He is the only politician who has practically “pole
vaulted” into the Presidency, his predecessors having had to spend terms as
Congressmen, Senators, and Vice President before being elected as Chief Executive.
Though Digong, as the incoming President is fondly
called, also served as Congressman in the 1st District of Davao City
in 1978, he is known more as the Mayor that has institutionalized peace and
order in Davao City.
For two decades he served as the City’s Local
Chief Executive and has earned him the moniker “Dirty Harry” and “The Punisher”
of Davao because of his ironclad leadership that turned the City into one of the
“safest cities”.
But what has gained him over 16 million votes to the
Presidency, when he himself has admitted that he knows that people do not
really like him?
Talking to the ordinary people that openly support
his candidacy, it is not about Digong’s excellent academic records which the
latter himself admits that he is lacking of and who admits even getting low
grades in many subjects and not graduating with honors. But it was all about the failures of the
previous administrations to address particularly the issue of drugs,
criminality, graft, and corruption, as well as of the ineptness of public
services.
In deeper analysis it was the previous administration
that propelled him to Malacanang, with its failures on addressing the worsening
traffic situation in Metro Manila, the issue of driver’s license cards and
motor vehicle license plate shortage, crimes that are drug-related, corruption
in the bureaucracy, the light railway debacles, and expensive but snail-paced
internet connections.
It was his rare type of politician who “walk the
talk” that people pinned their hopes on.
However, his presidency is not really totally free of
jitters, topping the list is the fear of rampant extra-judicial killing and
alliance with the communists.
“The Mayor” has set his targets on drug lords and drug-crazed killers and rapists that it has brought cheer and jitters. To have justice there must be retribution is
Digong’s outlook, for these criminals he says have none of the fear when they
killed or raped somebody.
Killing is morally wrong and nothing can ethically
justify it. But in a liberal perspective, drugs kill, drugs erode
social structures, and drugs blocks freedom of suffrage as in a narco-politics
society, when illegal drug
syndicates influence elections or selection of government officials to protect
their trade. Narco-politics became pervasive in Latin American countries where
there is a strong presence of drug syndicates.
Lex talionis would then be proper if everything else
has failed, when everyone else has botched.
Society has also the right to protect itself or be protected by its duly
elected leaders from all threats, and that is where it finds moral regularity.
To a poor man who experienced a son killed or a
daughter raped and killed, justice is equated with the perpetrator also being
killed.
Many have wrong concepts of HUMAN RIGHTS. It is not an absolute shield but only a
guarantee that substantive and procedural legal processes are observed without
being oppressive nor demeaning or violative of the basic rights of a person.
Full enforcement of the laws for
the protection of the rights of others or curtailing criminality or preventing the
occurrence thereof is not repression. Many times in my lectures I have
emphasized how this erroneous concept of human rights runs counter to
legitimate law enforcement.
We should all remember that our rights end where the rights of
another begin, more so that the law is still the law no matter how harsh it
is. DURA LEX SED LEX. Human rights are never meant to frustrate the full
enforcement of the law.
But would the cleansing up which was effective in a
city scale be equally applicable on a national scale, when the threat of abuse
is great?
On the other side, cheered are the policies on ban on
karaoke singing beyond 9 o’clock in the evening, curfew for minors, smoking in
public places, and harsh dealing with corrupt government personnel.
What then could be a wish list for the incoming
administration? There might be a few which are still unclear in published
policy directions.
1 Meritocracy – The ills of the bureaucracy is rooted in
the selection process wherein the inept find their way in government offices. Lack of commitment to public service proceeds
from Inefficiency and lack of commitment breeds corruption.
Hopefully, the incoming administration would wean the Philippines from the
neo spoils system culture wherein government posts are given to political
supporters, relatives, and protégées.
Revenue earning agencies are practically given as a reward to political
support, never mind if the appointee is wanting in qualifications, experience, or moral uprightness. Never mind if the
rank and file are more knowledgeable than the appointed leaders, and never mind
if consequently the Agency’s operations have gone haywire. The previous
administration was there any way to be blamed for today’s setbacks?
The choice of “old folks” for the Cabinet may not be just a coincidence
but an indication of a welcomed change in the bureaucratic directions on the
premise that “Gray hair is a
crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness (Proverbs 16:31)”.
2.
A review of the 4 Ps or the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Bridging
Program for the Filipino Family), the Conditional Cash Transfer Program of the Philippine government under the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It aims to eradicate extreme poverty
in the Philippines by investing in health and education, particularly for ages
0–14.
