Illogical
By Noralyn Mustafa
Inquirer News Service

THE FIRST thing that struck me about Pagadian were the motorized tricycles, the main mode of transport around this quaint but lovely coastal city. It was a sight I wasn't prepared for, even after a hair-raising, all-day "trucking" through five provinces and several cities, with hair-pin turns on slippery cliff-like mountain roads; and a frightening ride in a barge with my bus squeezed between a soft-drink delivery truck and an equally large one loaded with lumber across a very choppy Tangub Bay. I had to go through all this to attend Christine Ortega's MSU-IIT writers' workshop in Iligan City.

I stared long and hard at the odd vehicle with its front jutting up in the air and the passenger's seat down on ground level, wondering whether it would be wiser to walk to my hotel instead, when I noticed that all the tricycles were built the same way, and the driver assured me that it was very safe; otherwise, "tataob yan dito."

It was when we were off and running that I realized why. The terrain replicates Baguio, and it even seemed to me that there were more ups and downs there because the roads are shorter.

There really was logic in the queer design of the vehicles; certainly more logic than can be found in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's decision to transfer the Southern Command and the regional offices to Pagadian.

Why? And why now?

I guess there's nothing more to add to the reasons already stated by Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat and Representative Erico Basilio Fabian, who, naturally, vehemently objected to the idea. So do majority of the residents of that city, where the SouthCom has been based for close to three decades.

Fabian made a very good case in opposing the transfer when he guested on ANC news last May 30. He emphasized to host Karmina Constantino the most logical argument against this latest bad decision of Ms Arroyo: the cost in terms of pesos and centavos.

For the transfer of the regional offices alone, Fabian said, the government would need at least P2 billion, for initial expense alone. We are not yet counting here, he said, the subsequent operational expenses in settling down people, building offices, etc.

With the government's present financial situation, where will we get the money, he wondered, adding, very logically, that if we had that kind of money to spare on a whimsical (or vengeful) impulse, it could be better spent on the modernization program for the military. (P2 billion was the exact amount quoted by Representative Jose Miguel Zubiri as needed in the urgent purchase of a few aircraft to augment the very inadequate fleet of the Philippine Air Force.)

And how about the social cost of uprooting over 8,000 families, and how it will affect, not the very least, the children's schooling?

As many as there are objections to this foolhardy plan are the reasons why both the SouthCom and the regional offices of Region 9 should remain in Zamboanga City. Any transfer of any of these very vital institutions will enormously affect not only the residents of Zamboanga City but also those of the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

With the seat of the ARMM government in Cotabato City, it is difficult enough for constituents in these three provinces to accomplish transactions with the regional offices; and for those line agencies whose functions have not been devolved to the ARMM, the proposed transfer to Pagadian, if realized, would result in a bureaucratic nightmare for them.

And while we're at it, we might as well re-examine the government property in Cabatangan. That property made the headlines a couple of years ago when the followers of jailed former ARMM governor and MNLF chair Nur Misuari made human shields of scores of city residents in their get-away from the compound after a gun battle with government troops.

Then regional commissioner, former ambassador and retired Rear Admiral Romulo Espaldon, in acquiring the property (some 90 hectares), was motivated by one vision, that of gathering all regional offices in one location.

Had these agencies seen the wisdom of his dream, one can only imagine, at the very least, how much they could have saved in rentals on often nondescript offices scattered all over the city, not to mention the convenience and comfort of living in housing facilities, which were an integral part of the grand plan.

Well, I saw Makati when the most prominent building was the GilArmi apartments, and I got my shoes wet when I had to wade from the road to one of the few standing structures to attend an induction, and the only plausible reason we chose it was because the convention hall rental was cheap.

The last time I visited Cabatangan on the request of Julhambri Misuari (to get their side of the story when they were being allegedly harassed by the residents in the surrounding area), the legislative building was both a garbage dump and an armory. In the main (LTP) building, what was once the beautiful office of the regional chair had been converted into a suite for Governor Misuari. My companion, a young idealistic aspiring photojournalist almost got his camera confiscated when he insisted on taking close-ups of the pile of pornographic tapes beside the huge TV set.

At the gate when we arrived, the guard, smiling broadly, told me in a conspiratorial manner: "Robot is here." At the main door, a couple of functionaries volunteered the same information in almost the same manner, as if expecting me to dance with joy at the news.

Isn't it about time for the government to make Espaldon's dream come true? It is a most logical one, don't you think?

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