A great economic opportunity for the government

Media

Part of Philippine Armed Forces Journal

Title
A great economic opportunity for the government
Language
English
Source
Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume IX (No. 5) March 1956
Year
1956
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
A Great Economic Opportunity For The Government rate dollar-):;3\'inJ(' devices, C\'Cr)' kind of them. It \\'ill interest tax-payers to know just v.·hat steps are being taken by the government to •'f!duee public expenst>S for ¥overnment vehicles and equipment alone and ronservll dolla1~ in this rCJl'ard. P•·actically every govemm!.'nt •mtJt.~- operates vehicle• and ll~"!l various equipment. The Armed FMces, !he ACCFA, the NARRA and manv othe•· government offices use vehicles :J.!ld varied equipment. How i!> it possiblto to lengthen the \iff• of government vehicles and rquipment. prevent ,-:reatly the im portation of new ones, and yet increase locally the numbeJ· of goveJ·nment \'Chicles and equipment in operation'! AFP Base Shop A big step in the right direction was the activo.tion of the Armed Forces of th~-: Philippim:s Base Shop 011 Match I, 1954. The AFP Base Shop has ~Teat potentialitiei as a most enlightening part dollar save1 Situated on a 16-hecof the recent policy disagreements i~re Jot near Camp Murphy •long among the country's top economists Santola.n road, it boasts o( 15 tnod~ is the confirmation of the oft-expres- ern buildin~rs costing som..- 3·1/2 milsed verdict that the nation needs dol- lion pesos ,Jf Mutual Defe11se Assist.lar-saving activiti{'s. Too much dol ance Pact fundf;_ FurthermOI~ It has Jar reserves are slipping out' of the faci!iti~s, tools and equipment worth country. Over-importation, inade- H-1 '2 million pesos. These tools, faquate production, an'd unde1·--expor- cilifit.is and equipment are of:com tation ·are sapping the nation of MDAP, Japanese reparations, inacmuch - n~ded economic vitality. tivtetd technical service shops, and There is, as economists point out, an AFT' procm·ernent. The total investunbalanced trade; a disequilibrium in ment on the Shop is therefore around the e~·nthesiS of importation and ex- t'lO million. portati~ti, Under the command o( Colonel In layffian language., tbe nation Francisco H., t.icuanan, Jr.-, the AFP must conserve dollars. It must ore- Base Shop is to b4' considered the must modt:11r, Lig)ll'St ami most well- as»!.'mblies; and (!!) the Jst Ordn l'Q\lipped shop of its kind in the wholt: ance Classification and Reclamation country. It has the most <tualified Team which gathers r·eparable it.-ms personnel who have studied aLroacl 1rf l-<tuipmcnt from the Salvage Yard th" latest trend5 in their l'CStJective Naturt' lim~s. Then• al'c many modern t-quip· It must be known th11.t th .. A FP n•ent, tools, and facilities that can Base Shotl is not to be confined to lx: found only ill the Shop loca1lr. WOI'k in and for the Armed Forces. Working Units As mentioned abo\·e, it repail's and To know what the Shop can do, t·ebul\ds AFP vehiclt-R and othel· one need only conside1· its eight work- equipment r-anging from arms to llll' ing units: ( 1) the Hudquarters dical, dental and engine{'ring equipand Hea1ltiuarters Company which m{'!lt. But it is capabl<l lx:yond attends to administl·ative matters; those. 12) the Service Deparment which Realizing the tremendous capabilimaintains and services everrthiug ties of the Shop, President Magsayfrom minot installations to steel boil- say issued recently an executive efs anJ electric sub~tations of the order authorizing the Shop to do buShop; (3) the Armament Shop which sinetis with government and st~mi ­ provides .Jth and 5th echelon main- gonrnment agencies like th{' Na· tenancc SUI"JfJOl"t on all common typ{'S tiona! Rural Rehabilitation Adminof AFP arms; (4) the Heavy Equip- i!;tre.tion, the Social Welfare Admin ment Shop which repairs and rebuilds istration, the Department of EducaClJ!I-ineer equipment, assemblies, 11Uh- tion, the Manila Railroad Compan)', at>Sf"mblies and accessories; (5) the tht Department of Public Works and Manufacturing Shop which attends the Municipality of San Juan. to jobs ranginK fmm major repair In fact, the NARRA has already and rebuilding of vehicle bodies to ordered several 6x6 vehicles from the manufacturing of Storage batt<:ries; Shop at a cost of onl)' more than !'6,· (f>) the Miscellaneous Shop which 000 each. This kind of vehicle w-ould doe~ major repail· of signal, quarter. co~t the NARRA more than !'11,000 maste1·, medical and dental equip- each outside. FurthN·more, experiNatior1 u·hich need.