OPINION: THE WAY TO GO
MANILA, NOVEMBER 23, 2010 (MANILA STANDARD) by Rita Linda V. Jimeno - Foreign investors acclaimed the launch last week of the Aquino administration's Public-Private Partnership program.
One feature of the program which particularly interested investors was the pronouncement by the President that investors would be protected against regulatory risks. By this he meant to allay investors' fears that contracts with the Philippine government are unstable.
In so many words, the President conveyed the message that if investors' contracts are annulled or modified by the courts resulting in the loss or reduction of their expected incomes based on their contracts, the government will compensate them for the difference. This declared policy by the administration brings much promise that our nation will be on track for competitiveness.
Unfortunately, this early, some politicians are already questioning the President's commitment. Some have vowed to bring the issue to the Supreme Court to stop the President from giving investors a regulatory insurance. This, to me, is very sad. The country has long been lagging behind the community of nations in infrastructure development and investment attraction. The government could use private sector participation to free the public funds for use in health care and education. Yet, because of the Philippines' record of getting certain contracts with investors annulled or revoked through the courts--not to mention unexpected costs because of corruption—investors have been avoiding us.
The result is high unemployment rate against the backdrop of a rapidly growing population. In the past decades, beginning with the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, Filipinos have been encouraged by its own government to leave and find work elsewhere in the world. Never mind the brain drain as long as the dollar remittances propped the Philippine economy. The overseas Filipino workers are even dubbed as modern-day heroes. Yet, what are the costs?
In my work as family lawyer, I have encountered one too many sad stories. A most familiar situation goes this way. The husband leaves either as a seafarer or a land-based overseas worker. Because of the long physical separation from his wife and family, and the loneliness of being thrust alone in a foreign land, the man develops a relationship outside of marriage. Soon the family is forgotten. He may be sending money to his wife and children but he will soon not want to go back home and be reunited with his original family. In some instances, when the husband's support dwindles because he now maintains another relationship or family, the wife, too, leaves to work abroad and to be able to support the needs and education of her growing children. Children are left to grow with grandparents or other relatives; not learning how it is to be a father or a mother in an intact and loving family. One need not be a psychologist to imagine that when these children grow up, they will likely not be ready to handle the difficult commitments required in successful marriages.
But a sadder still situation is, in their burning desire to go abroad to work, quite a number, especially young women, end up being victims of human trafficking as sex slaves.
The way to go is to create jobs in the country and stop the exodus of Filipinos. To my mind, the President's Public-Private Partnership program is worth a shot. It aims to prioritize the development of ten key areas. Among these are the building of airports in provinces with great potential for tourism growth namely, Bohol, Puerto Princesa and Daraga in Bicol. Also in the list of priorities are the development of a city terminal for the Diosdado Macapagal airport in Clark, the operations of the Laguinding airport, the MRT-LRT expansion, the MRT2 expansion, the Cavite-Laguna expressway, the NLEX-SLEX link and the supply of bulk water in Metro Manila. The development of these infrastructures could open up new jobs; better the lives of the people and open up business opportunities.
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On Sunday last week, my family and I watched the Pacquiao-Margarito fight live via Satellite at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Clark, Pampanga, upon the invitation of my daughter's fiancé, Evan McBride. That trip was an eye opener for me twice over. It was my first time to watch a Pacquiao fight live. I did not realize until then that Pacquiao is not just a hero. He has this connection to every Filipino which runs deeper than one ever realizes. I was screaming at every blow he took from his much bigger opponent even while I knew he was winning the fight. It felt as though I was watching my own son, or my brother or a blood relative fight. And I do not think I was alone in feeling that way as people around me reacted with glee every time he delivered good punches and fell silent or made pained sounds every time Pacquiao was cornered to the ropes or took blows. Pacquiao is linked to every Filipino because he represents what every Filipino is, or desires to be, in many ways: his persistence to win against all odds, his discipline, his drive for excellence, his rise from poverty to wealth and fame, and his faith in God.
The other eye opener for me was, upon seeing Clark and the developments under way, I realized that this is where the center of progress will soon be. It is well-planned; there is more than ample space for industries to locate to; and the roads leading to it from Manila and from the north are excellent. Metro Manila, on the other hand, is over-crowded and has reached its optimum in development. While businesses fight tooth and nail to make it in Metro Manila, the wise investors have gone on and located themselves in Clark. Texas Instruments has poured $1.1 billion of investment in Clark, employing some 3,000. Samsung subsidiary, Phoenix, has infused $1.6 billion and employs 3,000; Singapore Airlines has invested $100 million in building five hangars. A new player, the Global Gateway Logistics City which is developing a global city in Clark is investing two billion dollars and is already generating some 150,000 jobs for the development of a global city. Moving out of Metro Manila and developing commercial and business centers outside of the crowded metropolis is clearly the way to go.
I think then that this nation will be served well if the detractors of the administration were to allow the Aquino administration's partnership with the private sector to fly. If we have feelings of affinity with Pacquiao, we should also nurture our affinity with our countrymen who have to leave to find employment elsewhere. For, very often, they are our true blood relatives, our own kin.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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