THE DU30 PRESIDENCY, CHEERS AND JITTERS

Jaime E. Masagca

Rodrigo Roa Duterte, 71, will be sworn into office as the 16^th president of the Republic of the Philippines at noon on June 30, 2016.  

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 1^st 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.