Very Poe judgment
The biggest setback during the term of former President Noynoy Aquino was the full-blown hypocrisy that personalities outside the yellow circle were inclined to commit corruption and should not be trusted.
Flagship projects during Aquino’s term under the so-called Private-Public Partnership (PPP) program failed to take off as investors were wary over the then government’s propensity to look for irregularities in projects, particularly those which were undertaken during the previous regime.
Continuity of policies was put into question due to the priority given to political vendetta.
Such line of argument was perceived from close Aquino ally Sen. Grace Poe in her putting pressure again on the Department of Transportation over the tapping of Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVIC) to ensure road safety.
Her verdict was that the PMVIC thrust was adopted “under suspicious circumstances.”
Poe was only being true to form. At the start of the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, she sat on the proposal to grant him emergency powers to speed up road projects on the pretext that she w a s guarding against the possibility of corrupt practices, particularly in the bidding of projects.
Transportation Secretary Art Tugade then was hopeful that Congress would grant the proposal since, with the projects having started, Congress might be more receptive. “We need two-and-a-half to three years. We will do what is right,” Tugade said sometime in 2016.
It is 2021 and most of the projects are near completion despite President Rodrigo Duterte telling his Cabinet men not to pursue the bid for special authority, mainly as a result of Poe’s suspicions.
Aquino left Mr. Duterte the traffic mess in Metro Manila as a result of six years of neglect under his term.
The situation that resulted was the same as in the time of her mother, President Cory Aquino, when her government failed to meet the power demand of an expanding economy because of stalled power projects, as she ordered a halt on the already ready-to-operate Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
Aquino launched the PPP program to fill in the gaps in infrastructure, but it failed to lift off.
Aquino then underspent the budget to make his fiscal profile look good and which earned him credit rating upgrades, but deprived the economy of needed infrastructure and services.
Only 12 of some 53 major infrastructure plans under the PPP progressed in the entire six-year term of Noynoy. Most of these projects were absorbed under the “Build, Build, Build” program and which the yellow mob is now claiming were through the initiatives of Aquino.
The road congestions at the start of the President’s term should have been addressed the Duterte way, which was to apply a quick and decisive solution, had it not been for the delay at Poe’s Senate Public Services Committee, where the bill for emergency powers languished in endless debates.
Poe also issued statements that there was no need to rush the emergency measure amid questions on bidding procedures, procurement and abuse of power. She also tossed the blame of the bill not hurdling the Senate to Mr. Duterte, as he claimed that she had a talk with the President where she was told that the problem can be solved without emergency powers.
Of course, the President was careful not to impose on her and wanted the Senate to decide on the merit of the proposal.
The perspectives of Mr. Duterte and Poe, however, widely conflicted. His was for the greater interest, while hers was for political brownie points.
“The perspectives of Mr. Duterte and Poe, however, widely conflicted. His was for the greater interest, while hers was for political brownie points.
“It is 2021 and most of the projects are near completion despite President Rodrigo Duterte telling his Cabinet men not to pursue the bid for special authority, mainly as a result of Poe’s suspicions.