Wednesday, July 25, 2007 Ledesma: DAR in Mindanao and all those jazz By Jn Lesma Sunbursts
I HEARD that again. The Department of Agrarian Reform to be transferred to Mindanao, specifically in Davao City. It's a promise of every administration that never comes to a fruition.
The Central Bank of the Philippines in Davao was built that big because the Marcos government wants to bring Malacañang closer to Mindanao. To add condiment to the pronouncement they called it "Malacañang of the South."
When Cory Aquino took over Malacañang Palace, she added a little icing on the cake and appointed Roly Marcial as Undersecretary of something as her point man in Mindanao with office at the sprawling CB complex.
What would have sufficed was Mindanao Development Authority, a carefully crafted concept that could have addressed the problems that beset Mindanao and rev up the economic and development potentials of the region. But Cory had her way. It was to be Medco. Beggars cannot be choosy and with Paul Dominguez on the helm we made do with what we have.
Fidel Ramos continued with Medco and re-energize it with BIMP-Eaga. There were some changes during the short term of Erap like renaming Opamin to Pareco, but nothing there was that can really steer the development of Mindanao.
The transfer of vital government departments to Mindanao is an old song. I therefore am inclined to consign the promise of Arroyo in her Sona to have DAR among others transferred to Mindanao as another refrain.
However, I am placing more hope in her statement that Mindanao will get 30% of the development budget. Presently our share is only 19 percent, this according to figures released by Confed Mindanao during their forum in Koronadal last week where governors Dolfo del Rosario, Dodo Cagas and Arthur Uy were in attendance.
According to Governor del Rosario, the heads of local government units of Mindanao will mount a strong lobby for a 30 percent share of the budget. Maybe somebody close to Malacañang heard because in her Sona President Arroyo specifically mentioned the same figure.
The leadership of the country finally has come to terms with reality that the key to the country's adequate food supply is the development of Mindanao agricultural potential. In short, President Arroyo wants us to believe that in the last three years of her term, she will be building roads and bridges for the easy transport of products from the farms' gate to the markets.
Personally, I will give President Arroyo my trust and confidence in fulfilling that plan of more farms to market roads. On the average, I travel around Mindanao once every month and I have seen the progress of construction of various infrastructures all over.
I am prepared to defend my thesis that outside of President Marcos, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did better than the rest of her predecessors combined.
She finished the long delayed Malmar irrigation project in Carmen, North Cotabato, the graft-ridden Davao International Airport, the Davao-Valencia highway, the Davao-Butuan bridges and concrete highway, the restoration and completion of concreting of Iligan-Pagadian highway, the completion and opening of Ozamiz airport, the on-going construction of the concrete highway and bridges from Pagadian to Zamboanga City and the construction of a massive approach concrete road and bridge in Butuan City, just to name a few.
Other administrations before Arroyo would claim that they started some of these projects but planning and implementation to completion are two different things.
I found it myopic for the likes of Leonore Briones and Benjamin Diokno to claim that Arroyo has done very little during her stay. Briones graded her 25 percent. By her methodology, I would grade Briones 05 percent.
Of course, I am with some of the critics of Arroyo that the bonanza that the president had claimed had not trickled to the poor and therefore it is currently irrelevant. But the poor that we picture here is the same poor community during and after the Marcos era.
And maybe this can date back to the time of Jose Rizal otherwise he will not lecture on the indolence of Filipinos. Nevertheless she is still on the right track in addressing the problem of poverty. She is more focused now on putting more investments on education and I think she has a non-partisan support of congress and the senate on this primordial concern.
Of course I have my misgivings about this administration. It's very parochial actually. Like four months had elapsed after Bankerohan bridge collapsed and not a pile of concrete has been driven amidst guarantees and promises that Malacañang has released P320-million for the span. Now I am beginning to believe that all the pronouncements are nothing but promises. I will equate the Sona of the president to that promise. Eh kung sa katiting walang maibigay, yon pa kayang bilyones na pangako?
