LETTERS FROM DAVAO

By Jun Ledesma

Emergency power for infra

February 14, 2017, 12:00 am

The notoriety of the Aquino government in unilaterally abrogating and cancelling contracted projects had sent shivers to foreign investors and infrastructure contractors. This is true to the administration of Corazon 'Cory' Aquino and her son Benigno S. Aquino III who is known for his various monikers 'Noynoy', 'P-noy' and the Nonoying kind. The latter meaning 'idling'.

This could be the reason why Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua openly expressed his hope that Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte be given 'emergency powers' to expedite the implementation and completion of mega-infrastructure projects which the China government will undertake within his term.

Ambassador Jianhua's statement is not without basis. On allegation of corruption, the Pnoy government cancelled the $ 500-million North rail project contracted under Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration and scuttled a $ 329-million national broadband network. Add to that the dredging of Laguna Lake and Pasig River contract awarded to a Belgian firm Baggerwerken Decloedten Zoon on mere allegation that it was a 'midnight deal' of the Arroyo government.

With the symptom of insecurity and fear she cannot do better than a tenth of Marcos performance, Cory Aquino cavalierly cancelled the nuclear power plant in Bataan which could have actually been the single engine of growth of industries and economies in Luzon long hobbled by energy crunch. She was so consumed with hate and abhorred footprints of the dictator that she demolished the beautiful cobbled sidewalks along Roxas Blvd., and allowed many important infrastructures to deteriorate, among these the Maharlika Highway (which was later named Pan Philippine Highway).

By the time Cory exited from office, her successor, Fidel Ramos, inherited a crippling 8-hour power outage. Fearing eventual collapse of the economy and sending Metro Manila to total darkness and civil disorder, Ramos was forced to enter into onerous contracts with independent power producers which made Philippine energy supply as among the costliest in the planet earth. In the meantime, the Maharlika Highway deteriorated and thanks to Japanese assistance, the 3,500-kilometer highway underwent some rehab. It was to be christened later as Philippine-Japan highway.

The anxiety over the return of the vindictive and corrupt regimes cannot be dismissed by countries like China, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Germany, to name a few.

China obviously is quite comfortable with the Duterte administration not so much because the President went on a conciliatory and bilateral talks with Pres. Xi Jinping but the latter believes that Duterte is a genuine and strong leader capable of curbing corruption and crime during his watch.

As a starter, China extended a whooping $ 6-billion soft grant for three infrastructure projects and some $ 3-billion concessional loans. These aside from trade and investments which are lopsided in favor of the Philippines.

Take it from Ambassador Jianhua when he said that investments and loans from China in the coming years will even be greater. Which merely confirms what I heard during a three-day media forum in Beijing last year on 'One Belt, One Road' initiative of the Xi Jinping government that China has three trillion dollars to spare for the fruition of his country's most daring and most socially and economically significant inroads to world finance and other engagements.

Ambassador Jianhua's statements in the business forum in Davao, which was spearheaded by Manila Times, reflects not only China's uncertainties of the future when Duterte bows out of office or, but he actually articulates how China plans and implements projects in the shortest possible time without sacrificing quality of work and standards. While indeed a few of its products may suffer in quality, its railways, roads and bridge infrastructures have unquestionably become the world standard. China had prioritized technological and material advancements in its mega projects because these are the major backbones that move their products and these are the more visible signatures that confirm their advancement which many western countries hate to admit.

Philippine lawmakers should listen and weigh the impact of Ambassador Jinhua's message. And so I raise the question and challenge to our Senators and Representatives: Can they face up to the challenge of giving Duterte an emergency power for the implementation of foreign-funded infrastructure projects as posed by China? Can they put an end to the eternal zarzuela over extrajudicial killings, De Lima's dalliance or whatever, for after all I think they knew how to distinguish the myths from the truths. Can the progressive minded Senators. Dick Gordon and Allan Peter Cayetano, along with the rational Sen. Ping Lacson push for that emergency power for the President? Can Speaker Bebot Alvarez cut that entanglement with the irreverent men on the frock and stop bad-mouthing DOTr Sec. Art Tugade? You belong to the same corral, remember? Go rally congressmen to a better challenge this time. You have a big chance to be part of history. This is not about how to solve the unsolvable traffic in Metro Manila but how to decongest Metro Manila traffic and bring progress and the much needed infrastructures to your province, Davao del Norte, Region 11 and Mindanao. After all aren't these the sceneries you described when you wished to go back to Congress? And now you are not just a congressman. You are Speaker of the House and the man you campaigned for is now President.

(Mr. Jun Ledesma is a community journalist who writes from Davao City and comments from the perspective of a Mindanaoan)

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Image of Jun Ledesma

Mr. Jun Ledesma is a community journalist who writes from Davao City and comments from the perspective of a Mindanaoan.