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| Villamor-Boni Torture By Antonio C. Abaya Written Nov. 27, 2005 For the Standard Today November 29 issue It was officially inaugurated by President Arroyo and the DPWH several months ago, but I did not get around to driving through the Libis-Katipunan interchange in Quezon City until last week. I must say that it deserves the praises that have been heaped on it. Plans for this interchange were actually drawn up and the expropriation and demolition of affected property were done during the Ramos administration; actual construction work began during the Estrada administration. But it was the Arroyo administration that finished the project this year. It is a well-designed and apparently well-built interchange which eliminated the perennial traffic jams at the complicated intersection between C-5, Katipunan Road (of both White Plains and Blue Ridge) and Santolan Road. The DPWH deserves congratulations for a job well done. By becoming free of this bottleneck, C-5 moves closer to becoming the non-stop ring artery that I have been pushing for in my Philippine Star column since construction of C-5 began in 1995. Other infras towards this direction were a) the flyover over Aurora Blvd into Loyola Heights, also well designed and well built, by the Ramos DPWH; and b) the flyover of C-5 over the Ortigas-Rosario flyover into Pasig and Cainta., built by the Arroyo DPWH simultaneously with the Libis-Katipunan interchange. An American business friend who used to visit his company�s gloves factory in Cainta, and who spent hours stuck in traffic trying to cross the Rosario Bridge, once remarked that the only way to get to Cainta was to be born there. Well, not anymore, Arnold. But, unfortunately, you have moved your factory to Xiamen (China), so you are not witness to the smoother traffic flow to and in Cainta without any need to add to its population. The grand plan for C-5 would have it stretching from the Coastal Road all the way to the North Luzon Expressway. But realistically, in the next ten years, we can probably just cover the distance from the East Service Road of the South Luzon Expressway to the entry points into UP Diliman on Katipunan-Tandang Sora. But even that more modest stretch, if made non-stop from end to end, would improve traffic flow substantially. With the completion of both the Libis-Katipunan and the C-5-Ortigas-Rosario interchanges, the major conflict point left in this stretch is the C-5/Kalayaan intersection. Last year, the MMDA and the City of Makati were quarreling over how to solve the traffic jam here, with MMDA chair Bayani Fernando putting up his trademark U-turn slot away from the intersection, to accommodate vehicles from Kalayaan-Makati wanting to turn left into northbound lanes of C-5, which Makati rejected and dismantled. Makati wanted left-turn flyovers similar to those in EDSA/Ortigas, in addition to an east-west flyover, which would make it very expensive. In my article �MMDA Wins Some� (March 02, 2005) I suggested a cheaper alternative: in addition to an east-west flyover over C-5, elevated one-lane u-turn flyovers at both ends, a practical distance from the down-ramps of the east-west flyover. In this way, vehicles on Kalayaan-Makati, for example, wanting to turn left into the northbound lanes of C-5, must first take the flyover over C-5, then go up the u-turn flyover, then go down and merge with the northbound traffic flow on C-5. Thus intersections or conflicts are avoided, and traffic moves non-stop in all directions. Fortunately, the Arroyo administration seems to have adopted my solution, and this may be what we will see in place next year. Similarly, when MMDA�s Bayani proposed to turn the sidewalks and stretches of green along the northbound lanes of the South Superhighway, from the Magallanes interchange to Buendia, into a terminal for provincial buses coming from and going to the southern provinces, I argued against this idea in my article �MMDA�s Bus Terminal� (Nov. 10, 2004) and the Arroyo administration seems to have accepted my arguments and turned down Bayani�s proposal. And again, when someone in her inner circle, apparently influenced by the writings of Peruvian social scientist Hernando de Soto, proposed that the government sell to the squatters the sliver of land along the PNR railroad tracks, from Muntinlupa to Caloocan, I argued vigorously against it in several articles, including �Dumb and Dumber� (Sept. 29, 2004) and that idea also seems to have been abandoned. I hope I have President Arroyo�s eyes and ears in this column � when she was still VP she invited me to a breakfast meeting at Makati Shangri-la for me to brief her on the traffic situation then - so that I can tell her about the torture that thousands of motorists go through everyday when they try to negotiate the Villamor-Bonifacio interchange. In this interchange, three lanes of traffic from Villamor and other points west, two from Merville and other points south, and two more from Magallanes and other points north converge to squeeze into three, sometimes only two, lanes to go east. This is the classic definition of a bottleneck or funnel, a no-no in rational traffic management. Sometimes it takes one hour to cover the 800 meters from the Merville Access Road to Villamor because of the daily pile-ups, especially during the morning and evening rush hours.. In March 1997, with my friend Ric Ramos, I presented to then DPWH Secretary Gregorio Vigilar and his �urban planner� Freddie Galano my proposal for easing the Villamor-Boni Torture, complete with schematic drawings. Days later, my proposal and