INFRASTRUCTURE has always been the engine for growth of every nation. No government can attain progress without it. That is gospel truth that—as the line of a song goes—“no one can’t deny.”
Roads, bridges, seaports, railway systems, airports, even subways and, yes, farm-to-market connectors are what basically make up infrastructure. Remove one of those and the chain of change is scuttled beyond repair—change, meaning transformation from stagnation to expansion.
What can be expanded must be undertaken with dispatch. No dilly-dallying. The teka-teka style of leadership must be obliterated soonest if we wish to gun up the economic revolution. I am saying this to remind the next president of what to do first and foremost when he takes over the reins of government beginning June 30. No, it is not a gentle reminder. Rather, it is a brutal reminder.
Still a suffering nation
WHAT is that six to seven percent growth being boasted about by the present dispensation if not a mere abstract? Some two million of our countrymen still eat just one meal a day. Many are still uneducated, which is why every now and then, we see an elderly enrolling in Grade 1 just to learn how to read and write. Some already in college even commit suicide for failure to pay pricey tuition fees.
Free education is the solution, said one or two of our presidential candidates. We’ve heard that said a million times already. Nothing came out of it. Empty talk before. Empty talk today. The nation has suffered so long in the pits. Our people have remained mired in abject poverty since 1986, negating the gains of the bloodless Edsa Revolt of 30 years ago.
$10-billion loot
THAT was an uprising admired globally, in that it had supposedly obliterated a 14-year dictatorship that spawned power-grab, corruption right into the corridors of power and unimaginable greed by the high and mighty of that unlamented era, resulting in the looting from the nation’s coffers of more than $10 billion.
And look at this recent newspaper item: We earned P1.43 trillion from travel and tourism in 2015. That much!? It came from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Why, that was 10.6 percent of our GDP. Staggering data, to say the least.
Further, if WTTC is to be believed, direct contributors to this gargantuan growth are hotels, travel agents, airlines and the like, resulting in earnings for the country of P569 billion!
Not only that. By year’s end, the WTTC said we could earn from travel and tourism P604 billion, or a 6-percent growth. And from 2016 onwards, we could grow yearly at 5.3 percent, for a total of P1 trillion earnings by 2026!
Pundits said massive investments plus supply chain movements had induced income impacts, with foreign visitors contributing P294 billion in the tourism industry in 2015. This early, a 3.6-percent growth had been predicted—even as there is still much to be desired in the infrastructure sector.
Bad traffic, volume of vehicles
WITHOUT a doubt, tourism is one of the major earners of all nations. Monaco alone, the second-smallest country in the universe after the Vatican, is one of the richest nations in the world because of its tourism. In fact, tourism alone is what mainly props up Monaco.
We can also be a great tourism destination if only we could fix our infrastructure, long the bane of every generation. Our beaches are among the best in the world. Our climate, culture and heritage are admired the world over.
We have bad traffic because of poor infrastructure strategies.
In 2003 the deal to build a railway from Manila to Malolos, Bulacan, all the way to La Union, has been inked. We’ve advanced some $400 million for the project to the Eximbank of China. Sadly, up to now, construction has yet to begin. That’s how bad things have become in our governance.
Even traffic jams in the metropolis are being blamed on volume of vehicles. But simply, poor traffic system is the folly of idiot traffic managers being appointed every now and then. It’s the appointing officer, stupid.
Toyota Vios and Innova
IF only for the record, Toyota has, so far, earmarked P9 billion for its Vios in the run-up to the government’s CARS Program aimed at encouraging carmakers to ramp up their production by providing ample subsidies. Based on data, since Toyota’s comeback in 1989, it has already poured into government’s vaults some P200 billion in duties and taxes and has generated 47,000 jobs.
In its recent launch alone of the all-new Innova, Toyota has infused P3.9 billion for the full-model range of the country’s number one muscle in the MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) segment. Swell.
PEE STOP The Isuzu mu-X has become more powerful than ever as exemplified by its new 3.0-liter variant with a 163PS maximum output and 380-N-m maximum torque. And at a price of P1,398,000, it’s a steal!… Mitsubishi’s “Cool Summer Deals” ends tomorrow, so place your orders now. Adventure at P30,000 all-in low down for GLX M/T, ASX at P74,000 for GLS CVT, Strada at P98,000 for GLX M/T, and Mirage G4 at P25,000 for GLX M/T. Hurry!…All the best to the Baguio CC Tournament from April 27 to 29 headed by Fortuner-driving General Manager Anthony de Leon! Mabuhay!… Advance happy birthday to Lancer-lover Mayo R. Mendoza, Kuya Mumu/Nano (May 2). He said grilled tuna panga and belly from Cebu are the main fare. Cheers!