting himself up for great disappointment, a big fight, or an even bigger mess than he started with. While those local officials are not likely to band together against him or the President, they will most likely come down to the point where they pretend to be doing something, will buy time to get past elections then stall on the program, or let their affected constituents go to court so the official can wash his or her hands.

History teaches us that the best way to deal with uncooperative or too big for their britches kind of politicians is simply hauling them off to court, to jail, or slapping them with suspensions that render them powerless!

In relation to Manila Bay the odds are all in Año’s favor that many if not most governors, mayors and barangay captains are guilty of multiple violations in relation to environmental law enforcement and governance. Instead of fantasizing of building commonality and cooperation with the guilty, Secretary Año should instead work with lawyers, law enforcers and NGOs to pinpoint violations and start filing cases against city officials all around Manila Bay. Only when several officials end up in court, in the papers, in the news, only then will the rest of “the gang” take Secretary Año seriously.  

As it is, several mayors have set the tone. Either the meeting was not important enough for the local royalties to attend or they have more important business and businessmen to meet with than Secretary Año.

If these jokers were working in the private sector, they would have been suspended or fired. In the world of governance and leadership the principal issue at hand is “Respect” and that is something these local officials in absentia did not give to Secretary Año.

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After writing about how the unsolicited proposal of San Miguel Corp. to build an airport in Bulacan has languished for over two years, after writing about the presidential walkout upon discovering project proposals and land grants languishing in government offices such as the NEDA Board between two to 25 years, we now hear how the DPWH has failed to pay landowners who gave up lands to be used as tollways.

As a result, some of those landowners picketed/barricaded one lane of the TPLEX Pozorrubio toll gate to draw attention to the fact that they have remained unpaid by the DPWH. It is ironic that we never hear or read about DPWH contractors not being paid for projects.

In fact if I remember correctly the practice of the DPWH is to pay a mobilization fee of something like 20 or 30 percent. So how come landowners remain unpaid long after government acquired lands have been developed and have become income generating? Why do contractors get paid first than landowners who are forced to give land?

Caught in between the mess, we now read about how San Miguel COO Ramon Ang has floated the idea of SMC advancing the payments to landowners apparently to avoid the escalation of conflict and serious disruption of business, not to mention potential security concerns. This seemingly small incident sheds light on the incompetence and insensitivity of DPWH leadership toward landowners who got the short end of the stick and now pushes corporations such as SMC to find a solution. At the very least Secretary Mark Villar should see to it that heads roll for the mess and see to it that documentation and process is simplified. Better yet, invite the NBI to investigate if some insiders have set up a system where consolidators have been tapped in order to get a cut from the millions of pesos being paid out!

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