Planes, trains, and automobiles

I think my first train-related entry was back in 2005, in Debating solutions to squatting, I pointed to this entry by Torn and frayed in Manila on how our country possesses “one of the most ramshackle railways in the world.” That’s putting it politely. Torn was reacting to a report by Howie Severino (and The Unlawyer also commented on it, including detailing the extremely low fares charged by the railroad).

One major problem, as recalled in Pain On The Train, was that squatters had encroached on the tracks and were, at times, hostile to train passengers. There was once a haunting post by Pulsar in 2006 (well, who says once on the Interweb, something’s forever? The blog’s gone!). Or sometimes, the problem were the passengers themselves, see Test-Riding The Metro-Tren:

But there were dreadfully more — and this was what made me uneasy and had second thoughts about using this mode of transpo on a regular basis or asking friends and family to patronize it. Dark thoughts ran in my mind thinking if I can actually still get out of this situation alive! Here we go:

Amongst the passengers in my coach were shirtless dudes who were not even drunk but were just as dangerously rowdy. Okay, to be fair, not all of them were topless. Two were wearing sando, one did not even have a footwear, and all of them did have confidently loud voices enough for anyone to understand that they are the “masters” in this place. They were huddled on two right-side doors. Some were standing and some were seated on the floor and the little steps that people use when boarding or getting off via those doors. Obviously, no one passed by those two doors. They were not just rowdy in the normal kind of kid things. They had very foul language offensive to many.

These folks were not young kids either. They were men probably in their 20s up to late 40s and they seemed to know just about every person who lived along those rail tracks as they often had a lewd or foul comment at everyone they saw. Samples? Here we go… “Hoy hostess, bihis ka na! Rampa ka ng maaga nang makarami”, or — Tangina! Nakaw ang cellphone na yan, kahapon lang”! And they most certainly elicited equally shouted responses from those they were shouting at. Some of the younger kids they teased even ran with wooden sticks or little stones attempting to catch and whack or pelt them as the train chugged along. And you guessed it, these men would run scampering towards the inner portions of the train (which was naturally a commotion that would make you panic). When kids on the ground can’t keep up with the train, these men would be back at the two doors and back to their usual shouting spree at people we passed by. I even saw two women-passengers stand up and walk further front — obviously to get away from this.

I’d be a liar if I said I was not alarmed. I was actually more than frightened! Then again, I could have been over-reacting, right?

Now hear this: As the train went a chugging slowly after that Espana Station going towards Blumentritt, a guy came walking from the front coaches who seemed to be looking for nothing but trouble. As he passed where I was seated and just about to pass the rowdy men by the door, someone shouted on top of his voice saying “o kayong lahat, ingatan nyo mga gamit nyo, yan naglalakad na yan isnatcher yan… The walking man did not even look back but shouted equally loud saying “tangina mo, hindi ako isnatcher, naghahanap ako ng masasaksak” and as he said that he lashed out a knife in mid-air. I looked at the faces of many passengers and almost all had the same facial expression — they pretended to have not heard that and they all did not look at the knife-brandishing man — and so I did not dare look at him too! This time I felt my balls were already above my forehead.

After having gone to the end part of the train, that knife-wielding man returned to the men perched by the doorway and he joined in the laughter, banter and dirty shouts at people we passed by. I clearly heard him telling the group that it was too unusual the week was almost over and he has not had a fight yet. As if to emphasize that, he said “kahit asawa ko ayaw akong patulan, nakakainip pare”!

Philippine_National_Railways.png

This is a Wikipedia map of the NorthRail and SouthRail lines of the Philippine National Railways -theoretically, at least. I happen to like trains very much (perhaps not to the extent of being a trainspotter) and really wish rehabilitating our railways will be accomplished: just getting NorthRail and SouthRail functioning will actually merely return us to where we were prior to World War II, the last major extension having been accomplished with the inauguration of the Manila-Legazpi Line in May, 1938. That still marks the last major addition to our railway network. However, Marcos’ obsession with highways had led to the deterioration of the railroad.

The result? See photos in A Ride On Philippine National Railways Part I and A Ride On Philippine National Railways Part II. See also RILES in Digital Phtographer Philippines. In response to this sad state of affairs, an ambitious program of modernization has started.

One sad side-effect of modernization, however, is the destruction of heritage sites: see Las Estaciones Ferrocarril Manila-Dagupan in the ICOMOS Philippines site.

There are some extremely informative railroad enthusiasts’ blogs out there, which combine a strong historical sense with efforts to document the rehabilitation of the Philippine National Railways. See their mother organization, Railways and Industrial Heritage Society of the Phils. (and its Reese Blog), and these enthusiasts’ blogs: Philippine Railways S.I.G., Philippine Railways, and Laguna Railways,

Courtesy of Augusto de Viana is The railways in Philippine history which, however, so compresses the most interesting years, the 20s to the 50s, as to render that section meaningless. Oh well. Viviana overlooks the ambivalence and even hostility American officials felt towards railways, since it would affect the Philippine market for automobiles (see The Colonial Iron Horse: Railroads and Regional Development in the Philippines, 1875- 1935). When autonomy was achieved, railroad development accelerated. And the policy debate on highways versus railways also began, along with still-unrealized plans such as a railroad for Mindanao (the development of Maria Cristina Fall’s hydroelectric power was originally envisioned as primarily powering the Mindanao railways: there are interesting snippets on these debates in F.B. Harrison’s diary: as an Anglophile, he was pro-railways, pointing with envy to Britain’s not altogether altruistic promotion of its own steam engine industry in its colonies; as for its biggest handiwork in that regard, here’s an interesting item on accomplishing transport reform: Things Looking Up for India’s Trains).

I remember when I was still new in the Inquirer, the President had a dinner with editors and spent much of her time discussing the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (this will be one of her lasting achievements, I think). Along the way, she discussed trains and how she wanted to eliminate the old PNR lines, and have new railroad lines simply feed the metropolis, with intra-city travel done on the LRT. At the time I remember remarking that her strong grasp of detail was one of the President’s most impressive qualities, but one little-seen by the public: just as the overall schemes fed by her grasp of detail failed to be grasped, in turn, by the public: and government is at fault for this.

