Ulat sa Bayan

It has been seven months since we, your municipal officials, were elected to office, and six months since we assumed the responsibilities of our respective offices. For those who like to keep count, that leaves us two and a half years more to do the things we vowed to do.

Being asked to take stock after only six months in office is a duty that any reasonable official, aware of the temporal limits of a popular mandate, can only reasonably approach with alarm and not an insignificant amount of dread.

I must say that faced with the responsibility to give an accounting of the past, my first impulse is to tally the days, to deliver to you the number of seedlings planted, the patients seen, the goats dispersed, the disasters averted by our Assistance in Crisis Situations (AICS) fund. That accounting would probably be more accurate and yet, in a way, less true. Without data to plot them in a time series, few people would know what to make of them. Anyway, for those interested to see the absolute figures, our various heads of offices should make them available to anyone interested.

I guess people have not elected me to tally things up and deliver a scoreboard. So today I’ll speak of things that are foremost in my mind.

Finance
I was fortunate to assume office in July 2010 and find money in the treasury more than enough to tide the municipality for another half year. This, of course, speaks well of the fiscal prudence of our then outgoing mayor and made me resolve to maintain the same prudence with which former Mayor Deogracias Ramos Jr. handled the municipality’s account for many years.

As of December 31, 2010, our municipality has Php. 16,021,042.65 in net savings, partly because, here I plead guilty, I am a man naturally averse to parting with money. And also partly because, last year being an election year for barangay officials, I did not want the release of funds to be in lockstep with the barangay elections. I figure there would be plenty of time later to get barangay projects done once the election is over. I thought it prudent and wise for a first-term mayor to first observe the cash flow in the municipality during his first months before commiting huge amounts of money especially in an election year.

A review of the list of infrastucture projects I approved last year would show that they were mostly for small improvements in various schools, the biggest being the construction of covered canal at the Gubat North Central School, to drain the water perenially flooding the school’s playground and walkways.

I am happy to note that our collection from the public market has increased by a million pesos in 2010, now at Php. 3,444,665.50. Our effort at collecting the arrears of our market lessees is paying off. I hope that we will see the time when our public market will be self-liquidating, able to pay for its own operations and upkeep.

Health
We are taking significant strides in promoting the health of our mothers. Compared to last year 2009, more pregnant women received prenatal care in 2010, as confirmed by all the key indicators prepared by our rural health unit. Our lying-in clinic delivered 603 babies in 2010, a 22 % increase from 2009’s 494 deliveries, also a good sign that mothers are realizing the importance of delivering their babies in a a health care facility better able to safeguard the health of both the mother and the baby.

After they have given birth, more of our mothers are also receiving health care.

As some of you may have noticed, a significant number of our townsmen suffer from mental illnesses. Our Rural Health Unit, through the leadership of Dr. Anthony Lelis, has conducted trainings for our health care workers on how to best manage such patients. Next year, we will be extending the same training to the relatives of the patients themselves, to better equip them to take care of their kin.

However, our rural health unit is seeing more cases of tuberculosis, partly because of better efforts at diagnosis and, of course, owing to the highly infectious nature of the disease. It is essential therefore tha we redouble our efforts at combatting this pernicious disease that is sapping the energy of our people. We cannot afford to be complacent as a multi-drug resistant strain of TB is now in our municipality.

As I see it, our main task is to raise the health literacy of our people.Last year, we undertook a massive health awareness campaign in every barangay and selected schools. What is remarkable about this is that we carried out the campaign through the volunteer work of young nurses. This year, we hope to continue that effort.

The first semester of 2011, we are piloting a project that seeks to bring a health care worker in every barangay of the town. We are building a cadre of young nurses to promote community health. We are starting with a handful of barangays. If our pilot project works, we will be extending such program to all the barangays outside the poblacion.

All of this, we are doing to redirect our energies toward preventive health, which is more affordable for the muncipality. This should spare our townsmen from the sorrow of losing someone to diseases easily preventable had a health care worker been continually present to give advise and goad the sometimes recalcitrant patients.
Education
I have instructed all our principals and teachers to redirect the Special Education Fund (SEF) being extended by the municipality toward the maintenance and repair of our students’ classrooms, to see to it that the money is really directly spent for the welfare of the students.

We have also successfully concluded former Mayor Deogracias Ramos’s effort to donate the land currently being occupied by the Gubat National High School, ending the many years of the school’s being, for all intent and purposes, an informal settler.

This year we are launching a scholarship program for the incoming freshmen of the Gubat campus of the Bicol University. We will select deserving but poor students to be thoroughly vetted through competitive examination. We will also initiate a program, with the LGU serving as a conduit to private generosity, whereby private sponsors can adopt deserving pupils by providing a fixed stipend for the school year.

To give recognition to the hard work that our teachers are putting in the classroom every day of the school year, our Local School Board has also decided to search for an outstanding teacher in the municipality every year .
Agriculture
The abaca farmers of Barangays Bentuco, Tigkiw and Togawe now have a quick-drying machine for abaca, cutting down the hours invested in the production of abaca. This should significantly improve the work lives of our abaca farmers. The rice farmers of Bagacay also now have a dryer machine for palay, courtesy of the Department of Agriculture.
Our Municipal Agricultural and Fishery Council (MAFC) was also hailed as being the best in the Bicol region, a recognition of our farmers’ commitment and strength in organizing themselves and partnering with the local government to implement and supervise agricultural projects in the barangays .

We have also partnered with Bicol University in training farmers in agro-forestry, raising livestock, in this case goats, while cultivating trees on the side.

Infrastructure
This year, The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will be rolling out a Php 14 M project to open roads in Barangays Beriran, Carriedo and Sta. Ana, and bring irrigation for Barangays Manapao and Carriedo. It is very rarely that we see such a huge amount of fund invested in the barangay and to be managed, not by the muncipality, but by the barangay and thecommunity themselves. Our municipality will do its best to support the work being done in those barangays to ensure such an opportunity offered by the national government is not squandered.

Recognition
Our efforts here at the municipality did no go unnoticed outside. We were recognized as the best municipality in the second class income category in the Bicol region by the Department of Interior and Local Government using productivity and performace measurement systems devised by the department.

Our Sangguniang Bayan has also shifted to electronic paperless legislation, only the second in the country to do so, next to Misamis Oriental’s Municipality of Lugait. With the savings on the paper and the ink, our appropriation for office supplies of the Sanggunian was greatly reduced.


Future directions
We have some heavy planning to do this year. My attention has been recently called by the DILG that our Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) has not been updated since 1991, which is contradicted by our planning office which says we updated the plan in 2000. No matter. Whether the last updating was done in 1991 or 2000, the fact remains we need to update our land use plan this 2011. The CLUP is an important tool with which we could geographically direct the development of our town.

We also have to finalize our Executive and Legislative Agenda (ELA) to show the consensual priorities of our officials.
With all this planning to be done, important documents will need to be prepared, and we would need hard data on which to base our future projections . We need to have solid appreciation of current reality before we go on targetting the future. Planning, without updated information, is nothing more than gazing at the stars.

I will therefore ask the Sangguniang Bayan to reconsider the installation of the Community-based Monitoring System (CBMS), which is an organized way of collecting information at the local level especially geared toward the monitoring and achievement of the Millenium Dvelopment Goals (MDGs). If we have good information on the conditions of each barangay, we can achieve greater transparency and accountability in the decisions made by the barangay and the municipality with regard to resource allocation.

