Divergent views in gov’t
The differences in political and social ideologies of some members of President Duterte’s Cabinet have become public in recent days.
Since the Cabinet meets regularly, it is reasonable to expect that matters overlapping the members’ areas of responsibility would be threshed out in those sessions and not aired in the media.
With the President fixated on the country’s drug problem, and fending off criticisms of the violent nature of his campaign, the Cabinet members are freely pushing their respective agenda.
Upon assuming office, Environment Secretary Gina Lopez zeroed in on mining companies and ordered an audit of their operations to determine their compliance with mining laws.
The audit resulted in 20 mining firms under threat of suspension of operations until they’re able to meet certain environmental standards. The mining industry has criticized the audit as biased and warned of the suspension’s adverse effects on the affected communities.
When asked about the concerns raised by the mining companies, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said they are legitimate and he expressed sympathy with them.
In an apparent dig at the audit, he stated it has to be threshed out as it is not really a policy. He added that mining is important to the economy and that if its contribution can be expanded to 10 percent, as against the present less than two percent, the government can raise more revenues.
Earlier, at the inception of the Duterte administration, when Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia was asked by a mining executive about Lopez’s critical stance toward mining, he said the Cabinet, not one secretary, sets government policies.
The divergent positions pit environmental protection, which has been Lopez’s advocacy for decades, against inclusive economic growth that Diokno and Pernia have been tasked by the President to help accomplish during his term.
Unless the President steps into the picture and asks Lopez to be more accommodating to the mining industry (which may not be forthcoming because of his antipathy toward mining activities in Mindanao), the two economic managers may have to look elsewhere for additional sources of revenues.
Besides, if this issue comes to a head in the Cabinet, Lopez is assured of support from members who were, prior to their appointment, actively involved in mass actions against unwholesome mining activities.
Another action by a Cabinet member that is giving a lot of jitters in the real estate and construction industries is the proposal of Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano to halt for two years the processing and approval of applications for conversion of agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses.
Since the plan has been approved by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council which is chaired by the President, all that remains to be done is the issuance of an executive order that will implement it.
The moratorium covers all previously awarded lands, prime agricultural lands, retention areas of landowners that are tenanted, and other lands with existing agricultural activities.
The prohibition on conversion is aimed at preserving agricultural lands to ensure the country’s food security.
The proposal has met strong opposition from some Cabinet members. Pernia said the moratorium would be detrimental to the government’s housing and infrastructure projects.
He stated that his position is supported by the Departments of Budget and Management, Finance and Agriculture, including Vice President Leni Robredo, in her capacity as housing czar.
The ball is now in the President’s court. He has to come up with a Solomonic decision on the conflicting positions of his Cabinet officials. This time, it’s food security versus housing and infrastructure projects, both critical elements of national development.
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