Today’s Inquirer editorial, Derailed, looks at the possible permutations of the ongoing problem with NorthRail: Even as our government insists that NorthRail project to push thru the reality seems to be Gov’t scrambles to save NorthRail: China threatens withdrawal, legal suit over a situation caused by the sad reality that Northrail ‘mobilization’ ate up 23% of total loan. (Here’s a helpful Northrail timeline.)

See Target for Northrail: ‘substantial’ completion by 2010:

As things stand now, the most realistic assumption is to have a partially – or at least, substantially – completed stretch of rail road some kilometers short of the first section of the 80.2-kilometer distance between Caloocan City in Metro Manila and Clark in Pampanga.

Officials familiar with the twists and turns of the project told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that the initial goal to complete at least the first phase, or the first 32 kilometers up to Malolos in Bulacan province, is not realistic anymore…

A year since the project’s 36-month construction period kicked off in February 2007, clearing the tracks, acquiring right-of-way, and relocation works are still to be crossed out from the list of pre-construction must-do’s.

No civil works on the actual railway have commenced nor has a project design been finalized, yet the designated contractor, the Chinese National Machinery & Equipment Group (CNMEG), wanted to add almost $300 million on top of the current $421 million agreed upon and signed construction cost…

According to various sources, including correspondences from NLRC and the demand letters from CNMEG, the latter unilaterally suspended work on the Northrail in February 1, 2008, with CNMEG’s Chinese engineers returning home.

Pamintuan explained that the engineers have run out of things to do since the project design has yet to be finalized.

But that was only part of the story. Apparently, while the design plan is still pending, CNMEG has been verbally demanding to increase the project cost. In succeeding correspondences, CNMEG has pegged the additional cost, based on computations as of March, 2008, at $299 million.

That would increase the project cost of the 32-kilometer Caloocan to Malolos stretch from $421 million to $720 million. That means the cost of the entire 80-kilometer Manila to Clark distance, which has no financing in place yet, will increase from $1 billion to $1.39 billion…

…After President Arroyo thumbed down CNMEG’s verbal demand in February to increase the construction price by $299 million, CNMEG formalized its demand in their May 13 notice of claim and in their June 3 demand letter to Northrail.

Of that amount, $88.63 million was due to variations in the original scope of work, such as the need to build viaducts instead of embankments in Valenzuela and Marilao areas.

The remaining $211 million was mainly due to foreign exchange losses ($106 million), inflation ($71 million), and cost of the delay in construction. CNMEG pointed fingers at Northrail’s inability to clear obstacles within the right-of-way areas and its non- completion of squatter relocations…

…In the April 24, 2008 letter of resigned Northrail president Arsenio Bartolome III to President Arroyo, he referred to a “presidential directive” regarding the completion of the Caloocan-to-Clark phase.

The directive emphasized two things: that it should be finished by 2010, the end of President Arroyo’s term, and that it should be within the project cost of $1.008 billion.

Construction cost for the 32-kilometer Section 1 from Caloocan to Malolos is $421 million, while Section 2 from Malolos to Clark is $673 million.

The design, supply, construct contract with CNMEG, for Section 1, Caloocan to Malolos, stipulates a construction period of 36 months, or 3 years, after Notice to Proceed was issued in Feb 19, 2007. It was meant to be completed by February 2010, perfect timing for the national election in May 2010.

The relocation of urban poor residents (one day, perhaps, destined to be only immortalized in photos or some videos) has proven expensive but relatively successful (most recently: an amazed foreign friend who had done some filming for a documentary in Blumentritt, Manila, and then saw how the community he’d filmed has been relocated and disappeared) see From ‘Home Along Da Riles’ to ‘Dreamland‘) Of course, not every delay is due to gross inefficiency or corruption on the part of government:

The report also says,

Unlike other controversial projects that were also cancelled, like the NAIA-3 airport terminal, where there is already a massive building that just needs a few months worth of repair and remediation work, the Northrail project’s railway construction has not even started.

I’m not sure if this is accurate.

The thing is, if you look at the reports and photos in the railroad enthusiasts’ blogs, you’ll see that a tremendous amount has been accomplished in terms of rehabilitating the railways (see Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project Update and Rail Lifting at Paco Station for example) though perhaps it’s fair to say no real laying down of track has taken place.

The question is to what extent the whole gigantic effort -and it is gigantic, you’re reversing the deterioration of the past forty years while at the same time laying down an entirely new railway system- has been marred by inefficiency or even corruption. These things take a toll on ongoing projects, as the headlines make pretty obvious, but it also raises another problem: even if hounded by corruption and inefficiency, is the solution to simply tear up contracts and scrap the project?

I once heard someone explain Romulo Neri Jr.’s pragmatism as follows. First question: does the country need a modern railway system? Yes. Since it does, can it be built without corruption? No. If it cannot be built without corruption, then whether major or minor corruption takes place, what is essential is for the railway to be built, because the economic benefits of the project dwarfs whatever corruption will take place.

And pragmatically speaking, Neri is correct and was thinking in true Southeast Asian fashion. This was the Marcos way: anyone who remembers the ferocious debates on MRT-1 along Taft Avenue (expensive! impractical! will never work!) will realize that despite all the objections, the elevated railway line has become an essential part of metropolitan infrastructure.

And this brings me to Neri, his latest reincarnation as SSS Chief.

The PCIJ in a Special Report reveals that the resignation of Corazon de la Paz and the assumption of the leadership of the SSS by Romulo Neri Jr. has a major policy shift at its core:

De la Paz first intimated how she has not been able to accustom herself to the workings of government, indicating a preference to return to her work in the private sector. But upon further questioning by the media, she eventually relented to a little known fact: she had stood up against the use of SSS members’ funds for the government’s pro-poor agenda, in the process offending the powers that be.

“Using the fund has limits. (It) cannot be used to finance pro-poor projects of the government unless it is defined in the (SSS) Charter,” De la Paz explained, serving up a warning to SSS members and the public of the potential danger of the fund being misused.

With Neri at the helm of the SSS, many have indeed expressed fear that the funds will be used for partisan political interests. Both Malacañang and Neri’s avowal that the funds will not be touched for government’s welfare programs has not helped assuage such concerns for the very reason that the appointment boils down, not so much to the issue of competence, but to Neri’s integrity and credibility - and that of the one who appointed him – as a public official.

