Blessing outside the storm

There is a “Silver Lining” but it is outside the storm we commonly refer to as the Boracay Closure.

While I commiserate with many people and businesses in Boracay and sincerely want to help and be part of the solution, the current situation is truly beyond individual efforts and is now totally in the government’s hands. While the next six months will be economically and emotionally painful for Boracay and its people, they have in fact become the necessary sacrifice and catalyst to awaken the country, our people and the government to many national errors or sins. Great change often comes at great sacrifice.

DILG Assistant Secretary Epimaco Densing III recently stated that Boracay is an example of failed governance “not just failure of government, but of the people, businessmen, residents and workers as well, in a time when people obeyed the law only when they wanted to. It’s time to correct this.” It is certainly refreshing to hear an inclusive confession; it would be even better if we worked at inclusive solutions.

That being said it is indeed the time for the Department of Interior and Local Government and the DENR to review, investigate and file charges against thousands of local government officials who have acted without authority and may I add, ILLEGALLY re-classified millions of hectares of agricultural and forest lands. They “re-classified” them as residential or commercial land in order to facilitate the development of housing projects, industrial estates, leisure parks and the likes. Some mayors and city councils have even passed circulars or local laws banning pre-existing farms and forcing them to relocate outside of “expanded” city limits.

While all eyes are currently on Boracay, I find hope in the position of President Duterte about giving back the land to “farmers” and restoring agricultural lands along with forested lands. I have long advocated for the government, Congress and specifically Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol to push for the retention and protection of agricultural land to insure food security and stable prices of food products. The statement that Boracay island is agricultural and forest land belonging to the state is a mixed bag of possibilities but it gives hope to many pre-existing farm owners and agricultural land owners looking for legal protection from greedy developers, industrialists and local officials wanting to boost their internal revenues via real estate taxes.

More than hope, any and all stakeholders, beneficiaries or advocates for protecting agricultural and forest lands will have to watch the DENR and the DILG like hawks to insure that charges are actually brought to court and that the judges and justices understand there is public interest at stake and that the public will not take kindly to any manipulation of laws and verdicts. The guilty must be sent to jail. As the President is fond of reminding us: “If a lowly school teacher went to jail for failing to declare her SALN,” why should corrupt politicians and developers get away with serious crimes against the people.

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After a long holiday followed by a long weekend, I now have a basket full of issues or complaints from travellers along with my own observations. What did not get much attention was the number of deaths at sea due to crafts capsizing or going adrift after engine failures. Our reporter Evelyn Macairan reported 17 deaths while 43 rescued. I don’t think that includes those who died during Holy week. 

What needs to be pointed out to the DOTr is that the Coast Guard vigilantly checks on possible overloading, proper registry of passengers and availability and use of life jackets etc. But whoever checks licenses for people operating speedboats? Who actually checks on the maintenance records of boat engines as well as air conditioning system and the septic tank or sewage handling of inter-island ferries? During our recent BMeg Fiestahan in Baybay City, Leyte travellers started comparing notes on the fastest way around the Visayas. The choice was between plane or Super Ferries or Super Cats. I was disappointed to find out that the Super Cats that used to take Cebu to Ormoc only two hours now take as much as three hours if not more.

Apparently the engine maintenance or upgrades are very poor so the ships have slowed down after two or three years in operation. One businessman used to send all his employees all over Visayas via ferry until one experience when the ship’s air conditioning system failed without a back-up and all of them got seriously sick from the heat and foul air mixed with engine fumes seeping in the main deck. It seems that one area the DOTr seriously fails in is checking all forms of public transport in terms of regular maintenance as well as back up systems such as air conditioning.

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Just to end this column on a bright note, I recently heard the tale about “Father Colorum,” a parish priest in Region 8 (Visayas) who owns and operates three passenger vans – all of which are “colorum.” It seems that “Father Colorum” was not aware or convinced that President Duterte’s orders to go after Colorum transports would be implemented in Region 8 and continued to do so until the LTO operatives in the area caught one of his drivers and was told to pay the P200,000 fine if they wanted the van back.

Instead of repenting of his sins, Father Colorum had the nerve to call the Regional Director of the LTO named Catarungan during the holidays in order to “request” the release of the van. The parish priest should have had second thoughts asking a guy surnamed “Justice” to bend the law! “Father Colorum” was sternly told to pay the fine and stop pushing or his parishioners would be told of his new name and old racket!

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