VILLAGES
MANILA, FEBRUARY 8, 2012
(INQUIRER) By: Amando Doronila - Faced with setbacks in
its prosecution of Chief Justice Renato Corona at the Senate impeachment trial
and under fire for its dismal performance in economic management, the Aquino
administration has fallen back on "Potemkin village" projects that look good on
paper but are short in results.
The term "Potemkin villages" derives from fake settlements built by the
Russian minister, Prince Grigory Potemkin, to fool Empress Catherine the Great
during her visit to the Ukraine and Crimea in 1787.
According to one claim, Potemkin "had hollow facades of villages constructed
along the desolate banks of the Dnieper River in order to impress the monarch
and her entourage (which included foreign ambassadors) with the value of her new
conquest of territories in Russia's expansion southward, thus enhancing his
standing in the empress' eyes."
Potemkin, who led the Crimean military campaign, was also the lover of
Catherine the Great.
Modern historians are divided on the degree of truth behind Potemkin
villages. Some historians argue that Potemkin "did mount efforts to develop the
Crimea and probably directed peasants to spruce up the river front in advance of
the empress' arrival."
Largely fictional
A Russian historian, Aleksander Panchenko, an authoritative specialist on
19th-century Russia, concluded that the myth of Potemkin village had basis in
reality.
"Potemkin really did build mock towns and villages, but he never denied that
they were theatrical sets," Panchenko wrote.
"Potemkin's goal was to demonstrate that this vast region was already
practically civilized, or was at least energetically becoming civilized, by
showing a vision of what the area would become, using screens on which villages
were painted and driving flocks of sheep each night to the next stop along the
routes."
According to Simon Sebag-Montefiore, the story of "fake settlements with
glowing fires designed to comfort the monarch and her entourage as they surveyed
the barren territory at night, is largely fictional."
The term "Potemkin villages" has also been used to describe the attempts of
the former Soviet Union to fool foreign visitors.
In modern political usage, the term has come to mean "something that appears
elaborate and impressive but in actual fact lacks substance." The term has
"become synonymous with phony display."
Phlegmatic growth
It is from this perspective that this article translates the response of the
one-dimensional Aquino administration to mounting criticism over the dismal
growth rate of the economy during the past two years and over the underspending
on public infrastructure.
In response to the calls of the International Monetary Fund and the Joint
Foreign Chambers of Commerce to pump-prime the miserable economic growth with
accelerated spending on public infrastructure, the Aquino administration's
reaction has been phlegmatic and as "feeble" as the 2011 GDP growth, which is
how the government's own economists described last year's growth.
The administration has referred the public, clamoring for economic
accomplishments, to its own "Potemkin villages" epitomized by its centerpiece
economic plan or what is claimed to pass for one—the so-called PPP
(public-private partnership)—as its engine of growth and economic development.
The PPP is a blueprint for reinvigorating the economy after it slid down the
slope in the first two years of the Aquino administration.
Not his first love
On close scrutiny of the PPP's record, the economy obviously is not President
Aquino's first love or priority in his agenda for the nation compared to his
penchant for bashing the heads of those "obstructing" his anticorruption
campaign and for creating stratospheric slogans on good governance (for example,
"daang matuwid").
In his speech to the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce on Jan. 26, amid the
impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the President acknowledged the
growing concerns about infrastructure underspending. While he cited a number of
infrastructure projects with a total disbursement of P105 billion for 2011,
there was no report of completed projects.
Mr. Aquino said he was happy to report around two-thirds of the
P205.8-billion budget for the infrastructure program had been released.
"This means P137.4 billion will rebound to employment for those who work in
construction, increased mobility for goods and services across the nation, and
more livelihood opportunities for those in our local communities," he said.
But these are not results. They are prospective.
Castles in the air
Days later, Finance Undersecretary John Phillip Sevilla said the PPP program
would not be felt until next year.
"Assuming we bid out the 16 projects this year, the funding requirement will
not come until three, four, six months, after those bids," Sevilla said.
He was actually referring to projects in the pipeline and bottlenecks. This
means there would be nothing to show in results and we would have to wait until
the middle of the Aquino term in 2013.
The PPP program did not take off last year. The Aquino administration
expected in November 2010 that it could implement 10 PPP projects. Only one was
awarded—the Daang Hari-SLEx Road Project.
According to the finance department, only the P1.96-billion Daang Hari
project, awarded to Ayala Corp. in December last year, could have an economic
impact this year.
"The bulk of spending, the economic impact, the multiplier will start next
year," the finance official said.
This program's implementation is all up in the air. It is worse than
Potemkin's villages. It is building castles in the air. Potemkin was less
flamboyant in his vision.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