Those who insist that the economy in general, or government financial matters in particular, can and ought to be insulated from politics have another lesson coming in why this is neither possible nor desirable. This is a defect that afflicts not just loyalists of the present dispensation, but bureaucrats, too, as the PCIJ report reveals:

Neri also probably felt his detachment that he had to bring along with him to NEDA people whom he could trust. His consultants, many of whom were not known to the NEDA staff, were like a parallel office which acted as his political arm. At first, some at NEDA appreciated the arrangement as it insulated the staff from politics, preferring not to deal with politicians and just continue to do their work professionally. Later, on instructions by Neri himself, NEDA officials had had occasions to interact with his consultants. Even his meetings with them were recorded as part of his official schedule.

The way one director understood it, Neri played politics as a matter of course in public policy. The NEDA Secretariat and other oversight bureaucracies are to exert effort in providing full information to decide policy, he says, and that necessitated engaging with politicians and playing the game of politics.

From his own experience working with him, the CPBO’s Vicerra believes Neri played politics not in the sense of politicking, which he says Neri always tried to avoid. “It’s more of realpolitik,” he explains, “as he always wants to involve himself in policy issues. And he has his advocacies.”

Doing so may have made the NEDA Secretariat more aware of the nature of public policy in their work, but it also made them vulnerable, admits the same director. “It put the organization and employees unprecedently in an unrequitedly bad light,” he says, though maintaining that the Secretariat has remained nonpartisan, its own standard of integrity and professionalism undiminished by this initiation into politics.

But Neri’s pragmatism, the NEDA staff also claim, conflicted with his reformist image. Some would say on hindsight that this probably explains why he is seemingly not appalled by unethical behavior, that is, corruption by way of commissions, extortions, kickbacks and the like, because these make things move or work. Others find it ironic that he wanted reforms yet “still wants to be in the good graces of this government.” Still others comment that since he is a “political animal” himself, it was not surprising that he had been offered bribes as he had admitted.

This is a confusing passage, but then it neatly illustrates the confused, because ignorant, attitudes of bureaucrats themselves about politics and its place in governance.

Government’s policies and management of the economy can be left alone if the public feels officials are capable and trustworthy stewards. If not, then they can and should be guarded every step of the way.

In its editorial, The Business Mirror, not inclined to be an instinctive critic of the administration, advocates retaining the VAT on oil, but points out the essential problem with expectations being built on spending the windfall for the public good:

Removing the oil E-VAT may be akin to a voluntary disarmament at a time when we need all the weapons we can get our hands on to confront grave threats to our economy.

Gordon’s proposals may not be popular – but they make sense. Having said that, the only problem with following his tack is this: Local experience is replete with evidence that, in this country, it’s next to impossible to get a good accounting of where and how precisely special-purpose funds – say, E-VAT “windfall” as used for infrastructure to rebuild disaster-ravaged areas and spur local economies – were applied. For even as critics complain that letting the government use the E-VAT windfall for doles is tantamount to giving more money to crooks, that same peril lies in using the funds instead, as Dick Gordon wants, for infrastructure.

Finally, in a town where a crusading auditor who keeps asking a warlord to “please liquidate” millions of pesos in public funds may easily get what he prays for – that is, be literally liquidated from the face of the earth, his killer(s) never brought to justice – accountability, like honesty in the Billy Joel song, is such a lonely word. So, to Dick Gordon, you may be right on this one, but, good luck.

Which goes to my point about NorthRail, the handling of the economy, and what Yen Macabenta points out: that the economy is coping with increases in the cost of oil pretty well, not least, it seems, to some pretty OK handling of economic matters by the powers-that-be; the problem is that while this redounds to the benefit of big business, ours is Still a jobless-growth economy; and the powers-that-be don’t quite know how to effectively toot their own horns and even if they do, there’s a widespread assumption officialdom’s on a looting spree (made even deeper, I think, because most of the public can’t quite grasp how it’s being done):

The report on Monday that the government kept its first-semester budget deficit at about P18 billion – only half of the programmed ceiling – despite the food and fuel price crises is encouraging. Two points stand out in the report:

First, revenue collection improved during the first semester.

And second, our fiscal managers were concerned that the various agencies of the government have not been able to absorb additional funding to help perk up domestic growth. In other words, the problem is not lack of funds, but projects to spend on.

When the President decided that the government would no longer aim for a zero budget deficit this year, it was for the specific objective of cushioning the impact of high consumer prices on the most vulnerable among our people. The government has the resources to provide subsidies to the needy during these trying times. And just as important, it has the funds to put into infrastructure and social and economic programs that will boost economic growth this year and next year.

Inflation for now is our biggest worry, as it hit a 14-year high of 11.4 percent in June. But Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. believes the problem should ease before the end of the year, and the country should fully recover by next year.

If you’re wondering why skyrocketing oil prices – with talk of crude hitting $200 a barrel by the end of the year – are not taking the bottom out of the economy, here are a few reasons:

1. It’s not just the price of crude oil that has soared to record levels this year; the prices of other commodities have hit peak levels, as well. This is the difference between this oil-price shock and the shock of 1974. Higher commodity prices across-the-board are also benefiting the exports of the Philippines and other countries. So our import bill is not as crushing.

2. Oil is not as all-pervasive in our economy as many believe. It affects mainly transport. Most of our electricity needs are fueled by other sources of energy, such as hydropower and geothermal energy.

3. The general prognosis of experts is that oil prices should come down during the second half of the year, though not to the same level as last year. The bubble is simply unsustainable. Demand will ease and supply will rise following the basic law of economics.

But again, the windfall is there. Surely it’s helped fund the following: Government subsidy for cheap rice in first half reaches P8.6B:

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the rice stocks were distributed and sold through 3,197 Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke, 8,080 Tindahan Natin outlets, 540 Bigasan sa Parokya and 199 rolling stores nationwide.

Government subsidy for cheap rice is expected to rise as the DA said 28 million more bags of rice will be infused into the domestic market from now until December to stabilize prices.

The NFA will be injecting some 6.5 million bags monthly, from now until August.

This volume will be reduced to 5 million bags by September, when palay harvests for the wet or main crop will start coming in.

Yap said the government is confident that it will have more rice to distribute until the end of the year as 900,000 metric tons (MT) will arrive in the country before September 30.

