Genius!

Once there was a Kingdom in the south. Its people are peace loving and the kingdom is rich with gold and abundant with resources. However, it is ruled by a greedy King and his cronies.

The Kingdom has a law that a King can rule only for three consecutive terms. As the time goes by, families of the King and his cronies got bigger, the King and the cronies are getting old.

As greedy as their parents, the children now adults, want a share of the Kingdom. The King and the cronies are facing end of their terms. They’ve got a big problem. They got only one kingdom and there are many of them who want to be Kings and Princes.

To solve the problem, the King and the cronies thought a very good idea. Divide the Kingdom among them so they could all be Kings and since it is already new Kingdoms, they are also avoided the term limits. Genius!

Have I make sense of the story? I am not a good story teller.

Anyway, have you heard that Palawan will be divided into 3 provinces and one city? That’s Southern Palawan, Central Palawan, Northern Palawan and City of Puerto Princesa.

Genius!

Rich yet so poor

I’ve been to other places in the Philippines. Actually, almost all over the country, and it makes me wonder, how come Palawan, the richest in natural resources ( timber, fishing, beaches, silica, nickel, chromite, oil, among many), is not as developed as the other provinces.

Existing roads are ill-maintained, almost 80% of the highway to the south is not even paved. People in the south bringing their products to the market find it hard and costly. This, forced them to sell their harvests to middlemen even at a loss. Bringing sick people to the city hospital is also a problem. How can a sick person survived a dirt road for more than 6 hours?

Access to education is another. Have you seen classes of 1st to 4th grader in a room with just one teacher?

Riches of Palawan is continuously exploited, people are peace-loving, yet they get little from their government.

How come?

Mining money

In the paper today, GMA got mad and ordered an investigation on an alleged extortion to a foreign investor by local government executives. Investors claimed the local officials tried to extort money from them in exchange for the release of the permits. The local official denied the allegation and claimed also that the businessmen offered him contracts amounting to P400 Million so he would allow the company to operate without the necessary permits (“Furious GMA orders Hanjin extort probed”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 3, 2008).

Well, what do you know, it is actually happening in our Province (contracts of local official with mining company). One particular project that I know of personally is the Narra Nickel Mining.

Excavation, hauling and trucking services contracts were given to the Mayor. Of course, in the contract it was not the name of the mayor, it’s in the name of a dummy, a man identified with the husband of the Mayor (the husband is the former mayor; the dummy was his former Municipal Engineer). Well, maybe he, the Engineer, is the real owner/beneficiary of the contract? Could be. But explain this. People who want to share in the contract can enter to a sub-contract only upon approval of the mayor’s husband.

In my estimate, there are about 50 trucks and 10 excavation and loading equipment, only 6 trucks belong to the Mayor.

Hauling costs P2,000.00 per trip. If sub-contracted sub-contractors receives P1,800.00, that’s P200.00 per trip for Mayor. In a day, a truck’s average trip is 10. That’s P2,000.00 per day for mayor for a single truck. That makes P108,000.00 daily (for the 44 trucks and 10 heavy equipments), and P3.2 million in a month! Not bad.

Is it illegal? Yes, I think it is. Conflict of interest. Enriching selves using the office. With this condition, whose interest is the mayor going to protect, the people or the mining company? Your guess is as good as mine.

Now I know why people kill and invest millions just be elected in office. There, money can be mined.