Enlightened vote

For a country where about 35 percent of its people is classified as poor, the presidential elections take on a whole new meaning.

 The term ‘poor’ can be relative. How much does it take to live comfortably nowadays? To eat three full meals a day, to have access to good education and medical services, to have electricity and clean, potable water? If the annual per capital poverty threshold is around P15,000, that’s only P42 a day.  For a family of five, that’s P210 per day. A kilo of rice cost more than P30.

Living above the poverty threshold doesn’t make one not poor. A breadwinner who earns P8,000 a a month gross will not be classified as poor, but what does P8,000 a month family income buy these days? It is not enough to send one to college. Come to think of it, not even to a decent high school. It cannot pay for hospitalization and medicines when a family member gets sick.

Given these realities, the level of poverty in the Philippines is much, much higher. And it is getting even worse. With no hope in sight, more and more Filipinos view the next President of the Republic as some sort of savior who can get the country out of the quagmire of poverty and desperation.

All the presidential aspirants have promised to lead the country out of poverty. Six years is definitely too short a time to make miracles happen, so I’m not sure how they are going to do it.

Getting rid of corruption in government is a good start because it will mean more public funds for social services and infrastructure development. More funds for education is a good investment for the future. Creating more jobs is easier said than done because a good investment climate is just a result of a number of factors – more affordable electricity, stable wages, peace and order, well thought of incentives for investors, to name a few.

The people need opportunities to be able to improve their lives. As we troop to the polls tomorrow, we all need to pray for enlightenment. We must ask God to help us choose leaders who have the skills and the heart to make good things happen for this country in accordance with His will. Our next president must take it to heart that the lives and the future of 92 million Filipinos depend on him. The next president must have the charisma to rally the people towards a common agenda – to make this country great again.

Botched job

Was it coincidence or some sort of a plot?

Some quarters have been entertaining the idea that the bidding for the New Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) Systems Development Project Contract under the Department of Transportation and Communication is being rigged to favor certain bidders.

Their suspicion heightened when the joint venture of Sojitz Corporation and Raytheon failed to submit a bid for, and in short backing out from, Package 1 of the project, worth $70 million, to be financed via a loan from JICA. Only one group, that of Sumitomo Corp. and Thales Australia Ltd., submitted a bid.

There are rumors that Package 1 will be awarded to the lone bidder by June 30 this year, or only two months from the deadline for submission of bids. They say this is rather odd because evaluation of bids for similar projects usually takes more than three months, adding that the DOTC has not shown a certificate of exemption from the election ban from the Comelec for such transaction. The DOTC is now being urged to declare a failed Package 1 bid.

Even before this, questions have been raised as to why other capable bidders have been disqualified from the first phase of the project by reason of technicalities, leaving only Sumitomo-Thales and Sojitz, which is perceived to be a weak company. What is even more questionable is why some of those who have been disqualified from Phase 1, which is a smaller project, have been prequalified for Phase 2, which is an even bigger project, given its $120-million cost.

They add that since the first and second phase of the project are complementary and would form part of an integrated system, it would follow that whoever bags the first phase would have a big advantage over its competitors for the second phase.

For phase 2, those who have been prequalified are Sumitomo-Thales, Selex Sistemi Integrati-Kanematsu Corp., and Marubenu Corp.

 Up to this date, those behind the project have not come up with a good explanation as to why Thales, formerly Thomson CFC, was even allowed to participate in the first place. Thales was formerly Thomson CFC which was blacklisted from bidding for any project in the Philippines for breach of contract involving an earlier DOTC project – the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS). This resulted in the Coast Guard resorting to using antiquated systems.

It was that same Thompson-CSK that was questioned by then Senator and now vice-presidential aspirant Mar Roxas, during a hearing in 2006 on the sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars owned by Sulpicio Lines after a Coast Guard said that the accident could have been prevented had the GMDSS been in place.  A 2006 Commission on Audit report quoted by Roxas revealed that the contractor abandoned the project in 2000 due to a billing dispute.

Not so hidden agenda

 Weber Shandwick was named global agency of the year - for the second year in a row - by The Holmes Report, one of the leading public relations industry newsletters. The firm will be honored on May 11th in New York City at the annual US SABRE Awards.

The Holmes Report cited the growth of the firm’s global clients in helping to outperform its multinational peers despite tough economic conditions, strong new business wins, a global leadership team second to none, commitment to quality, and record number of award wins.

Weber Shandwick CEO Harris Diamond said that to receive this recognition two years in a row from The Holmes Report is testament to the strength and positive momentum of their global network.

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