But the questions won’t go away whether the windfall’s economic potential’s being maximized. As it is, the President has announced Round Two of her “Katas ng VAT” program (no mention if it’s part of the commemoration of National Nutrition Month):

Which brings me to something Jarius Bondoc puts forward in his column for today (no link to the Star because it still hasn’t figured out permanent links):

The truth is unraveling, slowly but surely. A clique in the Arroyo admin is capturing the energy sector for kickbacks.

First, there was a sudden flurry to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. Rep. Mikey Arroyo, the presidential son who chairs the House committee on energy, said it was necessary to bring down consumer rates. His congressmen-brother Dato and uncle Iggy assented as committee members. It turns out, however, that the main amendment is to advance the start of open access from the time 70 percent of Napocor generators are privatized to only 50 percent. While speeding up open access is fine on paper, since it will allow big users to pick their own electric retailer earlier, it would be unfair in practice. State-owned Napocor will still control half the power plants, so there won’t be true competition. Worse, the Napocor mafia will continue to dictate, for multimillion-dollar kickbacks, imports of coal to fuel the plants, whether sold or not.

Then, Gloria Arroyo appointed amiga Zenaida Ducut as Energy Regulatory Board chief. Aside from Ducut being the town mate from whom Mikey inherited his congressional seat in 2004, they have a common friend, the oft-named jueteng lord Bong Pineda. Ducut’s posting jolted the industry because of a recent Napocor scam. The state firm last Feb. awarded to a four-month-old, undercapitalized and flighty broker a P956.4-million coal import from Indonesia. There must have been P258-million overprice, since the bid price was $109.50 per ton, although the Indonesian posted rate then was only $77 (at P40.418:$1 for three shiploads of 65,000 tons each).

Among the listed incorporators of broker Transpacific Consolidated Resources Inc. are Leslie and Ressie Ducut, but Zenaida disclaims kinship. Still, there are many inconsistencies. Napocor faxed the bid invitation two weeks prior to TCRI’s only known address then, the nearby Danarra Hotel’s business center, closed since Christmas. Now Napocor insists it awarded the deal when TCRI moved into a real office – in two short weeks. Paid-up capital was only P62,500, but Napocor says “so what?”, in disregard of the Public Bidding Act that requires congruity of capital with contract price. Ducut says the scam does not matter since, as ERC chair, she will have nothing to do with Napocor operations. But Napocor spokesman admits that the ERC, aside from the energy department and NEDA, needs to approve coal imports.

The capture of the electricity sector is complete - from the executive and legislative branches to the quasi-judicial ERC. From there the clique can move to other energy sectors - say, oil exploration - if it has not already.

(Incidentally, a sense of deja vu comes from this article: Lights Out in Indonesia: Jakarta as 1990s Manila? With India, Indonesia, Vietnam,scrambling to put up more power plants, and with the Philippines going to need more power plants soon, those who position themselves in the energy sector now are going to be positively minting their own money in years to come) If you’ve ever read how Ferdinand Marcos squirreled away funds abroad, then the stories -occasionally dribbled out in the press, but more often than not, whispered about in business circles- of what’s going on in the energy sector are equally intriguing -because the money’s come home, unlike most of Marcos’ stash. One day, hopefully, someone will write it all down, from the time money began to leave the country, a hop, skip, and a jump ahead of sleuthing legislators, journalists, and American anti-money-laundering officials, with the money making its way to places as far afield as Austria, then eventually, back home again where it could be used to buy banks, and dummy firms.

Manuel Buencamino looks at the curious story of Homobono Adaza’s alleged attempt to extort money from a Japanese businessman.

Ellen Tordesillas has the skinny on what the President was up to in Washington:

A Malacañang source who was part of Arroyo’s entourage in her recent US visit said there was no mention by Arroyo of any plans to implement martial law or authoritarian measures in her meeting with Bush, the first since she fell out of his grace after she pulled out the Philippine military contingent in Iraq in exchange for the release of kidnapped Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in July 2004.

But he admitted that increased military assistance was top in her agenda in her talks with American officials.

The source was amused that Philippine media covering Arroyo’s US visit followed Malacañang’s spin about the near passage of the Veterans Equity when they know very well that it has a slim chance of it passing in the House of Representatives despite the approval of the Senate.

He said the real reason Arroyo wanted to meet with American congressmen was to explain to them the government’s side on extra-judicial killings. Like in the Philippines, any appropriation bill originates in the House of Representatives. That’s the reason behind the idea of giving the newly minted Order of the Golden Heart Award, which is different from traditional Order of Sikatuna awards given to diplomats or nationals of other countries who have made outstanding contributions to strengthening of relations with the Philippines. According to press reports, not all awardees showed up during the conferment affair in Washington D.C. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came very late.

(Just a correction, which I told Ellen: the Order of the Golden Heart was established by President Magsaysay. It was not “newly-minted.” A more relevant question might have been whether the Philippine Legion of Honor might have been more appropriate; but then a lower-ranking Order might be appropriate because no law has been passed yet.)

Foreign Affairs officials lobbied hard to get a meeting for Arroyo with Senator Barbara Boxer (D., Cal.) chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific. It will be recalled that Edith Burgos, widow of press icon Jose Burgos and mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, met with Boxer last March.

In the hearing that she conducted on alleged extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the military, Boxer said, “We do not want blood on our hands. We do not want to use US taxpayers’ money to train their (Philippine) military and police to kill their own people.”

Arroyo was able to meet with Boxer, the source said. The meeting must have been so insignificant that it didn’t merit a line in Boxer’s website. Not even Malacañang reported it.

It was unfortunate for Malacañang that whatever propaganda it wanted to generate domestically for Arroyo’s US trip was negated by typhoon Frank which struck on the eve of her departure, sank a passenger ship and devastated many parts of the country. Compounding the stigma was the junket of 63 congressmen whom Arroyo brought along with her as part of her pre-2009 impeachment payment.

But the source said, despite the bad press that Arroyo’s US visit got, she feels that she accomplished her main objective which was to impress the military that she still has the support of the US establishment.

It maybe a meeting of lame ducks but it was still a White House meeting, the source said. Add to that was her meeting in Pentagon with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

She may not have gotten categorical support for the things she might do in case her unpopular administration is shaken by the wrath of a long-suffering people, but it is good enough for Arroyo that she has given the military the illusion that the US is behind her. With that, she believes that her presidency, whatever questions about its legitimacy, is safe.

