Cynic Dries Out

I've been scanning the news online. If there's any political dividend out of this flood tragedy, it will likely go to administration candidate Gilberto 'Gibo' Teodoro, Jr. As Secretary of National Defense and Head of the Disaster Coordinating Council, he certainly benefits from the media attention. The rather heroic [and it is heroic] nature of commanding the rescue effort does hang a halo over his head.

Well, since he's in the limelight I guess I should start looking at his credentials. I like halos around politicians. They're like bullseyes. And apparently others are taking aim as well. Just today there's been a rumor that Gibo has been refusing foreign aid saying that the country did not need it. Ahh, dredge the mud from the flood and sling it around...

I then go check out the news. No mention of the man turning away help. Most of the news items I saw had him asking for help. I then check out his website [ http://www.gibo.ph/ ]. No mention of him asking for or refusing aid. Most of the items are reports on the state of the rescue effort.

While I'm there I check out his platform. Its split into two pages, My Views and Strategy. My Views identifies broad challenges that he wishes to address. His Strategy is surprisingly detailed considering the vagueness of the My Views page. For each region he identifies specific plans.

I check out the Bicol region. Its a mixed bag. Better disaster preparedness is good. Drainage system mainenance is good. Damming the rivers, if not handled properly, may result in environmental damage.

What else? Land development. What kind of development? More commercial establishments and condos instead of farm land? A Technopark or Industrial Park? I think I prefer infrastructure development over land development. How about building roads and sewers that are good enough to accommodate a population growth of 2% per annum?

He also plans on more R&D for the promising steel and engineering sector. Ok, that's interesting and new. For the longest time must development efforts centered on tourism, agriculture and handicrafts. This may be a better direction. I'd love to see the basis of his assessment.

Overall, the site articulated vague principles alongside a to-do list for each region. The only thing lacking is an explanation of how everything actually integrates. It seems as if he really doesn't have an integrated platform. This may not be sufficient. I'll continue checking his site.

I'll be looking into the Honorable Secretary's past accomplishments in a future post. It should give some more insight on the man's character. One thing is certain though. He goes out on the field trying to get people to safety.