Ignoring the ‘bosses’

ON DISTANT SHORE

Val G. Abelgas

From Day One, President Aquino has always referred to the people as his “bosses.” During his inaugural address, he told the people: “Kayo ang boss ko.” And yet, how many times has he ignored the people in his decision-making?

Just recently, despite the growing clamor for the ouster of Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya amid the almost daily breakdowns of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) commuter trains, Aquino arrogantly announced that his friend Abaya would stay in office until his own term ends on June 30.

As he had done with his other friends in the Cabinet, Aquino reaffirmed his trust and confidence on Abaya, who coincidentally is also president of the ruling Liberal Party. When a similar clamor for the ouster of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad in the middle of the controversy on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Fund (DAP), Aquino also came to the defense of Abad and said he still had trust and confidence on Abad.

When Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala came under fire for various anomalies in the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority, Aquino also dismissed the growing clamor for the former’s ouster and reaffirmed his trust and confidence on Alcala.

While fast to condemn non-allies, Aquino has defended other allies amid controversies – then Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas during the Tacloban controversy, and then suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima in the Mamasapano carnage aftermath, among others.

It is difficult to understand how Aquino can ignore the people’s clamor for the ouster of the three A’s (Abad, Alcala and Abaya) except for the fact that they are his friends and party mates. Abad has been tagged as the brains behind the DAP and chief enforcer of the PDAF, which were both declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Alcala, like Abad, has been linked to the pork barrel scam but while most of his co-accused were either placed in detention or slapped with plunder charges, Alcala remains unscathed.

Abaya, on the other hand, has been hounded by controversies since he took over the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) post from LP vice presidential candidate Mar Roxas in 2012.

The issues involving DOTCF and its attached agencies are many. The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has been the object of complaints for the delayed issuance of driver’s licenses, car plates and registration stickers. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), on the other hand, has been criticized for its inability to discipline erring bus and taxi companies that has resulted in hundreds of deaths due to various road accidents.

The most telling of these issues is the nagging problem of the MRT, which has resulted in public frustration and anger against Alcala. Consider these problems as cited by Philippine Star columnist Babes Romualdez:

• Of the 72 trains that were operational in July 2010 when Aquino started his term, less than a dozen are still in operation, less than 10 of which are in good working condition. Each time a train breaks down, the commuters have to get down and try to find rides in buses and jeepneys that are often already full, resulting in their being late for work or other commitments.

• Adding to the problem of frequent breakdowns are the long lines, leaking roofs, non-functioning air conditioning units, and inoperative elevators that cause suffering to older passengers and persons with disability.

• A series of accidents, including a runaway train ramming a barrier at the Taft station.

And guess what Abaya said in response to commuters’ complaints: “Traffic is not fatal” reflecting the insensitivity of his boss, Aquino, when he dismissed a concern of a Tacloban businessman about lootings and other crimes amid the Yolanda devastation and retorted: “You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

As if the controversies hounding him were not enough, Abaya on Christmas Eve announced a three-year, P3.81-billion deal for the maintenance of the MRT-3 along EDSA with a consortium of a South Korean firm and three Filipino corporations, none of which has any experience in maintaining or running a rail transit system.

The contract was awarded without public bidding with the DOTC citing emergency reasons. Explaining the negotiated mode of procurement, the DOTC said that it conducted the bidding for the long-term maintenance contract twice in the past, with the first held in September 2014 and the second in January of this year, but both resulted in failure due to the non-participation of bidders.

Critics, however, have alleged that bidding rules were designed for failure to do away with public bidding and pave the way for negotiated procurement. They also questioned why the DOTC suddenly found it necessary to award the contract without public bidding last month, or four months before the election and just six months before Aquino and Abaya exit.

Aquino’s persistent defense of friends and allies involved in anomalies and controversies don’t seem to fit well with his repeated pronouncements that the people are his “bosses” and that he would listen only to his “bosses.” Neither is the sudden rush to award MRT and infrastructure contracts in the last few months of his administration. If indeed he were listening to his “bosses,” he would have done all of these in his first five years in office.

Instead, he let his “bosses” suffer six years of incompetence and indifference. And he wants the people to vote for his anointed candidates for six more years of these?(valabelgas@aol.com)