drawings were published in my column in the Philippine Star. Needless to say, Vigilar and Galano did not adopt my idea. Instead they showed me their plan for solving the problem which, I could tell at a glance, was not going to work. Sure enough, they told me months later that their plan had been rejected by their foreign consultants, Parsons Engineering, which preferred a plan that was similar to mine. The key to the solution is to make the Villamor Bridge continue at its level all the way to Fort Bonifacio�s main road, without dipping, as it presently does, to ground level at Pasong Tamo Extension. By using the natural topography of the land, the ground level can be used for cross-traffic under the extended bridge, from Pasong Tamo Ext. to the East Service Road and vice-versa, without conflicting with the main Villamor-Boni traffic flow as they presently do, thus eliminating two of the biggest generators of traffic congestion in the area. Vehicles coming from the East Service Road and headed for Villamor, Merville etc. go under the bridge, then loop up from Pasong Tamo Ext. to merge with the westbound traffic coming from Bonifacio. Vehicles coming from Villamor, Merville, etc. heading for Pasong Tamo Ext,. or the East Service Road, proceed east and then loop down from Fort Bonifacio. At the Villamor end of the interchange, vehicles coming from Magallanes and points north (and headed for Merville, Bonfiacio, East Service Road, etc) should tunnel under the up-ramp of the West Service Road, and emerge at a fork: the left lanes head south towards Merville, parallel to the northbound lanes of the West Service Road, the right lanes loop up and merge with the eastbound traffic flow from Villamor. All traffic conflicts are thus eliminated with three loops, making traffic flow freely in all directions, without any need for human intervention or even traffic lights. As all the land here is owned by government, there is no problem with expropriation. President Arroyo and Paranaque Congressman Roilo Golez (both of whom receive this column electronically) should intervene to make sure the ongoing construction activity in the area will lead towards this solution. Traffic management should not be left in the hands of the impractical �experts� of the DPWH or MMDA ***** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Villamor-Boni Torture� Dear Tony I will write the DPWH Secretary to endorse your proposal. Hey, is amazing how you can switch from the political to your long love ... transport infrastructure! But of course, don't stop i your effort to seek the solution to our political problem. Roilo "Roy" Golez, [email protected] House of Representaives December 11, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww This article is a breath of clear, headily invigorating spring air as it : 1. acknowledges that something positive has been achieved and gives credit to those responsible - instead of most articles of columnists who focus solely on the negative; and 2. provides clear, constructive, pragmatic (in other words, "doable" in light of our limited resources) suggested solutions - instead of again merely tiresome, counter-productive bellyaching. Kudos, Mr. Abaya - take several curtain calls! May we look forward to encores of articles in the future with similar slants? Warmest regards. Antonio B. Elica�o, [email protected] November 29, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Somebody told me that the size of the brains who claim to be "experts" in one government agency is that of a mosquito. You are giving them your services which is supposed to be their work and here they come: "your work is wrong, ours is the best"! Those twerps! I am fascinated by the way your write you observations and make logic out of an illogical situation. AL Jose Leonidas, [email protected] Friends of the Philippines Railways November 29, 2005 PS: It is good the government did not sell the land at PNR Caloocan. If they did sell, that would have been simple stupidity. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hiya Manong Tony! Here's my dream traffic scheme! From your abode, scoot to the nearest MRT/LRT. Park at a friends house/parking lot. Board the train. No traffic, no stress. Mahaba lang ang pila, at daming walking, but mura no?!? Rafael Santos II, [email protected] Roxas City, November 30, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, The Norwegians are well known in Europe for devising the best or most appropriate solution to traffic congestions. Has the Philippine government consulted them? Anna de Brux, [email protected] Belgium, November 30, 2005 PS: If I remember rightly, ex FL Imelda Marcos called on a Norwegian consultant (Mr Martin Bratteng) to manage traffic in Manila sometime in the mid-70s for the Ms Universe pageant in Manila. MY REPLY. But why hire foreign consultants, who charge very high fees, when there are Filipinos � or at least one Filipino � who can do it for much less? wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww From a torture victim. [email protected] wrote: You may want to pass on to Abaya my observations... I purposely AVOID that underpass that brings you out to Libis (from Katipunan) because it means passing through the Eastwood section and a number of u-turn slots and pedestrian crosswalks that are accidents waiting to happen. I am not sure that Abaya understands that a non-stop flow of traffic in that area is impossible because: 1) establishments along C-5 have decided to use part of C-5 as their extended parking lot 2) pedestrians cross when they want to - and sometimes where they want to 3) U-turn slots seem to be a