IN HIS letter to the editor published here last week, businessman Glenn Soco, chairman of the Infrastructure and Development Committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC 7), claimed that the present setup of officers has endorsed more infrastructure projects than before. He lambasted their critics, who called them obstructionists, by blocking some projects initiated by politicians.
Glenn wrote, “Critics have called us obstructionists wanting to block projects. Let me remind them that in this RDC, we have endorsed more infrastructure projects and debated on their merits than even before. We have endorsed the Metro-Cebu Expressway, the biggest nationally-funded infrastructure project since the Marcelo Fernan bridge. It is a six-lane road connecting Naga to Danao with a total length of 74 kilometers traversing through the mountains and linking out cities and towns with arterial roads that connect the main roads.”
Soco “highlighted” their other endorsed projects “like two bypass roads in the pipeline. The Mandaue-Consolacion-Liloan coastal highways and the Talisay-Minglanilla-Naga bypass road. Studies are being completed for the Guadalupe-Gorordo bypass road, a project that was endorsed 20 years ago but has not moved until we took charge. Initial funding has been made for the widening of Hernan Cortez Road, the only parallel road we have to Banilad-Talamban.”
“We have gotten the go-signal from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for an intelligent traffic system that automatically monitors vehicular flows and adjust accordingly. These are part of a road network masterplan prepared by Jica’, Soco said.
Reading Soco’s open letter, one can think that they are really religiously working for the development of Cebu. Imagine, in their two-year stint at the RDC they have endorsed more projects than before. I am not sowing intrigues but this statement is an insult to the previous composition of the RDC, which is usually headed by a government sector representative. This is an insult to veteran broadcaster Manny delos Santos, who chaired the IDC for almost 20 years.
Glenn should not be bragging about endorsing projects. Endorsing, securing funding, and implementing are three different stages. You should only brag, my friend, if the projects you have endorsed get implemented. Let us consider the political realities of securing funds for a project.
During budget deliberations, RDC officials are not the ones facing the budget committee in the House of Representatives, from which, under our Constitution, the national budget emanates. The department secretaries are the ones being “grilled” by congressmen. What if the department secretary (in this case, of the Department of Public Works and Highways) will not fight for the projects, saying these are not priorities or are not included in their yearly budget? What will happen? The projects will be either scrapped or held in abeyance. Each region is given a budget ceiling. Why has the Guadalupe-Gorordo Road been “buried” for several decades? Maybe because of funding.
The congressmen in the districts where the projects will be implemented should also be properly consulted. Do projects endorsed by RDC have the approval of the district congressmen? Congress is the one holding the bag, as far as our national budget is concerned. The concerned congressman will defend the budget. If a “crazy” congressman says no because he has his own reason, the projects will not be funded.
I would like to remind Mr. Soco and RDC 7 co-chairman Kenneth Cobonpue that running a private corporation and a government structure are two different animals. In their corporations, they can do whatever they want. But in the government, it’s another ballgame.