The heavy rains of the recent days showed us one direction toward which we must direct our municipality’s allocation of scarce resources. We need to face up to the times. We live in a changed world, whose meteorology is different from that of the past. We therefore need to climate change-proof our lives, to hope for the best but prepare for the extreme weather we are seeing with greater frequency. This year we are going to deploy our calamity fund for that preparation.

I am resolved to collect the arrears of our lessees in the public market. We cannot afford improvement in the market if we are not collecting anything. Our lessees are also reticent to suggest improvements because they don’t pay anyway. This can not go on.

Without the rent being considered as a regular cost of doing business, our lessees’ business decisions are suspect. An enterprise in denial of operational costs can not exist for long, and the municipality should not be propping up such an enterprise, prolonging the agony of our lessees when they could be applying their energies to something more suitable to their talent elsewhere.

If a business is operating for five to four years at a loss, as some of our lessees claim to be, and could not afford the very, very minimal rent they are oligated to pay, then it is the municipality’s moral duty to offer the market space to other people waiting in the wings. To my mind, it is a simple moral obligation of giving chance to others.

The improvement of our market is the most essential. We must realize our utmost commercial potential as a town, not only to improve the municipality’s treasury but to unleash the energies of our own people. I will therefore be asking our Sangguniang Bayan to pass a new market code in addition to the updating of our revenue code to revitalize our public market and better encourage investments in the municipality.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing that happened this year, which we do not usually take notice of is the string of successful elections we held. In our democracy, transitions of power have become so regular as to be unremarkable. And yet every successful election, every peaceful transition of power where one set of officials leave to transfer the reins of power to another, is a triumph that must be remarked upon and congratulated.

In our representative and republican democracy, the leadership of the officials and a genuine concern for the public good are an important, perhasp the most important, key to progress. And elections give us the power to determine the direction of that progress.

As for myself, let me say a few things. I harbor no ill will against anybody, and wish no harm to anyone. I am not plotting against anybody nor working for the particular interests of one. I am a free man, and, like all the officials here today, I trust that, this year, all will be working for the greatest good of the greatest number in our municipality.

Thank you and may God bless us all.

Why I oppose the P25,000.00 cash gift given to our municipal employees

Many people have formed a bad opinion about me because of my opposition to the Php. 25,000.00 cash gift (3.6 Million pesos in total) requested by the municipal employees, which was hastily approved by our Sangguniang Bayan and released by our vice-mayor while I was away on official business. Some say I am a miser, some say I am just plain mean.

Let me set things straight: By opposing the cash gift, I am also depriving myself of Php25,000.00 because I too was due to receive it as per the resolution passed by the Sanggunian, together with all the other elective officials in the municipality.

The reason I oppose the granting of the cash gift is that it is simply contrary to law. It violates Section 325 of the Local Government Code of 1991 which says:


Section 325. General Limitations. - The use of the provincial, city, and municipal funds shall be subject to the following limitations:

(a) The total appropriations, whether annual or supplemental, for personal services of a local government unit for one (1) fiscal year shall not exceed forty-five percent (45%) in the case of first to third class provinces, cities and municipalities....


The Municipality of Gubat's Personal Services (PS), meaning the total expenses for the payment of salaries, wages and other compensation , already exceeds 45% of the total annual budget. The granting of the Php25,000.00 cash gift further bloated the excess in the PS expenditures of the municipality by close to four million pesos.

What about the Php10,000.00 cash gift due to all government employees announced by President Aquino? The President's Administrative Order No. 3 says:


SECTION 4. PEI for Employees in LGUs. The grant of the one-time PEI to employees in LGUs, including those in barangay governments, shall be determined by the sanggunian depending on the LGU financial capability, subject to the Personal Services limitation in the LGU budgets under R.A. No. 7160....


It is very clear from the text of the President's AO No. 3 that the granting of a Php10,000.00 cash gift to LGU employees is still subject to the PS limit set by the Local Government Code. If an LGU has already exceeded the limit, as Gubat has, it should not grant even the Php10,000.00 cash gift mentioned by President Aquino, much less Php25,000.00.

The grant of the Php25,000.00 cash gift to our municipal employees, approved by our Sangguniang Bayan and released by our vice-mayor, is, therefore, contrary to law (not to mention the spirit of general austerity being laudably introduced by our president), and that is why I stand firm against it.

Wishing the best for Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi is free again. After seven years of house arrest imposed by the Burmese military junta, she is free again to walk outside her lakeside home and resume her work building the democratic movement in Burma.

As the many Burma observers keep pointing out, we have been at this same juncture before. The military junta has in the past released Suu Kyi only to have her re-arrested again. News reports say her latest release is unconditional, but she is free only at the pleasure of the junta and could be re-arrested anytime.

I sincerely wish and hope that Suu Kyi will not be re-arrested, and the other 2,000 political prisoners be released from Insein prison. What is so sad about Burma is that because of this political struggle, many young people, perhaps the country's very brightest, lost their youth. Instead of plotting their future career paths, they are languishing in jail, driven to exile abroad, or killing time in a refugee camp in Chiang Mai. If you are interested to know some of their stories, you can read Christina Fink's Living Silence.

It is very, very sad. Personally, no other international issue affects me more than Burma's struggle for democracy. It is, for me, Southeast Asia's greatest issue of our time. The ASEAN can not move forward as one regional bloc that could discuss such issues as,say, a regional currency, without resolving once and for all the Burma impasse. Suu Kyi will have to face the question of what to do with international trade sanctions against Burma. The Wall Street Journal reports today that she has given signals she might be revising her thinking on that matter.

I heard Suu Kyi being interviewed and she said she's having a hard time deciding how to connect to younger generations and to the world: Facebook or Twitter. It is nice -and oddly comforting - that after many years of being cut off from the world by a brutal military, The Lady who is the world's most inspiring advocate for democracy and human rights is now dealing with questions as mundane as what social network to register to.

we are all keeping our fingers crossed as we hope for the best for Burma(and those status updates to come soon from Aung San Suu Kyi).

The difficult life of a teetotaler

Last night, I was at the oath-taking of the officials of the Barangay Defense System (BDS) and after the short program, an old lady approached and reproached me repeatedly for being so young. I kept answering: Thank you, it's a compliment. Gaining no traction with her harangue, she then asked me for money to buy a bottle of gin. She was incredulous I didn't have cash. All the while I was thinking, "Shouldn't she be home knitting and minding her liver?"

It is a real health concern: Some heavy drinkers are afflicted with Hepatitis B (see information on the disease from the Mayo Clinic here), and because they never got tested for the disease, are unknowingly inflicting further damage to their livers by drinking alcohol.

One of the hazards of being a mayor is that you invariably get asked for money to buy alcohol, sometimes by people who obviously have had so much to drink already. During the election campaign, I was initially torn about the subject of alcohol. Personally, I could live without it. The Taliban could take over the Philippines tomorrow and I won't be pining for beer.

One classmate who operated a sari-sari store before simply refused to sell alcoholic drinks and cigarettes. She was not Muslim or Iglesia, but as a matter of principle simply refused to sell those items.