new animal to Filipino drivers who try to use them to cut directly across to some establishment right around where the u-turn slot is - these are the accidents waiting to happen - and these are the causes of forever traffic congestion all along Katipunan - where a car making a u-turn will cut across 4-5 lanes and block all on-coming traffic in the opposite direction - so how can one even talk about non-stop flow of traffic? Maybe if they are used properly the u-turn slot will work - but our drivers obviously mistake the slot for the usual intersection - in the same way that pedestrians seem to think that the pedestrian cross-overs are for shelter during the rains and not for use when crossing. Take it from me - pass White Plains and avoid the Eastwood section and about 4-5 u-turn slots along Libis... Joe Sycip, [email protected] November 30, 2005 MY REPLY. Because of space limitations, I could not delve into the road constriction in the Eastwood-Libis part of C-5 � as well in the Katipunan-Loyola Heights area � that keep C-5 from becoming the non-stop artery that we all want it to be But it is not an insoluble problem. All the comments above have to do with enforcing traffic rules. So MMDA should enforce the traffic rules. But over and above traffic rules, some infra have to be built to do away with ground level u-turn slots, which do slow down traffic flow. A natural u-turn slot already exists under the up-ramp of C-5 as it climbs up to Katipunan- Blue Ridge. This should be developed as such and take the place of one of those obnoxious ground level u-turn slots. Driving an extra 500 meters on a free-flowing road to make the u-turn here would consume less time and fuel than slowing down and crawling thru the road constricted by u-turn slots, as they exist today in the Eastwood area.. At the entrance to the Acropolis subdivision would be a logical place to build a flyover to do away with crossing traffic completely in this stretch of C-5. One the other side of C-5, a flyover can be built at Mercury Ave. But because of the limited space at both sites, the flyovers� ramps should be of the corkscrew configuration, which has a much smaller footprint than a normal ramp. A corkscrew ramp is used in most multi-story car-parks. Outdoors, the most famous corkscrew ramp is the one used to access one of the bridges that connect two islands in Japan�s Inland Sea. So the technology is well established. It would be easier to do away with the u-turn slots on Katipunan-Loyola Heights and replace them with flyovers as there is much empty real estate on the eastern side of the road at Ateneo and Miriam College, and there is an existing service road on the western side. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I have been trying to analyze where to place those high speed trains (hst) in the future. Last night I passed by Quirino Ave. and Paco and I saw there are those Home Along the Riles. These homes, if the HST will pass through, I think might be demolished. Who the hell ordered building those structures? Anyway, I think, the old railway tracks can stay and be improved without prejudice to the existing buildings. Well the train can still run from 50-80 kph. (These Homes Along the Riles were built by a company named New San Jose Builders, majority-owned by then Congressman, now Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte. I argued against these tenements, supposedly built for squatters evicted from the PNR�s right-of-way. But President Ramos ignored my many objections and handed the PNR�s property for a proverbial song to the politicians, whose help he needed to push for a constitutional amendment that would have given him (FVR) the constitutional right to run for a second term. See my article �Dumb and Dumber� Sept 29, 2004. ACA). If one is going South perhaps an enlightened Mayor can let his town be the starting point of the HST. Example, San Pedro Laguna or Carmona. Thus, the old railway tracks will transport passengers from Manila to the said station, they alight then transfer to the HST in Carmona. Since HST travels at 300 miles per hour, sulit na yan sa travel maski yun first leg mabagal. (Forget high-speed trains. This impoverished country cannot afford such luxuries. Not in my lifetime or the lifetime of my children and grandchildren. ACA.) AL Leonidas, [email protected] December 01, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Further Reaction to �The Defeat of Revolution� (Nov. 15, 2005) Hi again, I hope you don't mind me sending you a follow up comment, but I still think that there is more to the social change that goes with relative economic prosperity than you imply. Your final line of comment: "But, you are right, prosperity will lower birth rates because under prosperity secular thought will overwhelm religious thought, as it did in Europe" . I live in Europe (UK) but socialize mainly with Pinoy families who have come here to work, and although I do notice a slight tendency towards more secular thought due to mixing with people like me, the main change that I observe is their realization that in this society, children are very much a financial liability. They don't love them any less individually, but quickly realize why two or three is plenty if you intend to keep working for your living. People in the Philippines with a family income of say 20,000 pesos (gross) per month can afford to have a 'live in' nursemaid etc. Here people with a family income of �4000 (gross) per month cannot dream of employing anybody for more than an odd hour or two, because here, due to the social security system, it is not 'worth' taking a low paid job, especially