Congress’ credibility gap

No matter how you slice it, the worst problem a government can have in a fiscal crisis is a credibility gap. Senate President Frank Drilon and House Speaker Joe de Venecia were the guest speakers at the Manila Overseas Press Club’s (MOPC) Congress Night. JDV rolled out his usual optimistic and creative spiel. He outlined a 12-point program to generate new wealth in a variety of creative ways that have been covered by the media. One can probably get a copy of JDV’s new book, Development Agenda 2004-2010: Our Tasks for the Next Six Years from the Speaker’s office. GMA recently endorsed JDV’s 12-point program at the Legislative Agenda Planning Conference last Thursday. Should it be to ambitious on our part to expect an overriding political will to hold the course?

It’s nice and dandy to hear all of these but as Manila Times columnist Syke Garcia pointed out, "What has happened to all the grandiose plans of the past? We’ve been coming out with so many economic agendas since 1992 but things just keep on getting worse." The only excuse that JDV could give was that it was the fault of the Executive Branch. In effect, he was blaming his former liege lord FVR and GMA for the failure of implementing the legislative economic agenda of the past. Invited by Syke Garcia to the forum, Mrs. Imelda Marcos grabbed the opportunity and made some pointed remarks. As ABS-CBN put it, Mrs. Marcos lectured JDV and Drilon and told them to make an audit on what happened in the past 30 years. Mrs. Marcos challenged the media to scrutinize Marcos’s budget of P486-B in the 20 years he was president compared to the Trillion-peso budgets of the past 18 years.More than a credibility gap, people are increasingly bewildered by their leaders’ lack of priorities and their abundance in lip service. As Frank Drilon pointed out, while Rome is burning outside the gated enclaves, we are still arguing over the most inane matters. Now the Senate is focusing on GROs being hired by legislators. Notorious starlet Keanna Reeves opened a can of worms when she revealed that some of her clients are lawmakers.

However, it was the testimony of 18-year-old "escort" Janine Roque that rocked the Senate investigation. According to Roque, her frequent customers include a 50-year old incumbent senator while another is a 40-year-old shabu-snorting and gay-talking Luzon congressman. Drilon warned about a massive power crisis soon. Meantime, Mindanao has been tagged by Australia and our allies as a breeding ground for regional terrorists. Unless incompetent showbiz legislators are phased out by attrition within six years, both houses will just have to plod along. While "Rome continues to burn," we continue to argue and investigate scandals after scandals. What is happening to our country’s legislators? Can’t they see beyond their noses?Since the early ’90s, Congress and the Senate have consistently increased their budget allocations, meaning it has become more and more expensive to maintain the upkeep of our legislators. Except for 2002 when the national budget was reduced by 14 percent, the increase in the total national budget from 1994 to 2003 had an annual average of 7 percent. The Lower House budget averaged 11 percent, and even while the total national budget shrank in 2002, the House’s own still had a 10 percent increase. The Senate, on the other hand, showed an average increase of 13 percent from 1994 to 2003.The sad part is that the belief in government no longer exists. It is as if government officials live in a country other than the Philippines. During Cory’s time a housing authority official whose office massage armchair was reported by the media quipped, "We’re a rich country pretending to be poor."

Credibility has been eroded to the hilt. People are more and more skeptical, bordering on the cynical, as to what government can and will do for them. The disgust in the faces of the people are not even disguised now with the mention of pork barrel, fat GOCC salaries, and sex scandals. All of these political entitlements and yet life hasn’t changed for many people. In fact, their lives have diminished progressively since 1986. Many Filipinos, who brought back their dollar savings in the early 90s, have seen the value of their money melt by 100 percent. In the face of the fiscal crisis, JDV admitted, "This is not the time for politics as usual." GMA even said that the era of the "Politics of No-Politics" has dawned on us. And yet, people have raised their eyebrows over the appointment of Ramon Revilla to the Public Estates Authority (PEA). People, especially the businessmen, are questioning "payback" appointments and accommodations that are the hallmarks of Politics-as-usual. Whatever GMA’s reason or rhyme, she should always remember that the buck stops at her desk.History has taught us that internecine fights among legislators with vested interests and their protection of political entitlement to the neglect of the masses have been around since the time of the Senate of the Roman Republic. That is why Caesar and his heir Octavian ˆ by design – abolished the Senate and the obstructionist opposition to establish an Empire system that confiscated senatorial properties to buy grain to feed the poor and to pay the soldiers. In the classical education that many of us acquired from the Jesuits, the most important thing to remember is that the lessons from Greece and Rome will always be relevant: They teach us the wrongs and excesses to avoid in the present. Today, the divide between the rich and the poor continues to grow as the gap between the 13th Congress’ credibility and the public’s discontentment also gets wider. History has come full circle once again and it looks like we haven’t learned our lesson. Going beyond credibility gaps, the unprincipled minds who regard life as a perpetual feast in Philippine society will be the first victims of a social revolution.

One thing is certain, if we don’t get our act together, soon enough we will have a "failed state". The President, the Congressional leaders, the businessmen, and everyone who has a stake in this country should come to a consensus on the strategy and the sacrifices entailed to face up to the tremendous challenges. Because of the credibility gap, the majority of Filipinos no longer believe in government. Failing to address the fiscal crisis, the gap between the rich and the poor will be even greater. One cannot even begin to imagine what will happen after that.

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