Garcias: Heeding the call for transparency?

Not long ago, the Filipinos understood, for the first time, what we may call the very essence of the word transparency. This is so, as we bore witness to the senate’s impeachment hearing of then Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Though successful, such development was quite sad. This is so sad because as publicly accountable officials, transparency and accountability should have come naturally as an obligation. Despite these obvious obligations, however, the main players (the public servants) have remained either oblivious or deliberately unmindful of their responsibilities.

Yes, it is true that, to some extent, the Aquino administration has made significant strides as far as transparency and accountability is concerned. This fact is confirmed by Transparency International (TI) in its 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranking the Philippines at 105th among 176 countries and territories. While we may take this as a major leap considering that we were just ranked 129th and 134th in 2011 and 2010, respectively, the fact remains, that at 105th, corruption is still so pervasive in the bureaucracy. Truth to tell, this marked improvement has been credited largely on national agencies performances. Mostly, the local government units have stubbornly remained the same.

The Province of Cebu, for one, has lots of significant concerns that primordially needed utmost transparency but are seemingly headed to the garbage bins. One of these is the Balili property acquisition and use. This is such an issue that deserves continuous front page attention. It deserves such recognition, not just necessarily on the validity of its purchase nor on the recovery of whatever amount is left in the bank that is intended to be returned to the provincial capitol, but on the soundness of the purchase. Simply put, did it go through the normal decision-making processes? Or, is there any business sense of such a decision to buy the property for its intended use.

Thank heaven, however, because after a long wait, the Garcias are allegedly heeding the call for transparency. As responsible public servants (as they packaged themselves to be), however, such calls for transparency should not have been necessary. Yet, we thank them for giving in to public demands.

To recall, originally, it was allegedly intended to be used as dumpsite of KEPCO’s coal-ash. Beleaguered, early last year, the provincial capitol tried to appease everyone by claiming for a refund on areas that are underwater and justifying that the property has multitudes of uses for the benefit of all. At one point, Gov. Gwen Garcia, in her usual flare, even had a photo session in one of the ponds showing a handful of milkfish to emphasize one of its alternative uses.

Today, as the ponds are filled up under cover of darkness, its use is certainly different. This time, as Provincial Capitol’s harped, they plan of making it an economic zone. Whether these plans were considered prior to the purchase, we do not know.

Granting, for argument sake, however, that they are to put up an economic zone once the area is filled, they should think twice. Locators are choosy. They want to be closer to the port and significant facilities. For the Municipality of Naga to provide these needs is a long shot. Remember, presently, Naga is a host of an economic zone. As a local government unit, what help have they offered so far to this private sector initiative.

Indeed, with transparency perpetually set aside and full accounting totally ignored, the Balili property issues shall continue to be a thorn in the governor’s term. Left unattended to, its acquisition and current development shall remain viewed by the majority of the Cebuanos as more of a farce, not at par.

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