Of PPP codes and elevator rides

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio “Arsi” Balisacan, a marathoner, can run long distances, say a 42-kilometer marathon for hours on end. He has done it many times, in the Philippines and beyond.

It is perhaps such endurance of the mind – a must for every runner – that Sec. Arsi was able to patiently survive what he called his longest elevator ride.

Over breakfast recently after his regular morning run, Sec. Arsi shared with me and Louie Desiderio, who covers the NEDA beat, that memorable experience some two weeks ago.

It happened in the morning of March 21 at the sleek Mega Tower in Mandaluyong City. He was on his way to an important event, one he was really excited about – the signing ceremony for the implementing rules and regulations of the Public Private Partnership Code.

From the ground floor, where some members of his staff were waiting for him when he arrived at the building, he then proceeded to the elevator, along with ten other people – five staffers from NEDA and the rest, other tenants in the new office tower. They were headed to the 34th floor, the headquarters of the NEDA.

What was supposed to be an ordinary elevator ride turned out to be an unforgettable one when the lift suddenly stopped.

It stopped somewhere between time and space, somewhere between the universe and the 19th floor of the Mega Tower.

But there was no need to panic. Perhaps, it was just a slight delay. We might have experienced sudden elevator stops. But then seconds turned into minutes – two minutes, three minutes and then five minutes.

Sec. Balisacan, in his usual white office barong, still waited patiently but by then the group had already decided to press the emergency button. The good thing was that the speaker was working and there was a mobile phone signal. The light was working too and so was the exhaust fan, which allowed the air to circulate in the small space.

Through the speaker, building authorities were updating the group about what had happened. Initially, they were told, it seemed that there was a problem with the electronic system of that particular lift and that supposedly caused the stoppage.

But the bigger question was how they would finally get out.

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