~ every dollar·sauing agency it can create has moved in the right direction in establishin~ one such agent!/ in the Armed Forces of the Philippines ment; (7) the Automotive Shop ence shows that the vehicles and "!m:h unclf't"tak~:s major repair :1nd t-quipment p1·oduccd by the Shop are r<:building nf Vt'hiclcs, troth mihtar·y very durable, as attested for one by and commercial, anrt major vehicle the recent maneuvers of the 3rd h ;· fantry Division which employed dul'- of government agencies the Shop can eng the war games Shop-built vehicles prevent equipme~t b1·eakdown and and (>(tUipment. again save enormous taxpayers' Economic Role money and dollars. ' Clearly the A FP Base Shop has a Significantly the ShOJI is made-to vt•ry vital economic role. By supply· order for a major part in the impleong ,::-overnment agencies with vehi- mentation of the socio-economic prog des, equipment and other tools and rams of the government, especially facilities, much economy and conscr- President Ramon Magsaysay's progvation of dollars and pesos can be ram of an artesian well for every effected. By repairing and overhaul- barrio. The government has cstimaing as well as reinforcing equipment ted that to provide each of the more than 18,500 baJJ"ios in the country a well, len years and some f'I,073,000,000.00 w1ll be spent. If the Shop undertakes the production of decp-wPII (h·illers, the wells project will be comJllcled in only five years and at a much cheallCr price. Many other cqui JHncnt, like tractors and bulldozers, can be supplied by the Shop, in the same manner that it can hasten 111:1ny other economic projl'cts. ro ~a~• a bolonc.d S~op ro occomplis~ rll mruion ol reouilding all ryp•• a/ JtfP equopmenr rhe AFP 8o•e Shol'" dr•ided mro l»e Mojn S~ops 1>omely the Automoli~e Shop, rhe Heo•r fquipmenr Shop, rhe Ar momenl Shop, the Miocello1>eouo Shop al>d rhe Manulaclurrng Shop Photo oha~e ohowr •om• of rhe •hop• I I several million fH'SOS a year. At prelu PrNnd<.'nt Magsaysay'11 own sent tho· Shop is OJrt•ratinc- wrth onl} "'ord'l, tht· AFP RaSt> Shop 1.~ nnl' of a fi'/. workurg caprtal, or wrth the tht unrts of the AFP whrch is tht• p.)r)fl,UOO that Conc-rr•s!< had appro!t•ast knm•·n. least hcanl of and lt·ast priatcd for rt. Yet rt rs a fact that talkt«i about in l>Pih· df its gr~at by men·l~ •loubling th..- prl.'vtous upwork anti mwfulnf'SS. Thr• Pn·srdent ru-opr·i:nlfln irutrally, tht- goH·mnwnt srtrd the ShOJp is :<a\'111,1!: thousand:< of will ht· makinll:' a l'ery :>uuml mvt·!'.l J•t·so.~ for the (!:OVet·nmr•nt Ddrnsr• ml'nt hcrauso> th<- Shop is a monerSt•cretar r Eulogrn BaJa, and .1 US Jll·ot!ueillll: pr~lJ>Ositioor. MAG Chu•f Major G('ner·ul Wa~·nt Opportunrh Smith i.IC"Il'1.--d that th~· Shnl' 1~ !ruh Tht· Bas•· :)hop i.e: no" '"'" ~·l'al~ a dollaJ -savin~ ,1~cncy old. It rould h11V1· do1w mon· than Tht· Shop does not t'njoy th(· ll('CI'~- what 11 ha~ acco,mplisht•ri m tho~P -~;u ~ ~.>U ... ·nliOn al- w~:ll as Ol•('()('d I'UP- \WtJ )'f'U!'l-l had thl'rl' ~·u mnn· sup !ffill. The (act IS to be bcwailrd, h.· por-t fnr it. A,., 11 up.,l·att>- !I! tb r auSt·, f.!'IVCn b}' tht' govcrmll('ll\ from th1nl year, \h(' Sh<IJI pn•s••nt~ tr. lht• w to ;t.;•; workm)!' capital, thl' Shup g-uvonuncnt, mor>· than befm<', an '" cu[labl<· vf rnoducinj.! Jli'Oflts uf OJ-11Jill'lumty rm· ont· uf tho• ::oundcst WOI\I\ ESTIMATE REQUEST FLOW -1-----+_,~ II II I I mvestments it could ever make. costing some 6-1/2 million pesos, and The men and officers who .:ompose manned by personnel who arc the the Shop organization, said Rrig. most qualified cve1· in the country. Gen. Alfonso Arellano, are the fore- It is not in peak operation because runners of that group of technicians sufficient working capital is needed who wilt ]{'ad our industrial develop-. to turn aJ·ound the wheels of its huge ment - the industrialization of our machines. It is still waiting, Jikl' national economy. The United States our untapped natura l J'CSources, to government, in a gesture of magna- be- exploited. The opportunity fo1 nimity and concern, threw in some fully utilizing the Shop in the eco 10 million pesos of MDAP funds nomtc development of the country is which were used to underwrite the as ever open to the govet·nment. "Wtll Shop, said Defense Secretary Balao. th(• government avail of the rat·e or· port.unity - or, nonchalantly, lost· •• The Shop stands with its 15 plants eve ry yeat· money which could otheron th(• 16-heelare lot, equipped wise boo~t the im]ooverished naticmal w1th modern tools and equipment I'Conomy! ~XP~NDITURJ;: PROGRAM (1"500,000.~ 1\EVOlVING FUND) ~'lfALOIITLAY ,1o,ooo•• ·~ rE/ISONNELS~VIC~ ,Joo.ooo•• tOO'{, )