We need more enthusiasm

A thought occurred to me on New Year’s Day morning, after bumping into Tong Payumo of BCDA at the Mandarin Hotel for breakfast, that what this country needs are more public officials with a lot of enthusiasm to produce results. Tong, a former congressman and former head of the Subic Bay Metro Authority, was his usual self enthusiastically telling me about his plans now that BCDA seems to have just about accomplished its mission.

No, he said, they still have a very vital mission to make sure the military bases converted to private use succeed. Tong believes this mission has shifted from merely converting to developing. BCDA still has assets to protect and nurture so that these will earn continuing revenue for the government. Tong is not the type who will be happy with passive income or just waiting for Metro Pacific to share profits from SCTEX or for the Sobrepeñas to finally settle their obligations to BCDA.

In fact, Tong does not intend to just sit back and just watch the Ayala Group do what it is doing at the Bonifacio Global City. Tong wants to make sure the value of all the Fort Bonifacio areas privatized by BCDA is enhanced through the years. And he is willing to invest in more infrastructures to hasten development.

I previously wrote in this column about Tong’s idea of putting up a monorail system that will connect Bonifacio with NAIA and the Makati CBD. I didn’t think much of it then. But Tong is apparently serious about it. A Japanese consultant has been commissioned to do the feasibility study that is due by the first quarter of this year.

There is private sector interest in the project, Tong claims. But he is also ready to invest on the basic infrastructure and subsequently ask the private sector to handle operation and maintenance. Tong, the principal author of the original B-O-T Law, thinks such an arrangement is also feasible. It all depends on the results of the study being done by a Japanese entity.

The monorail system will connect with the MRT at Guadalupe, go down the Makati-side bank of the Pasig River and turn towards Bonifacio Global City to hit the Market Market area and proceed on to McKinley Hill and to Villamor Air Base to NAIA 3 and connect with the LRT. Tong wants to complete the project way before P-Noy bows out in 2016. I must have looked skeptical so he reassured me that it can be done. This I have to see.

But I like Tong’s enthusiasm. I also like the pragmatism he showed in handling the SCTEX problem. The BCDA in the waning days of Ate Glue’s watch wanted to scuttle the deal with Metro Pacific to run and maintain SCTEX. Tong saved the deal because he said doing otherwise would send a wrong signal to potential investors in P-Noy’s PPP projects.

Tong’s enthusiasm and pragmatism will however be severely tested in dealing with the Sobrepenas, who won the deal to develop Camp John Hay. The Sobrepeñas are much delayed in paying their obligations to government. Tong said he has a solution in mind but whether the Sobrepeñas will honor a previous restructuring agreement is rather iffy. They have advanced reasons or excuses for their failure to pay and Tong hopes that by showing some goodwill, the Sobrepeñas will reciprocate.

On Clark, Tong is hopeful that P-Noy’s recent EO giving responsibility to DOTC for the development of Clark International Airport will allow BCDA and the Clark Development Corp. to concentrate on managing the vast estate to attract industrial and commercial investors. Even now, he rattled off interesting names of investors looking into setting up shop at Clark.

Tong is not discouraged by the lack of a quick means of connecting Clark with the Bonifacio and Makati business districts. He is hopeful that the proposed elevated expressway system connecting Clark with Makati will be constructed soon since the Metro Pacific BOT proposal is now up for Swiss challenge. Tong reminded me that even in the case of Narita, there was no rail connection to Tokyo for over ten years. An efficient expressway that can bring passengers to Makati, a distance of just about a hundred kilometers, in a little over an hour should be enough for now.

A journalist as old as I am, who has seen the ways of our politicians and bureaucrats can’t avoid feeling amused or even cynical to grand visions from a government official. But Tong is so pleasantly enthusiastic one can’t help hoping against one’s better judgment that his visions can be realized.

Just think of it. The only other high public officials I know with a lot of enthusiasm are Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez and Clark Airport Chief Chichos Luciano. If all the key public officials are as enthusiastic as Mon J, Tong Payumo and Chichos Luciano about their jobs… we might give Malaysia and Thailand the scare of their lives.

Of course Tong is not the only decision maker involved in making his visions come true. But I am hoping the other officials, from P-Noy to Babes Singson and Mar Roxas will just be supportive enough so that we can see something happen soon that looks like progress. Maybe, that’s not too unreasonable to hope for this New Year.

Davao

Jess Sian sent me this reaction to last Monday’s column.

First of all I’m an avid reader of your column and the latest one on MM being too dirty made me want to share my opinion. I’m now based in Davao City after growing up in MM. The difference between the two cities is like night and day. So ill try to compare Davao and MM in several categories:

CLEANLINESS:

In Davao, I have a standing bet with my guests be it work related or personal that if they see a pile of garbage in any of our public markets here ANY time of the day except 6 to 8 p.m. when ALL citizens are required to bring out their trash, duly segregated mind you into degradable and non-biodegrable, then I will treat them to their restaurant of choice. So far I havent lost a bet.  Same winning streak with my other bet to spot a Police officer with a huge girt.

PUBLIC SERVICE:

Davaoeños, regardless of income status, can count on an active 911 emergency unit for any form of emergency be it health related, fire, police assistance. These guys are PROFESSIONALS. You’ll notice the way they wear their uniforms, you can tell they wear it with pride. We may have small city roads but DOUBLE PARKING, JAYWALKING, POTHOLES are virtually non-existent.

Davao’s not SMOKING friendly too, and the law applies to EVERYONE. Even in our premiere hotels, both foreigners and locals have to go to a designated area outside the hotel to enjoy their poison. The most amazing of all, the FIRE CRACKER BAN enforced now for so many years. Ever heard of a silent Dec. 31 and Chinese New Year celebration? Only in Davao.500 casualties in MM. Davao zero.

Not too mention our culinary delights, pristine beaches, beautiful nature parks and OVERALL quality of life beats living in MM any day.

Now the most serious question of all, does the Philippines have hope?

Five places will support my optimism:

Davao, CAMSUR (Naga City/Pili), Puerto Princessa, Clark and Subic

If these areas can achieve a level of excellence where ordinary citizens like me can feel safe and PROUD and not feel bad about paying taxes then maybe one day other provinces and yes even the great MM can learn from these examples and GET their acts together. Yes, there is hope for our country.

Best regards Boo, more power to your articles!

Sorry

The portion of last Monday’s column that reads “where the only thing that matters is our family and our selves…” should have read “only things that matter are” instead of “is”. I don’t know how it slipped my final edit but I guess all the smoke I inhaled watching the Makati fireworks and the New Year’s Eve spirits dulled my senses.

Speaking of the Makati fireworks, it was simply spectacular. I thought I was at home with my kids at Anaheim watching the nightly Disneyland fireworks. Congratulations to Mayor Junjun for the Makati New Year’s Eve watch.

Equality

Lito Balquiedra sent this one.

Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. He is also on Twitter @boochanco