Transition

The outgoing administration will brief the incoming one on what it has been doing. No doubt there will be a short meeting in some departments, on where things stand, so that progress continues. And already Rodrigo Duterte spoke well when he aired the assurance that he’ll continue the policies and programs of President Aquino.

This has always been one of the major deterrents to investment, foreign and local: an administration that thinks only in six-year terms, and changes the commitments of its predecessor. But there are some areas where we don’t want continuity, and the overriding one is the exceedingly slow action of an administration that thinks before it acts, and then thinks again. The glaring example is the planned new international airport. Six years, and we still don’t even know where to build. Cambodia, hardly a progressive nation, did it in three years—not decided in three, but built it in three.

Duterte has promised to be a man of action. Well, here’s a good first test to prove he’s not just a “mouth”—his word, not mine (it’s hardly good English). He should make a decision within three months. He CAN, because all the studies have been endlessly done over the past two decades, or longer. We don’t need more studies. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Wherever you decide to build an airport, it will work by the very fact that the government will have to ensure that it works. Let’s see if he can be better than Mr. Aquino, Jun Abaya and Mar Roxas. Among them they couldn’t make this decision.

I’m no expert on this, but if I were Duterte, I’d do three things: 1) Move general aviation and the Air Force to Sangley Point immediately. This will take pressure off the Naia and allow planes to actually land on time. 2) Develop a new airport close (30-minute drive) to Manila. 3) Develop Clark for the long term and its transport link to the National Capital Region, so it fits into my earlier suggested development of a new capital for the country.

Manila will be underwater 50 years from now. It’s already the second most densely populated city in Asia, and with Manila Bay on one side and Laguna Bay on the other, it has nowhere to go. The Clark/Subic corridor is the place to go. It covers 900 square kilometers of land and the necessary deep, protected harbor.

Apart from the pace of action, there are other areas where continuity is not wanted. At the top of my list is mining. The collapse of this sector must be reversed, and development accelerated. It bothers me that Duterte’s initial announcement is that he’ll give the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to a communist. We’ll risk a repeat of an environmentalist with no ability to strike a balance (read my environmentalist daughter’s balanced view on this in my April 21 column). The DENR should really be split as it’s hard to encourage and control an activity all in one government agency.

There are other areas where change is needed, too, and truly opening up the economy by removing the constitutional restrictions on foreign equity is one of them. Duterte has promised this will happen. Good for him.

But what I’m really getting at is some transition action. The incoming president can meet the outgoing one and ask for some last-minute actions on things Mr. Aquino doesn’t care about, or want. But as he’s leaving, anyway, why not be the gentleman and give the new guy what he’d like?

The bill to create a Department of Information and Communications Technology was one of them, but this has now been signed by Mr. Aquino. This is a good sign because Duterte has said he’s in favor of such an agency.

The same can be done with the freedom of information bill. The Senate has passed it and the House could, if Mr. Aquino assigns it as priority. Congress has until June 10 to do something still worthwhile, and this is worthwhile. Mind you, Duterte has said he’ll issue an executive order to open the administration to public scrutiny, so it’s not so critical. But it would be better if it were institutionalized, and impossible to change later.

Another thing that Duterte has said he wants is lower taxes, corporate and personal. But how to pay for these? I’m involved in a project that would put a marker into gas and diesel to stop the smuggling. Research shows that some P40 billion is lost to smuggling. This marker, if looking for cheats is actively undertaken, can catch much of this. The P40 billion would cover the estimated P37 billion to be lost with introduction of a 25-percent corporate income tax. Duterte should request Mr. Aquino to put it in place now. Another thing he can order is an increase in the excise tax on fuels that are half the price they used to be, as Cesar Purisima has suggested.

I’d also ask Mr. Aquino to rush a bill through Congress to create the post of Metro Manila governor, to whom all city mayors would report. This is one area where autonomy is not desirable, and the horrendous traffic mess is partly because of this. I admit this may not be possible now, so it should be a first action of the next Congress. There’ll be some strong resistance, but only by 14 mayors. It will be applauded by some 13 million Manileños. It’s a time where we no longer have to piss in a bottle.

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Why does Congress canvass the votes for president and vice president? The Constitution requires it, but shouldn’t. This is not a political issue. It’s strictly a technical activity: to count votes. It’s the job of the Commission on Elections. Putting it into Congress’ hands allows the possibility of political pressure. And with the close fight for VP, this worries me. A quick outcome is needed, then file a challenge at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, if you must.

But better just accept the result so we have a functioning government on July 1.

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E-mail: wallace_likeitis@wbf.ph;   Read my previous columns: www.wallacebusinessforum.com.