if it involves unsocial hours. I happened to speak only this week to a Filipina who has raised a family of three here during the last twenty years while working herself in the family (all Pinoy) business. I only know them from a business point of view, and have not socialized with them, but they show the trappings of economic success. However while discussing 'how was business', she suddenly said to me "The main problem is that this is such a terrible country to live in!" I thought; did she mean the cold or racial prejudice? But no she continued "I have to do all my own cleaning, washing, ironing, cooking because I can neither find nor afford anybody to work for me". I suggest, Tony, that it is not much to do with religion/secularism, but the pragmatic realization that in a society where the poor are not told to 'work or starve', but are given social security, if you want to rear kids, you have to do it all yourself (or never work at all and let the social security system rear your kids!). D. John .Adams, [email protected] United Kingdom, November 29, 2005 MY REPLY. But being forced to reduce family size because of difficulties in hiring domestic helpers � rather than because it is a moral issue, as the Church insists - is a corollary of secular thought. Your Filipina would rather risk going to hell in the next life, assuming it exists, than endure the hell in this life of �doing everything� for a bigger family. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reaction to God-knows-what Re My Letter of October 18, 2005 After reading your E-mail messages to me, I have learned with disappointment, that I was at the other side of the fence talking to the wrong person. You may have reached the golden years of your life and maybe on your way to the Deaprture area. Isn't this the best time of your life to leave some legacy to the very poor and marginalized co-citizens of our country and make a difference in their lives, before our Creator brings you to the Departure area? Anyway, I'm just taking a chance, just like the saying "suntok sa buwan" to make you change your mind and make a complete turnaround. Sir, my sincere thanks for giving time to my letters and I'm sending my personal request to you to refrain from further sending me publications which may be intended to change my views and opinions about our present Administration. May I expect that this personal letter addressed to you will be only for your personal reading and not for consumption of the internet-viewing public. Again, thank you.Sir. May our Creator bless you and your family always. Respectfully yours, Rosalinda P. Galang, [email protected] Quezon City, November 28, 2005 MY REPLY. I do not know what you wrote in your letter of Oct 18, and I will not waste one second of my time to find out. Spare me your sanctimonious superstitions. As you did not specify what exactly it was you were objecting to, I do not know how to reply to your objections. Suffice it is to say that I am glad we are not on the same side of the fence as I do not want to be in the same room or even on the same planet as you. I particularly find insulting your conclusion that, just because I do not share certain of your beliefs (exactly what, you did not state), I am not leaving "some legacy to the very poor and marginalized." I am not in the habit of telling other people of what I do for the disadvantaged, but for your sanctimonious self, let me make an exception. I'll have you know that for the past 13 years I have been funding, at considerable expense (more than half a million pesos so far), the private education of a young girl from the slums who is afflicted with cerebral palsy. If that is not good enough for your Creator, I don't give a horse's fart. As per your request, we have removed you from our distribution list. But contrary to your wishes, I have included your letter and my reply in this website as a shining example of holier-than-thou sanctimony from which the rest of humanity can draw some lessons. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reaction to �Military Demoralization� (Oct. 04, 2005) Dear Tony, Col. Dick Morales must understand that even superior military tactics alone can't win a popular insurgency war. This has been proven decisively in Vietnam and, in a smaller scale, here in our own country. Military tactics can only work with popular support on the ground. The communist insurgency movement in our country continues to exist because of widespread poverty and not because of the failure of military tactics. Widespread poverty in turn is a consequence of failure of governance. Only good governance can defeat the communist insurgency movement. Col. Dick Morales need not worry though that the communist insurgency movement can win. This despite the bleak prospects of good governance in this country. They may continue to exist but they can't win because their ideology and program are not acceptable to the people. Communist insurgents can easily infiltrate and influence a community because of discontent with government. When they start imposing their programs, the community rejects them. Unlike in the past, there is less emphasis on ideology and programs now. The insurgents are more concerned with just agitating and influencing a community. This is so they can have a safe place to stay and gather warm bodies for their guerilla army. The communist insurgency movement is really in shambles now. It's only the gross incompetence of government that keeps it from being defeated. Even the military doesn't seem to know what to do. Col. Dick Morales confirms this. But there's a solution to this that an