One of the biggest woes in governance is the lengthy and tedious process involved in addressing very simple problems.
Added to that is a stringent and stiff bureaucracy that could not adjust and adapt to the needs of people in the face of a new emerging problem.
This is made worse by policy makers and budget planners who have never touched the ground and who simply rely on the numbers they see in front of them in prioritizing projects and allocating funds.
When I presented the Solar Powered Irrigation System Project (SPIS) to boost rice production by providing water to an additional 500,000 hectares, a key decision maker commented that he did not see a correlation between irrigation and increased production.
I was able to work out a private-sector funded fertilizer loaning program for the country’s rice and corn farmers without any investments from government with the help of a Russian company but this was shot down because of fears that if the farmers will not pay, the Philippine government will be obliged to pay.
When the utilization of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund was being programmed, the real industry stakeholders pushed for the establishment of more drying facilities over tractors but they were overruled.
Poor planning and misguided interventions cost government billions of pesos every year while the basic problems which need only a few hundred thousand pesos have not been attended to.
Failed projects and non-operational facilities, including empty field level grains centers, dot the countryside, testaments to the whimsical implementation of projects and waste of precious funds.
To say that I am frustrated is an understatement.
The truth is I am hurting but I will not be deterred in pushing for and advocating reforms in governance.
Even with very limited funds at my disposal as Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) which only has an annual budget of less than P200-M, I will continue to provide answers to the very basic problems I see along the way as I travel all over Mindanao, if only to prove that we do not need to spend billions to address the misery of our people.
Precise and surgical interventions will be the key words in this advocacy.
One of these surgical interventions is the establishment of a P300,000-worth facility in fishing communities of Mindanao which includes a locally-made boiler system, a steam-powered fish dryer and a retort machine which are needed to make bottled Spanish Sardines.
Ten units will be established in 10 remote and poor fishing villages where the stakeholders will be trained in making the bottled Spanish Sardines.
All of the production will be marketed by a young entrepreneur, who will use her company’s brand name in selling the produce.
With a budget of only P3-M for the first 10 communities, I expect to change the lives of poor fishing families for the better.
From there, we will continue moving forward identifying problems and coming up with very practical solutions.
This is what I call precise and surgical interventions through which we are able to address problems with very little funds coming from government.
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
#GetOutOfAirconOffices!
#letswalkanextrakilometer!
#letscrossanotherriver!
#letsclimbanothermountain!
#letschaseonemoredream!
(This video shows a modified steam/solar powered fish dryer which is an improvement of a government-designed fish dryer which relies mainly on sunlight. This equipment will allow fishermen to dry fish even at night.)
https://fb.watch/aNYiSMEwmG/
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