Job Opening: Market Supervisor

Gubat Public Market
Gubat, Sorsogon

Salary Grade 18


Requirements

1.Bachelor’s Degree preferably in, but not limited to, business-related disciplines.2.Proficient or at least familiar with major office applications, especially Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel or similar equivalent programs.3. With initiative to undertake innovative projects with minimal supervision.4. Able to work with people from all walks of life.5. Excellent communication skills.6. Ability to develop alternative solutions to problems & reach decisions.7. Civil Service eligible.

Responsibilities

1. Supervise the operations and activities within the public market pertaining to sanitation and orderliness.
2. Implement market code and other ordinances/existing rules and regulations.
3. Supervise “Market Day” and assure that the related ordinance is properly implemented.
4. Formulate and, subject to the approval of the Local Chief Executive, implement programs, plans and activities to enhance the efficiency of the operation of the public market.
5. Perform such other duties and functions as may be delegated by higher authorities from time to time.


For applications, please fax to (056) 311 7962 or e-mail to aidamendivil@yahoo.com and/or ronnel@gmail.com. You can also send your applications directly to Ms. Aida Mendivil, Human Resources Manager, at the municipal hall. Applications will be accepted until October 25, 2010. Examination and panel interview to be scheduled after October 25. Successful applicant to to begin November.

Will blog again

I met Dr. Alvin Marcelo of UP-PGH and he asked me if I blog and he casually remarked I should blog my observations. He didn't know that I was once an assiduous blogger.

I promise to blog again once I get somebody to help me in the office so I could have some time to write. These days, when I arrive at home, I'm so beat I could do nothing else but lie down and sleep. I really think I should blog again and transform this blog into a local government-centered blog.

The president's power over the national budget

Much is made of the power of Congress to make appropriations, but really the power is with the president. After the sound and the fury of the congressional hearings, after the General Appropriations Act has been published, the president can simply impound what she doesn't want released, declare the unappropriated money as savings and then use that savings to meet expenditures she likes.

News reports say that Congress has finally curtailed this power of the president by including a provision in the recently passed budget expressly forbidding the president from impounding funds. The president is now in a Catch-22 situation. If she vetoes that provision, she confirms her malicious intent on the budget all those past years; if she does not veto it, she would in effect be curtailing the power of (possibly) President Noynoy Aquino in preparation for her being Speaker of the House.

The Filipino films that were

I don't know if Sky Cable carries the channel but at over at Destiny Cable, there's a new channel called GPC (Global Pinoy Channel)which is having a test broadcast--and is showing some wonderful Filipino movies.

Last night, when I accidentally tuned into it, there was Nora Aunor, pre-Flor Contemplacion, playing an abused maid. Tonight, I caught Celso Ad Castillo's Ang Alamat ni Julian Makabayan in medias res with Christopher de Leon playing an inchoate communist agitating for agrarian reform and suffrage. The movie has such gorgeous shots of Philippine countryside of Nueva Ecija.

Himala starring Nora Aunor has recently been honored in Australia as the best Asian-Pacific film, besting Kurosawa, Ang Lee and Wong Kar Wai (even Himala's writer Ricky Lee was incredulous). I think it's a signal time that we should all rediscover the best of Philippine cinema.

Are you Eco Active?

Wear Green and come to the UP Diliman Eco Active Day

DECEMBER 2, 2008
UP Diliman Grandstand
*Registration starts 8 am

Mini Program (8:30-11:30am) featuring award-winning environmentalists Ms. Chin-chin Gutierrez and Mr. Von Hernandez of Greenpeace

Go Renewable March (2:30-4:00pm) with the Firefly Brigade, Miss Earth candidates, E-Jeepneys, Padyaks and more Ban the Styro Human Formation (4:00-5:30 pm) at the UP Sunken Garden

Eco Active is a project of the University Student Council (USC), uniting all environment protection efforts in the University, and promoting practice of a greener lifestyle towards a more sustainable UP Diliman.

For more information, visit http://iamecoactive.multiply.com

What to do

Here's Paul Krugman, writing for the New York Review of Books, on what to do to avert the next financial crisis:

...anything that has to be rescued during a financial crisis, because it plays an essential role in the financial mechanism, should be regulated when there isn't a crisis so that it doesn't take excessive risks. Since the 1930s commercial banks have been required to have adequate capital, hold reserves of liquid assets that can be quickly converted into cash, and limit the types of investments they make, all in return for federal guarantees when things go wrong. Now that we've seen a wide range of non-bank institutions create what amounts to a banking crisis, comparable regulation has to be extended to a much larger part of the system.

Interestingly, he is also advocating long-term restriction in the movement of international capital flows, saying that the lesson learned during the Asian crisis (i.e. shoring up foreign exchange reserves) is not enough.

Huli man at magaling maihahabol din?

Now, Former Speaker De Venecia is talking. Had he done this earlier, when he was being forcibly removed from the leadership of the House, we probably would have seen another president booted from Malacanang. But now, with almost just a year before the national elections, people might not be in the mood to shake things up. Why bother to forcibly remove the president when she will surely disappear in a year's time?

De Venecia should have fought earlier and showed all he's got instead of delivering that soliloquy at the floor which only betrayed his age. Machiavelli said that fortune is a woman and she favors the adventurous than the cautious. "She is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with more audacity command her."

I have always felt that if one were to fall, one must fall with all guns a-blazing. (This brings to mind a film I want to recommend which gloriously illustrates the point: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.) Had De Venecia fought back earlier, he probably would still have fallen, but he would have had the satisfaction of seeing the whole House of Representatives fall down with him. If the president ruined his legacy as a great consensus-builder, why not be remembered as a great destroyer instead? As Abraham Lincoln said, great men of history build things, but lacking an opportunity to build, must destroy. De Venecia had a glorious chance to destroy, but he blew it.

Is Somali piracy a retaliation for toxic waste dumping?

For quite sometime now owing to the presence of many Filipino sailors, we have been hearing all about the tanker ships being commandeered by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. According to the International Maritime Bureau, 61 attacks by pirates have been reported since the start of the year. Now a new angle of the story has appeared: the pirates are hijacking the ships and asking for ransom to partially pay for the cleanup of toxic waste being regularly dumped off the coast of Somalia.

The UN envoy for Somalia confirmed that toxic waste dumping does happen and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says that when the tsunami hit in 2004, rusting containers of toxic waste were washed ashore. UNEP says that "Somalia has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste starting in the early 1990s, and continuing through the civil war there."

Al Jazeera has this very interesting story here.

You know you are getting old when...

you go to a club and, instead of a condom as a freebie, you get a free tablet for arthritis, as we did get last night when we went to RJ TV bar on Jupiter Street, Makati. We all had such a good time, although half of the time I was dancing to tunes I never heard before in my life.

I've always wanted to go to RJ for so long, until last night we finally had an excuse as a colleague from the US was in town. If you want to have good clean fun and enjoy a trip down memory lane to the good old days of rock'n roll, RJ Bar is for you. And since smoking is not allowed inside, you wont get home with emphysema to aggravate your arthritis.

Job opening: ChemSafe Program Coordinator

The EcoWaste Coalition is looking for a part-time staff person who will facilitate and oversee the implementation of the five-month program dubbed as Enhancing Consumer Knowledge and Action towards Chemical Safety or ChemSafe.

The ChemSafe program aims to launch a creative awareness-building efforts on the safe and ecological alternatives and strengthen the awareness of civil society groups towards chemical safety advocacies and appropriate policy development.

