Sabotage

If there’s one thing you can admire about the government of President BS Aquino, it’s the talent of his men to come up with alibis, excuses, justifications and rationalizations no matter how improbable, irrational incredible and implausible.

Take the case of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 that conked out again, twice, last Friday—prompting MRT general manager Roman Buenafe and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to sing a duet to the tune of “sabotage,” insinuating that outgoing (or was it “unceremoniously booted out”?) maintenance provider Schunk Bahn-Und Industrietechnik GmbH and Comm Builders & Technology (SBI-CBT) was the one behind the malfunction. 

Buenafe saw the timing of the breakdown as suspicious coming, as it is on the day that the new maintenance provider, Busan consortium (whose contract with the DoTC is being questioned because there was no public bidding) took over. Abaya echoed Buenafe, also hinting that sabotage may have been the cause of the “glitch” that interrupted services for several hours. SBI-CBT—which has filed a graft complaint before the Ombudsman against Buenafe and several officials—denied the insinuations, insisting that they were caught unawares when the Korean-Filipino joint venture engaged in a hostile takeover late Friday. 

Our buddies were howling after hearing Buenafe’s and Abaya’s “sabotage” theory, saying that the MRT trains are in such poor condition that it’s a wonder they function at all. As usual, Abaya managed to put in the “blame them” game again, saying the train’s signaling system is obsolete and that the system replacement as something that was already on the plate before President Aquino’s term. He had the temerity to say that “the DoTC is trying to show that we are slowly rectifying sins of the past. Consumers have the right to demand better services” but whatever happened to improvements that were supposed to happen after the fare hike in January last year?

Despite insistent public demand for Abaya’s ouster, Aquino has remained deaf to the clamor of his so-called “bosses,” allowing the DoTC chief to cling to his post. In an interview with ANC, Abaya said he was at the D-TC not to be applauded but to solve problems—but how can he do that when he seems to be the problem, with his arbitrary decisions (the MRT-LRT common station for example) that keeps getting the government entangled in legal problems. 

He says he serves at the pleasure of the president, but he is (deliberately) oblivious of the fact that his president’s “bosses” do not want him to serve and do not find pleasure in his continued stay with the DoTC. He said he wants to help President BS though—and he’s doing a good job at that—helping Aquino become even more unpopular with the people who find the rest of this administration’s days in office passing so agonizingly slow.

Slow Internet hurting people, businesses

Have you been experiencing frustratingly slow levels with your Internet speed –staring at your computer screen waiting while the cursor keeps blinking until you feel like you’re being hypnotized to sleep? Then congratulations! You are a certified citizen of this third world country where slow Internet speed is the norm, with signals (even LTE) fluctuating to such low levels especially when you are in transit or are passing through certain points in EDSA (like Guadalupe).

More than personal inconveniences, what’s worse is that businesses are also suffering a hit (even newspapers, with columns and articles not sent on time if you’re out of town because of poor signal or happen to be in a dead spot). No wonder Globe Telecom is urging government to prioritize Internet infrastructure to enable businesses to build on their capabilities and support domestic economic growth amid robust digitization of various industries.

Aside from improving access to education, government services, entertainment and social media, a robust Internet infrastructure provides tremendous opportunities for business and greatly impacts economic growth, said Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu, adding that the government can do something about this by “providing the right regulatory environment as we build an Internet infrastructure that would develop ICT capabilities of local industries for stronger economic growth and wonderful Philippines.”  

According to Cu, the government can expedite legislation to mitigate bureaucratic red tape and other political hurdles that stand in the way in the deployment of telecommunication and broadband infrastructure, such as cell sites.

Cu pointed out that an Open Access Law for the telco industry would expedite the issuance of all the relevant permits for all telecommunications facilities at the local government level. Telecommunication companies are required to secure several permits, said the telco executive, adding that Globe has about 500 cell sites waiting to be built at any given time. “Prioritizing the Open Access law for the telco industry would help fast track fiber builds that will increase internet access and speeds in the country,” stressed Cu.  

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