A case for Bayani Fernando

From Ms. Solita Monsod's column in the inquirer today, June 6.

Get Real
Fernando’s out-of-sight aces

By Solita Collas-Monsod
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:12:00 06/06/2009

I don’t blame MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando for being pissed at his party for seemingly excluding him, a loyal party member, from its list of “presidentiables.” Surely, however, he should have known better than to expect that it would act any differently, given its past record.

Not that Lakas/Kampi is worse than the other parties, whose “presidentiables” seem to have been self-chosen, or at least limited to those who can get the financial wherewithal to run a campaign, no matter their lousy or nonexistent track record (including corrupt tendencies). A good track record (as opposed to campaign promises) would be a bonus, but certainly not a condition precedent, as it were, for being the party’s standard-bearer. Of course, one has to use the term “political party” loosely, since our politicians are prone to party-hopping.

But does Bayani Fernando deserve serious consideration as a “presidentiable”? Very definitely. Because where others talk a good talk, Fernando has actually walked a good walk. His track record in terms of delivering public goods to the people, as well as reducing corruption in his area of responsibility, is arguably unmatched.

If one holds no track with statistics, one only has to visit Marikina, Fernando’s bailiwick. The difference between that city and the rest of the cities of Metro Manila is obvious to even the most casual observer—one would hardly believe one is in the Philippines.

The first thing you notice is that there are no squatters. And that is because the squatters have been relocated to—get this—relocation settlements within the city, where they have security of tenure as well as humane living conditions. One can only guess that in the face-off with squatter-lords (reportedly members of the police or the military of small-time politicians, who hold sway in other Metro Manila cities), the latter were the first to blink, and could not bribe their way into keeping their squatter housing.

The second thing you notice is the Marikina river—cleared of squatter housing, the 220 hectares it covers transformed into a sports and recreational park, with citizens taking the air at night—literally—because there is no smell emanating from it. When this project was first begun, cynics said it could not be done. Fernando did it.

And how about the pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, free of vendors who are now housed in the public market (so no unfair advantage), which is recognized by international and local health agencies as the healthiest in the country?

Or the network of bicycle lanes (56 kilometers), the only one of its kind in the Philippines, that allow people to bike to school or work? Or public parks, and the results of an aggressive greening program?

And that’s just what one sees. What is not so visible, but is felt by the citizens of Marikina, is how well the city is run: a 99-percent garbage collection efficiency rate (lower per capita costs than in other cities); a 95-percent tax collection efficiency rate—its citizens are willing to pay their taxes, because they see where their money goes; an excellent public school and health system; an engineering department capable of undertaking most of the city’s infrastructure projects by local administration (transparent, too); a central warehousing system that saves time and money; an almost 20-fold increase in revenues since 1992 ( in that period, prices have increased at most five-fold); a quick-response system for emergency assistance to citizens, whether police, fire, or medical, anywhere in Marikina (average response time is 4-8 minutes), with a handbook given to all households, providing essential information about services and transactions, including time frames within which to expect action, and hot lines to call if these are exceeded.

Bottom line: the city has won eight “Galing-Pook” Awards since 1992 for all its improvements, plus numerous other awards. Wouldn’t the average Filipino want to live and work in those surroundings?

But that isn’t all. Pressed into service as chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (he must hold the record for being the most short-lived public works secretary—he refused to play ball, and legislators asked for his relief), he has a record of solid accomplishments there as well: reduced travel times along the major arteries—and I can attest to that, because it now takes me 30 minutes to travel from Makati to UP, when it used to take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour; reduced flooding—he has caused the installation of additional pumping stations, plus regular maintenance of esteros (creeks), riverbanks removal of sidewalk obstructions; door-to-door collection in about 75 percent of barangays (villages) so that streets and waterways are kept clean. Things that Metro Manilans have gotten used to, and now expect as a matter of course, hardly remembering when things were very much worse.

To repeat: Solid accomplishments, which, were he chief executive, could be translated into an improved government bureaucracy and efficient national projects and services. And he has one more asset: a no-nonsense wife who took over as mayor, and has not only continued, but improved his accomplishment record. Two for the price of one.

But, alas, even as Fernando is under his party’s radar screen, he also seems to be under the radar as far as the voters are concerned, with less than half of 1 percent of them saying that they would vote for him. Thus, even as we hold the political parties in contempt, we behave in the same way they do. Truly, we get the government we deserve.