Responsibilities:

1.Organize a national NGO/CSO workshop on "Chemical Safety: Protecting the Filipino Consumers from Toxic Harm".
2.Organize public information, education and communication (IEC) activities on chemical safety issues.
3.Prepare IEC materials and press releases.
4.Liquidate project expenses and prepare necessary reports.
5.Participate in strategic meetings on chemical safety issues and policy development.


Job requirements:

* With experience in environmental, health and related work, either as staff or volunteer
* With leadership qualities and "people skills"
*Good oral and written communication skills, including writing of press releases and reports
* With project management skills
* Knowledge of financial management and financial report preparation
* Proven ability to work independently and in close coordination with a team
* Ability and willingness to travel


To apply, please send your resume to Rei Panaligan at ecowastecoalitionATyahooDOTcom not later than 18 November, 2008. For inquiries, please contact the EcoWaste Coalition at 9290376 or 09209062348.

Red Cliff

You should not miss Red Cliff (see Wikipedia entry about the film here), John Woo's first Chinese film after he went to Hollywood and did titles such as Mission Impossible and Face/Off. The film stars Tony Leung, Takeshi kaneshiro and Zhao Wei (from So Close).



Even sans flying, the fight scenes are superior, as can be expected from John Woo. The story is akin to that of the Trojan War, with talk about the need for a balance of power. The second part of the movie is coming in December and I can barely wait to see the second part. See trailer below:

She reached for the stars and fell back to earth

Senator Miriam Santiago really really wanted to be at the International Court of Justice. But she lost her bid and now she's back to the muck of the Senate where she has to share space with obviously lesser mortals.

So what went wrong? Several news reports said her election was assured as nine members of the Security Council gave written promises of support. But Senator Santiago said only five ultimately supported her; the other four reneged.

The reason for Sen Santiago's failed bid is simply our country's lack of political clout in the international community. And we were beaten by Somalia no less.

Why is this so? Because President Arroyo is perceived as weak in the international community. Even ASEAN, our very neighbors, almost brothers to us, did not solidly support Sen Santiago's bid. Utterly unacceptable. If we can not expect ASEAN to help us, who will? Now, we hear even Barack Obama does not return the calls of President Arroyo.

We as a country do not actively collect IOU's from other countries. When another country asks us a favor, we just do it. Despite the high calibre of our foreign service officers, it's embarrassing that we don't have a foreign policy. We never find a treaty we don't like(except the Rome Statute which we didn't sign because US told us not to). People in our embassies, demoralized as they are by events back home, just attend cocktails and wait for a Filipina maid to be executed to get busy doing what Filipino diplomats do best: supplicate.

Senator Santiago, in the greater karmic logic of the universe, is also not blameless. A justice in the ICJ is supposed to uphold the law. In her analysis of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, she said the treaty was unlawful and yet she championed it in the Senate nonetheless. In pushing for the JPEPA, she played power politics to her advantage. But at the United Nations, other countries played power politics on her and, this time, she lost.

Dos Palmas in Batangas

Dos Palmas, that resort of the Abu Sayaff kidnapping fame, is now operating a resort in Isla Verde, Batangas. It's quite a nice place and there are still very few people. The resort is still sort of on trial mode (soft launching was four months ago) so some amenities are not yet available, but, guests can snorkel and dive all they want. During the weekdays we were there, we had the place all to ourselves. The people are very friendly and the assistant cook (from Camarines Sur)was a wild dancer.

The blogger from Malaysia

In case you don't know it yet, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has been blogging for some time now, commenting on the many political issues in Malaysia and continuing his crusade against Anwar Ibrahim. The blog, www.chedet.com, has legions of fans and Mahathir even finds time to respond to comments, I'm told. New York Times's Seth Mydans has a write-up on Mahathir's blog, Malay Blogger Fights a System He Perfected.

Given the insecure state of freedom of speech in Malaysia, I often wonder what would happen if Mahathir gets arrested for his blog posts. It would definitely make for some riveting political drama.

What is your favorite film from Asia-Pacific?

CNN's Screening Room is having an online poll for the "favorite Asia Pacific movie of all time." The winner will receive the CNN APSA Viewers Choice award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards on November 11.

From the Philippines, there's Ishmael Bernal's Himala, which, really, is probably the best Filipino movie of all time, although Oro, Plata, Mata comes close. But judging from the stampede that happened at UP when its sequel premiered at the UP Film Center, Scorpio Nights is close to many Filipino hearts (or loins). (I also saw the Korean remake of Scorpio Nights and it is also quite good, but not many Filipino have seen it.)

Among the nominated films for the poll, the two best for me are Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express. I can still vividly remember the communal awe of the audience at the theater when Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi started leaping over walls and fighting for the possession of Chow Yun Fat's sword. Chungking Express is also a gem of a movie, Wong Kar Wai's best work before his artistry got the better of him and he started producing smoky films with extended soundtracks.

Infernal Affairs is also really good. I liked it so much I refuse to this day to watch Scorsese's The Departed, its Hollywood remake.

Recto's racist remark

NEDA Secretary Ralph Recto could have just said Secretary Margarito Teves was tired after a long day. It would have been perfectly understandable. But instead he explained Secretary Teves's prematurely telling President Arroyo of a US$ 10 B World Bank support fund by saying that the latter was probably confused who the white guy he was talking with in Washington DC. After all, according to Secretary Recto, "They're Caucasians and they look alike."

I think such a comment is racist. You often hear it from wisecrackers who dismiss Asians. There are even some people who seriously suspect that this "they all look alike anyway" mentality also partly explains why the United States chose to drop the atomic bomb in Japan and not in Germany.

I bet Secretary Recto would also feel bad if Caucasians confuse him with, say, Secretary Romulo Neri, his predecessor at NEDA, when he goes abroad. We don't like it when we hear Caucasians say we Asians all look alike. We also should not say it about them. Because, truth of the matter is, Caucasians don't look anywhere alike. One would have thought Secretary Recto knew better.

Charge it on the general's card

This is the second time a general's wife is travelling with too much cash. First, there was General Garcia's wife; now, there's Gen. Eliseo de la Paz, his wife and P6.93 M in St Petersburg. In what seems to be an overreaction especially given Secretary Puno's assurance that nothing was irregular, Gen. Verzosa is suspending all foreign travel by our police. What if there's an important urgent foreign travel that needs to be done?

Really, the solution to this "contingency fund" problem is simple. The PNP should issue an expense account credit card for the the generals travelling. That way, all expenses are easily accounted for and no need to carry too much cash.

Mikee Arroyo breaks rank with Malacanang

Funny thing happened the other day. We were approaching congressmen at the House to have them sign a petition asking the Austrian parliament to cancel an onerous incinerator loan. The petition was launched by Cong. Edcel Lagman and Cong. Risa Hontiveros-Baracquel a week ago. Guess who agreed to sign it? Mikee Arroyo.


President Arroyo vetoed the cancellation of payment for that loan in the 2008 national budget.

Job opening

Wanted: News Researcher

GMA News Research's primary task is to beef up the content of GMA News and Public Affairs programs with comprehensive and accurate information. We provide daily research support and generate content for GMA-7 and QTV-11 newscasts including Balitanghali, 24 Oras, News-on-Q and Saksi.

We are looking for a news researcher.

