PGMA's TEN-POINT AGENDA
Good Soundbites or Good Policies?


1. 6 Million to 10 Million Jobs in 6 years - what do you think? Is this realistic enough? It seems GMA would want most of the jobs to emerge from the agricultural and the small-medium enterprise sector. She wants a "tripling of the amount of loans for lending." In her sixth year, I bet you her press release will be something like about 11 to 12 million jobs were created. So I think this promise is possible. Many of her critics say that it is so easy to produce these jobs because they are temporary and not permanent. Of course, it is possible to create more than a million jobs per year. The problem is how will the people maintain or keep those jobs for a long time.

2. New buildings, classrooms, provision of desks and chairs and books for students and scholarships to poor families - possible if the funds for these projects aren't siphoned off by corrupt employees and perfidious contractors.

3. Balancing of the budget - impossible. I see more deficits and more debts by the government. It must solve its biggest fiscal problem source --- the NAPOCOR problem.

4. "Decentralization" of progress around the nation through the use of transportation networks - possible. I hope they can also a massive railway system connecting the three big islands. China has the first Maglev transit system in Asia. I know its a bit ambitious on our part, but I think the economy can get a boost if we can somehow get the second Maglev project going in our country. Far out? I know, I know. These are all wishful thinking on my part, so forgive me.

5. Provision of electricity and water supply to barangays nationwide - impossible. It is the 21st century already and still there are a lot of households who have not experienced how it is to have electricity and safe drinking water in their faucets. This objective is as impossible as having a doctor to those same areas.

6. Decongestion of Metro Manila by forming new cores of government and housing centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao - impossible. As long as my proposal in number 4 is not put into place, decongestion of people here in the metropolis is impossible. Everyone wants to go here. This will still be the scenario ten years from now.

7. Development of Clark and Subic as the best international service and logistic centers in the region - possible. She can do this in less than five years. the infrastructure and foundations are already there. But she must work beyond Subic and Clark, if she wants decentralization and decongestion to occur concurrently.

8. Automation of the electoral process - possible. This made me laugh, though. Automation would have been possible last May 10, too, if only FPJ didn't run for president. But he ran, so automation was postponed. I mean, do you really think GMA can win an election process that is fully automated?

9. Just end to the peace process - impossible. However, if she meant an end to the peace process because everyone is at war already, well, maybe that's possible. As long as the Muslims' livelihood conditions in the South are not improved, there will be no peace. As long as the NPA and the Communists led by Ka Roger and Joma Sison are not convinced that it is indeed better to lay down their arms, there will be no peace.

10. Fair closure to the divisiveness among the Edsa 1, 2 and 3 forces - impossible. GMA must first define what "fair closure" means. She must first show her sincerity and admit her mistakes. No admission, no forgiveness. A more possible scenario is more divisiveness. Witness the last elections. Have you seen how divisive it was?

My score for GMA: 5 possible and 5 impossible.

Prove me wrong after six years....granting she does not extend her term indefinitely, ok?