Boosting candidacies, trust rating

LAST Thursday morning three city council candidates for the Third District of the city were guests in a program over a local television station. Two were reelectionists while the other is a newcomer although she is a daughter of a third termer city dad. All the three are members of Mayor Inday Sara’s Hugpong sa Pagbabago.

One major topic they were made to present their position on is the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) that the city is planning to implement soon.

As expected all of them pitched support for the HPBS project and jointly called on the people of Davao City to also help the same succeed.

Unfortunately, the anchor remained focus on the political character of the program and failed to ask for an elaboration on the project itself so that it would be best understood by the people.

We were expecting that one of the guests, who happens to be the chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Transportation and Public Services, would expound on the nature of the HPBS. As resident of the city and among the thousands of daily commuters, we are interested to know if the project is likely to become: - a government-owned and controlled corporation; - a city enterprise like the public markets and the City Overland Transport Terminal (DCOTT) and City Abattoir; - open to franchise application by private investors. As a project intended to address a major need for an efficient public transport we believe that the local government should be transparent as to the nature of the HPBS as an entity.

Yes, the city’s HPBS is reported to enjoy a P200 million support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). But it is not disclosed as to where that money will be used. We are certain it will not suffice if spent to purchase the 1,000 buses to be fielded all over the city. Thus, the challenge will be the procurement of the 1,000 units if these are to be deployed simultaneously or even on staggered basis.

The only way that this can be done in one setting is to invite private investors to be assigned number of units to be applied franchise. Or, if the city gets to acknowledge that it should be a full public transport it has to undertake the acquisition of all the units and operate the same as public utility vehicles serving the city commuters.

Which leads us to the next gray issues. These are, whether the project should evolve into the creation of a GOCC similar to the Davao City Water District (DCWD), or a mere revenue generating enterprise like the city market and the DCOTT.

Which again ushers us to the question of how the project employees like drivers, conductors, mechanics and others be compensated. Should they be salaried, on commission basis, or what.

We are hoping that the next remaining editions of that local television program candidates for the city council will find time to share details that have something to do with issues raised in this column earlier and today. We have no doubt whoever candidate for the city’s local positions that makes such effort will get a big boost in his/ her candidacy. A very welcome development in the country today is the signing into law of the Universal Health Care Act. Yes, this new law makes every citizen of the Philippines automatic member of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). As such he/she will be entitled to free health services and medicines in government and accredited private hospitals and clinics total for certain illnesses.

This is one law that surely benefits the poorest of the poor. As a result, even the harshest of critics of President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration are all praises for its signing. The World Health Organization (WHO) is also profuse in its appreciation of the passage of the law.

What makes the Filipinos doubly happy about the signing of the law is the assurance of the government through the Department of Health and PhilHealth officials

that its implementation is provided funds enough for the next seven years. In other words, as soon as the law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) are completed those who need health services and medicines can already avail of it.

Things like this gets back whatever is lost of the President’s public trust rating due to some of his unnerving pronouncements usually done in off-the-cup manner.