NEWSFLASH

MMDA CHIEF BAYANI FERNANDO: I'M JUST THE CHIEF JANITOR

Manila, July 1, 2002 (STAR) By Perseus Echeminada - He is "just the chief janitor," so don’t ask the new chief of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for comment on burning political issues of the day.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando chose to be prudent when asked to react to opposition Sen. Edgardo Angara’s comment in a forum yesterday that the latest mix-up in the Cabinet was due to a plan that backfired.

"I cannot comment on politics. My concern is garbage and traffic. I am just the chief janitor," Fernando said.

Angara and Fernando were guests at the Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel forum in Quezon City, and neither cared to comment on the issues discussed by the other.

Angara spoke on political issues, in particular the underlying reasons for the firing and hiring of Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. as secretary of foreign affairs, while Fernando talked about his programs for garbage and traffic.

Angara said that Guingona was supposed to transfer to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to make the foreign portfolio available to opposition Sen. Blas Ople.

But he said the plan was mishandled and Malacañang had to revise its original intention to fire Guingona. He said the incident was an international embarrassment for the Arroyo administration.

Since there was no one in government on the panel save for Fernando, a reporter asked the MMDA chief to comment on Angara’s allegations.

"Baka mapahamak pa ako (I might get into trouble)," he said, preferring not to be drawn into a word war.

He said his priority is how to improve the traffic situation and collection of garbage in Metro Manila, which includes the use of the railway system to transport the trash and the clearing away of sidewalk vendors.

Fernando also said that he would review if the "color-coding" scheme being implemented in Metro Manila has been effective in reducing the volume of traffic in key thoroughfares.

"We want to know if the color-coding scheme helped reduce traffic," he said.

Angara was next asked to react to Fernando’s plans on garbage and traffic, but he returned the favor by refusing to comment.

"Garbage and traffic are not my expertise. I will leave that to Chairman Fernando," Angara said, adding he preferred to concentrate on the political subtext to the latest gaffe of the Arroyo administration.