I remember that fateful day when I was still in government many years ago.. It was a gathering for both the government and private sectors. I had a talk and mentioned that Eastern Visayas still suffers from so much poverty that the government still has a lot to do to save the situation from further deterioration. I thought I expressed it well because I cited statistics on the incidence of poverty.
I did not do well, to my surprise.
The guest speaker was a high-ranking official of the national government who was in charge of the Visayas regions. He told me after the program that I should not admit that there is still much to do in this region. Just say we are doing well despite the difficulties and challenges, he said. He wanted me to sugar-coat a bad situation.
In the course of my work in government which, thankfully, ended several years ago, I gradually learned to be more careful because as a government official one is supposed to give accolades and not spread the truth that hurts, or at the very least only tell half-truths.
Take the case of the recent infusion of infrastructure budgets from 2022 to 2025. The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) reports that nearly 20 billion pesos were poured into the first district of Leyte. This was counting only the DPWH budget. Add the DOTr projects at the Tacloban airport and the Babatngon Port then easily some 20 billion pesos will be gained.
That certainly is an extraordinary feat. Never happened before.
It is like surrounding the City of Tacloban several growth points which are thought to have a life of their own and can then spur economic growth. But will they?
They may be assumed to have such impact but nothing will be automatic. Since these projects are proximate to each other then there could be complementarity out of necessity. Still these require action, not merely words.
The incidence of poverty in this part of the region remains at around twenty-three percent. In Tacloban City there is poverty. It is 10 percent.
The City Government may not have been part of the planning of these growth-inducing projects, based on recent press releases from the Office of the City Mayor. I even remember that the City Government stopped the construction of the tide embankment project across Cancabato Bay for six months because there were questions about the length of the bridge within this causeway (which was extended from 160 meters to 320 meters). That is a clear case of lack of prior coordination causing delays.
Now talk is rife that a second San Juanico bridge will be constructed starting in 2028. At this time, even the repair of the existing bridge may not be completed by December 2025 as announced because of insufficient funding. Now there is talk of a second bridge. People are confused.
Here is more. The announced April 2025 Grand Opening of the New Tacloban Airport Terminal Building may have to be moved back, a casualty of the current massive review of big-ticket infrastructure funding.
Now that Cong. FM Romualdez will have relatively more time to attend to the above-mentioned mega-projects he has helped fund, will the speed and quality of implementation improve?
There are several projects still in the pipeline but the question is: will they be continued? These include the extension of the current airport runway by 400 meters.
There are many issues hanging in the balance. Things seem to be fluid.
We cannot be sure at this time how these issues will be resolved. But I think it would be good to start by not telling half-truths.
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