Responsibilities:

* Attend to research requests from news reporters, writers, and producers
* Write, edit and upload content to an electronic database of reference materials
* Generate supplementary content for GMANews.TV, GMA Network's official news website
* Write special reports for GMANews.TV and produce stories for the newscasts
* Train and mentor new researchers

Qualifications:

* Experience in working for a media organization or related field
* Bachelor's degree in social sciences or related fields
* Excellent general knowledge
* Strong interest in news and current events
* Strong research and writing skills
* Ability to gather, understand and interpret data
* Internet and social media savvy
* Knowledge in website creation and maintenance
* Unfazed by multi-tasking and able to work under time pressure
* Avid reader
* Willingness to learn

If you'd like to apply, kindly e-mail your resume to epeder@gmanetwork.com. For more info about GMA News Research, please visit www.gmanews.tv/research/about.

What does the Bible say about contraceptives?

No, there is no mention of condoms and the IUD in the Bible.

There is, of course, the first ever command uttered by God to man to go forth and multiply, but arguably with more than 6 billion people in the world (spewing greenhouse gases and destroying the environment), that directive has already been accomplished. God killed Onan for coitus interruptus, but also arguably he probably was killed not for his pioneering the withdrawal method but because of his shirking of the responsibility under Levirate marriage to raise a child for his brother with his brother's widow.

Marriage, the Bible says, is for the raising of children but Proverbs 5:18-19 also instructs the couple to delight in each other without mentioning children (so probably it's okay for a married couple to have sex even if they don't plan a pregnancy anytime soon).

As in many other issues, the Bible is not really explicit in its condemnation of contraceptives and most Filipinos probably do not find the responsible use of contraceptives by a married couple morally reprehensible. They probably are railing against the RH bill not so much for the bill itself as for the suspicion that it might usher in down the road legalized abortion, which is universally detested in the country even by, surprisingly, the feminists. I once saw an interview of Cong. Liza Masa and she says she personally does not countenance abortion. This is, of course, quite surprising because you would expect a feminist to say it's all up for the individual woman to decide.

Targeted charity for the deserving

It was quite weird to see last night a representative from the Catholic charity organization Caritas criticized the government's Ahon Pamilyang Pinoy program for being, he said, a dole-out to the country's poor. After all, isn't charity, by definition, nothing more than a dole-out?

The government's plan, with DSWD Secretary Cabral as the implementor, is to allocate some fifty billion pesos to be handed out in increments to 300,000 poor families in the poorest provinces as reward for the good school attendance of their children.

What makes this plan good? The government will be able to target its subsidies to the deserving poor. By rewarding school attendance of the children, the government is not so much doling out money as making an added investment on the education of the country's poorest, which has the happy consequence of increasing the country's future productivity. This is an infinitely more effective way to use public money than, say, price supports.

Again, of course, there is the dreaded possibility of scheming thieves in the government running away with the money. But taken in itself, the Ahon Pamilyang Pinoy is a good reasonable plan that could work.

The national health budget and the debt issue

The People Against Illegitimate Debt* Health Care Without Harm*Eco Waste Coalition*Freedom from Debt Coalition*Philippine Heart Center

In celebration of the World Health Day

Invite you to a forum on the


The National Health Budget and the Debt Issue

(the case of the Austrian medical waste project)


April 8, Tuesday, 9:00-11:30 AM
Atrium 1, 8th Floor, Medical Arts Building
Philippine Heart Center, Quezon City



Please confirm your attendance to

Yhet Garcia
Eco Waste Coalition
929-0376 / 0918-5023659
yhetski_1114ATyahooDOTcom


Ronnel Lim
Health Care w/o Harm
928-7572 /0918-9850130
ronnelATgmail.com

The music of the Beach Boys

If you're like me, you probably know the Beach Boys only from their song Kokomo. Since summertime has come I was looking for some new music to listen to and I got the collected hits of the Beach Boys called The Sound of Summer. And now I'm extremely glad I did because I discovered songs I really really like. Everybody should check out the the premonition of coming danger in the song Don''t Worry Baby, the nostalgic looking forward to adulthood in When I Grow Up (to be a man), and the declaration of needful love in God Only Knows.

God Only Knows is probably in the top five of my all-time favorites. Honestly, it's number one in my list now. Here's why:

I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
Ill make you so sure about it

God only knows what Id be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me

Nominations for the Civil Courage Prize

Nominations for the Civil Courage Prize are now being accepted to honor persons who have fought for civil rights in various parts of the world.

"The Prize of $50,000 honors steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk. It has been awarded annually since 2000 by The Train Foundation (formerly known as the Northcote Parkinson Fund)." - quote taken from Imprisoned in China for 15 Months for Aiding North Korean Defectors available at http://www.civilcourageprize.org/press-release-2007.htm

Deadline for nominations: March 3, 2008

More details below:

http://www.civilcourageprize.org/nominations.htm
http://www.civilcourageprize.org/about-prize.htm

Erap chooses sipag at tyaga

If he were forced to make a choice today and assuming he has the clout to do it, it is very obvious President Estrada would choose Senator Many Villar as the opposition's standard bearer. During last week's trip to Bataan, the hometown of Villar's mother, Estrada said Villar is the "better candidate,'" although he hadn't made up his mind yet on who to support in 2010.

There is, however, also talk in the media that Sen. Mar Roxas wants Estrada's support in 2010, some of the media reports quoting Roxas as intending to invite Estrada to his hometown too in the Visayas although "much later."

Plenty can happen before 2010, but Villar seems to be the natural inevitable choice for Estrada. Like many gamblers, Estrada likes supporting the llamado from the start, and no one is more llamado than Villar now, not only because Villar has the best popularity ratings but also because he has a fortune to spend in a close race.

Mar Roxas, I guess, could still persuade Erap to support him, but it is difficult to see how he could manage to do it. Estrada's camp is too different in style and disposition to Mar Roxas's camp that it is difficult to engineer their effective coalition. They simply don't jibe, walang kemistri. Picture this: Erap's drinking bouts with buddies versus the Liberal Party's cocktails with piped-in music.

And Roxas has an obvious problem building bridges: To become the president of the Liberal Party, he had to oversee its meiosis and have the issue brought to the Supreme Court for resolution. It could very well be the fault of Sec. Lito Atienza that the two wings of the Liberal Party don't get along together (perhaps all those Hawaiian shirts made the old man too ornery), but democratic politics, sadly, is all about addition. The more people you have on board, the more people there are to vote for you.

Singapore with a happy ending

Singapore is supposed to be a nanny paternalistic state, affluent, dull and uninteresting. Well, it may be that, but at least some of its establishments are refreshingly honest and frank:

BJ Massage is near the Geylang District and just a few meters away from the Kallang train station.

Of course, when talking about Singapore, there is no way of skirting the obligatory polemic on the so-called Asian values. All I can say is that it's mostly hogwash. Men are ruttish wherever you go. And in Singapore that's the most ironically comforting thought of human solidarity I have ever had.

Religion and the formation of new publics

RELIGION AND THE FORMATION OF NEW PUBLICS:
A Mid-term International Conference

January 24 - 25, 2008
University of Santo Tomas
Espana, Manila

For the first time, an international conference on the sociology of religion will occur in the Philippines. “Religion and the Formation of New Publics: A Mid-term International Conference” will be held on January 24-25, 2008 (Thursday – Friday). This international conference will be hosted by the oldest Catholic university in Asia, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Manila.

