A Sid Ungab legacy

“Sid” is Rep. Isidro Ungab of the Third District of Davao City, the outgoing chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee of the 16th Congress.

We are mentioning him in this column just to temper the rush among the cheering squad of President Noynoy Aquino to canonize the future ex-president as the person responsible for the good economic picture associated with the country today.

We echo the view of not a few economists and economic analysts who firmly back the position that the apparent soundness of the country’s economy today is the result of right decisions done in the past.

The view is that the only significant revenue initiative in the regime of Aquino was the passage of the sin-tax law. Unfortunately, the outgoing Malacañang occupant cannot take sole credit for that. The man who fought for the passage of that bill against the powerful lobby of local and international business interests was Ungab.

It was Ungab who resisted both the carrot and the stick being dangled by the giants whose pockets stood to be adversely affected by that legislative initiative. By doing so, Ungab ably steered the lawmaking process and delivered a piece of legislation that is now benefiting many Filipinos who cannot afford decent healthcare.

Ungab’s feat has never been prominently acknowledged by the minions who surround the outgoing Malacañang occupant. After all, he was not a Palace stooge. Worse, Ungab did not throw his support behind the Palace bet in the recent elections. He opted to stand by the mayor of his native Davao City, on whom the public has reposed the hope for change.

The principle is one must give credit where credit is due. That principle, however, is not popular among hacenderos. The moneyed, landed elite tend to believe that everyone else is a serf who works as a hired hand in their fiefdom and for which reason cannot be given credit for anything outstanding they achieved. Everything is done in the name of the king, hacenderos believe.

Ungab, so far, has not been prominently mentioned among those who might be named to the Duterte Cabinet. It may be because the low-profile, soft-spoken Ungab has not joined the mad crowd jockeying for positions.

Sources, however, say that Ungab has Duterte’s respect.

Formerly a well-known figure in countryside banking, Ungab is reportedly quietly being eyed to replace Secretary Florencio Abad in the budget department. If such reports are true, Duterte may have placed in his team a person who is uncompromising and who has the will to do what is right for this country.

The other person to whom credit for the economic growth of the country in recent years may not have been properly given is former Energy Secretary Vince Perez, currently known as the renewable-energy guy.

Perez was energy secretary when the government under former President Gloria Arroyo decided to start breaking up the National Power Corp. monopoly and to junk the massive subsidy to that behemoth’s power rates. Such subsidy drained the national coffers and deprived many Filipinos of public money that could have otherwise been spent for health and education.

Perez faced major political and business opposition but, just like Ungab, resisted both bribe and threat to right something very wrong. It took strong will to remove that subsidy and break up that monopoly. Both happened under Vince’s watch.

The other person with such will is reelected Sen. Ralph Recto. Recto authored that bills that created the Value Added Tax (VAT). He was vilified for making that move and lost the elections in 2007 on account of his determination.

It was a reasonable price to pay. That VAT law generated tons of money that enabled the government to pay off debts early and fund more projects. That happened before this particular outgoing Malacañang occupant came to power.

Were it not for people like Ungab, Perez and Recto, the economy would not be awash with cash as it is now.

Give credit where credit is due.

But some credit is also due the future ex-president. Since he is the son of the much-revered Cory Aquino, the world had the impression that he is incorruptible, never mind that he allowed the people-owned presidential choppers to be used by his sister to campaign for a presidential candidate.

That impression, correct or not, had helped the country improve its image in the international community.

The image helped raise levels of confidence in the country’s ability to grow its economy.

We won’t rob Cory’s son of that credit.

Since he now set to enter the portals of oblivion, that much we must let him bring with him.