Manhid

BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon

Credit it to the immense popularity of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, idol of our congressmen who would like to share the limelight when he fights Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14.

Now, it appears that the man who is moving heaven and earth to stop the solons from going to the MGM Grand or explain why they have to go there is being frustrated at every turn. Nueva Ecija Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson complained he has been trying to get his resolution heard in the House of Representatives but chamber leaders, he claimed, were not keen on taking up his proposal.

In April, Joson filed House Resolution No. 371 calling for three-year travel ban for public officials. Joson proposed that foreign trips should be justified as to purpose and cost. “I really don’t know why they don’t want to have my resolution taken up by a committee. This has gained more urgency as we are facing a ballooning deficit (estimated to hit P300 billion this year) and the public is demanding more sensitivity to the typhoon victims plight,” Joson said, referring to the devastation left by Tropical Storms “Ondoy,” “Pepeng” and “Santi.”

He reiterated his no-travel proposal in the midst of new reports at least 20 members of the House, including Speaker Prospero Nograles, had left for the United States on business, vacation and presumably to watch Pacquiao slug it out with Cotto.

Government officials are a fixture in every Pacquiao fight abroad. Essential House and government business are left hanging when there is no quorum in Congress, he complained. “I call this being manhid (insensitive, callous). Many of our countrymen are still suffering from the typhoon devastation and they (congressmen) are spending a lot of money just to satisfy their whims,” Joson said.

The congressman could also tell that to other officials in government particularly those holding office or living beside that big house by the Pasig River.

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They call it urong-sulong. Malacanang Nov. 2 apologized for having withdrawn the nationwide scope of the special nonworking holidays on Nov. 27 and 28, the two-day commemoration of Eid’l Adha or Day of Sacrificed by Muslims.

“We apologize to those who have been inconvenienced by the change,” said Press Secretary Cerge Remonde in a radio interview. Malacanang initially announced the special nonworking holidays marking the end of the Muslim’s annual pilgrimage to Mecca would be celebrated nationwide.

Later it decided the holidays would be marked only in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Remonde said the change was made on the request of the business community, which had expressed concerns over the number of holidays celebrated in the country throughout the year which, they said, was having on adverse impact on productivity on their payrolls.

A list of holidays this year obtained from the official government website showed 14 nonworking holidays excluding the two that were just scratched. It is no wonder those in the business sector are complaining that too many holdidays leads to stunted economic growth for the country and overhead expenses on their part like additional wages.

Somehow, the withdrawal of the Eid’l Adha holiday by Malacanang was a prudent decision considering that more religious sectors could also clamor to have a nationwide holiday for their religions like those moralist (rather molarist) nutshells who spew venom on television.
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In the local front in Baguio following onslaught of Typhoon “Pepeng,” the city council is studying a proposed one-year moratorium on construction of commercial establishments and issuance of building permits.

Local legislators, who filed the ordinance granting temporary stop to construction of commercial structures, said the moratorium would mean total halt in construction of of buildings and additions to existing commercial buildings and on issuance of all permits for all commercial constructions in this mountain resort city.

However, the moratorium will exempt applications for issuance of a building permit for remodeling of a commercial building and existing applications for building and occupancy permits prior to the effectivity of the ordinance.

The proponents of the measure said the one-year moratorium is a definite and reasonable period of time to consider the comprehensive land use program, pursuant to the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay development scheme being pushed by the Cordillera Regional Development Council and BLIST local govnemrnets.

The moratorium is expected to strictly regulate issuance of permits to commercial buildings will “create conditions essential to public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the city and provide the framework for the orderly growth and development of the country while preserving and enhancing the city’s natural heritage.”

Since 1995, the RDC had been advocating full implementation of the BLIST development concept order to decongest overflowing development in Baguio which is now resulting to numerous problems on solid waste management, traffic, water, air and land pollution.

The proposed ordinance should be given more thought by the councilors as any lot owner who has a title to his property and wants to build an establishment over his land can summon private geologists or surveyors to determine the structural soundness of the building he would like to build.

A one-year delay in construction could mean a lot of losses particularly for those engaged in business or entrepreneurship. It could also be a violation of people’s right to earn a living or do business.