The speeches and sessions of this conference intend to draw attention to the role of religion in fostering these “formations of new publics,” as the impact of religion goes beyond the boundaries of its accepted turfs and forges new bonds, aspirations and problem-solving perspectives in society. This international conference is organized by the International Sociological Association (ISA) - Research Committee (RC 22) on Sociology of Religion and the Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion (PASR) in cooperation with UST’s Institute of Religion (UST-IR).

RC22 was founded “with the intention of opening up a broader range of opportunities for participation in the activities of the ISA in the field of the Sociology of Religion.” For more information about ISA and RC22, go the ISA Home Page at http://www.isa-sociology.org

PASR aims to pioneer the institutional practice of the sociology of religion in the Philippines through research, publications, conferences, and forging international linkages. This professional association also intends to bring the sociology of religion and its broader implications on cultures and social worlds to public awareness.

PASR members come from the ranks of the different disciplines in the academe, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), all motivated by the interest to explore the dynamics of religion in the different facets and areas of Philippine society. PASR’s Founding President is Prof. Esmeralda F. Sanchez, Ph.D. (faculty, UST-IR). The other Founding Board Members of PASR are the following: Vivencio O. Ballano, M.A.; Emmanuel D. Batoon, M.A.; Patria Gwen M.L. Borcena, M.A.; Emanuel C. De Guzman, M.A.; Alon D. de los Reyes, M.A. Cand.; Eduardo M. Domingo, Ed.D.; Cristita A. Mallari, M.A.; Virgilio A. Rivas, M.A.; Manuel Victor J. Sapitula, M.A.; and Precious E. Velasquez.

Prof. Bryan S. Turner, PhD. will deliver the ISA-PASR Conference’s key note address, “Public Space and Social Conflict: Some Sociological Approaches.” Dr. Turner was a former professor of sociology at the University of Cambridge (1998 - 2005) and is currently professor of sociology in the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS).

During this international conference, sociologist Prof. Emma Porio, Ph.D. (faculty, Ateneo’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology), as a Member of ISA’s Executive Committee, will give the opening remarks. One of the Plenary Speakers, anthropologist Jesuit priest Fr. Albert Alejo, S.J., Ph.D. (Director, Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue, Ateneo de Davao) will be give a talk about “Religion and Corruption in Philippine Church and Society.”

Participants from the Philippines are required to pay the Conference Fee which covers the conference kit and meals for 2 days. The fees are as follows: PhP 3,500.00 for residents of Metro Manila and PhP 3,000.00 for residents outside Metro Manila. Registration will begin at 8 in the morning of January 24 (Thursday) at the Thomas Aquinas Research Center (TARC), UST, Espana, Manila. Other information about the upcoming ISA-PASR Conference 2008 (i.e. Conference Programme) and other activities of PASR are available in the following website, www.pasronline.org

Where are the engineers and scientists?

A letter to the Inquirer's editor by Flor Lacanilao, a retired professor of marine science at the University of the Philippines, has this to say:

"The rapid growth of China is not surprising because so many Chinese leaders are scientists and engineers by training,” a science publication noted in its Dec. 7, 2007 editorial. Whereas in our country, even leading officials of the National Research Council of the Philippines, National Academy of Science and Technology, and the Department of Science and Technology have been mostly nonscientists.

The problem, however, is that our present scientists and engineers are just not interested in government or anything else outside the confines of their own narrow professional field. If scientists/engineers are not heading the National Research Council or the Department of Science and Technology, they only have themselves to blame if you ask me.

In a democracy where the ultimate arbiter in the allocation of resources are the people, power and position are to be fought for; they cannot be expected to be handed down to our scientists by an all-knowing central committee. If scientists and engineers want to head agencies or occupy public office, they must first offer themselves in the public sphere, declare themselves available so to speak by engaging in the conversation of governance.

Most of our scientists, however, are too condescending to bother themselves with such mundane things as explaining themselves to the people. For instance, during a heated public dispute at the DENR with regard to a particular set of emission tests, one senior scientist, a vice-president of a national professional organization, haughtily declared she wouldn't want to talk with the opposing panel because she would be talking "way above their heads." Even the great Richard Feynman took the trouble of explaining science to the masses.

Our scientists and engineers are now marginalized because they are uncomfortable in a democratic setting where their ideas have to be argued and vetted publicly, and judged by people whom they consider are their intellectual inferiors. I once heard Sen. Pimentel complaining that one of the reasons why the government is not supporting local science is that when scientists come to the Senate to promote their projects, they are incomprehensible - plus, they dress and look weird.

As long as our scientists don't address this handicap, we will never see more of the likes of Engr. Bayani Fernando or Dr. Juan Flavier in the public sphere.

The miserable treatment we get from our own people

Chief Justice Panganiban for two consecutive columns now (read here and here)in the Inquirer has been writing on the miserable treatment OFW's get from the POEA. The first one was triggered by his daughter's problems getting an exit clearance during the holidays. Panganiban admitted, rather embarrassingly, that he had to personally seek the help of Secretary Brion just so his daughter would not miss the flight back to the US.

Imagine yourself at the airport, your flight three hours away and you are informed haughtily by the almighty civil servants of the POEA/OWWA that sorry you have to line up at the EDSA Office for a clearance.

Apparently, even if you are a direct hire (meaning you didn't go through an employment agency or the POEA), you still had to go to POEA and seek clearance. According to POEA Administrator Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, the POEA processes are required to monitor the OFW's and facilitate helping them in time of crises. Noble objective really, but is a waiver of government support available somewhere for those who need to catch a flight?

If it's any consolation, Luli Arroyo also got the same shabby treatment from people at the airport so the grumpiness of the people there is just about fairly distributed (unless, of course, you're white, but that's another story).

Tearing up in a campaign

Most polls projected Hillary Clinton as bound to lose the New Hampshire primary bigtime, with Obama leading her as far as thirteen points, capitalizing on the massive momentum he got in the Iowa caucus. But thanks to an emotional moment where Clinton almost cried when asked how she manages to muster the energy and who does her hair (see Youtube video here), the women voters rallied for her and made her the winner in New Hampshire.

According to some, the emotional Clinton on the verge of tears looked so genuine she must have rehearsed that moment for hours. The woman won a Grammy before for the audio version of her book and now should be up for an Oscar: Who else could choke up and still manage to stay on message?

Richard Nixon realized the great political value of such lachrymal displays. In order to secure the nomination for Eisenhower's vice-presidency, he cried and hugged the general in public. Crying in public is so effective Nixon claimed he never cried in private.

Women against Hillary

Hillary Clinton has always tried to project herself as the champion of women. She has ads with her mother and daughter, she appears most often with women in discussions, when she got clubbered in the debate she sought solace at Wellesley College complaining that the men are piling up on her. But in Iowa it is said the women went for Obama instead. (One reason I guess is the attraction to Obama by some women like Youtube's Obama girl.) Why do some women not like, even loathe, Hillary Clinton?

Many years ago, I met a Chinese American lady who was denouncing Hillary Clinton so vehemently one would think Clinton was guilty of murder or some unspeakable heinous crime. Clinton, she said, is so ambitious and doesn't know where her proper place should be.

