Use guts to cure sick bureaucracy and messy traffic

In the next 2,000-plus days that we can expect President Rodrigo Duterte to serve the Filipino nation, accepting the intrinsic leadership values he displays is the best way to move forward and recover from the popularity setback he suffered during his first 100 days in office.

Despite all the controversies encountered because of knee-jerk-reaction statements and cussing, Duterte is admirably a man of guts. Perhaps, he may have over-calculated his reserve of goodwill and trust by boasting of how he fights the war against abusive drug use, but he had truly done more than any President has in trying to cutting substance abuse and peddling in the country.

Guts is what Duterte has in massive doses, and this – which can be translated also as balls – is what 16 million Filipinos who voted for him in a decidedly landmark popularity poll last May admire him for. And they rightly do so.

It’s now time for Duterte to apply his unique gutsy leadership to other areas of governance, which sadly had been left unattended over the last 100 days. Drugs usage is major concern, but so are the issues of inefficient bureaucracy and unresolved traffic mess.

Both issues have time and again been mentioned during his campaign sorties or his first State of the Nation address, and may not be his priorities, but they are nevertheless crucial to keep the economy running. And these are areas where Duterte’s vaunted guts and strong language may produce best results.

Bureaucracy and governance issues

Let’s start with governance, clearly an area that the President has a major role as the country’s chief executive officer. In the last World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness survey, it was pointed out that the Philippines could do better in enhancing the government bureaucracy’s efficiency level.

Likewise with corruption, which continued to be a concern by businesses that operated in the country.

The WEF competitive index also showed other problematic factors in doing business in the Philippines, such as inadequate infrastructure, high tax rates and too many (and complex) tax regulations, political instability and restrictive labor regulations.

More infrastructure projects are currently being approved, in line with the President’s directive to expedite such. A comprehensive tax reform package is similarly in the works to allow lower personal and corporate income taxes.

Inefficient bureaucracy

Many other areas of governance, however, need to see results. After 100 days, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) still has not been able to produce registration stickers and vehicle plates. The promised new coaches for the elevated train network are still not operational. And it still takes too many days for businesses to renew their licenses.

These are just a few of the hundreds of shortcomings of our government bureaucracy that Filipinos expectantly look forward to seeing improvements under a new government that has pledged to pursue change.

Understandably, solving Metro Manila’s head-splitting traffic problem is not something that can happen overnight, even in 100 days. But even without the emergency powers that the President is asking, there are some measures that simply require guts to implement.

Perhaps we shall see some further improvements in the traffic flow on EDSA and C-5 Road, two of Metro Manila’s main thoroughfares, come Oct. 25 when the “window hours” in the currently observed vehicle bans from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be discontinued.

But traffic management in the metropolis is not just an issue on EDSA or C-5, but even in commercial business centers or areas where malls are operating or where bus terminals are located.

Of course, introducing corrective measures to mitigate the traffic issues in these areas will require time, but there are other remedial measures that can immediately be implemented just by sheer guts, and therefore put some order in our chaotic streets.

Examples are a ban of parking on public streets, especially those used by public transportation, which effectively reduces the space that vehicles can use; or the phase-out of very old and ill-maintained vehicles, a culling system that will immediately reduce the vehicle population on the road.

We look forward to seeing Duterte’s men towing away illegally parked vehicles; in fact, he can start with the junk that’s been sitting and without moving even an inch on the street for ages. Let’s leave the streets for traffic flow, not as parking lots or junk yards.

Self-serving queues

Another major irritant that the citizenry experiences, and which the President had also called attention to, is the queues in government offices. Too much time of the people wasted, he had said. Too many government officials are often away from the desks during office hours, or are simply apathetic to the needs of its citizens.

Who has not experienced being given the run-around and being passed on from one desk to another when securing just one of the many permits needed to comply with some government regulation? One who is less patient with this will likely opt for a “fixer,” who – not surprisingly – is in cahoots with all the people involved in getting that one signature.

The LTO beat this headache years ago by putting all driving license registration and renewal information in one nationwide data bank, allowing drivers to renew their licenses in just a few hours. Certainly, this can be replicated in other areas of licensing renewal or registration.

Quick points

There are many other areas in Duterte’s government where quick points may be scored to offset the damage that had been inflicted by the growing unpopularity of his war on drugs. All he has to do is to use what he has an arsenal of: guts.

As long-time major of Davao City, he was admired for being a government executive who knew how to get things done, who was never mired in controversies about graft and corruption, and above all, who was never questioned for his sincerity to help people and bring about a better life for them.

Filipinos like to see a government that’s hard at work, even if some schemes – like the extrajudicial killings in the war on illegal drugs – do not fly. They expect bureaucrats to keep on trying to introduce changes that attempt to correct wrongdoings.

And when things need an iron hand, they want to see the President demonstrating a no-nonsense approach to getting stuff done. Many of his controversial statements will start to make sense if people see that he is in control, and that change for the better is really coming.

Who knows, the Philippines may really kick out the Americans and opt for the Chinese connection. And surprisingly, it may work out for us. But that’s for another day, another topic for this column.

In the meantime, we have to let the next six years work if we want the country to continue growing, and for its people to enjoy the benefits of an improved economy.

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