enlightened local executive or military commander can implement on the ground. Please read the attached document. The content of this document is based on our own observations and experiences with the communist insurgency movement here in Mindanao. Gico Dayanghirang, [email protected] Davao City, October 27, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reaction to �Military Demoralization 2� (Oct. 16, 2005) Dear Tony, I've sent you an email about local initiative in neutralizing the communist insurgency movement yesterday. I wish to add that enlightened local military commanders and local executives can work together and initiate the program by themselves without so much dependence on the national government. As I've mentioned, the requirements for success are already on the ground and only need to be organized and mobilized. In fact, the Kalahi program of the DSWD being vigorously implemented by former Secretary Dinky Soliman is exactly the same thing without the security component. I've presented the paper I've attached to the email in a conference among Davao City business leaders, local officials and military commanders. The conference has been called because of the Menardo Arce Command threat. Military commanders in attendance, such as Col. Frankie Pangilinan, former commander of Task Force Davao, has hailed the concept. He has vowed to try it in his area of responsibility but has been transferred before we could work on it further. I'm willing to work with other military commanders interested in the concept. You can forward the paper and my email address to them. Please inform them though that a firm commitment to preserving and protecting human rights is a pre-requisite. Otherwise, the effort becomes self-defeating. At the height of terrorism in Europe in the 70s, a European statesman has declared that democracy has no right to exist if it cannot defeat terror without violating the very principles on which it stands on. European democracies have resisted attempts by their police forces to curtail civil rights in the fight against terrorism, They've instead invested in superior tactics and technology and has soundly defeated terrorism. It is this firm commitment to human rights that has kept most of Europe away from America's war of aggression in Iraq. Overreacting to 9/11, America is indiscriminately employing force and violating human rights in its fight against Al Quaeda. It's really search and destroy tactic that our military applies here in our country as well but in a smaller scale. So far, America has succeeded only in becoming the enemy of the world. With all its economic and military might, it still has to find Osama Bin Laden, is mired in a hapless war in Iraq and is ridiculed all over the world. Brawn without brains is indeed a pitiful combination. The same thing happens with our military units on the ground. They become the enemy of the people that they're supposed to serve and protect when they begin to limit their option to brute force. Perhaps thinkers with a strong moral sense like Col. Dick Morales can make the difference in developing more creative approaches. The problem is that they're leaving not only the AFP but the country as well. Gico Dayanghirang, [email protected] Davao City, October 29, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The following article was emailed to us recently, but it first appeared in The Manila Times on November 17, 2005. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2005/nov/17/yehey/business/20051117bus7.html Vietnam: Innovation, Discipline and Abundance By Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM , [email protected] ROSAMUND and Benjamin Zander believe that in the realm of possibility, we gain our knowledge by invention. "The action in a universe of possibility may be characterized as generative, or giving, in all senses of that word-producing new life, creating new ideas, consciously endowing with meaning, contributing, yielding to the power of contexts. The relationship between people and environments is highlighted, not the people and things themselves. Emotions that are often relegated to the special category of spirituality are abundant here: joy, grace, awe, wholeness, passion and compassion. The Zanders might have been describing the people and life in Vietnam when they wrote their book, The Art of Possibility. My good friend Bert Tato, president of RC Diliman, lived, worked and started a family in the 10 years that he stayed in Saigon. He traveled throughout South Vietnam during the war surveying and mapping roads, ports and harbors, airports, bridges and military facilities. Likewise, my fellow Rotarian, Edison Gatioan, visits Vietnam frequently for business reasons. Here are some of their experiences: Vietnamese people eat only what they think they need for the day, so that they have something for another day. This results in excess supply such as rice that enables them to export. They also eat less fish so there is abundant supply. So, they stay slim and use less fabric for their clothes, and many other benefits of abundance-thinking. Hoarding of anything (except gold bars) is unheard of, sharing is the norm. The size of families is small because they know that it is difficult to feed so many mouths and nurture them to imbibe traditional Vietnamese values. If a husband does something wrong to his family, e.g. has a mistress, he is asked to leave the house. He is not allowed a second chance, because they believe that if he is forgiven, he will do it again. During the war, farmers never left their fields. They simply stayed in their bunker/shelter during bombings