CHAFF FROM THE GRAIN

“What may happen is what keeps us alive. We want to see tomorrow.” – John Steinbeck

We shall overcome because we must.

With anti-COVID-19 vaccine available soon, the optimistic economic forecast is that we will have economic revival by 2021-2022.

However, realistically speaking, economic recovery will be slow, feeble, and bumpy, but then as Alexander Pope had written, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast” and the famous Filipino resilience is summoned to validate the optimism.

However, from where we are perched, the absence of profound thinking and bold thinking inhibit revolutionary and game changing policies that will transform Filipino society and social mores.

Though President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has all the good intentions and patriotic ardor, he is frustrated in moving forward by unabated corruption and unstoppable drug trade.

Moreover, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s unique style of governance, his unorthodox criteria of hiring presidential appointees, Cabinet ministers, undersecretaries and ex-generals as agency heads leave much to be desired, as they are not all experts in their fields.

First, as a result, these appointees are either corrupted or fall short of expectations.

For example, the Inter-Agency Task Force or IATF delegated powers to and delegated powers to the PNP, LGUs, barangay captains, and other quasi officials that smother the OFW or legit traveller with mind boggling paper work and permits that are contrary to public interest and a conspiracy against the poor and underprivileged sectors.

The IATF should non-minimize exemptions, cut the red tape, and simplify processes and time.

Whether it is GCQ or MECQ, vehicles of all kinds are back on the highways with a vengeance, as if there is no pandemic while businesses remain closed or bankrupt.

Truth to tell, the Department of Trade, the IATF, and the DILG are not on top of the situation and are jeopardizing early economic recovery.

Second, illegal logging is rampant as there are not enough forest rangers to oversee hundreds of hectares of forest lands, and they are easily bribed.

We never learn from past mistakes by allowing quarrying, mining, and denudation of watersheds for profit that trigger flooding, landslides, and other natural disasters.

With the Philippines being in the Ring of Fire, the government and citizens must be prepared at all times as earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions can occur anytime and anywhere.

Prior preparation and vigilance are necessary without waiting for disasters to occur.

For these reasons, reforms should start at the LGU level where red tape and corruption are systemic.

You be the judge.