The Aquino administration
has bungled handling the “Laglag Bala” or “Tanim Bala” scam at NAIA through a series
of stupid moves. First it pooh-poohed what was happening as isolated instances---a
tiny drop in the sea of millions of airport departures and arrivals; then there's the theory that these bullets are actually
used by passengers as amulets to ward off evil spirits, or were supposedly carried by passengers straight from the shooting
ranges. All these rationalizations, despite tearful protests from scam
victims, including elderly OFWs and an American missionary bound for Mindanao.
Aquino officials met these
episodes with their own protests, with DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya sticking to his statistics
and Airport Chief Jose Angel Honrado playing tough about snowballing calls for
his resignation. Then the statement attributed to LP presidential candidate Mar
Roxas: “I really don’t need the vote of the OFWs.” It’s hard to believe a rational man would pooh- pooh the 11 million OFWs, but there has been no denial from Mar's camp.
XXX
All these episodes on
”Laglag Bala” and “Tanim Bala” kept local and international media spinning, earning PH new notoriety abroad. But the worst repercussions are among the
OFWs, to whom the P-Noy administration appeared quite uncaring and insensitive.
This was reflected in recent statements of Balanga Bishop Ruperto
C. Santos, who heads the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP)’s Episcopal Commission on Migrant and Itinerant People.
 |
Balanga Bishop and head of CBCP's Commission on Migrant and Itinerant People Ruperto C. Santos (Photo
courtesy of Mar T. Supnad)
|
In a news release, Bishop Santos admonished OFWs not to vote “for candidates who are insensitive and indifferent to the
‘tanim-bala’ problem” and "who are not
compassionate to those who had been victimized particularly overseas Filipino
workers as well as tourists.” Santos urged the public “to take a united action
against the scam” and adopt a “strong voice in displaying indignation against the
issue of ‘tanim-bala’ at the country’s airports.”
Bishop Santos said over Radio Veritas, in
reference to political candidates who seem to be indifferent to this issue,
“Mahalaga sa atin na may boses tayo. May malakas na boses kaya gumawa ng paraan
na ipakita sa kanila ang ating pagkakaisa. Kung may laglag-bala, ipakita natin
sa kanila na ilalaglag din natin sila sa balota.”
The OFWs, already incensed
about earlier attempt of Customs Chief Bert Lina to subject balikbayan boxes to
open inspection, are susceptible to Bishop Santos’ exhortation which, in turn, could affect Mar Roxas's candidacy.
XXX
The Bishop also decried the
slow government response to the ‘tanim-bala’ issue, complaining that “We
released a letter on the problem as early as September and to this day, no one
has been apprehended. There are no leads as to who the perpetrators might be.”
To Santos this simply shows “the lack of compassion and sense of urgency, and
insensitivity of concerned individuals who are remiss in their duty to protect
and serve the public.”
In view of the denial mode
and lack of clear idea from the authorities on how to handle this internationally
embarrassing problem, Bishop Santos urged airport personnel to just confiscate the
bullet---just like what's routinely done with knives, pointed objects, and
other prohibited liquids and chemicals when found in the possession of a passenger---and let him go.
This same stand has been
echoed by various people, such as former Rep. Roilo Golez and TeddyBoy Locsin, but
until now confusion reigns at the airport on what to do---scaring OFWs about possible
arrests at NAIA this December. This has prompted Public Attorney Persida Acosta
to stand watch over the OFWs (Persida reminds me of the Statue of Liberty at the
mouth of New York Harbor, offering solace to migrants from the Old World) and
private lawyers like Alice Risos-Vidal to offer their services free to harrassed OFWs.
