"Mr. Duterte is no longer a mayor."
"Mr. Duterte is no longer a mayor."
It appears that without President Duterte issuing a directive, it is hard to get things done in the government.
During his State of the Nation Address last week, the President he gave instructions to all concerned government agencies to clear all traffic obstructions on all roads and sidewalks. Immediately, government agencies both national and local went into action, dismantling illegally constructed structures that had been constructed on public roads and sidewalks. Some enterprising public officials even took the opportunity to have their pictures taken directing the demolition of illegally constructed structures.
When President Duterte assumed office in 2016, one of the issues that people wanted him to tackle was the traffic gridlock in the Metro area. Some proposed that he be given emergency powers for that purpose. Being the realist that he is, however, he took one close look at the problem and left it to concerned government agencies to solve because traffic issues are basically municipal issues. It now seems that he has changed his mind.
If that is the case, this is actually not the first time that the President waded into problems that are basically local in nature. More than a year ago, the President has taken to issuing orders to government agencies both national and local to attend to some pressing problems. This started with the rehabilitation and clean-up of Boracay which is now operating with better safeguards and regulations to avoid the excesses of the past. The other recent issue tackled by the President that resulted in an immediate action by the government is the fast-tracking of the construction of the Sangley Airport as an alternate to the congested and crowded domestic airport.
The problem of the domestic airport operation was so obvious that one wonders why it had to be the President who had to order the transfer of airport operations and the repair and improvement of the Sangley runway. Even to ordinary air travelers who are not transportation experts, the domestic airport operations is problematic simply because the domestic runway crosses the runway being used for international operations. Because of the ever-increasing domestic flights, the lone runway is used for all flights contributing to flight delays and flight stoppages in cases of emergencies like the lighting threat that closed the whole Ninoy Aquino International Airport for hours.
Road clearing is one of the most difficult chores in traffic management. This has been shown in Baclaran as well as Balintawak. Not only sidewalks but the roads have been taken over by people to be used as dwellings and businesses. Some barangays have also constructed barangay halls on roads and sidewalks. Clearing roads and sidewalks of obstructions can greatly help in decongesting traffic especially along local roads.
I do not know whether the President realized this himself and issued the order or it was made upon the suggestion of an adviser. Either way, the order was long overdue because as shown in the TV footages, the result of the clearing operations was dramatic and plain to see by everyone. But we really have to wonder why it has to take the President of the land to issue such orders to a problem which is basically municipal. Does it mean that without the President wading into the problem, the issue could not be tackled?
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno showed that even without the President’s intervention, he was able to clear parks, roads, and sidewalks. Mayor Moreno showed that with determination, a mayor could in fact make an impact. He is now the star in all these clearing operations. We hope of course that he will stay the course and make the City of Manila clean permanently. It may be too much to ask but who knows, with him at the helm, he might still be able to bring back Manila as the Queen City of the Pacific and the Pearl of the Orient like it was before the war. If he can come close to that, then he can rightfully go further in political life.
Following the President’s order, the Department of the Interior and Local Government has also given all local executives 60 days to clear all road obstructions. There is no longer any valid reason for failure on the part of local leaders. If in the past they were afraid to act decisively for fear of losing votes during elections, they can now say that they are just simply following the order of the President because they now have the shield. But even with this, we do not know whether it is going to be any different this time. There are simply many local leaders out there who are so incompetent and corrupt.
Another question that we have to ask also is whether it is good for our President to have to get involved in purely local issues because local executives are failing in their duties. In a system that is functioning efficiently, this should not be the norm. Yes, the President can intervene in some issues such as big natural disasters but problems like clearing roads and sidewalks should be left to the LGUs to handle.
This may be good for the President sometimes because it shows that he is decisive and is on top of every situation. For many Filipinos also, decisiveness is one trait that they like in their leader. On the other hand, it can also reinforce what his foreign and local critics are saying—that he is ruling like a strongman.
The trick is to strike a balance so that the President can be left to tackling important national issues. After all, he is done with being a mayor. He is now the President.