Binay to decide on Luisita?

I heard that Vice President-elect Jojo Binay is about to be asked (or was already asked) by President-elect Noynoy to handle the most important, most delicate and probably the most significant job in the first one hundred days of the new administration. If Jojo accepts the assignment, he will be the Agrarian Reform Secretary with a mandate to settle once and for all, the Luisita problem to the satisfaction of tenants, owners and all interested parties.

That’s not an easy task. And being Agrarian Reform Secretary is not what Jojo had in mind. He had openly expressed a desire to be DILG Secretary. But Jojo had also said he will accept any assignment the new President will give him. He will be tested now if he is true to his word or will he throw a political tantrum instead? If Jojo accepts the assignment, I am sure it will once again highlight what Jojo is made off: top caliber political leader with the ability to handle the difficult stuff.

The problem of Hacienda Luisita was the albatross on the new President’s neck throughout the campaign. If not handled properly, it will be a heavy burden for Noynoy in his presidency. It reduces his credibility. Luisita represents Kamag-anak Inc. in the minds of many people.

Many supporters almost always say that if they have one caveat about Noynoy, it has to do with Hacienda Luisita. It was not enough that Noynoy and his siblings renounced any further interest in Luisita. Specially now that he is President, people still expect him to make it right with the workers even if such a decision has to go against his own family’s interest. 

Veep Jojo is the perfect person to handle Luisita. Even if he is known as a friend of Tita Cory and her children, Jojo was a candidate of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino and I suppose, that carries an obligation to look after the interest of the masa. If Noynoy assigned Luisita to anyone else among those known to be close to him or to someone without an independent political profile, any decision will not be as credible.

Besides, it would be good for Jojo to handle agrarian reform, a priority of the Cory administration which is still quite a mess after so many years. After the recent extension of CARP, we have this last chance to make it work. Otherwise, we should make the decision to finally scrap it in favor of a more doable scheme that would provide countryside social justice and agricultural productivity.

Jojo won the vice presidency because the masa went all out for him. Handling agrarian reform well is a great way to pay back that trust.

On a personal note, I would like to add my congratulations to Vice President-elect Jojo Binay. I am sure his fellow alumni at UP Prep share this proud moment for the Chairman of our alumni association. The other UP Prepian who made us proud in recent times is Health Secretary Esperanza Icasas Cabral.

Tourism strategy

I received this e-mailed reaction to the column last Monday from PhilStar reader Roland T. Redoble.

Hi Boo!

At last we are now talking concrete things as far as tourism is concerned.

But in my opinion, we are still so fractured. We still do not have an integrated national tourism strategy. This is the reason why bureaucratic heads do all sorts of useless expenses purportedly for tourism which are fundamentally useless. The coffee shop you mentioned in your column is one big example - tourism program that is so token in essence and in actuality! The National Government operating a Duty Free Shop is another!

Even our so-called business leaders who are into tourism do not have something that is nationally integrated in their mind. All they have is the know how to protect their business interest. And make their tourist business outlets profitable.

WHAT WE REALLY NEED AN INTEGRATED NATIONAL TOURISM STRATEGY!

If Noynoy will just hew the whole country into an integrated tourism field and create specific programs for each unique field to facilitate and attract more foreign tourists, he can easily increase tourist arrivals to the level of ten million in five years or before his administration ends.

What do I mean? Let me cite an example: PALAWAN

Palawan has all the destinations scattered from the its northern area of the Calamianes/Coron Corridor to the scenic coves in the northern main island tip of El Nido/San Vicente, then the mid island attractions in Puerto Princesa up to the town of Narra, then the southern towns of Brooke’s Point up to the Southern most areas of Rio Tuba.

If Noynoy will just put up three basic infrastructure facilities in Palawan, the whole island alone can attract more than five million tourists. The same level of tourist arrival of Bali… What are these basic infrastructure needs?

1) A respectable airport terminal with an FAA Category 1 rating that can accommodate wide body commercial airlines 24 hours a day; 2) A North-South four lane expressway which the government must build and operate until it can be bid out in the future when it will become profitable (and then allow government to recover its cost of building it); 3) Build a forward looking (as far as capacity is concerned) power generation plant that can sustain this integrated tourism development program.

Boo, Malaysia did this in the early 80’s for Penang. Indonesia did the same for Bali earlier on. Thailand did this for its Phuket Corridor in the late 80’s. And the result was unprecedented tourism boom. Our national tourists arrival cannot even surpass the arrivals of these three destinations.

We must start to look at the Philippines as not one tourist destination. This is structurally flawed and very wrong businesswise. We are actually a country of multi-destinations. And government tourism policies must be tuned towards this reality. Palawan is one huge tourist destination distinct from that of Boracay, Cebu, etc. Then tourism promotions will be based on these multiple destinations around our archipelago.

I believe that we have to divide the country according to tourist destinations and implement infrastructure programs that can support a campaign to lure international tourists. For example, 1)Northern Luzon Corridor of Ilocos/Fuga/Cagayan can be one. 2) CamSur/Donsol/Misibis/ Caramoan of Bicol is another. 3) Boracay, Carabao island, Visayan Sea is another. 4) Cebu/Bohol/Camiguin is another. And 5) Siargao/Dinagat is another.

Which brings me to the point of promotion abroad: only when these infrastructures are present can a tourism promotion program be effective. Without these, any money we will spend for promotion will just be money thrown away. Even if you will put another Gordon into the job, we will still be at the 3M tourist arrivals.

I have always used Palawan as my yardstick for tourism in the country. Never Boracay. Tapping the full potential of Palawan necessitates a huge government intervention: in resources, in integrated strategy, and in business creativity… all of which are lacking in our national tourism program.

I have seen Bali, and the other chic destinations in Asia, nothing compares to what Palawan can offer! It encapsulates what the Philippines can really become a TOURSIM GIANT LIKE INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, AND THAILAND!

This type of strategy will have a very good effect to our national development. It will decentralize the growth poles in our country away from Metro Manila thereby reversing population migration into the countryside. Palawan alone will attract no less than two million migrants in ten years. Just visit Camsur, Caramoan, Donsol and lately Misibis in Bicol and you will see actual reversal of migration going on.

I hope this time we will do it right!

Ambitious kid

This one’s from Gilbert J.

Teacher: What do you want to become?

Little Johnny: Doctor !!

Teacher: Why?

Little Johnny: Coz it’s the only profession where you can tell a woman to take off her clothes and ask her husband to pay for it.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. This and some past columns can also be viewed at www.boochanco.com <http://www.boochanco.com>