and shelling. When all is quiet, they go back to the farm and continue tending their crops; production is not disrupted. This is because of their prolonged war with China, France and USA. They learned that running around will not bring them anywhere. Theirs is an agriculture-based economy. Their agriculturists studied here and when they returned to Vietnam, they consistently apply and improve w. At the Mekong Delta, the fields are almost always submerged in high waters, they couldn't plant under deep water. So, they use a tall variety of rice. When they harvest, they leave one or two stalks for each bunch so they need not replant. There are many small entrepreneurs to spread the wealth around and for more people to benefit from a robust commerce. Every community council (similar to our Barangay) maintains a National Family Record where the names and number of residents (parents, children, etc.) are recorded. The council officers conduct a random check on each family every now and then. When a family member is missing, an explanation is demanded. When anyone travels to another place or province for longer than a day, he needs to ask permission from the council, then register his presence in his destination. Vietnamese people are highly nationalistic and patriotic. They do not rely on their government for livelihood or job. The neighborhood helps each other. Example, if you have something to be done in the house like repairs, you employ the unemployed. They never blame their government for their misery. Office hours are 7 to 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 6 p.m. They take three hours lunch and siesta breaks to go home, get rested and go back to work refreshed and reenergized. They have little use for banks. They prefer to exchange their money for gold bars and keep them at home. Likewise, for big transactions like real estate, they use gold bars as currency. They only use their dong for small day-to-day purchases. Their houses are made of bricks, so when there is fire (which is very rare), only one house or one part of the house is affected. Bert and Ed have many other poignant stories, but space is limited here. My own observation is that life in Saigon is laid back and relaxed. The self-imposed speed limit on city streets is only about 20 KPH. No wonder there were no road accident in the four days in November we were there. As I told Bert, no comparison with the Philippines, please. Draw your own conclusions and action plans.***** Teacher training: sponsor a teacher to the ongoing 4-day accelerated learning workshop at the Aurora Quezon Elementary School. Call 0917-899-6653 for details. Moje is president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp and the Rotary Club of Quezon Ctiy North. Her e-mail addy is [email protected] wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The article below was recently emailed to us, but it first appeared in the Philippine Star on, November 30, 2005 NO! to the Parliamentary System By Ren� B. Azurin, [email protected] (Dr. Azurin is Co-Chair of the ConCom�s Committee on Form of Government. He teaches Strategic Management at the U.P. Graduate School of Business.) Hop on board the express train to a parliamentary system, say our politicos. Anyway, the shift is inevitable, one trumpets. If we change our form of government to that of our better performing neighbors and eliminate legislative gridlock, we shall reap the rewards of economic prosperity, they all promise. The advocates of the shift to a parliamentary system argue that it is our form of government that is holding us back and preventing us from keeping economic pace with our neighbors. They argue that the �legislative gridlock� built into the presidential system is the main problem and that eliminating this � which the fusion into a single body of the executive and legislative branches of government (the distinguishing feature of the parliamentary form) will do � will speed up our economic growth and development. These arguments are so weak it is hard to believe that even those making them actually believe what they are saying. For every country with a parliamentary government that is racing ahead of us economically, one can cite a country with a presidential system that is doing as well or better. In Asia, for example, Malaysia and Thailand (which are parliamentary) may be performing better than we are, but so are South Korea and Taiwan (which are presidential) and these latter two are even stronger economically. The economic performance of a country is a function of its economic policies, resource endowments, and certain environmental conditions, not its form of government. (China, an economic racehorse, is not even a democracy.) In fact, in a parliamentary system, it is much more difficult for government to adhere to economic policies that are right for the country as a whole because such are often in conflict with the special interests typically represented by members of parliament. Of course, all politicos represent special interests. This problem, however, is compounded in a parliamentary system because the fusion of executive and legislative power in the parliamentary form simply puts too much power in the hands of politicos. They can do virtually anything. We can easily dispose of this issue of �legislative gridlock�. It is argued that the elimination of legislative gridlock as a result of adopting the parliamentary form of government will solve the country's problems and lead to accelerated economic growth. This argument is based on the wrong premise that legislative gridlock is what has held back the country's economic