GOVERNANCE MATTERS  Former Vice President Jejomar Binay Since April, the government has been making discordant statements on its capacity to fund programs to control the coronavirus pandemic and revive the economy. The national leadership says the funds have run out. And until a vaccine arrives, the populace would have to endure the discomfort and uncertainty since the leadership itself is – by its own admission – useless or inutil. The national leadership’s statement, however, has been clarified and even contradicted by the economic managers, who maintain that government can weather the fiscal storm. This back and forth between the leadership and the economic managers has been going on for quite some time, which makes one question government’s real fiscal state. Candor is needed in light of two disturbing findings. The Social Weather Stations (SWS), in its latest July survey, revealed that around 23.7 million adults, or almost half of the adult population, are now jobless because of government’s severe lockdowns. Then the Health Department said based on its data, over 113,000 Filipinos of productive age - from 20 to 59 years – have been infected so far with the coronavirus. The rise was noted after government allowed certain businesses to open in an effort to jumpstart the economy. Without effective interventions to curb the virus’ spread, the number may still rise. The consensus among economists and private financial institutions is that given the state of the economy, government has no other option but to spend. And it has the money to do so. By most accounts, government has been able to save some P824 billion as of June, most of it from unspent items attributed to the delay in the approval of the 2019 budget. The Treasury was also able to raise P516.3 billion from the sale of treasury bonds. Yet it remains uncertain if the national government would ramp up its spendings, particularly for sectors affected adversely by the prolonged lockdown. It is uncertain if financial aid will be extended to the millions of workers thrown out of work, including thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have returned home. There are no indications that the national government will assist thousands of micro, small, and medium-scale companies. While the national government allotted billions to provide financial assistance for workers and entrepreneurs, both the Labor and Trade Departments stopped processing loan applications after the funds dried up quickly. Given that government has hundreds of billions in savings as well as foreign loans and grants, the reluctance to spend for much-needed economic relief is puzzling. One would presume that the reluctance proceeds from a guarded view of the country’s economic prospects. While resources are available now, they are not infinite. Perhaps with the long view in mind, government remains intent on pursuing its ambitious Build, Build, Build infrastructure program even if some quarters have called for a rechanneling of the program’s funds to assist displaced workers and small companies. And there appears to be disagreement within the highest levels of government on whether to take the long-view or provide quick relief. A contradictory view was offered by a senior official, who told a congressional hearing that new roads will be useless if businesses have closed shop. Meanwhile, some government officials would rather preoccupy themselves with concerns that are peripheral, or totally irrelevant. Take for example the insistence on putting a barrier on motorcycles to separate the driver and the back-riding passenger.  A media event was even staged supposedly to disprove critics. This bullheaded refusal to accept contrary views, even if they come from engineers and riding safety experts, is now a trademark of this administration. But in its strident defense of an indefensible policy, these officials overlook or have conveniently forgotten that the policy they imposed applies only to rider and passenger who are married couples. The barrier requirement is pointless, if not downright silly, since married couples do not have barriers between them at home. We have been on lockdown for more than five months but  government is more fixated with controlling the narrative than controlling the spread of the virus, to the extent that it dismisses hard data and denies the science when it suits them. Even worst is the realization that government is more fixated with burdening and controlling its citizens rather than providing them relief and assurance in uncertain times. [email protected]