‘Una gawa, bago dada’

That saying means do the work first.

The phrase strongly suggests that instead of talking about what you want to do, hope to do or plan to do, you simply should do something first before opening your mouth. In current times, there is a tendency among government officials and some businessmen to broadcast plans and solutions even before “complete staff work” has been done, proper research and feasibility studies conducted or consensus is arrived at by all stakeholders.

This is usually driven by the desire to gain PR points, to give the impression that you are in control and ahead of the ball, or to simply give the media and the public something to chew on in the absence of actual plans and accomplishments. As smart alecks say, “If you don’t know what to do, just wing it” or make it up as you go.

To those who have followed certain high-ranking officials of the current administration, it has been observed that from the President down, there are a lot of people who are great at giving speeches that are largely based on aspirations, general statements of support or ceremonial recognition of special events and occasions. In street parlance: ‘Wish Ko Lang’ speeches.

That’s all well and good if they amount to something or lead to positive accomplishments or results. Unfortunately, in terms of content and context, most of those speeches come across as something written for the occasion and nothing else. As a result, many people have turned off or simply don’t bother to listen. The worst is if people listen and believe in a half-cooked announcement or promise. But even worse is if a government office chooses not to say anything until it’s too late.

For instance, Vietnam recently announced that they will export two million doses of African swine fever vaccine to the Philippines this October. That is certainly welcome news for all hog raisers in the country. But the question is how far has the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Animal Industry and the Food and Drug Administration worked on preparing for this?

Anyone who remembers all the confusion, arguments and price manipulation that took place during the introduction of the COVID vaccines will recall how ill-prepared, ignorant and bureaucratic various agencies and stakeholders were. Alongside all of that, Filipinos were dying and throwing money at every imaginable solution and treatment in a mass panic.

When science, bureaucracy and regulatory concerns collide, it prolongs the agony of the affected, increases the mortality figures and becomes a money-making opportunity for the immoral and criminal. That is what I see happening all over again if the DA does not do the work ahead of the talk.

Judging from the silence and resistance to transparency and information sharing on the part of the Department of Agriculture on the matter, one can only guess that they have not pro-actively prepared for the time when ASF vaccines are delivered to the Philippines. One source has shared that nothing much is being done because for the longest time, the vaccine had yet to be approved by the Vietnamese government and that authorities were probably not in a rush to make plans until they were certain.

Another possibility is that they are still debating if the vaccines should be acquired on a “government-to-government” arrangement and subsequently be controlled and distributed by government only. The next hurdle is who will test, validate and approve the efficacy and safety of the ASF vaccines. In the case of the COVID vaccines, a lot of anger was sparked by the “slow and methodical” approach of the Food and Drug Administration. Will the same thing happen all over again?

The question is who will validate the ASF vaccines? The FDA, the BAI, a couple of local independent laboratories? Or will we take the word of the US-Vietnamese manufacturers at face value in order to fast track the acceptance and release of the ASF vaccine that hog farms need desperately? This is a serious point of concern for many stakeholders as well as the private sector in general.

Given the very long and delayed registration of products, expensive and ever-changing policies, backlog and months-long delay in getting testing appointments with the FDA and government accredited laboratories, different investors and stakeholders in the agriculture sector have clamored that feeds and veterinary medicines should be regulated by people and agencies who know the industry best: the DA and the BAI only.

Stakeholders have time and again pointed out the need to review policies and processes of the government, specifically the Department of Agriculture, to “ensure unified and strategic alignment of animal disease control programs from the national government down to all local government units.”

Last but not the least, how will the government “democratically and fairly” ensure that all stakeholders, backyard farmers or large-scale corporate hog farms get their fair share? Remember that the deliveries will be for a limited number and the rumored price is on the high side.

I hope I am wrong, but what is to stop some enterprising or well-connected group from flashing their money around in order to buy the ASF vaccines in the black market or from a secondary source elsewhere? I am raising all these questions because stakeholders are legitimately concerned with the absence of information or policy concerning the matter.

That’s the difference between private sector and the bureaucracy. In private corporations, a team would already engage in scenario building and creating a template towards approval or rejection of the product. That way, you have covered all possibilities and are well prepared and ready to do what needs to be done in advance. In government, it’s generally wait and see, then rush or crawl, depending on the need.

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