After a quick scan of the past 3.5 years of embarassing blunders, Aquino Administration has only 2 years to get things right

"If I were President Aquino, I would grant Sec Lacson full authority over the government agencies and local government units, either through executive or legislative fiat, for him to acquire the legal personality to ensure teamwork and remove bureaucratic roadblocks, from now till Dec. 31, 2014. He must be able to meet the aggressive rehabilitation and reconstruction targets that he is setting for himself because over 14-million affected Filipinos are relying on that. He should also personally demand swift, incorruptible and seamless performance from the national agencies and LGUs concerned with appropriate presidential sanctions for those who don’t live up to expectations."

To Take a Stand
By Rafael M. Alunan III
January 7,2014

Belated New Year greetings! 

Time flies fast, with 2 years to go to put things in order before 2016’s election fever peaks. With one week already gone by, there are 103 more weeks till December 31, 2015. A quick scan of the past 3.5 years reveals embarrassing blunders, and 2013 unmasked the administration’s unpreparedness to govern, particularly in national security, disaster response and public administration.

It began in 2010 with the Luneta hostage crisis, followed by its mishandling of security challenges posed by China, Malaysia and Taiwan that undermined our national respect and sovereignty. Its mishandling of crisis management in Davao, Zamboanga, Bohol and the “Yolanda” corridor was another source of angst. Its inability to clean up national agencies and local government units of corrupt and criminal elements fanned the public’s growing disenchantment.

The preceding serves as the backdrop for my columns in BusinessWorld this year, which also has been my personal advocacy in social media. I will spotlight national security in its fullest sense spanning economic security, food security, energy security, trade security, human security, ecological security, political security, internal security, moral recovery, public safety and national defense. Underpinning those cross cutting concerns would be the imperatives of good government including crucial mindsets such as risk mitigation, emergency response and crisis management.

Today, I will address the monumental task of rebuilding the devastated communities within the “Yolanda corridor” now resting on the shoulders of Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Panfilo Lacson. Driven by a profound sense to serve with urgency, he has taken on a job with a very heavy responsibility, with no authority, to rebuild stronger and safer communities within a declared timeframe of 20,000 hours, or 2 years more or less, between now and Dec. 31, 2015 to complete Phase One of a master plan yet to be unveiled, hopefully, within the first quarter of 2014.

He intends to rely on the private sector to accomplish his targets with urban planner Arch. Jun Palafox and AIM Prof. Danny Antonio to help him organize, plan, consult and execute. They can only coordinate the effort in dealing with the national agencies and local government units, which to most management practitioners is a red flag that will likely thwart the best of intentions. He estimates that P360-Billion will be needed for the mission. This early, he must spell out the standards and technical specifications that product and service providers must be able to meet and deliver, for uniform strength and quality.

The kitty to-date contains P40-Billion from unused PDAF; P100-Billion from the 2014 GAA; around $1-Billion in loans from the WB and ADB; and the U.N.’s campaign to raise a minimum of $340-million that may increase to $800-million. A separate count is being done for donations from big business; civic, business and professional organizations; philanthropists; and from the LGU counterpart funds. The administration could boost the time sensitive effort by persuading known tax evaders to make up for their delinquency by channeling owed monies to immediate needs like housing.

Yolanda has raised the following truths:

· first, that extreme weather and unpredictable rainfall will continue to victimize the Philippines in the days and years ahead;

· second, that we must adapt to increasing threats from climate change with appropriate and uncompromising adjustments to our land use policy, urban plans and building codes;

· third, that we need to have the right people in place with the aptitude and skills for risk reduction, rapid response and crisis management ranging from incident management to full recovery;

· fourth, that the requirements needed to deal with natural and man-made disasters must be adequate, supported and properly deployed;

· fifth, that the preceding are made possible by people with foresight, leadership, management skills and keen anticipation.

If I were President Aquino, I would grant Sec Lacson full authority over the government agencies and local government units, either through executive or legislative fiat, for him to acquire the legal personality to ensure teamwork and remove bureaucratic roadblocks, from now till Dec. 31, 2014. He must be able to meet the aggressive rehabilitation and reconstruction targets that he is setting for himself because over 14-million affected Filipinos are relying on that. He should also personally demand swift, incorruptible and seamless performance from the national agencies and LGU’sconcerned with appropriate presidential sanctions for those who don’t live up to expectations.

For us citizens across the socioeconomic spectrum, the bayanihan spirit beckons us to lend a hand until the folks - from Samar to Northern Palawan - are back on their feet. It will take time for permanent changes to be put in place. In the meantime, civic organizations, the business sector, professional associations, parishes and non-governmental organizations will need to immediately help:

1. build temporary shelters asap to prevent their continued exposure to the elements and unhygienic conditions before the property developers weigh in with permanent structures;

2. ease the trauma and grief on a large segment of the populace to regain their equanimity and restore their productivity;

3. get people employed and help restore their livelihoods or businesses to generate disposable income.

4. extend the same devoted assistance to other disaster-struck places like Zamboanga and Bohol.

Rehabilitation and reconstruction of this scale requires a “whole-of-nation” paradigm. This is crucial in the practice of national security. “Yolanda’s” impact presents to us a good opportunity to unite for a higher cause in the national interest, which is to build safer and stronger communities. If we’re able to accomplish this in 2 years, we would have helped ourselves as a nation prepare for tougher battles ahead.

~~~~O~~~~

Rafael Alunan III served as Secretary of Tourism and as Secretary of Interior and Local Govt in the governments of President Cory Aquino and President Fidel Ramos successively. Mr Alunan is currently Convenor, West Philippine Sea Coalition and is also a member of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum. The article is published with permission of the author.