For Good Governance: A To Do List for the Winners

By CHARO NABONG-CABARDO
May 26, 2007

I wrote the following column for the second issue of SCOPE under the title, “Election Wishes not Promises for Good Governance” which came out before the election.  With the election over, the newly elected officials must now go back to work and I hope this will help them.

1. For Catbalogan, make the upgrading of the facilities of the Bureau of Fire Protection a priority project. The recent fires in Catbalogan demonstrated the need for more fire trucks of varying sizes, long hoses, communication facilities, other fire fighting equipment and a fire station that shows it is in tip top shape.

2. Now that Catbalogan will be a city, it needs a vision and a long term master development plan that every elected mayor must continue to implement until our vision is attained. From election to election, its development depends on the abilities or the inabilities of the elected officials. Catbalogan deserves more than this. It needs concerted planning to develop and move it forward. And a planning process based on up-to-date data and the participation of various stakeholders. Only then will its myriad problems can be addressed in an integrated, sustainable and rational manner.

3. In fact, it is not only Catbalogan but all LGUs should craft master development plans. The DILG requires that each LGU submit a Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) but this is only a component of a master development plan. Samar province should have a master development plan. For the past decades, we have been fooling ourselves that Samar is a poor province. But Samar is a rich province. We are in an island where we have the largest unfragmented lowland forest in the whole country (360,000 hectares which includes 120,000 hectares of primary forests). Maqueda Bay was one of the richest fishing grounds in the Philippines. Thanks to the good ecological condition of our forests, our watersheds can provide us a steady supply of water in the years to come. We have large tracts of land planted to coconuts. We have beautiful waterfalls, rivers, extensive caves, beaches, rock formations that could easily be converted into tourist attractions. And we have a climate change that is advantageous to farming. Samar province has become poor because of poor governance. It is poor governance that allowed the plunder of our resources and coffers.

4. LGUs should also invest in research and data-base. Plans are unrealistic if they are not based on solid data. The MPDOs of the municipalities of Basey and Gandara have done excellent work in research and establishment of their municipal data-bases.

5. For LGUs in both municipal and provincial levels, make the participation of various sectors in governance not just a token participation but a real and functional participation. In the past years, Municipal Development Councils and Provincial Development Councils are convened only if the mayor or the governor needs its required approval.

6. Again for our LGUs to invest in farming and fisheries, the main livelihoods of most Samarnons. The past decade have shown a climate change in Samar island, a climate change that is to our advantage. Typhoon occurrence in our island has decreased and so has its intensity, while the traditional food baskets in Central Luzon, Quezon and Bicol have been devastated by ferocious typhoons. We should turn this blessing into an opportunity for us to be food sufficient if not grow surplus rice, vegetables and fruits.

7. Our fisheries are also in steady decline. Where before, truckloads of marine products were shipped daily to Manila, now we can count our blessings if we can fill a truck with fish and other sea produce in a week. Maqueda Bay needs development and management. This should be a priority legislative and executive agenda for most LGUs.

8. A provincial hospital that is free of politics! This is perhaps the only province in the Philippines where a life and death matter is subjected to the whims of those in power. There are no medicines and medical supplies available and recently, the medical personnel have also taken leave. It is already bad that most of our doctors have left for abroad to become nurses, the remaining medical facility is just unable to respond to our medical needs. Catbalogan and other key municipalities should also strive to have its own hospital.

9. Push for lower electric rates. We are in a region where we have the largest geothermal deposits in the country as our source of energy, yet we have the highest rate of electricity and continuous to suffer from insufferable brownouts. The power transmission lines pass through our municipalities bringing power from Tongonan, Leyte to Luzon. How about us? Shouldn’t we benefit from this regional resource?

10. For our next provincial board to exercise independence, good judgment, and adherence to good governance and public service. Restore the budgets of the different departments to these units for them to be operational.

11. All these development needs an environment of peace. Elected officials should make peace in Samar a development agenda.