progress. This is simply not true. There was no legislative gridlock at all during the Marcos years and yet it was during this period that the Philippines fell behind its neighbors in economic performance. There was hardly any legislative gridlock during the Cory years and the Philippines fell even farther behind. Our failure to keep pace with our neighbors is a consequence of protectionist economic policies, too much regulation, and, basically, too much government. Not entirely facetiously, one might even say that legislative gridlock may sometimes help in that it prevents our politicos from doing the country more harm. In a parliamentary government, the Prime Minister and his ruling gang decide what projects to implement, they allocate the funds from the budget for these projects, and they are also in charge of executing these projects. This gives the ruling cartel enormous power. This effectively makes the entire national budget (except for debt servicing, salaries, other fixed expenditures) one big 'pork barrel'. In a parliamentary system, there is no check for the power of the Prime Minister and his cabinet except to resort to the Judiciary, but that assumes one can actually document and prove wrongdoing (which is never easy to do). If we are now disturbed by the way politicos are presently wielding more limited powers, what should we imagine will happen after they�ve been given virtually unlimited powers? And, if even the proponents of the parliamentary form now attribute many of the nation�s problems to politicos, why in heaven�s name would they propose a solution that gives even more power to politicos? If this isn�t completely illogical, it is at least terribly naive. Parliamentary proponents might counter this by saying that the Prime Minister and his cabinet can be changed at any time through a no-confidence vote and that this constitutes the check against the ruling coalition�s abuse of power. They always cite this ability to change leaders at the drop of a hat as a major virtue of the parliamentary system Actually, it is a very serious shortcoming with easily predictable repercussions. The instability of the Prime Minister's tenure and his utter dependence on the votes of the other members of Parliament for his stay in office from one day to the next means that he is forever hostage to the demands of every member of Parliament. Thus, the decisions that can be expected to be made by a parliamentary government will usually be short-term in nature, often inconsistent, narrow in focus, and rarely congruent with the national interest. The parliamentary system enshrines 'horse trading' as a way of governance. The perceived 'transactional' decisions supposedly being made by the President to win the support of Senators and Congressmen is a pale preview of the constant and recurring 'transactional' decision-making that is inherent in a parliamentary government. Given that even those who advocate the parliamentary form concede that political and economic power in this country is too concentrated (in less than 1% of the population), the obvious appropriate response should be to adopt ways that disperse power, not ways that concentrate it further. Thus, a shift to a parliamentary system is a totally inappropriate reaction to the country's present political and economic realities. What it does is concentrate power even more instead of spreading and distributing it. Moreover, it allows such concentrated power to be wielded more easily and more effectively than is possible in a presidential system where the executive and legislative functions remain separate. Certainly, we need some changes in our Constitution and in our system of government. Such changes should include limitations in the powers and prerogatives of public officials, electoral reforms, a better way of impeaching or recalling elected officials, reforms in the Judiciary to expedite judgments and make the system of justice more effective, enhanced local autonomy, and the liberalization of the economy and the removal of citizenship restrictions on the exploitation of natural resources, the operation of public utilities, and the ownership of land, mass media, advertising companies, and educational institutions. We should also enshrine voluntary exchange, open market competition, private initiative, and minimum regulation as the bases of national economic policy. If we want to stop looking enviously while foreign capital pours into our neighboring countries and creates the employment that spurs their economic growth, these are things we need to do. We do not need to change to a parliamentary form of government. Those who still harbor the mindset that it is government that will lead the country to economic prosperity should abandon this kind of outmoded thinking. Only business � by creating products and services that are competitive in a global marketplace � can do that. Government doesn�t create products. Government only creates costs. Government should be viewed for what it is, and this is that it is merely a support function. What we really need is for government to spend less and tax us less. In any event, it is obvious that momentum is building for the shift to a parliamentary system. Most of the major players in our political firmament are pushing it. We can expect these politicos to campaign for the ratification and, with their personal constituencies, it could already be a foregone conclusion that this shift will be ratified in a plebiscite. The only (slim) hope for this not happening is if enough concerned citizens make it their crusade to oppose this. Concededly, this is not very likely because it is difficult to generate much public interest in such an abstract and unexciting issue. Which is too bad: giving unchecked power to politicos by shifting to a parliamentary system has long-term consequences and future generations should blame us for this mistake. �It was the best of times, it was the worst of times�.