Professionalize, not politicize

While stowed away in Lipa City I chanced upon a show on CNN Philippines featuring Richard Quest hosting his show: Business Traveler where he featured a couple of veteran airport managers in the US and the thing they had in common were long careers in aviation. One had spent 38 years working in at least four or five major airports all over the United States and would eventually be retiring from the job in a year or so. The second executive had similar credentials and it did not look or sound like they got the job for being the drinking buddy, kabarilan or ex-bodyguard of the President’s mother.

It would serve future Presidents to Google or look into the CNN archives for this episode because it will teach them what a competent airport manager is suppose to have in terms of training, experience and track record. It also provides them a glimpse of the scope of work and what the job entails or demands from the executive in charge. I am not in any way or manner poking fun or being critical of people currently in position. That would be too easy and pointless. I make mention of the Richard Quest program because it reveals what we in the Philippines have been doing wrong for so long — we have politicized what demands to be professionalized.

Once and for all we as a people and those who find their way to the Executive branch through election or appointment must follow one basic rule, and if the rule is not yet institutionalized, then our Senators and Congressmen need to pass a law that strictly states that all Key positions pertaining to public utilities and services must be under the management and supervision of a real licensed, extensively trained, certified and qualified professional in the field or service he or she is being made in charge of. Sorry for the redundant emphasis, but to make it short, NO POLITICAL APPOINTEES to utilities and public services!

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I don’t know if the P-Noy Misadministration will make a public accounting of all the money spent for the APEC Conference in Manila, but it seems the price has been fixed at P10 billion. I assume that the price does not include the more than 1 billion losses incurred by Philippine Airlines and probably a similar amount for Cebu Pacific. Apologists for APEC 2015 claim that the conference may ultimately result in funding being made available for various projects and infrastructure that are still in need of funding.

Here is a major irony. The P-Noy Misadministration “invested” P10 billion for a week-long yellow party celebration, hoping to catch fish in a very congested pond where the partygoers and so called investors are present, in the hopes of making money and not to give away or lend money. Meanwhile we have long been repeating the statement of Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez that the World Bank has long been offering a financial package that is 90 percent GRANT and 10  percent loan. The package is a P2 billion GRANT/loan intended for the construction of a water system (treatment and delivery plant) to supply a vast need for water by the people of Leyte province and Tacloban City.

I just found out recently that the province of Leyte and the City of Tacloban lost out on a grant of P1,800 million from the World Bank and Landbank of the Philippines simply because the P-Noy Misadministration denied there was such a grant, then dragged its feet in filling up the necessary documents and ultimately thumbing down a sovereign guarantee for the 200 million loan component. Is this the Tamang Daan of the P-Noy Misadministration where thousands upon thousands of people will have to depend on shallow wells, plastic containers and water tank deliveries every single day of their lives while they party for four days, hope to get lose change for their P10 billion? This is sick!

I don’t know where paid apologists on the web get their info that the P-Noy Misadministration needs money or funds for infrastructure projects. The bridge that P-Noy and the DPWH insist on ramming through Barrio Kapitolyo is estimated to cost P40 billion. The NAIA obviously has no problems with money values as it bids out for the provision of CCTV cameras estimated to cost at P921,000each. My Canon Handycam cost P31,000 only.

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I guess the election operators or manipulators who initially wanted to disqualify Senator Grace Poe from the Senate as well as the presidential race suddenly had second thoughts. And why not, If Poe had been disqualified it would have presented or created a very complicated and messy situation. For starters, a couple of Airport luminaries have shared with members of media their accidental discovery of a former P-Noy cabinet member who used to travel with a “Blue Passport.” Short of presenting me the BI verification I will simply have to assume they were talking about a “Blue Label” in a bottle. 

Had Poe been disqualified her supporters would certainly turn their anger on Mar and P-Noy and link up with Vice President Binay. The initial assessment that Binay would lose to Mar after all the corruption charges has apparently been equalized by the possibility in the shift of Poe supporters going to Binay.

If Binay goes one on one with Mar the presumption was Binay would lose. But what if he does not? Even if it were a long shot, the thought of Binay as President is obviously so frightening for many people in the P-Noy camp that they needed some insurance. Grace Poe is not a secret candidate of P-Noy but rather an insurance policy! After APEC, you can already guess that the results will even be more painful for the P-Noy Misadministration.