There are no ready statistics but
in the Philippine culture, dole outs generate indolence, as well as it is
morally degrading for creating a state bordering on mendicancy.
Just observe the long line of
people queuing under the heat of the sun before Automated Teller Machines, with
a few obviously loan sharks judging by the number of ATM cards they are holding.
A study has also to be made on
its impact on labor supply. A basic
example is the scarcity of house-helps of employable age. The labor force has diminished because of the
dependence on 4Ps dole-outs.
There are those that are neither
gainfully employed because of this dependence nor in schools for low learning
aptitude
Does the Program serve rightly
its purpose?
If the aim is to
“eradicate extreme poverty by investing in health and education” then why not
instead channel it to the appropriate National Government Agency by means of
budget augmentation for specific programs and invest in doable livelihood
projects?
The model could be
that of best practices by some Local Government Units where elementary
education is free, with free basic supplies, and regular feeding programs to
address malnutrition which is one cause of dropouts.
Significant factors for
school dropouts particularly in rural areas is not the lack of classrooms,
teacher or facilities, but more food security, livelihood, and yes, deficiency
in responsible parenthood.
Children often fail
to attend school regularly because they are either occupied with various domestic
chores like helping in the farm, or babysit for a younger sibling that school is
less of a priority.
Proper nutrition is a
factor in the learning process. No one
is expected to stay alert all day on an empty stomach.
3. A lean and mean bureaucracy. During the Ramos Administration, the target
was to trim down government personnel to one million, which with the help of
the Civil Service Commission was almost achieved but once again was bloated
during the next administrations with the creation of bureaus and agencies obviously
for accommodations.
The least that the government
needs is a bloated bureaucracy with bureaus or offices with overlapping and
duplicity of functions.
Executive
Order No. 366 signed on 04 October 2004 mandates the rationalization of all
government agencies under the Executive Branch.
It
requires a strategic review of their operations and organizations and allows
the provision of options and incentives for those employees who may be affected.
The
Program seeks to result in a government with greatly improved performance, and
organizational structures that are highly efficient and results-oriented. The
reforms that are to be instituted require government agencies and corporations
to redefine their proper roles in society and focus their performance
improvement efforts on their core governance functions.
Twelve years have passed with no
visible change nor effect, while because of Personal Services (PS) Funds being withheld
personnel in some Agencies that failed to have an approved Rationalization Plan
have to resort to multi-tasking without an increase in remuneration.
The question often raised is:
Where did the withheld funds go for vacant plantilla positions when each year
it is included in the approved national budget?
Executive
Order No. 366 should be scrapped to enable the filling of vacant positions to
enable an agency to address its growing service obligations.
In lieu
thereof, National Government Agencies (NGAs) may be reorganized, with the attendant
declaration of all positions to be vacant.
In this way, the errors in the previous personnel selection process may
be corrected through in-depth procedures.
This
is one of the answers to the incoming President’s predicament in terminating
the incompetents and corrupt as “they are protected by the Civil Service Rules”.
4. Eradication of
fixers. R.A. 9485 or the Anti Red Tape
Act of 2007 defines FIXERS as “any
individual whether or not officially involved in the operation of a government
office or agency who has access to people working therein, and whether or not
in collusion with them, facilitates speedy completion of transactions for
pecuniary gain or any other advantage or consideration”, and referring to FIXING
as “the act that involves undue facilitation of transactions for pecuniary gain
or other advantages”.
It seems that
no instrumentality of the government is free from fixers and power brokers and that
the enforcement mandate should not be limited only to the concerned Agency, but
also to other law enforcement units.
An agency has
no jurisdiction to curtail fixers victimizing clients outside of its
office. It is easy to impose
disciplinary action on employees who connive with fixers but not on the fixers
themselves who often pose as legitimate clients.
From a deeper
perspective, there are even instances when FIXERS have become FIXTURES like in
the Bureau of Customs.
Of what use are CUSTOMS BROKERS when in
other offices we are required to put up signs that say: Please transact only
with authorized personnel or pay directly to the cashier. To my mind, Customs
Brokers are nothing but ACCREDITED FIXERS.
An incoming official is correct. Customs
brokers only serve as conduits of corruption.
As Alexandre Dumas puts it, “All human wisdom is
summed up in two words: wait and hope”, and there is nothing left for us but to
wait and hope for the best and do the best that we do for the government.
