Doing what is right

With encouraging developments like the credit rating upgrade by Standard & Poor’s, things seem to be going the right way for this country. A few days ago, Philippine shares hit a new record and the peso closed stronger than the dollar at record high rates in four years. We were also told that passengers at Clark International Airport increased by over 50 percent in the second quarter.

In the past we had to go out and invite foreign investors to come and visit, according to Foreign Undersecretary Laura del Rosario. Today, there are many scheduled visits by foreign business groups seriously looking at economic opportunities in the country. Indeed, many are taking a closer look at the Philippines mainly due to the waves being made by this administration in the fight against endemic corruption — an issue that has consistently turned off foreign businessmen. The recent Corona impeachment trial has been hailed by foreign chambers as a major step in proving that Filipinos are capable of following the rule of law and not go for the “quick fix” solution.

Admittedly, the positive changes people are seeing today did not happen overnight. The S&P rating upgrade is a result of many years of painstaking hard work in lowering the country’s debt burden while improving foreign currency reserves. Bangko Sentral Governor Tetangco, who rose from the ranks, has been doing the “right thing” by setting policy directions that helped the country pay off its debts — a major reason why our economy is relatively unscathed, surviving the major financial crises we see in the western world.

Even the $1-billion loan to the IMF to help floundering economies in Europe is the “right thing” to do. Unfortunately, people misunderstand this as if we are giving away money. Not at all — it is a loan with interest but more importantly, it increases our status in the financial world, showing the Philippines as a responsive member of the international community. Let’s face it — it is also the “right thing” to do when many countries like Spain are in “critical condition” and reeling from the debt crisis. In the past, Spain gave significant donations to victims of typhoons and other disasters, so now it’s our turn through the IMF loan to help in the economic recovery of countries like Spain.

But the fact is, overseas Filipino workers have been a major contributing factor why our economy has remained stable — that’s why more than ever we should make sure we have the right career Ambassadors in our embassies around the world who are responsive to the plight of these hard working Filipino heroes. (Pro-life advocates argue that our big population has helped in terms of the dollar remittances sent by an estimated 12 million OFWs. But still, that doesn’t take away the fact that we still have to manage our population because there are more Filipinos today who have no access to basic services.)  

The best way for government to have the resources and be credible is for taxpayers to see that things are being done “right.” People are more than willing to pay the right taxes if they see where their money is going and that government is doing what is right. For example, the decision of Secretary Mar Roxas to suspend the 480-plus “Lazarus franchises” issued by LTFRB officials — suspected to be anomalous and which smacks of corruption — is the “right thing” to do.

Mar is setting the “right tone” in trying to make some sense of the convoluted problems regarding the transport industry, especially those involving bus drivers and operators. Many believe that if the DOLE department order giving bus drivers fixed salaries is properly explained, bus companies and operators would cooperate and realize that everyone — the drivers, the operators and the riding public — will benefit. The problem is that Filipinos have for so long been doing — to quote Congressman Rudy Fariñas — the “palusot” way. 

Just look at the controversial bus franchises which many say was most probably “pinalusot” since they were approved in May — just when everybody was busy watching the Corona impeachment trial. The recent flooding in many parts of Metro Manila is also a result of the “quick fix mentality.” In the haste to “prettify” the metro for the ADB conference two months ago, contractors simply asphalted over everything including manholes and drainages.

The fact is, it only takes a little effort to do the “right thing” — but failure to do so can lead to harmful consequences, like following simple traffic rules for example. In many countries where drivers practice road courtesy and discipline and follow traffic rules, people reach their destinations without hassle and aggravation. Here, drivers try to put one over others and more often than not refuse to give way even for a few seconds — resulting in a gridlock where nothing moves in the end. That’s the sad story of our stressful life in this country — people doing “isahan” and “palusot” — often with tragic and fatal consequences. And yet all it takes is a bit of patience and doing things in an orderly manner.

When President Noynoy Aquino made his first Supreme Court appointment with Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, he only had one advice for her: “Do what is right.”

Doing the right thing can sometimes be difficult for people who have been used to the “palusot” mentality because the desired consequences are not immediately apparent, but in the end it will make all the difference. I remember a quote which says it all: “Everything will be alright in the end if we do things right. If it’s not alright, then it will never be the end.”

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