Isko Moreno effects and consequences

A welcome development in many local governments after new Manila Mayor Isko Moreno started cleaning up Manila, was the copycat actions of mayors in many cities to also clean up their cities of illegal structures, illegally parked cars and sidewalk vendors that were obstructing the vehicular traffic and pedestrians.

These mayors realized that the actions of Isko were appreciated by the people and propelling his popularity in Manila and even in the national scene, pushing up his political fortune. It even goaded Secretary Año of the Department of the Interior and Local Government to issue an administrative order to all the mayors in the country to “return the streets and sidewalks” to the people with a warning of possible suspension of the mayors for non-compliance.

In the major cities in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao whose residents have been suffering from vehicular and pedestrian traffic congestion partly caused by road obstructions, the clearing and cleaning up of the streets and sidewalks was a long-awaited relief. The faster traffic and pedestrian flow and the cleanliness got praise from the middle class to the upper class.

The lower class especially those who had to make a living plying their trade in the sidewalk and the streets, were not ecstatic as they lost their means of livelihood. Some city mayors promised relocation sites and temporary financial support to those who had no alternative livelihood, but not to the middle-class merchants who were extending their premises to the sidewalks and to the streets.

The macro-economic effects of these clearing and cleaning initiatives are neutral and at most minimal. The affected vendors contribute little to the consumption component of the economy and they do not pay taxes. They are part of the underground economy which is not included in the formal Gross Domestic Product measurement, but their purchases are implied in the aggregate consumption and indirect taxes.

The more prosperous of those directly affected will just adjust or relocate their business areas and do business as usual. On the other hand, the savings in terms of fuel expenses, faster commuting time and better productivity of the workers may be substantial and more than offset the loss of livelihood and temporary financial support to the directly affected indigent vendors. So, economically, Isko Moreno’s early and hopefully continuing move is a win-win situation that should be pursued.

There could be more social costs involved in these clear and clean operations of the cities. Aside from the loss of livelihood, there will be dislocation of people and families, this could lead to children being away from schools, and rising criminality.

But these are already in the job description of the mayors and the local governments, so it boils down to effective and efficient local government and governance. The mayors and the local governments will just have to do their jobs better, and they have the financial resources to do these with their increasing annual revenues from local taxes and IRA shares from the national government.

The most welcome effect and consequence of Isko Moreno’s good moves, are the heightened expectations of the people and the voting population from their local government and government officials. The thinking class, which spans from the upper lower class to the middle upper class, will now expect good governance and performance from their elected officials. They have seen that politicians will react to positive and negative feedback. And with an active social and main media, they can make local officials accountable and worry about their re-election and continuance in office. This will go up to the provincial and then into the national level so that all politicians will have to deliver on their promises or lose in the elections.