In the blogosphere, radicalchick aims a broadside at ABS-CBN and its Ces Drilon Kidnap Special.

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

487 thoughts on “Planes, trains, and automobiles

  1. Frankly, one can almost predict the general theme of editorials about government projects like North Rail: “unmoderated greed.” One can substitute NBN, ZTE or any other familiar code and the theme is boringly the same. Tell me, are there any projects marked by competence and honesty? Now that’s real news!

    Allow my exasperation to show: The democrats said once we had freedom of the press, we would have less corruption. The law and order types said, once we jailed a big fish (Erap), we would scare the corrupt. We achieved both press freedom and a jailed whopper of a fish, but now we have perhaps more corruption than ever before. What gives? Any theories?

  2. haowei, i think it’s because now the corruption comes from the reformers who were brought to power by EDSA Dos and kept there by Hello Garci. They can’t be ousted because the Middle Class has cast their lot with the Oligarchs belonging to the Upper Class who both fear a return to a populist Erap-like leader.

    Since decentralized corruption is worse than centralized corruption, one option would be to give the Arroyos (and their cronies) a monopoly in corruption while they build our energy and transport infrastructure and for the public to follow the late Raul Manglapus’ advice to “lie back and enjoy it“. That seems to be the compromise that Neri has arrived at to solve our dilemma.

  3. Just to be clear, i don’t endorse that option i described (at 2:42 pm). I just wanted to point out that it’s there.

  4. howie,

    there doesn’t seem to be an incentive to keep the greed at a moderate level. government corruption is, after all, impossible to eradicate, the most effective governments manage to moderate and minimize it.

    the problem, seems to me, is that a freewheeling media is only good at exposing corruption but along with exposure needs to come either legal punishment or public humiliation that’s intolerable for those caught out.

    my understand, for example, is that malaysia and indonesia are where we were, say, prior to martial law in terms of official corruption being widespread but a certain amount of discretion being maintained by a political class with strong cultural ties maintained by its members. they didn;t go through an extended period of decline the way we did under marcos.

    michael alba, the economist, argues that corruption became pervasive in philippine society during the economic crisis in 1983, and he says it can be empirically proven. this surprised me as world war ii is usually the point identified by most people -but he says no, it was 83. other (anecdotal) accounts points to the truly corrosive combination of authoritarianism while the dictator was in terminal decline, mentally and physically. this meant that everyone discovered they could get away with petty corruption and no one would be punished.

    since then no one has really been in charge and no one can really call anyone else to task. everyone gets away and no one has an incentive to tread the straight and narrow because it’s so pervasive, it’s suicidal to follow the rules -unless you go abroad, which many of the middle class, have done.

  5. i believe the media has done its part in this situation. we have a lot of documentary shows which has exposed a lot of those controversies about corruption in the government.

    the law is in place. and when the culprit are finally caught, “the dirty politics” come into play.

    how i felt so bad when erap just went away from that plunder case with less than a year in jail. it just doesn’t seem right and fair for the filipino people.

  6. michael alba, the economist, argues that corruption became pervasive in philippine society during the economic crisis in 1983, and he says it can be empirically proven.

    Interesting.

    If that could be done, then perhaps Alba should conduct an empirical study from year to year starting perhaps from the 50s. It would be a good to have a fair basis to compare presidents: who’s the most and the least corrupt and greedy.

    Then also we can have a basis to study the correlation of corruption to development if indeed there is any. Remember that we routinely blame corruption for our miseries and ousted Marcos and Estrada mainly for the same reason.

    Are we now saying it’s parang okay lang pala hehe?

    For example, I have read it somewhere long ago that though the Marcos regime was indeed corrupt, it was never as bad as after. The article was quoting an oldtimer at the DPWH. A good question to ask would be: how much was the standard “patong” then and how much is it now?

  7. There is a weak link in the free media. The stories about GMA headed to Washington to seek approval for martial-law from McCain and Obama is illustrative.

    The media is focused on getting the scoops — the public likes this. But a number of Filipinos also want for these “you-heard-it-here-first-speculation” to prove correct. Tabloid-speculation has gotten tiresome for many Filipinos. Evidence — apathy.

  8. Corruption has been in the Philippines since the start of the republic.

    A recycled joke of corruption timelime:
    1950s-60s: Corruption in RP was under-the-table
    1970s-80s: over-the-table
    1990s-now: including-the-table

    Like the other socio-economic ills (conflict and poverty), corruption is part of the self-feeding, vicious cycle in Philippine society perpetuated through several generations of inequalities. The cycle unfortunately has not been corrected by several exogenous factors: two EDSA revolutions, globalization, and OFW voting.

    No end in sight, I believe.

  9. ricelander, i’ll ask alba but i think his study had to stretch further back than the 50s to arrive at that conclusion.

    one anecdotal evidence you have are the lyrics to the mambo magsaysay: “no more graft and ten percent, if magsaysay’s president,” which suggests that as of 1953, that was the level of corruption.

    you also have the account of former majority leader jose romero who pointed out congressional allowances began in 1946, and increased exponentially thereafter.

    you can also go through accounts of the free press to see what sort of corruption was taking place, based on the controversies of the time:

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/03/11/crooked-judges-get-the-boot-may-27-1939/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/03/11/how-quezon-handled-government-crooks-august-19-1961/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/the-hand-of-the-government-april-10-1948-2/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/03/15/ramon-magsaysay-man-of-the-year-january-6-1951/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2007/01/06/gaudencio-antonio-man-of-the-year-1967/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/01/31/that-marcos-foundation-january-31-1970/

  10. Buencamino’s article is very well written, so much unlike his old style or maybe I just prefer a little gravitas. Compared to his articles on Gloria, he seems to take this coup plot with mores seriousness (i.e. personal fear).

  11. If the “military” group is thinking of the Ninoy strategy, I have less to fear than buencamino, but what if they turned murderously mad?

  12. Complaints can only get to so far (and it gets tiresome if the same plaint — “why do they keep voting in these bozos into Congress???” is heard decade after decade). To the action-oriented, there is an article a do-gooder. Problem : save millions of children from death and disease. In particular,

    …. to persuade people in the developing world to wash their hands habitually with soap. Diseases and disorders caused by dirty hands — like diarrhea — kill a child somewhere in the world about every 15 seconds, and about half those deaths could be prevented with the regular use of soap, studies indicate.

