By
Liling Magtolis Briones
From ABS-CBN Interactive
September 24, 2007
Not too many months ago important sectors of society, including
businessmen, expressed impatience with the spate of Senate hearings
on many issues related to public accountability, e.g. plunder
of the country’s resources, regulatory capture, graft and
corruption. Among the most spectacular were the hearings on the
Garci tapes, the P700 million fertilizer scam, and the dissipation
of the P34 billion funds recovered from the Marcos wealth.
The Senate was accused of politicking, muckraking, and obstructionism.
Businessmen grumbled that the hearings were sparking disturbances
which destabilized the economy and interfered with their business
activities. Some irate citizens even called for the abolition
of the Senate .Others felt that a shift to the parliamentary system
will dispose of the pesky senators once and for all.
This time around, there should be no debate about the public service
rendered by the Senate hearings on the NBN/ZTE deal. For weeks,
businessmen, anti-corruption groups, academics and media have
been buzzing about the deal. The public could only see bits and
pieces. They were confused by the ferocity of the mud-slinging
and verbal assaults among the major players.
It took the Senate to bring together most of the leading characters
into the glare of public scrutiny. It took the Senate and the
threat of further public exposure to push the administration into
suspending the deal.
The NBN/ZTE hearings. The Senate hearings were
of particular interest to the private sector. This is because
it is all about doing business in the Philippines . Big business.
The hearings revealed issues which resonate with businessmen’s
expectations of how government should deal with the private sector,
as well as with other governments. What are these expectations?
First of all, they expect a level playing field in terms of policy
and application of laws, rules and regulations. The deal clearly
showed that intervention of powerful politicians tilted the playing
field in favor of ZTE.
Secondly, businessmen expect predictability in government procedures.
When established policy, rules and regulations are twisted, stretched
and redefined to suit the specifications of a favored party, unpredictability
sets in and turns off other business players.
Thirdly, businessmen expect good governance. When major decisions
of government are forged in golf courses, hotel rooms, private
houses and (whisper) entertainment places, good governance flies
out of the window!
Accusations of bribery not only arouse the anger of businessmen.
Political issues emerge, since non-official but nevertheless powerful
public personalities are involved.
Finally, businessmen expect a working democracy. The legislature,
particularly the Senate , serves as a countervailing force against
abuses of the Executive. The Senate was able to force into the
open details of the contract. It was not cowed or intimidated
when the Cabinet descended in full force to the hearing.
The Senate deserves a vote of thanks from the public for responding
to concerns about a contract whose ramifications strike at the
very heart of economic governance. Special thanks are due the
three Committee Chairs: Sens. Rodolfo Biazon, Alan Cayetano, and
Mar Roxas as well as Sens. Escudero, Lacson, Pangilinan, Madrigal,
Gordon and Estrada who asked incisive questions.
Public policy and private greed.
The decision to continue the hearings is in the public interest.
It is not enough to suspend the two contracts, the other one being
the Cyber-ed project. It must be remembered that on that fateful
trip to China , the President witnessed the signing of five documents.
Four were related to loan-financed projects while the fifth is
for the export of mango juice. Since two are already suspended,
the other two contracts need to be subject to public scrutiny
as well.
Many of the issues which surfaced during the hearings were legal
in nature. However, policy issues need further elucidation. The
disadvantages of tied loans are already recognized all over the
world. Recipient countries are encouraged to refrain from obtaining
tied aid. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness specifically
called on donor countries to put a stop to tied aid. Nevertheless,
the Philippine government deliberately, and with eyes wide open,
decided to avail of tied aid.
It took sometime for the government to come up with the Procurement
Law, which is considered landmark legislation. However, huge contracts
running to billions of pesos are exempt from bidding by the simple
expediency of “executive agreement” This practices
dilutes the effectiveness of the Procurement Law since huge amounts
can easily be exempt from bidding.
It might be that the two suspended contracts are just the tip
of the iceberg. If the Senate, with public support, digs deeper,
it just might unearth more contracts where public policy is distorted
to accommodate private greed!
(Ms.
Leonor Briones is a former National Treasurer of the Philippines.
She is currently teaching public administration at the National
College of Public Administration and Governance, University of
the Philippines. She also writes a column for the Business Mirror)
Other
Feature articles:
-Of
Command and commandeered votes
-Coming
soon: young bureaucracy?
-What
to do the morning after the night before
-Out
Where the Country Begins
-Questions
Begging for Answers
-Attaining
the MDGS: Are We Really On Track?
-The
sky is not falling?
-The
Governance of Fraternities
-Bribery,
Debt and Borrowing
