Thursday, December 28, 2006 Asean summit, CICC top list
WEATHER is to a newspaper what wallpaper is to a well-designed interior. You don’t notice it, unless it’s bad.
This year, stormy weather stole the thunder from what would have been the biggest story of the year, the Asean Summit being held for the first time in Cebu.
Instead, it’s the summit’s postponement on account of typhoon Seniang that leads the top news stories of 2006.
When President Arroyo announced last February that Cebu will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit and related meetings, she triggered preparations that eventually cost some P1.07 billion.
National agencies picked up about half of that tab. The Provincial Government spent for the Cebu International Convention Center, which now costs at least P515 million.
Despite its postponement to January, the summit will still give Cebu’s tourism and service sectors a windfall. They’ll also get the chance to pitch their attractions to untapped segments of the Asian market.
Agreements signed here, or the Cebu Declarations, will still put the island in the lexicon of regional negotiations on trade, counter-terrorism and other issues that cross borders.
But the postponement hurt. It came a day after five countries warned that terrorists could be “in the final stages” of mounting an attack in Cebu. Despite the organizers’ good intentions, the postponement cast doubt on how prepared Cebu was for its moment on the international stage.
And that’s something that can only be weathered by a successful hosting in January next year. (See essay, A8)
The year’s other top stories are:
2) The Leyte landslide
Rain-loosened, boulders and soil from a mountain buried the entire Barangay Guinsaugon in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte last Feb. 17. Nine days later, when all hope of finding survivors had faded, the official death toll stood at 973 persons.
Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias hailed an international team of volunteers and rescuers that arrived swiftly at the site.
But the disaster also highlighted the need to invest more in disaster preparedness, such as by making hazard maps—then actually following them by relocating threatened communities.
3) Charter change
President Arroyo and her allies this year removed any doubt that they intend to push Charter change as far as public opinion will let them.
After a 12-hour marathon session, administration allies in the House of Representatives passed in early December a resolution to convene Congress into a constituent assembly. The Senate had no say in the matter.
Facing the threat of street protests, the House archived that resolution, and President Arroyo said on Dec. 13 that the time to amend the 1987 Constitution would come “when the people deem it ripe and needful, and in the manner they deem proper.”
Less than a week later, she described Charter change as “a reality” that the country must face and accept.
4) GMA’s second impeachment crisis
Earlier in the year, numbers also saved President Arroyo. The House of Representatives, dominated by her supporters, threw out on Aug. 24 the second bid to impeach her.
Voting 173 to 32, with one abstention, the House adopted the committee on justice’s report that rejected the impeachment case filed by the Black and White Movement. They said it was insufficient in substance.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines refused to support a new impeachment complaint against Arroyo, but said it respected the position of those that wish to continue using the impeachment process “to arrive at the truth.”
5) A stronger peso
For over a decade, Central Visayas has contributed more than 10 percent of the country’s export earnings. This year, total exports from the region grew about 11.7 percent from January to June, or $2.36 billion from $2.1 billion in the same period in 2005, the Department of Trade and Industry said.
Cebu accounted for 95 percent of the region’s exports.
When the peso closed at P50.01 to the US dollar last Oct. 6, Cebu’s exporters quickly reminded the government to deliver its promise of help for the sector.
Exporters have said they need the peso to stay at P51 for them to remain competitive, and that any level below P54 would mean “the exporters’ slow death.”
6) Tourism in ‘Central Philippines’
Malacañang announced this year the approval of P60.8 billion worth of infrastructure investments for Cebu until 2010, mostly for railways, ports and tourism support.
That amount represents 32 percent of the P190-billion infrastructure budget for the Central Philippines “mega-region.”
Cebu, in exchange, must take the lead in bringing more tourists into the country.
President Arroyo revealed her goals for Central Philippines, which encompasses Southern Tagalog, Bicol and the Visayas Regions, in her State of the Nation Address.
7) Nursing exam leaks
An amicable settlement of sorts was reached on Oct. 26 by parties in the lawsuit seeking to nullify the June 2006 nursing board examinations. This removed any obstacles to new nurses raring to take oath and receive their license.
Malacañang caused an uproar when it earlier approved a retake of the scandal-ridden exams, which would have meant extra expense and agony for some 17,000 successful examinees.
But in October, it held back from issuing the official retake order, to await the National Bureau of Investigation’s report on how some exam questions had been leaked and who could be made to pay for it.
The Cebu City Council and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia supported a call to exempt successful examinees from the Visayas and Mindanao, citing initial reports that the leaks only affected parts of Luzon.
8) Metro Cebu’s water war
Here’s what’s at stake: an additional 40,000 cubic meters of water each day, from a project that costs some P2 billion, while investors raise the need for secure power and water before they’ll come to Cebu.
In September, officials of Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City and the towns of Consolacion and Cordova found that enough to endorse the Carmen Bulk Water Supply project.
Others, however, were bothered by a few other figures: the selling price of P25.55 per cubic meter, or a development cost refund of P75 million to P200 million in case a winning challenger takes over the project from the proponent.
Despite fears of offending the World Bank, one of the country’s largest financing partners, the Cebu City Council approved last Oct. 4 a resolution pushing for an open bidding, instead of a price challenge on the unsolicited proposal put forward by an Ayala-led consortium.
9) International lawmakers in Cebu
Congress spent P20 million to host the 17th Asean Inter-Parliamentary Organization general assembly in Cebu City.
Later, the organizers said they got their money’s worth. The assembly proceeded without major hitches and ended with the enactment of important measures, including the call to end hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.
An estimated 200 delegates joined the conference from Sept. 11 to 15. Some 30 resolutions were approved, emphasizing cooperation in Southeast Asia in the areas of affordable energy, inter-faith dialogue and human rights.
10) Dela Victoria’s murder solved
Five months after the murder of Cebu City official Elpidio “Jojo” dela Victoria, SPO1 Marcial Ocampo was sentenced to spend 20 to 40 years in jail.
The victim’s family believes that three other men, including the mastermind, ought to face punishment as well. At the time of his death, dela Victoria was director of the Bantay Dagat Commission and the market administrator.
He was shot thrice on April 12, while about to open the gate of his house in San Roque, Talisay City.