    Of course, there was re-education the Mao-Tse-Tung or PolPot way. Then there is…. (… read the article).

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/business/13habit.html?_r=1&em&ex=1216094400&en=8521c49a071adef5&ei=5087&oref=slogin

  13. Sigh. The Philippine railway system, one of the few “British” contributions to our country.

    It should definitely be rehabilitated, if only to decongest our streets (and increase our lifespan by avoiding the maniacal drivers)

    Incidentally, UK trains are ocassionally delayed due to “Signalling failures”. This is mainly due to thieves stealing the copper cabling (to be sold to the junkyard..)

  14. @brianB

    Sus Maniwala! There is no such thing as a ‘nobel prize nominee’. LOL.
    Nauubusan yata ng bala si gorrell…lipat muna kay kitty go…

  15. if the chinese contractors want to change the contract to make “adjustments” for costs they did not anticipate, or failed to cover, they are the ones in breach, not the philippine government. their unilateral abandonment of the project for alleged non-payment of rendered services hinges on the contract terms – is such abandonment allowed and when is there non-payment? but the basic issue is which came first – the demand for adjustment, the non-payment or the abandonment? i believe, each act is a repudiation of the contract which could either have been anticipatory or after-the -fact.

    a final court ruling on whether the contract has been breached and by whom is urgent. the project has to be completed sooner rather than later. if a change of contractor is warranted, let it be. the damage to the country is irreparable, exacerbated by the a pressing need for cheap, fast and reliable transport in the midst of spiraling cost of oil.

    blaming the “government” in a knee-jerk fashion contributes nothing to the situation. the government is not a monolithic leviathan. it consists of thousands of citizens working in different branches, each with their own independent powers and responsibilities. the executive branch, by itself, is not the government. let actual responsibility be pinpointed and let the full force of the law be dealt with upon the guilty parties.

  16. ‘Along the way, she discussed trains and how she wanted to eliminate the old PNR lines, and have new railroad lines simply feed the metropolis, with intra-city travel done on the LRT.’

    Eliminate the old PNR lines? The only reason why North Rail and South Rail are not so expensive is the old right of way owned by PNR. GMA should have insisted on light rail instead of heavy rail to revive the PNR.

  17. Supremo, that’s a good insight.

    But of course ,you know how things are run in the Philippines. The light-rail transist systems you envision will not inter-connect because of turf wars!!! Tong-pats, TROs, and all that. Why do you think Imelda Marcos thought about the Metro Manila Development Adminstration (MMDA)? If the Pinoys could quarrel, we would.

    Better one integrated heavy-rail to bulldoze all the petty local feudal lords.

  18. If the Fil-Am community wants the Filipino Veterans Equity Act to pass then they should compromise. They should agree that only Filipino veterans residing in the US will get the benefits. This would eliminate most of the opposition to the bill. Also, Philippine politicians should stop lobbying for passage of the bill. The Fil-Am community is capable enough.

  19. supremo, if your idea of “transportation” is only for passengers, light rail makes sense. but other than people-mover, what the country needs is a cheap and efficient means to move heavy cargo and serve the country through and through. the “love affair” with superhighways, tractor trailers and other gas-driven vehicles is soon to end. PNR not only needs revival, it needs enhancement.

  20. PSI,

    The longest light rail line is in China at 45km. North Rail is only 80 km long.

  21. thanks, supremo. if that could haul heavy equipment, logs & timber, heavy construction materials, among other heavy cargo, then i guess that would do. i believe we’d be better-off having the germans do it, if we could.

  22. on greed and corruption, everything is relative. what is “moderate” in 1938 was not so in 1968, 1983 or 2008. the cost of graft follows the cost of living in luxury and maintenance of power. prior to world war 2, we talked about corruption in terms of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of pesos. in marcos times, we talked about a few millions except, perhaps, those that went to the dictator himself. now, we talked in the hundreds of millions, if not billion. prior to 1960, we had 2 pesos to one u.s. dollar. now, it’s 45 plus. the inflation factor also applies to corruption.

  23. @supremo

    diba cong. raffy biazon admitted to being a ‘lobbyist’ to justify the expensive junket? Well, I wish his lobbying changed some congressmen into the ‘yea’ column.

  24. “We achieved both press freedom and a jailed whopper of a fish, but now we have perhaps more corruption than ever before. What gives? Any theories?”

    Because we look for solution outside, should be within. The corruption is homegrown. We paid our way to get into position and recoup the spent money once in power, then the cycle continues. If we can disrupt the cycle, there is real chance of better future in the Philippines.

    For now and 2010, it is grim.

  25. “this meant that everyone discovered they could get away with petty corruption and no one would be punished.”

    That is exactly true. When president Arroyo pardoned former president Estrada the highest country official for crime of plunder, in effect she proclaimed a national policy of continues corruption. That would have been the chance to stop the cycle of corruption. However, she recognized that the criteria she set for Estrada can be applied to her when her immunity expires on 2010.

    What is heaven for big fish is also paradise for the small fish.

  26. “The cycle unfortunately has not been corrected by several exogenous factors: two EDSA revolutions, globalization, and OFW voting.”

    There was a slight chance by with the activist court of Justice Puno (who clipped the EO#) until 5 new justices appointed by President Arroyo in 2007 and 2008 tip the balance of power.

  27. There was a slight chance by with the activist court of Justice Puno (who clipped the EO#) until 5 new justices appointed by President Arroyo in 2007 and 2008 tip the balance of power which became evident in SC decision on Neri to answer the 3 questions. Justice Puno and others became minority.

  28. To recap the attempt to disrupt the cycle of corruption on this present administration and the skillful hands of the President:

    1. Power vested in Congress through impeachment. The president issued blank checks the night before Congress deliberations.

    2. Church voice to guide its flock. The president went to the Pope directly and cutoff the Bishops.

    3. Call for military solution. The president issued loyalty checks to the generals.

    4. Push for Justice. The president appointed 5 new justices since 2007.

    The Filipinos are running out of solutions.

  29. Speaking of trains and railways, I can’t help thinking of the proposed Railway System in Honolulu and comparing it with the proposed Northrail Project of the Philippines.

