Big headaches for PBBM this early

It appears President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. really has to hit the ground running. Barely a week has passed since he took office and already his plate is full of issues needing immediate attention. The appointment of Christopher Pastrana as GM of the Philippine Ports Authority marred the otherwise sterling quality of appointments he has so far made.

It appears that Pastrana carries with him a baggage of controversies, from alleged outstanding debts to the Department of Transportation to which is attached the PPA, to potential conflict of interest involving the businesses of some relatives as well as his own. More importantly, corners seem to have been cut in order to take him in, with no less than the name of his trusted executive secretary Vic Rodriguez being mentioned.

His veto of a Senate bill backing creation of an economic zone around the ongoing Bulacan international airport project of San Miguel Corp. appears to have rankled CEO Ramon Ang, whose Manila Times has been very supportive of his run for office. This forced him to explain he merely wanted to correct defects in the bill. This gives wind to former Senate president Tito Sotto's advice to refile the bill minus the vetoed items.

Then there are the twin problems of a looming food shortage because of production woes exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, and the rampant food smuggling involving both the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Agriculture, the latter interestingly the very portfolio he chose to personally assume. Production may have to take some time to address, but smuggling can be seized by the horns promptly if PBBM wishes.

Actually, even before the election, the Senate already investigated the smuggling of vegetables into the country, with no less than then president-elect Marcos vowing in a visit to Cebu that he will be going after these smugglers. All eyes will now be on him as he has taken a special interest in agriculture. And also because, after the Senate hearings, none of those named and paraded have been charged or prosecuted.

Interestingly, not only has there been no action taken against those named in the Senate report, but the intelligence agency that allegedly provided the names has come out to deny being the source of the names. This gives way to suspicions we are just being played, that some names given are sacrificial lambs and scapegoats but that the real players in the highly lucrative smuggling operations are safely out of sight.

Well, they may be anonymous and out of sight but there are always loud whispers within earshot that say one of the biggest fountains of smuggled vegetables is so wily and cunning that not only was he able to play the Senate in a "game of reputations", he also prompted no less than the vice president and her husband to deny knowing or having anything to do with the guy after learning he had been dropping their names.

Why the name of this wily and cunning fountain of smuggled vegetables in Cebu never seems to break the surface in any report should at the very least strike the curiosity of PBBM if he is really that serious in getting to the bottom of the smuggling problem and solving it once and for all. PBBM has the huge political capital to be unafraid of doing even the unpopular. He must not waste his chance.

I think it was Mon Tulfo who said in one of his columns that since smugglers also put food on the table, especially in times of a food crisis, then PBBM might feel the need to strike some sort of balance. I do not think so. While food shortage and food smuggling may strike us similarly, the latter is patently illegal. PBBM has the opportunity and the best time to seize both problems by the horns and lick them. He must think destiny.