In the now infamous video footage one septuagenarian woman also asked John McCain "How do we beat the bitch?" McCain didn't ask back who was the bitch the old lady was referring to but just laughed. Watching that video, I couldn't help but think how could women be so cruel to other women. Perhaps women didn't so much need to be free from the tyranny of men as they need to be free from the vile opinion of their very own sex.

Some products I recommend

Since it's the holiday season, let me indulge my consumerism and recommend some products I find good and worth buying:

1. Tom's of Maine Natural Deodorant Sticks
The deodorant sticks from Tom's of Maine do not contain aluminum and no artificial fragrance. There is really no solid scientific proof, as far as I know, that says aluminum is bad in deodorants, but better to err on the side of caution. Besides, I believe that armpits are supposed to sweat so I only use deodorants not anti-perspirants. Tom's of Maine does the job and you can rub it in without worrying if aluminum will trigger your future Alzheimer's.

Tom's of Maine products available in Shopwise and Rustan's. Never buy it in Healthy Options because it's overpriced there.

2. Kirkland fish oil

Newsweek had an article before which interviewed 5 medical experts on the forefront of research on geriatrics and, if I remember correctly, three of them are personally taking fish oil pills plus a multivitamin daily. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's medical correspondent who has recently written Chasing Life: New Discoveries in the Search for Immortality to Help You Age Less Today, also has started taking fish oil pills after he has interviewed experts on the subject in the course of his writing the book. Here's some information on fish oil fatty acids from the US National Institutes of Health.

There are many fish oil pills available. Some are very expensive. Buy the Kirkland brand. Consumer Reports did a survey of various fish oil pills and ranked it as the best and free from mercury. Kirkland is also the cheapest at around 800 pesos per bottle of 400.

3. Jason natural fragrance-free daily shampoo

Free of parabens, harsh chemicals, dyes, and fragrance, it still does what a shampoo is supposed to do: wash your hair. The nice thing I like about this is that it has no smell so you don't end up a walking advertisement for the shampoo you are using.

4. Bench styling stick
Bench has a winner in this. It's not a gel, not a pomade, not a cream, but it works well and does not leave your hair stiff and shiny. It's also easier to wash.


I think I should stop here before Inquirer Super gives me a ring.

Web prowl

On the seventieth anniversary of the Nanking massacre this month (pictures of Iris Chang's seminal book on the subject shown here in a Japanese bookstore), the Asahi Shimbun calls for Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to take the opportunity to express regret and hope for reconciliation. From the New York Times, a personal essay on how difficult it was to find a kidney and how altruism is simply not enough to ensure there's a ready supply for organs for people who desperately need them. America's NPR picks the year's best in world music. The Economist writes on rising food prices and the opportunity it presents to the world's poor farmers if governments can steer the right policies. From the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan must prepare for war between the United States and North Korea. Time picks Vladimir Putin as its Man of the year.

Complaint against the Metrobank credit card

Tony Lopez over the holidays was complaining about his Metrobank credit card which he said gets refused too often, and took a swipe at the fact that a foreigner (an Australian, I think) heads its credit card operations. Today, he follows it up by printing a reader's complaint against Metrobank regarding her being billed for annual charges for a card Metrobank offered but which she had refused and returned to the bank.

I have a Metrobank credit card and had at least one experience similar to Tony Lopez's. Even if your Metrobank card is still within its credit limit, it sometimes inexplicably gets refused. It's not a big problem for me, but I can imagine the inconvenience for people who don't bring cash or who are in a hurry.

The looming return of the tycoon

The military and Bangkok's snooty middle classes booted him out of power, sent him to exile, and banned his Thai Rak Thai Party, but Thaksin Shinawatra is now poised to retake the leadership of Thailand as his political supporters, rallying under the banner of the newly-constituted People' Power Party and promising his return, won half of the parliamentary seats contested in the last elections.

No revenge for a politician could have tasted sweeter. Some deposed populist leaders took years and years to plot their return (Newsweek notes here that it took Argentina's hugely popular Juan Peron eighteen years), but Thaksin might just make it back in a little less than two years. Speaking in Hong Kong, Thaksin said he will return sometime between February and April. (His political enemies probably want to mark his return on the Ides of March, better to finish him off.)

Many say Thaksin's return bodes ill for Thailand. His politics polarized the country and draw attention the the gap between the affluent and liberal Thailand, on one hand hand, and the poor, rural Thailand on the other, not unlike what Joseph Estrada did to the Philippines.

Another contrast is that the leader of the opposition is exactly the sort of leader that stereotypically sweeps the middle classes off their feet: Abhisit Vejjajiva has movie-star good looks and a Western education.

The issue that the Thais will face next year is the essential problem of democratic majoritarian rule: What should a conscientious minority middle class properly do when its choice of a leader is resoundingly rejected by the poor majority that has ideas of its own?

This land is whose land?

Land reform, it seems to me, is one issue only a disinterested youth with no independent income can have a totally objective, non-partisan view. One's bias is automatically dictated by one's position in the society.

If you or your family owns a sizeable property yourself, you'll most probably be decrying the economic efficiency lost by dividing properties and distributing them to farmers who don't even have the capital to develop the land themselves. Conversely, if you don't own land, you'll probably be incredulous of the seeming gall of landlords to selfishly hold on to property through every loophole they can see in the law.

In the case of the Sumilao farmers and their demand for their ancestral land in Bukidnon, it is probably correct to say that when viewed strictly in terms of potential economic contribution, at least in the the short term, the land in question is better off ending in the hands of San Miguel than the farmers who marched cross-country.

Many people are of the above opinion and some columnists have even started questioning the "landless" credentials of the farmers, like Emil Jurado in today's column.

The first time I heard of the march by the farmers, my first thought was that it was futile. After all, had there not been a final Supreme Court Case decided against them? I thought only God or a revolution can give them back the land. But, in fact, there is a solid possibility that they have a valid case that might win them back the land.

Here's the lowdown of the story: To save the land from land reform, the Quisumbings promised to convert it from agricultural to agro-industrial use in five years' time. They, however, failed to deliver on the promise and instead sold it to San Miguel, which plans to set up a piggery on the property.

As Dean Bernas points out here, the farmers have a valid case in saying that because the Quisumbings did not deliver on their promised land conversion of the property to agro-industrial use, the land conversion should be revoked.

Meanwhile, DAR Secretary Pangandaman has asked the farmers to write a position paper, which the farmers, I think, submitted to the secretary a couple of days ago.

With all the incendiary and highly emotional quality of this Sumilao issue, I cannot help but think former President Corazon Aquino could have spared the nation the emotionally draining debate on land reform if she only unilaterally parcelled off the land in 1986 during her revolutionary tenure as president. Instead of discussing weighty issues on how to move the Philippines forward in the highly competetive global economy, here we are in the great age of the global knowledge economy still debating on what to do with land, that primary source of wealth of a bygone era.

A more independent Japan without the LDP?

It seems President Arroyo is not the only one fond of an overly large contingent in a foreign trip; Japanese opposition leader Ochiro Ozawa is accused of the same thing in his trip to China, where he brought with him 45 Minshuto lawmakers--24 from the Upper House and 21 from the Lower House-- while the Japanese Diet is in session.

China apparently is giving Ozawa the red carpet welcome to prepare for the time when the bumbling LDP of Japan is finally thrown out of power. In this sense, the visit by Ozawa is comparable to the historic visit by Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang two years ago: an opposition party warming up to China while the ruling party maintains a more distant stance.

