SRA boss on TV tonite

We missed him last week. But tonight, Sugar Regulatory Administrator James Ledesma will be our guest at our Feedback 9 to 10 p.m. on Sunshine Cable TV 14.

Administrator Ledesma agreed to answer questions from the audience. Just call Tel. No. 433-0014. It is for the good of the sugar industry that there is a kind of a dialog between our officials and the producers. I told James this will help bring about a better understanding of the sugar industry and the role of SRA.

Our discussion on sugar last night with former Gov. Bitay Lacson and former Assemblyman Jimmy Golez was an eye opener.

They suggested, we must have a Sugar Act.

* * *

We also want to welcome Senator Edgardo Angara. He will be at the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters as personal guest of NFSP president Nene Rojas.

Senator Angara will hold a press conference at 4 p.m.

Senator Angara is one of the outstanding lawmakers we have, and is an open-minded leader who also believes in a change in our government from presidential to parliamentary.

It was bad that he lost the vice-presidential election in 1998 to now President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. But, Angara is fair enough to agree with the ideas of the President if they are good for the country.

Negrenses must remember too, that Senator Angara has been one of the staunch supporters of the sugar industry.

* * *

The Bago river irrigation system under the National Irrigation Administration cuts off its water supply on Monday to start the work on the rehabilitation of the irrigation system.

Government is spending billions of pesos to repair the system that provides irrigation to some 12,000 hectares of rice farms.

The money here comes from foreign funding with the counterpart fund from the local government.

I would like to call on our Gov. Joseph Marañon and the mayors of the cities and municipalities served by the irrigation system to help monitor the project.

And also NIA officials themselves must help too.

* * *

Yesterday we were in the NIA office in Bago and met with NIA Superintendent Engineer Dionisio Asencio.

We told Dion to be on the alert for foolishness in the rehabilitation project of NIA. We were talking of the monitoring of the project where, in the past, I saw how some of the materials were diverted by the workers.

I saw in one project, three pig pens were made out of the cement as well as gravel and sand sold to the farmers there by the project managers.

No wonder the work was substandard because, where five bags of cement were needed, only two were applied.

Naturally the projects didn't last long.

There were canals that were in the blue print but were not made but the project manager had them paid.

Auditors? No, they were also bribed to just put their approval in exchange for some grease money.

* * *

It's good, Engineer Asencio told me, a monitoring committee is organized in every area. And that the workers must be the irrigators themselves, members of the irrigators association.

This gives them a job to do and because it involves them, they must be sure no materials are lost.

But this is not enough. Other people must be vigilant too.

We must train our people to be vigilant against corruption.

One of our laments is that our people have closed their eyes to irregularities in government, even those that involve the public funds.

It is because, we have not practiced the culture of accountability. That officials must be made to account for their acts. That is why that famous Swedish Economist and author Gunnar Myrdal called the Philippines a soft state.

A soft state is one where laws are not enforced strictly. That people thumb their noses at the law because they know that, if they are powerful, even the long arms of the law cannot catch up with them.

Do you think there will be people who will be jailed for the "Ultra Stampede?" I am afraid none will be convicted.

Although I believe, as what I said yesterday, that DILG Secretary Marius Corpus was irresponsible to utter those words saying the people were treated like animals.

We have very many accidents in the past. There were only a few of those guilty who went to jail.*

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