�, Dickens once wrote, and � if the shift to a parliamentary form of government does come to pass for us � we may yet get to see what this means. It will then be the best of times for the politicos and, potentially, the worst of times for the rest of us. Continuing, Dickens wrote, ��it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness�.� Well, when the shift to a parliamentary system happens, the politicos will look very wise, and the rest of us very foolish.***** wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww George W. Bush and Queen Elizabeth II George Bush is visiting the Queen at Buckingham Palace. He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government?? Are there any tips you can give me?" "Well," says the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people." Bush frowns, "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?" The Queen takes a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligence riddle." The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please send The Prime Minister in here, would you?" Tony Blair walks into the room. "Your Majesty...." The Queen smiles. "Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?" Without pausing for a moment, Blair answers, "That would be me!" "Yes! Very good!" says the Queen. Back at the White House, Bush calls in his vice president, Dick Cheney. "Dick, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?" "I'm not sure," says the vice president. "Let me get back to you on that one." Dick Cheney goes to his advisers and asks each one, but none can give him an answer. Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall. Dick shouts, "Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?" Colin Powell yells back, "That's easy. It's me!" Dick Cheney smiles. "Thanks!" Cheney goes back to the Oval Office and asks to speak with Bush. "Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Colin Powell." Bush gets up, stomps over to Dick Cheney, and angrily yells into his face, "No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!" ***** wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reaction to "Villamor-Boni Torture" (Nov. 27, 2005) Dear Mr. Abaya, I don't know how i got into your mailing list and finally becoming a part of tapatt But thanks for having me. I think that all these comments and suggestions about solving the traffic situation in Metro-Manila are looking at the trees and forgetting the forest. There should be a change in the concept of transporting people in the metropolis because that is what this really is --- moving people from one part of the city to another. What we is happening now is laissez-faire situation where everyone with a public utility vehicle uses the roads we have. Some of the jeepney routes have outlived their usefulness like, why do we still have a Fairview-Pier jeepney route? Shouldn't this be better served with buses which carry more and use up less space? Since it is now so highly developed, only buses should be on Quezon Blvd/Espana. Let�s look at the evolution of a mass transport route. Firs t there were only horses and carabaos when it was a trail. As the road developed, the tricycles were the mode of transport. As the population grew, the jeeps started coming in and finally the buses when the roads and number of passengers could handle them. Metro Manila has reach full development but nothing has been done to rationalize this situation. Some of these jeepney routes are stuck in a time warp. Tricycles, jeeps and buses all use the same roads even if they are no longer supposed to be there and are no longer viable or take up too much of the precious road space we have. The concept I propose is this: the tricycles feed the jeeps, the jeeps feed the buses and the buses feed the MRT/LRT. As a consequence, routes will be specified so that where there are tricycles there are no jeeps, where there are jeeps there are no buses or tricycles, etc etc. In effect, no buses or jeeps on Edsa or wherever there is an MRT/LRT span. Yhere should be no duplication on any route. The small eskintas can then be serviced by tricycles, the roads in between the major thoroughfares will be serviced by jeeps who will unload their passengers near the bus stops, and on the big avenues the buses unload passengers near MRT/LRT stations. Imagine a bus terminal at the DPWH area across GMA-7. Buses from Fairview can unload their passengers here and then turn back to where they came from. Passengers can then ride the MRT to Makati and there would be no need for a Fairview-Makati bus route. And so on and so forth. I�m sure that once this concept is accepted, we can solve the specific problems on different areas of metro-manila just as long as we adhere to it. Thanks and more power, Buddy Resurreccion, [email protected] December 06, 2005 PS. If this can help in any way or if anyone is interested or wants me to expound on this, i would be very willing to volunteer my services. I�d like to help build and not just criticize and make noises from this corner. MY REPLY. Fine, but your proposal will not solve the particular problem being discussed, the perennial jams at Villamor-Bonifacio interchange, unless the infras is redesigned. Most of the vehicles that pass here are private cars. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |