SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Friday, December 13, 2002
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On the “resignation” of Dante Canlas
DZMM 630 on the AM band announced this morning (Friday, approx. 730 hrs GMT+8) that Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director-General Dante B. Canlas has resigned from his post. Mr. Canlas also told the Inquirer last night the President had asked him to resign “because of perceptions of an economic crisis that needed to be dispelled" (13 December 2002, Philippine Daily Inquirer). DZMM reported that Mr. Canlas has gone out of town this morning. The resignation came a week after a major survey indicated that President Arroyo's approval rating had dropped. Unconfirmed reports say that the major reasons for the resignation could also be related to the Phlippine International Air Terminals Company (PIATCO) deal (NAIA Terminal 3). And the possible replacement? Romulo Neri. Whoa. What’s going on here?
A little background on NEDA. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is composed of the NEDA Board and the NEDA Secretariat. The powers and functions of the NEDA reside in the NEDA Board, which is the country's premier social and economic development planning and policy coordinating body. The Board is composed of the President as chair, the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning and NEDA Director-General as vice-chair, and several cabinet members. The NEDA Secretariat provides technical support to the NEDA Board, including the conduct of studies and formulation of policy measures and other recommendations on the various aspects of development planning and policy formulation, and coordination, evaluation and monitoring of plan implementation. The Secretariat is headed by a Director-Ceneral who carries the rank and title of Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning and Development.
"Economic crisis" and falling ratings? At the rate the economy is growing, there is no economic crisis that some sectors believe. There is, however, an "information" crisis. It is a perception problem - getting the messages across that, primarily, there is no economic crisis. But that is not Mr. Canlas' turf. Malacanang has a Philippine Information Agency (PIA) under the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS). Shouldn't OPS-PIA get the blame for that? Our assumption here is that this perception problem is the reason behind this issue. Or is it?
NEDA works on politics-as-usual reforms. Incremental changes, not-so-controversial, and not-so-visible to the masses (as opposed to crisis-ridden reforms mostly by line agencies). Has President Arroyo become so fixated with 2004 that she wants to get more mileage by having more "visible" characters in her cabinet? Just asking. In practice, NEDA works behind the scenes. Mr. Canlas has no political clout whatsoever. He is a technocrat. Although he has done an excellent good job, he is dispensable, *if* we follow this line of thought.
Or is it something related to core NEDA functions? Again, just asking.
As the cabinet revamp continues amidst the President's falling approval rating, crisis-ridden reforms may possibly improve the President's rating. We can only hope that Malacanang's attention be focused on socioeconomic development and not on possible electoral rewards in 2004. Or am I being too naive?
posted by Allan at 10:09 AM (GMT+8)
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