Spoiling Christmas

Couldn’t the battle over the control of the lucrative South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) business wait till the Christmas season is over?

This is the question being asked among Makati business circles who appear to have been appalled by the timing and the manner of the take-over attempt by a Malaysian business interest of the SLEX operations. The Malaysians we can forgive, say Makati coffee shop habitués. After all, they may not have an understanding of the Christmas spirit the way we Filipinos do.

But the same apparently cannot be said of the Filipinos manning the controversial Toll Regulatory Board (TRB). It seems it is the TRB leadership which facilitated the sudden and abrupt take-over of the SLEX operations by the Malaysian-backed Manila Toll Expressway Systems, Inc. (MATES) from the government-controlled Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC).

In the haste to put MATES’ control over the SLEX operation in place, the TRB bosses may have disregarded two things: the move would displace some 700 Filipinos employed by PNCC working at the SLEX operations; and two, they will be losing their jobs just as we enter into the heart of the Christmas season.

How un-Filipino can one be?

The view is that the TRB may have allowed itself to succumb to Malaysian pressure. After all, only severe pressure can drive one to take an action inimical to one’s countrymen and contrary to the spirit of the season. Maybe, the TRB could have take more sober, prudent moves if there was no such pressure. Maybe, it could have waited till after Christmas.. And so, why the apparent haste?

There is another reason why the TRB move to boot out the 700 Filipino workers alarmed the Makati business community. Here’s why. The onset of the Christmas season is always followed by the sudden rise in vehicle traffic volume at the SLEX. As it is, movement along this roadway is already a mess.

The fear is that the tension between employees of MATES and PNCC could further aggravate the situation at SLEX.

Some people will have to admit that the TRB move was an ill-timed one. The TRB bosses should explain what pressure drove them to take what is perceived as one very un-Filipino move.

Sparks fly in QC

Some of our readers asked us whether our recent take on the move of Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte to endorse the mayoralty bid of his vice mayor, Herbert Bautista, is also an endorsement from us.

No. We are an apolitical column and our job is merely to give our two cents worth on political moves that we find positive. After all, positive political moves are good for the business environment. 

We wish to clarify that what we lauded was Mayor Belmonte’s decision not to field any relative as his replacement who could have easily capitalized on the mayor’s vast political goodwill to succeed him in the top city hall post. We noted that Mayor Belmonte had nixed the temptation to do so. In the process, he seized the moral high ground and snatched away from his political nemeses a potential negative issue.

It also contributed to a sunshine atmosphere in Quezon City politics. And a sunny atmosphere is good for business.

Under Mayor Belmonte, QC gained international recognition as a model for best practices on city governance. It is today the most competitive city in Metro Manila, and its stature is hailed by international organizations like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Even the Financial Times of London recognizes the impressive performance of QC with Mayor Belmonte at the helm.

The next mayor of QC therefore has big shoes to fill. Top contenders for this top post in QC, they say, are Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista and Philippine National Railways chair Mike Defensor. This early, sparks are already flying in the entertainment capital of the country with Defensor challenging Bautista to name one accomplishment during his nine years as QC vice mayor. Bautista has reacted by saying that he has a 50-50 claim to what Mayor Belmonte has accomplished for the city, although there are some quarters who want Bautista to be more specific and explain with particularity how he has contributed to the city’s gains. 

We do not know Bautista and Defensor that much but it will definitely be one good fight worth watching.

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