Thank you Mr. President — more please

After a week of dread and trepidation over the release of 11,000 prisoners, 2,160 of whom were life-termers or heinous crimes convicts, 1,500+ of whom were rapists or killers, there is now some light at the end of the tunnel after President Rodrigo Duterte acted swiftly and decisively to fire Nicanor Faeldon, “recalled” the released prisoners and gave a stern warning to them to surrender or die. Once again, President Duterte exemplified what the public wanted in terms of “Executive Action”, no ifs or buts, no conditions, just pure political will. Regardless of your political color, we must all congratulate or at least compliment President Duterte for immediate action. If we want political will and strong leadership then it is our responsibility to recognize and praise the things they do right so that they have incentive to keep doing so.

But as expressed in the column title, we still need much more action beyond the termination of Usec. Faeldon from the Bilibid and the recall of the life-termers. The President has already instructed Secretary Menardo Guevarra to review or investigate how BuCor officials conducted the screening and qualification of the GCTA beneficiaries, especially since he was intentionally kept in the dark or out of the loop when life-termers were being included under the GCTA. He also needs to investigate who are responsible for distorting the spirit of the law, expanding the coverage for who qualifies, and essentially crafting an IRR or Implementing Rules and Regulations that made the law susceptible to graft, corruption and subjective interpretation. This particular event where officials abused their authority, twisted the intent of the law and raped justice in the Philippines demands that those found guilty should go to jail or share the same prison cells with those who will now be called back to their cell blocks. They must go to jail and pay the full price for their impunity.

BuCor or penitentiary officials must be excluded in the review process for GCTA applicants. The members of the review committee should all be independent external evaluators who have no daily exposure or contact with prisoners and their families. The DOJ should also prioritize those who are economically disadvantaged and relationally displaced because they have nothing or no one to apply or fast track their cases. The President and members of Congress should move toward the demolition of Bilibid and support a bill that will be re-filed by Congressman Rufus Rodriguez, calling for the construction of regional penitentiaries and scaling down Bilibid to a smaller, modern and manageable penitentiary for Metro Manila residents. Such a move will almost insure the demolition of the Mafia inside Bilibid! The BuCor and Bilibid should be the next anti-corruption target of President Duterte.

The President should also call for the proper training of prison personnel not just as jail guards but as schooled, even internationally trained wardens and prison executives. We need professionally trained staff if we demand professional management of prisoners and facilities. The qualifications should be so high relative to an equally high compensation package if we expect them to be beyond financial temptation or corruption. But for the moment, we thank you Mr. President for partially restoring our faith in the system.

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It’s closer than you think, sooner than you think.

Yes the San Miguel Corp. Bulacan airport or the New Manila International Airport will soon be breaking ground. It is closer and accessible to Metro Manila because it is almost on the boundary line of greater Metro Manila and Bulacan. Starting from Caloocan you go pass Navotas, then Ubando, Bulacan and you’re there in Bulakan, Bulacan. From the NLEX it is eight kilometers as the crow flies and it will take it mere minutes by car when they construct an access expressway just like they did from SLEX into NAIA.

SMC Chief Ramon Ang recently addressed all questions raised regarding the project over lunch. RSA said once they break ground they expect to build up the first two runways within a 48-month period to be followed by two more runways. On the question of funding, he hinted on who were some of the global financiers who have signified their desire to be part of the $15 billion project and all of them were financial head turners. RSA also shared the approach of SMC in developing what naysayers called a White Elephant, into a White Dragon, by inviting regional and international companies engaged in aircraft maintenance, airport operations, ground services, regional hubs and budget airlines. RSA claims that one of the biggest budget airlines in the region has already signified their intention to set up their own low cost terminal inside the NMIA. Such a development will surely boost local economies and make air travel highly competitive in the Philippines.

In terms of facilities the SMC Bulacan airport will have 180 air bridges for the main terminal alone. As for socio environmental impact, RSA reassured his audience that if San Miguel Corp. could donate hundreds or thousands of houses to victims of typhoons and the Marawi siege, they will do no less for 34 families living inside the private fishpond all of whom are actually “relocated employees” of the previous owner. To prevent flooding like those experienced at NAIA, the SMC project will include dredging of all rivers or tributaries in the area, the silt of which will be used to back fill man-made fishponds so they can be converted into rice land. Ang pointed out that San Miguel Corp donated P1 billion to help clear up Tullahan river and this has reduced flooding already. There will be more announcements once the formal contract signing and ground breaking is done, but for now the future looks bright for air travellers in the Philippines.

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