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Bacolod City, PhilippinesWednesday, July 25, 2012
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with Ninfa Leonardia
OPINIONS

‘Gov’t-owned and
controlled’ – WAH!

Ninfa Leonardia

I am disturbed by what seems to be a perception that the much-malaigned proposal to “corporatize” government hospitals is the same as “privatizing” them. As far as I know, there is quite a difference, because although they might have the same effects, corporatization is not quite the same, and will not mean the hospitals will be owned by private individuals. As we can see in such agencies as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, or PAGCOR, the Development Bank of the Philippines, the National Power Corporation, and the rest, they are actually still publicly owned entities. That is why they are called government-owned and controlled corporations, or GOCCs, for short.

***

So what’s wrong with corporatizing government hospitals? Everything, I mean EVERYTHING! What are the government or national agencies where the most blatant abuses and corruption have been unearthed recently? Remember the exposés on the privileges and perks those GOCCs had approved for themselves – the unconscionable bonuses, allowances, privileges, that added up to the millions for their officials and employees?

***

Weren’t we all appalled to find out that the officials of those GOCCs appropriated for themselves the most outlandish kinds of bonuses, holiday perks, transportation allowances, giving them all kinds of names and justifications? Those privileges and largesses were only approved by their board of governors or trustees, because they have almost absolute control over the funds of the corporations. Is that what we want to happen when our government hospitals are already “corporatized”, as some lawmakers are planning?

***

And don’t let them say there will be checking by the Commission on Audit. Yes, the COA will check, but if the extras – aside from the unbelievable salaries – have been duly approved by the board of the corporation, it will be okay. And just imagine what influence, not only the congressmen but also other officials, will have on the boards of such corporations. That is why some local governments have already slammed the proposal. Governor Freddie Marañon is right – this is one move that deserves a riot. Government-owned and controlled? As Senator Miriam Santiago would say it: WAH!

***

And then comes Malacañang spokesman (the present, not the former), reacting to the report about Governor Marañon’s “riot act”, saying condescendingly that hospitals will not be privatized, as the governor feared, only made into “juridical entities”. Wah again. Have we come to splitting hairs now? Edwin Lacierda says placatingly that this is different, but maybe it will be even worse? How shall we call our hospital here then? The Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Juridical Entity? And the Teresita L. Jalandoni Juridical Entity?

***

That was a scary news item, the one about the pilot who was found to be pushing drugs and apprehended in Manila. It is frightening enough to hear rumors about bus and jeepney driver who are users, how much more if pilots are the ones, not only pushing, but probably using the substances themselves? That reminds me – what about the pilot who went hysterical on a JetBlue plane in the U.S. – nothing more was heard about the incident, after the news said he had to be restrained and taken off the aircraft. Was he ever tested for drug use? I find it unnerving when I recall that my relatives and I flew on that airline’s units only a few days ago. Perhaps the Air Transportation Office, or whatever is in charge, should require drug tests for their pilots before every flight.

***

Some see the donut, others see only the hole. That must have been remembered by the people who believe, or would like to believe, the disclosures of President Noynoy Aquino about the gains of his administration that he enumerated in his State of the Nation Address Monday. Some agreed that serious steps have, indeed, been taken against graft and corruption, while others claim there is even more of those going on now. I notice, though, that of the many who were interviewed right after the SONA, and who gave what apparently were spontaneous replies, spoke positively about it. So let the gripers have their fun, let’s have the donut and leave them their hole.

***

Excitement is peaking now in London where the Olympic Games are due to start Friday. And it is not only the arriving athletes, popular though they may be, who are causing the fuss, more are thrilled by the expected arrival of several world leaders, much more than those who went to Beijing last time, and of many movie and sports personalities who have started arriving, too. In another clever political move, U.S. President Obama has sent his wife, Michelle, to lead the American Olympic delegation. But his rival, Mitt Romney is reportedly in London already. So, will Barack hop over, too?*

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