It’s only been a couple of months since the first stirrings of this ghost flood control project story began, and man, it seems we have been through so much. (And I write this before the two protests held on September 21, so who knows what’s happening by the time you read this.) So many revelations have been made – and so many political sideshows as well – that it feels like there’s little left to do but be outraged.
But let me try to talk about the implications of this story on our supply chains.
I mean, there obviously are, in many perspectives. We can talk about how the floods these non-existent projects obviously fail to control can disrupt not just the movement of goods, but also the provenance of these goods – whether they be raw materials sourced through our farms, or they be the production and assembly of finished products. We can talk about how all these disruptions cost us in terms of lost sales, as well as lost productivity and lost opportunities.
We can also talk about how the laser-focus on flood control projects risks covering up other types of infrastructure that could be subject to the same levels of corruption and resulting substandard construction. While, in the grand scheme of things, national transport projects like highways, bridges and railroads are key to determining how we expand and adapt our supply chains in the months and years to come, our supply chains also rely on local roads and infrastructure. You know, those roads that led to our specific facilities, or the stores we serve, or directly to our customers. These very roads that are being subjected to pass-through fees by local governments, ostensibly to fund their maintenance, despite many efforts at the national level to ban these. These very roads that always seem to be reconstructed close to the (official) start of election season.
Indeed, the Department of Agriculture has begun reassessing the many farm-to-market roads it has overseen over the last few years, and whether it is also affected by the very allegations preoccupying Filipinos today.
And indeed, we can also talk about the many other infrastructure projects whose provenance are now put into question, the projects that indirectly impact our supply chains. Take our schools. We always talk about how we lack classrooms, and how we need to build more of them to accommodate the current student population. This conversation was already taking off but seems to have been put in the back burner, but nevertheless, can we tangibly connect this lack of supply to corrupt practices? Only then can we discuss how this potential misuse of funds is also affecting the training (and compensation) of teachers, and how it impacts the level of literacy among our students, and how it can affect future workers across our supply chains, the competitiveness of our businesses in the global arena, and so on…
Underneath the immediate revelations and long-simmering anger are many questions that also beg to be answered. Of particular interest: provided all this ends with contractors, and maybe government officials and politicians, in jail, made an example of, what then? How can we tangibly make sure that this does not happen again? How, from the perspective of regulations and policies? How, from the perspective of government structures and hierarchies? I mean, yes, we definitely need – require – integrity among our government officials and the private sector as well, but that’s something perhaps outside the scope of this little column on supply chain.
Right now, though, one hopes that this current preoccupation results in truly meaningful change – change that does not just take a couple of prison sentences or resignations. We hope that the Independent Committee on Infrastructure illuminates us to what we can do to prevent these from happening in the future. And may we all have the patience to see that change through. This work is not supposed to end, but is continuous. This is not a race, but a marathon – a series of marathons.
Henrik Batallones is the marketing and communications director of SCMAP, and editor-in-chief of its official publication, Supply Chain Philippines. More information about SCMAP is available at scmap.org.
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