Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Malilong: Franchising of sea vessels By Frank Malilong The Other Side
I HAVE spoken harshly against jeepney drivers and operators who go on strike every time they want something and do not get it immediately because I don’t think it is fair to punish the commuting public for something that they have nothing to do with or can do about.
There are times, however, when I wonder if government isn’t the one to blame because of its sheer ineptitude.
Take the case of the recent jeepney fare increase. After being told that their petition for adjusted fare rates had been granted, the drivers and operators learned much to their dismay that they couldn’t yet implement it until they can secure the matrix from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Why the need for a matrix? If it is to inform and guide the public, why shouldn’t they just publish the new rates in the newspapers? Or if the matrix is so important that mere publication will not do, why has it been made difficult to obtain?
What we are seeing is another example of bureaucratic red tape. Alas, we seem to have a genius for creating so many layers in our bureaucracy as to render even the simplest process, such as obtaining a business permit, as cumbersome as working through a maze.
The government should do away with the mindset that equates laborious with effective or safe. Thus, the proposition advanced by Cebu City South Rep. Tony Cuenco that passenger vessels would be safer if Congress takes over from the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) the function of granting franchises should be rejected as fallacious.
Marina may have not been very successful, to say the least, in weeding out the misfits from the commercial fleet that plies our waters. Their processes may be flawed and their people not immune to corruption.
But can Congress do a better job? I don’t think so. The process will probably become more expensive especially when the applications are filed within an election year but the results will be the same, if not worse. Our experience has been that when decisions affecting private businesses are left in the hands of politicians, the results are not necessarily in the best interests of the public.
Let Marina continue to handle the franchising of vessels. Run after the crooks in the industry---the ship owners who pay grease money and the officials who accept it in order for a floating coffin to sail-–but don’t rock the boat (no pun intended) by entrusting to politicians a job meant for technocrats.
I am not saying that it is not a legitimate concern of Congress to see to it that the privilege of engaging in business impressed with public interest should be granted only to those who deserve it. In fact, it is. But this concern can be addressed without a Congress that goes on recess every so often taking over the licensing from an agency that operates twelve months a year.
A law that will let Marina keep its authority to approve franchises while transferring to Congress the power to recall or cancel the same would be a better alternative. This would allow Congress the opportunity to exercise its oversight powers without having to recall an authority that it has, and is best kept, delegated.