    Here, a group posted an anti-rail stance, not so much that it thinks it would not benefit the residents but that the project will upset the delicate balance between the quality of life and urban landscape. I guess, many are still content with the car & bus modes of transport, not the heavier and more massive moving of people to and from their workplace. They are averse to seeing a more “urbanized city,” with those trains hovering on top of the skyways rather than snaking under the ground (as in Washington, D.C. , California and other states).

    Curiously, one of the main issues about the Philippine Northrail System is CORRUPTION. Yes, the 10-letter word has become endemic in almost all mammoth projects of the government, which are tainted with shady deals. Just look at what happens to the other China-related projects like the NBN-ZTE deal, and one gets a smell of the stink that separates this and the Honolulu railway project.

    When will Filipinos learn to get rid of corrupt leaders?

  30. Planes, trains, and automobiles are under the direct supervision and management of Department of Transportation and Commission. The appointment or selection of human resource by the executive is very crucial for implementation of the process according to budgets. I went to the website of DOTC to see if I can find what’s really wrong with implementation aside from just lacking money. I have found out that experience and skills do not fit the job description. I cannot open the link on Organizational structure , hoping to find people within that organization. I did found what’s obvious from the website. It is lacking quantification management to help reduce uncertainty. There’s no projections of revenue but actual budget is already proposed. The goal and mission sounds good but the goods has not been completed since inception.

    I would like to see a NEW Department of Human Resources that will assist/guide our executives to screen, assess and hire the right professionals including prevention of conflict of interest. What we have is appointing human resource without proper assessment of skills and experience. What’s popular is conflict of interest as in the case of SSS… With Northrail, one can browse the professional experience of the secretary. The result of collective team performance can be reflected on the project itself.

  31. “I would like to see a NEW Department of Human Resources that will assist/guide our executives to screen, assess and hire the right professionals.”

    As far as the CEO Arroyo would allow. It is her team. She can’t tolerate SSS Chief Corazon Dela Paz resistance from diverting SSS funds for presidential programs (not already content with her unprogram discretionary funds which ballooned 5 times the 2004 size).

    CEO Arroyo tapped Merceditas Gutierrez (a classmate of her husband) as ombudsman chief. The investigative arm went from 80% to 14% case disposition rate and demoralized the whole organization. She also inhibit herself on any cases involving the Palace. The constitutional mandate to fight corruption through Ombudsman is effectively neutralized by a president political appointee. It is design to fail against her.

  32. Manolo,

    I absolutely share your enthusiasm for trains and wish to see the Philippine railway system rehabilitated and perhaps further expanded ASAP. And though it did break my heart to see the folks from Blumentritt station shantytown uprooted and scattered as you rightly recalled (what a memory you have!), I believe it is for the greater good of the whole society to get the riles fixed. My only wish is that the usual squandering of the funds through corruption is limited and that the project gets finished, not bogged down, so that we see cleaner and greener transport options in the country at the time when the world gets more serious about tackling the green gas emissions.

  33. Trains is a liberal concept that can potentially change the kanya-kanya attotude of Filipinos.

    Nash, nasa wkipedia ni hontiveros

  34. Cargo by rail.

    Matagal na hinaharang ng mga truckers,brokers,forwarders and some logistic companies ,as well.

    it would mean relocation for the logistics firms,getting rid of their trucks and loss of busines by the truckers.

    tapos kailangan me railway din na malapit sa airports,ngayon medyo kalat pa ang airport natin.

    why is everything a logistical nightmare?

    it can be done with a masterplan that is not vendor/supplier dictated but coordinated.

    procurement/biidings should not deviate from plans?

    how do we do it with just a one year budget,di naman pwede six year budget o three year budget dahil dahil kahit me master plan lagi na lang me bago na proposal,bago batas na kailangan ng budget.
    yan isa pa yan madami batas na ala namang budget.

    ==========================

    On leytenian’s concern on the department of human resources.

    We have the civil service comission, for career officials and of course as d0d0ng mentioned political appointees.

    I am not against assigning ex generals to the cabinet. I know many are brillaiant, sayang naman ang utak nila.

    secretary leandro mendoza in DOTC is a bad move, just listening to him sa ZTE hearings, his defensive allibi sa sulipicio accident na madaming pasahero ;na nadinig ko kay vice president noli nung initerview sya,maybe not enough to say he is incompetent, but what track record can he show us?

  35. supremo, that was not her original vision. this was after the plans for a canlubang-alabang-makati rail link foundered due to real estate speculation along the tracks (the home along the riles tenements were so close to the old tracks that it raised the serious possibility new wider-guage tracks would have to be elevated and then, the builders of the tenements could sell their air rights) during the estrada admin.

    the president, at least in 2004, envisioned expanding the lrt-mrt within metro manila, and commuters coming in from cavite and laguna would get down in depots from their trains and hop on to the lrt-mrt system. the old railway lines of pnr within metro manila would give way to roads.

  36. mmda and mm were the brainchilds of president marcos, who implemented many ideas he acquired as a young man during the japanese occupation. mm and mmda for example, had their origin in the city of greater manila and the position of mayor of greater manila set up on the eve of world war ii.

  37. leytenian, actually your h.r. department exists in embryo form, within the executive, either in the person of the executive secretary or the presidential management staff office. we actually devised a modern way of running the presidential office ahead of the americans, we had the executive secretary position prior to the war and it took eisenhower (who’d worked in malacanan) to institute a chief of staff position in the white house during his term.

    a further attempt to modernize took place under estrada with laquidan or whatever his name is being appointed chief of staff, but it was a disaster. president arroyo tried again, separating political functions, placed under the chief of staff, from bureaucratic functions, retained under the executive secretary. but the scheme ran out of steam after bobi tiglao got sick.

    arroyo also had a search committee to vet presidential appointees, under vicky garchitorena who was put in charge of pms. but that went out the window in july, 2005 (garchitorena, like yong afable, belonged to the cabinet group that chose to resign quietly).

  38. Petty corruption in the public sector is also a function of the low salaries of our public officials, particularly the gap between their official salaries and the cost of living.

  39. “First question: Does the country need a modern railway system? Yes.”

    “Since it does, can it be built without corruption? No.” MLQ3

    I checked the records of the NSCB going back to 1946 and there is no record of a manufacturer of railroad hardware registered in the country. We have never built a railroad in the country and we have no capacity still to build one. We purchase railroads systems from abroad and we do not produce and build it. We have it installed.

