It Takes Outsiders to Stir our Bureaucracy

Earlier, the Philipine Air Transportation Office (ATO) was dissolved and was replaced by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) because the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded the Philippines's air rating to category 2.

Now, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is moving to demolish all fishpens in Laguna de Bay in light of a recent study by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) that warned of an impending ecological catastrophe of Laguna de Bay due to unregulated and dangerous levels of waste dumped into the watershed.

Just as it took a foreign regulatory agency i.e., the FAA to nudge the Philippine national government to act regarding the country's air rating, it also took a stern warning from an interregional governmental body within ASEAN for appropriate national authorities to act in saving the life of Laguna de bay.

It is sad that serious policy shifts seem impossible to take place or hard to enact if incentives or criticisms come from within, and only becomes effective when supported and backed by incentives or criticisms from external sources.

Indeed, it is quite embarassing and disheartening when outside entities (such as the FAA and SEAFDEC) are needed to make genuine socio-political changes for the common good in our country.