XXX
In the Aquino administration’s
thinking, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program---which has already spent
some P75 billion in monthly dole-outs to some 4.4 million families (roughly
some 20 million Filipinos)---is crucial because it alleviates the plight of very
poor families while keeping their children in school. One condition for the
dole-out is that the children attend school. But expert opinion holds that, in
fact, poverty has worsened. As shown by the recent SWS surveys, the latest
hunger figure is three points up from the 12.7 percent (2.8 million families)
recorded in the preceding quarter; that in
fact it was the highest since December 2014’s data of 17.2 percent.
I have never been a believer
in the CCT program as one of its toughest aspects is THE DIFFICULTY OF HANDLING
AND MONITORING ON THE GROUND SUCH GARGANTUAN FUNDS. So much is left to the discretion of ground handlers of Dinky Soliman,
and I know from personal testimonies by my house-helpers over the years
that the funds that finally get to their families are irregular and incomplete. This was what led the Arroyo administration to give up the CCT after an initial try.
This is not to mention the
dole-out mentality that CCT inculcates among the poor and its use for
political patronage especially during this campaign period. Rather than CCT,
what should be done is to establish branches of TESDA (corruption-free) in
strategic regions of the country, where able-bodied citizens of both sexes could
be trained in various technical skills to supplement the yawning lack of formal
education in the grassroots
XXX
Archbishop Emeritus Oscar V.
Cruz, writing in Daily Tribune recently, quoted the price tag of over P400
million to be forked out by the Philippine government in hosting the APEC
Summit from Nov. 17-20, 2015. It’s a far cry, he says, from the
under P100 million the government spent in 1996, when it hosted the first APEC
Conference in Subic Freeport in President Ramos’ time. But with all due respect
to the militant bishop, this jump is understandable, given that it has been nearly
20 years ago and that the first APEC Summit took place in a small and
highly controlled environment; whereas, this second conference in Manila has to meet head-on the gargantuan problems of securing 20 world leaders, traffic congestion on land and air, containing at manageable levels the presence of the poor and many other urban problems that will
bedevil it.
XXX
As a citizen I feel there’s nothing better we
can do as a people than to pray that the many problems of APEC 2 would be
overcome; that our foreign heads of state guests and their respective entourage
would be safe here, and that the summit proceeds and concludes smoothly and
profitably for all participants, including our country. We cannot at this point
count the costs in terms of pesos and centavos as the prestige of our country
as host is at stake.
Already the country’s
reputation has been terribly tarnished by the “Laglag Bala” airport bullet
scam, with all the bad publicity it has reaped in various foreign lands. Its timing on the eve of this APEC Summit is so unfortunate, and God
knows when we could recover from it. The least we can do is to make the Summit
as smooth as possible.
XXX
But one economic cost that will
affect so many people involves the cancellation by Philippine Airlines of over 200 flights 14 days prior to the APEC Summit of Nov. 17-20. The idea is to decongest air traffic and allow smooth flights of all the
international VIPs. PAL releases spoke of the difficulty that many of its
passengers, who had booked and paid in advance for flights to Manila especially with the
onset of the Christmas season, are encountering with these cancellations. The dislocation of many thousands of passengers locally and in various
foreign destinations is a nightmare in itself.
In this connection the
Center for Strategic Initiatives (CSI), a leading think-tank, gave unsolicited advice to the Department of Transportation and Communication not to
cancel these PAL flights but TO TRANSFER THEM to Clark International Airport in
Angeles City during the pendency of the Summit. In fact the CIS recommends the
transfer not only of APEC-related flights but other flights local and
international from Manila to Clark, as the latter has the suitable runway and equipment to
handle them. The only thing needed is to provide shuttle buses to and from
Clark to Manila and various points.
XXX
Metro Manilans can take the shuttle bus to Clark free of charge from Resorts World in Pasay City in front of NAIA 3, and for Quezon City and Caloocan dwellers, from Trinoma Center on Quezon Avenue. Return trip to Metro Manila from Clark is also provided by shuttle buses free of charge.
Clark Airport with its long,
superb runway built by the Americans is safer, and congestion and hassle-free than NAIA.
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