    India builds their own.

    When Lincoln was made to chose between building one and purchasing one from England he chose to build one by helping to establish the U.S. steel mills under more modern technologies then. The U.S. then out produced the Europeans in steel at a lower cost.

    He actually helped establish the robber barons of old and the private railroad systems became the principal model of organizing U.S. buisness management systems of line and staff functions all linked through the telegraph system.

    Actually the discovery of oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania can be considered the catalyst of the third leg of the evolution of the steam engine to the internal combusition engine run by refined oil. Later the discovery of oil in Spindletop in Texas. The original steam engine had evovled to the steam engine driving the locomotive. Oil replaced wood and coal driving engines.

    With cheap oil and the need for highways to link cities and evacuate cities in case of war President Eisenhower initiated the interstate highway system which then relegated railways for cargo.

  40. kg. tough luck for the truckers, etc. the high cost of oil will make them obsolete., except perhaps for short trips like shuttle services to and from air/seaports to train depots. in any case, there’s no way they can fight for survival unless they find a way to arrest the escalating fuel cost and make their service competitive. business is consumer-driven, not necessarily by political connection.

  41. The HR department i’m dreaming about can be implemented or is the responsibility of the Department of Labor and Employment ( unemployment pala) . DOLU…

    “The Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Paggawa at Empleyo)(commonly abbreviated to “DOLE”) is the executive department of the Philippine Government mandated to formulate policies, implement programs and services, and serve as the policy-coordinating arm of the Executive Branch in the field of labor and employment. It is also responsible for promoting gainful employment opportunities, developing HUMAN RESOURCES, protecting workers and promoting their welfare, and maintaining industrial peace. It is further tasked with the enforcement of the provisions of the Labor Code”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Labor_and_Employment_(Philippines)
    It sounds like, that this department is only doing…”It is further tasked with the enforcement of the provisions of the Labor Code”
    only applies to private employees? what about the high ranking employees paid by the people? what about overseeing practices of COMELEC for political candidate applications- assesing skills, dgrees, experience and good faith… ( that’s still employment- human resources).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Code_of_the_Philippines

    what else does this department do? overseas labor law? or whatever labor? I couldn’t open its website. Why is that? no budget too? lol

  42. mlq3,

    ‘mmda and mm were the brainchilds of president marcos’

    There was a Manila province with almost the same boundaries as Metro Manila created in 1859.

  43. ……..”ours is Still a jobless-growth economy; and the powers-that-be don’t quite know how to effectively toot their own horns and even if they do, there’s a widespread assumption officialdom’s on a looting spree (made even deeper, I think, because most of the public can’t quite grasp how it’s being done):”

    One of the reasons , I believe that most people are clueless about why corruption inthe country can’t quite be grasped is the fact that most people naturally will be involved in subsectors of the economy and the view will alwys be micro-economics or supply side based.

    JMK or Keynes for short changed the whole idea of economics from Smith to the macro level which is monetarism. To some it is called statism – the heart of political economy. It is the instituionalization of fiscal and monetary policies by the state. The monetization of credit.

    Countries who are pre- capitalist societies and between monetarism and commodity based trade system would be hard put to comprehend the why’s and the how’s.

    The Philippine experience since Marcos has been the professionalizing of the corruption process. Marcos brought it to the level of the technocrats. Sicat, Virata, Ongpin, Laya to name a few. They turned a blind eye to the abuses.

    They used off budget government institutions. What did not exist they created. The perfect example is the coconut levy organized and managed by Danding Cojuangco. Neri Jr. is simply an extension of this phenomena. Look at Jun Lozada. Look at the entire cabinet and the rise of the GOCC’s including the BSP. Look at the entire privatization process promoted and supported by the multilaterals. Look at the entire roro system which is simply a repeat of the DBP subsidizing the transport sector with imports from other countries.

    They call it crony capitalism, booty capitalism but it simply socialism for the well connected and rich.

    Neri’s actions are not new. It is history repeating itself.

    The preconceptions most people in the country have about fiscal and monetary systems is shallow and narrow just like the economy which is not really a macro based economy.

    Business tends to be micro in scope. But all businesses exists in the abstract of the objective reality that is the macro. If the macro is still to be formed that means all businesses must be aligned with establishing the macro conditions.

    Anyone who has read Porter will note that the precondtions for engaging the global economy is the foundational exitence of a well honed established and efficient domestic agro-industrial market base.

    We have not yet even started to move towards the formation of a firm domestic market base from local communties with other other local communities that form the backbone of a domestic market.

    Then you want to become competitive overnite by establishing a Commission of competitiveness and start sloganeering.

    The Daily Inquirer editorial said that the North Rail will leapfrog us into the 21st century. Wow!!!!!

  44. ‘We have never built a railroad in the country and we have no capacity still to build one. ‘

    That’s why light rail is the way to go. Bombardier or Hyundai Rotem should be given incentives to build diesel multiple unit or DMU in the Philippines. No need for overhead wires to power the train. Conventional locomotive-hauled commuter train can consume 2–3 gallons per mile, a comparable DMU will only consume ½ gallon per mile. DMU also has the potential to run on biodiesel, resulting in further fuel savings.

  45. how can we build our own railroads, we can’t even produce our own tanks and armored vehicles for our military? we had iron mines but never had a world-class steel mill. we exported iron ores to japan and bought from it finished products (appliances, motor vehicles, heavy equipment).

    we’re supposed to have an accumulation of engineers, technicians, skilled workers and vast labor source and manpower. they could not have all gone abroad. i bet most of them would stay if they could work using their skills and were compensated decently.

    it’s hard to think of our’s as nothing but a consumer society. i believe we can do better than that in spite of ourselves.

  46. hvrds:

    …We have never built a railroad in the country and we have no capacity still to build one. We purchase railroads systems from abroad and we do not produce and build it. We have it installed.

    India builds their own.

    I would love to see us building our own too with our own technology and resources– but how? What is the state of our steel industry?

  47. nash,

    Cong. Biazon just wasted his time. No one would listen to him because he is not a registered voter or a campaign contributor.

    The Philippine government should have settled this veteran equity issue on a high level instead of begging the US congress to approve the bill. They could have ask for a monetary settlement of at least $100 M deposited in a trust fund that the SSS would manage.

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