Profiting from their ‘crime’

The law says that criminals should never profit from their crime. For example if a family member murders a relative, the killer should not profit from his crime by way of inheritance or the likes. That principle is something that a lawyer such as President Duterte should remember regarding the P1.13-billion fine that the MWSS has slapped on Manila Water. Even if the Ayalas diplomatically declared “No Contest” and opted to pay the fine as well as waive a month’s worth of water bills for their customers amounting to an estimated P500 million, I see no reason why the MWSS should benefit or profit from a fault that they were party to. Instead of getting or taking credit for slapping a fine on Manila Water, that might even be posted as “profit” in their annual reports, the management and board of the MWSS should resign or be fired!

In the first place, if the management, members of the board and MWSS regulators were on the job or being conscientious in their regulatory function, the water crisis for Manila Water customers could have been minimized, properly managed, if not avoided altogether. Manila Water did not run out of water overnight, the El Niño did not come in like a typhoon, and many problems that resulted to the water crisis had long been known to scientists, environmentalists, as well as former and present “water” experts and regulators. Then there is the fact that MWSS management and regulators did not suffer directly or were affected by the water crisis the way consumers, business establishments, and other government offices were. If anyone should benefit from the fine it should first be the customers of Manila Water and NOT the MWSS management and board.

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According to Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol, he is caught between a rock and a hard place trying to balance the interests of meat importers versus the interests of hog and poultry raisers in the Philippines. Piñol has on one or more occasions hinted that he is also under pressure from the “liberalized” views of government economic managers who are determined to keep food prices down as part of their anti-inflation measures. On the other hand, people like Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez has reportedly expressed his annoyance at the suggestion that they are behind or the cause of the over importation of meat products and the likes. Things have clearly gotten hot between stakeholders to the point that Piñol has reportedly expressed his annoyance publicly towards officials of the local hog industry particularly Rosendo So, who refuses to be intimidated by Piñol.

But while government officials and sector representatives bicker and point fingers, it is clear that consumers are not getting cheaper meats, vendors are still paying high prices, local hog and poultry raisers are cutting back on production due to losses, while meat importers have brought in so much cheap meat and poultry from abroad that all cold storage facilities are reportedly full. Industry experts claim that the imported meat and poultry can supply the country’s demand for the next nine months. Local associations of producers are pointing to the fact that the meat and chicken sold in public markets are no longer “Fresh” but are actually defrosted meat and chicken.  A poultry executive recently told me that many producers and large farms have cancelled orders for hundreds of thousands of “Day Old Chicks” due to the glut of imported chicken. This development will affect chick producers, feed companies, poultry raisers, contractors, transporters and retailers.

Unless Secretary Manny Piñol does something radical to protect the interest of local producers, he might find himself pinned by the rock to a hard place.

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At the height of the water crisis, some people thought that in the event of an all out drought or severe water shortage, they would simply move out of Metro Manila and go back to their provinces. Well, not so fast, Probinsyano. I spent most of last week out of town and one of my destinations was Dumaguete City and the town of Siaton in Negros Oriental where I took part as a volunteer lecturer for B-Meg Feeds Fiestahan. The usually beautiful and picturesque Silliman University had lost its “green” and while tourists continue to flock to Dumaguete, most of them were either out by the sea, nearby islands or under the shade.

During our 55-minute drive to the town of Siaton, it quickly became apparent how hard hit the province was by the El Niño. I counted at least three streams or maybe small rivers that were dry to the bone while bamboo and coconut trees shriveled from the persistent heat and drought, and the only places with “water” were those being fed by the sea during high tide. Before this trip I was in Lipa, Batangas where I learned from locals that their deep well pumps have started to sputter, signaling that the underground water levels have started to dry up as well. With this in mind, President Duterte should fast track or prioritize the passing of the law creating the Department of Water so that provincial and local governments can devote the next three years to building major or mini water reservoirs in their provinces or localities. This shift in priority will give politicians “the right projects” to invest in, instead of ripping up roads and highways on the last six months of their term just to make money before elections. President Duterte should either ban or make it extremely difficult for Mayors and Governors to rip up roads for “repaving” or “rehabilitation” and tell them to use the money, concrete and labor to build reservoirs, pave “waterways” and use PVC pipes for irrigation to reduce water loss!

Hopefully, if President Duterte manages to get politicians and the DPWH to focus on water conservation and management, PRRD might earn the title of being the first president who actually did more for the environment and water conservation.

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