The Grandma at the Palace called her trusted political lieutenants to a sensitive meeting last week. They were to serve as her think-tank for the forthcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Congress.
Yes, it’s SONA time again, and from what I have heard, the Grandma wants some inputs not only from the members of her Cabinet but also from the body politics.
In particular, she wants a feel right down from the “grassroots.” This is not surprising at all to the guys down here in my neighborhood.
As a defense to the poor showing of the Grandma in the latest popularity rating survey done by the poll group Social Weather Station (SWS), the Palace told us the survey, in effect, was not reflective of the feelings of the people.
The SONA, supposedly, should show that the people are actually happy with this administration. Never mind the scientific basis for such a claim.
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FINALLY, the 16-years-in-the-making Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is open.
The government spent P3 billion in cold cash for the terminal, which originally should not have cost the government a single centavo.
The question is this: Is the terminal really ready for operation?
Our contacts in the airline business said the international airlines flying to Manila are not going to use the new terminal anytime soon, much less transfer their airport offices to it.
At present, only Cebu Pacific Air is using NAIA-3 for only two of its airplanes, which are 70-seater French-made aircraft known as ATR.
From what I have gathered, Philippine Airlines (PAL) was set to use the new terminal starting this Thursday for five planes in its “Bombardier” fleet, which are 50- and 76-seater aircraft.
PAL sister firm Air Philippines is also set to use the terminal for its big-bodied Boeing 737-200.
And that’s it! It seems the airport terminal is not ready for full operation. Our info is that the passengers have to take the bus to get to the airplane. The terminal gates are not yet operational, that’s why.
More than the inconvenience to the passengers, however, is the worry of the airline industry over the computer systems in the terminal.
Thus, to them, it is clear that the “soft” opening of the new terminal has something to do with, chancharan, the SONA.
That’s an “A,” I think, for effort. Really, its timing is perfect.
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Plus, the NAIA-3 opening has no connection to the US government’s Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) downgrading of the Philippines to Category 2.
Earlier, the FAA rated the Philippines as deficient in safety standards for civil aviation.
In reaction to the FAA downgrading, Congress worked overtime to pass a law creating the CAAP, or Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, replacing the ATO, or Air Transportation Office, which was the target of the FAA’s scathing report.
The CAAP, being new and all, is just starting to formulate the safety manual for all the airlines here. Our contacts in the airline business also do not expect the CAAP to comply with the FAA standards anytime soon.
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According to talk in the stock market, the board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has decided to spend some $3 million for a new high-tech trading system.
All right, $3 million may be a lot of money of the PSE, on which the trading volume is not even one-tenth of the volume of the Bangkok Stock Exchange, but the PSE board apparently feels $3 million is money worth spending for the new high-tech system.
The PSE is actually buying the system from the New York Stock Exchange, which a couple of years ago introduced the so-called “Hybrid Market” trading system.
It is said to be so fast that it can execute an order in about one-third of a second.
It seems the PSE is convinced the local bourse has enough volume for such an ultra high-speed system. Who knows, in the future, it will?
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The Senate, said Senate President Manuel Villar, who is said to be a top contender for the presidency in 2010, had come up with several bills in its first regular session that are awaiting approval of the House of Representatives.
So, who said the Senate does nothing but conduct congressional inquiries, which are most often disliked by the folks in Malacañang?
So the Senate conducted more than 300 public hearings, more than 20 of which tried to dig into allegations of graft and corruption in the government. But in the same session, the Office of the Senate President also filed 333 bills and resolutions.
Villar said the Senate approved more than 30 bills, nine of which were measures addressing the economy.
“We believe these bills will play an important role in our campaign to improve the lives of the Filipino people in the face of widespread poverty and high prices of food and other basic commodities.”
Among them were Republic Act No. 9501 (Promoting Entrepreneurship by Strengthening the Development and Assistance Programs to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises); RA No. 9502 (which aims to lower medicine prices in the country); Senate Bill No. 1662 (Providing for Additional Benefits and Protection to Housekeepers); SB No. 1882 (Establishing a Provident Personal Savings Plan), and SB No. 1648 (Extending the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund).
I’m not sure those will be in the forthcoming SONA.
Previous columns:
Filipino wine makers in Napa - 07/22/2008
Melting of the mind - 07/15/2008
Race to the finest - 06/24/2008
Horse raisin - 6/17/2008
Horse raisin - 17/06/2008
