Peace pact good for economy

It is probably too early to celebrate because only the framework of a potential agreement has been ironed out. The devil will be in the details of an actual peace agreement. But what is amazing this time around is that both sides were able to get this far and effectively lift the fog of distrust which had been there for so long.

Perhaps it was the sheer sincerity P-Noy showed by unilaterally meeting with officials of the MILF in Tokyo even when there were those who said he broke protocol by doing so. I had been hearing good news about the talks and much as I wanted to be hopeful, I was skeptical that anything will really come out of it.

Being pleasantly surprised feels good! The problems in Mindanao had been festering for much too long. Everything had been tried from peace talks to all out war and it seems the irreconcilable differences are just too deep to have positive common ground. Well, they found some common ground in an earnest desire for peace to finally reign.

If they eventually get to sign a lasting peace agreement, the economy of the area will definitely blossom. The Bangsamoro homeland is a potential economic powerhouse. It has fertile farm lands and mineral resources including potentially some hydrocarbons. It is also a beautiful place populated by people with an interesting and colorful culture… a definite tourist paradise. All it needs is lasting peace for it to bloom.

I had been to Marawi to witness a colorful Maranao wedding many years ago. Some years ago, I had the chance to visit the banana plantation of the late Datu Toto Paglas in Maguindanao. I am convinced that the economic potentials have remained potentials because of the iffy peace and order conditions.

While I felt safe within the realm of Datu Paglas, traveling through the surrounding areas gave me some concerns. In fact, a few days after we drove from Datu Paglas town to General Santos, there was a reported ambush near Tacurong in Sultan Kudarat province where we shopped in the public market.

The problem I see with the development of the area is the lack of sincere leaders with foresight and a true love of serving the public. Our Muslim brothers have had the misfortune of having leaders who were more interested in enriching themselves and leaving the rest of the people poor.

That’s the reason why the ARMM experiment failed. The national government has spent a lot of money trying to support the idea of an autonomous government there but many billions of pesos just went to the pockets of corrupt local leaders.

We had a glimpse of that when the Ampatuan massacre case gave the country a view of the palatial houses and lifestyles of the Ampatuans amidst the poverty of the countryside around it. Unfortunately, the Arroyo administration maintained a cozy relationship with them for political support. It wasn’t just the Ampatuans. Past national leaders had their own pet warlords too and that’s why the ARMM experiment failed.

It is unfortunate that the one local leader I saw great promise for good governance and vision, Toto Paglas, couldn’t get himself elected as ARMM governor. I had some long conversations with Datu Toto and he impressed me as someone who could have led a progressive government in the region. He had the right idea for nurturing peace by freeing the people from their economic shackles.

His vast banana plantation was a major exporter to the world market. Refrigerated containers containing boxes upon boxes of bananas are brought to the Davao port daily for shipment to the Middle East among other markets. He had ex-rebel commanders as supervisors in his plantation. I remember him telling me that once you give them the taste of living in peace with a steady income, they will never go back to the hills.

Unfortunately, Toto Paglas died of complications of an ear infection before he could complete his mission. But I am confident there are a number of young leaders in the community with the dedication of Toto Paglas and it is through them that the fruits of lasting peace could be harvested. But if the leaders of Bangsamoro turn out to be like the old ones, nothing good will come out of this new experiment.

The other thing I am excited about is the chance to see if true local autonomy can work to spur economic development. The new Bangsamoro government is about as autonomous as it could get without declaring a new republic. If it works, we may want to try making a true federal form of government composed of autonomous regional governments.

It may just work because we are too tribal and regionalistic. Cebuanos working autonomously, for instance, can leap frog development for their region. This could be a good way of developing more growth centers outside of Metro Manila. But then again, outside of two regions in the Visayas and maybe three in Luzon and one or two in Mindanao outside of ARMM, most regions are too poor to be on their own.

Nevertheless, it is time to try something else because the current way of doing things simply doesn’t work. I am starting to change my mind about charter change because the best time to do that is under a President we can trust not to have a personal agenda to perpetuate himself in office. A parliamentary system with the same quality of legislators we now have probably won’t make a difference. But it is still worth a try given that the present one absolutely sucks.

For now, let us all work to make lasting peace in Mindanao a reality. The economic dividends of a peaceful Bangsamoro region will benefit not just our Muslim brothers but the rest of the country as well.

North Rail

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima told PhilStar’s Iris Gonzalez that we just have to pay the disbursed portion of the China Exim Bank loan for the project. The Department of Finance must honor the loan or risk some adverse impact on the country’s credit status.

“We are committed to pay the disbursed amount of $185.15 million to the Eximbank of China including interest due under revised negotiated terms of four equal installments within 2012 and 2014. Currently, we have already paid the principal and interest due on Sept. 21, 2012 amounting to $46.11 million representing first payment,” Purisima said.

The government is scheduled to pay the second installment in March 2013, data from the Finance department showed or every six months from September 2012 to September 2014. DOTC must seek a report from the Chinese contractor on exactly how the money was spent.

This is not something unusual. We did this in the nuclear plant case. A decision was made by then President Cory Aquino not to use the nuclear plant but we still paid the US Exim Bank and other creditors. A unilateral repudiation of the debt would have activated cross default provisions that would have severely damaged our international credit standing.

This is why it is so important that our officials should be made accountable for the commitments they make on behalf of the country and the National Treasury. They often sell us programs on the basis of cheap ODA financing and we end up with white elephants or in the case of NorthRail with nothing at all and we still have to pay anyway.

Connector road

A source within the MetroPac Group called me to defend DPWH Secretary Babes Singson. He claims that Singson did not insert the MetroPac proposal in the NEDA meeting as it was listed as item #7. Singson, he said, presented the project because DPWH was the proponent. The Skyway project of San Miguel, in contrast, was submitted to the Toll Regulatory Board.

He also clarified that Singson did not object to the San Miguel proposal at a previous meeting at the TRB, but only to its claim of exclusivity of all connections to SLEX which he called a Martial Law advantage with reference to the role of PNCC. Singson, the source said, supported both projects for approval and wanted a resolution of the issue of common alignment at some portion of the projects.

Well, the only way to see what’s what is to wait for things to happen. I really don’t care for the politics and the rivalries. Like most harassed residents of Metro Manila, I just want needed infrastructure to get built, no matter who builds them… as soon as possible.

Nasa dugo

Jose Villaescusa sent this one.

GUY (nagyayabang): Alam mo, sa totoo lang nasa dugo talaga namin yung gwapo ang mga lalake…

GIRL: Pambihira naman oh! Eh bakit ganun, hanggang dugo lang, hindi umabot sa mukha?

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