Ozawa is concerned about the declining regard for Japan in the international community, with it being increasingly seen as a mere minor player that curries favor with China and the United States. North Korea has, for instance, proposed to chuck out Japan from the six-party talks. Ozawa is proposing a more independent Japan that maintains an equal distance between China and the United States. Earlier, Ozawa blasted Prime Minister Fukuda for supporting Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean to support U.S.-led anti-terror activities.

Coup d'etat by press con

For the life of me, I can't quite understand how checking in a hotel can unseat a president simply by the magnificence of one's words - unless you're Mahatma Gandhi bringing down the British Empire to its knees or Jesus of Nazareth preaching in Galilee.

A coup d'etat, properly executed, succeeds only by barging into the palace, firing at the obstacles and killing the president. So why did Senator Trillanes did a rehash of his failed Oakwood mutiny? If he knew he had no chance of success this time, then what was his intention? To make it to the headlines once again?

If his intention were to highlight once again the iniquity of President Arroyo's administration, he hardly has to invade Manila Pen to make that point. The people already know too well that the sitting president is not exactly made of outstanding character.

If Senator Trillanes thought there would be hordes of people to welcome their action and usher in another People Power, then his reading of the public pulse was way off the mark. The Filipino People will rally for freedom, never for a military junta.

Security at the Batasan is a joke

I was away for about three weeks, and terribly missed the Philippines. When I got back, I read in the papers about the assassination of a congressman inside the Batasan itself.

Like it or not, politics here in the Philippines is as exciting as any other spectator sports. When you buy a newspaper here in the Philippines, you really get your money's worth unlike, say, in Singapore where all you read about in the front pages is the stock market this, liquidity that, and all that sort of boring stuff.

I saw Congressman Golex say on ANC that the security at the Batasan was probably too lax. I beg to disagree. The security is not lax, it's almost non-existent.

Two months ago we had an exhibit at the North Wing of the Batasan to highlight an illegitimate debt that purchased bad incinerators, and we were riding a jeepney with all our materials. We just went past the Batasan gates and no security guard bothered to stop us or issued a whimper of objection at our brashness. They just let us drove inside the compound. The quality of the security inspections at the La Salle Taft campus exceeds by leaps and bounds the perfunctory review, if any, they subject you to at the Batasan or for that matter in the Senate.

And you know what? Security people at government offices have a double standard. The pricier the vehicle you are in, the laxer the inspection they'll subject you to. So if you would like to assassinate someone, enter the government compound in style and you'll have no problem.

The fast sinking JPEPA

The campaign in the Philippines against the JPEPA is going very very well and based on the pronouncements of the senators in the media, barring future upset, there's a good chance that the JPEPA will be rejected by the Philippine Senate.

The senior government representatives sent to the Senate are not doing well in defending the agreement. Most senators were not happy with the unpreparedness and the seeming unfamiliarity with the JPEPA text of the government panels deployed to defend the agreement.
During the first two hearings, the pro-JPEPA panel performed so dismally that the government had to summon Philippine ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon to help the pro-JPEPA panel. For the past two hearings Ambassador Siazon has been trying to defend the agreement, but he could only do so much because he is not really familiar with the agreement's provisions as he was not directly involved in the negotiations.

The Philippine government is going desperate by the day; even Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura has sought assurance from the Philippine government that it's doing everything it can to convince the senators to approve JPEPA. President Arroyo last week issued an order creating a special task force, which includes cabinet members and other senior government officials, just to defend the agreement.

Some senators who were pro-JPEPA before hearings began are now anti-JPEPA, like Senator Mar Roxas, a former Trade Secretary, and Senator Santiago, chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations. According to Senator Roxas, the JPEPA is in intensive care unit, waiting for the proper time to die. According to Senator Santiago, the government is not giving her enough arguments to enable her to defend the agreement in the Senate floor. In Senator Santiago's own words, she said, she "will go up in flames" if she were to defend the JPEPA in its present form,

In the scoreboard of the senators, all the hearings were won by the Junk JPEPA Coalition and the officials now are desperate to convince the senators and are going for a media campaign to recover their losses in the Senate. They have also gone twisting the truth in the media. One news report written by Alito Malinao of the Philippine News Agency even claimed that our contingent of nurses at the Senate hearing were pro-JPEPA and allegedly had a manifesto of support for the JPEPA when what the nurses were holding all those time was the statement of the Philippine Nurses Association against the JPEPA not a manifesto of support.

The opposition of the nurses is extremely damaging to the JPEPA. One senator said the senators are "flabbergasted " that the supposed nurse beneficiaries of the JPEPA are opposing it.

Racism and the invention of corruption

The outspoken Senator Santiago, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign relations, is not known for taking back her words, but she found herself in a rare embarrassing situation when in an emotional outburst during the Senate investigation on the controversial ZTE broadband deal she blurted out that the "Intsik" invented civilization and are also the inventors of corruption. "China invented civilization in the East, but as well it invented corruption for all of human civilization," the senator said.

She has immediately retracted her statements, but the Chinese embassy and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. did not let the racial slur go uncommented. Senator Santiago, in her defense, claimed she would never malign the Chinese because, in fact, she is an admirer of their civilization and that her husband is half-Chinese. She said she was also recently diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.

This is the problem with the anomalous ZTE deal. It is bringing to the fore the hitherto latent anti-Chinese sentiment of Filipinos. Just a few more nudges here and there and we might have full-blown China-bashing, with Chinese-Filipinos browbeaten for being ethnically associated with Mainland Chinese.

The problem, however, with this, as Dean Pangalangan writes here, is that Filipinos are racists at home, but are at the receiving end of racism abroad. Since a huge number of Filipinos are now migrating abroad to look for work, the forces of karma are now operating as they encounter Western prejudice and discrimination firsthand.

Filipinos like to think of themselves as cosmopolitan, relatively sophisticated and living in an open, non-discriminatory society. They are quick to deny that they too are purveyors of discrimination, but yes, they, we, all are. Only that in the Philippines the victims of that discrimination and prejudice are the indigenous peoples, the Muslim in Mindanao, the occasional black tourists and yes the "Intsik beho."

GMA is looking for envi TV host

GMA7 Public Affairs is currently looking for a host for its new program which will seek to promote environmental awareness. Interested applicants should be:

For Male Host:

Good-looking with good body built
At least 5'7 in height
18-30 years old
Sporty
A nature-lover
An animal lover
An environment advocate
Has wide experience exploring/saving the environment
Smart and opinionated
Confident
Has excellent communication skills in both English and Tagalog

For Female Host:

Beautiful
Physically fit
At least 5'2 in height
18-27 years old
Sporty
A nature-lover
An animal lover
An environment advocate
Has wide experience exploring/saving the environment
Smart and opinionated
Confident
Has excellent communication skills in both English and Tagalog

If you think you got what it takes, kindly e-mail a comprehensive resume (and state your environment related experiences) with at least three photos (close-up and whole body) at hipchick17f@gmail.com. Qualified applicants will be privately called for an audition. Submission ends on October 5, 2007.

Waiting for people power in Burma

After twenty long years, there's again a people power movement to oust the repressive military junta in Burma.

These are highly emotional times in Burma. Triggered by rising fuel costs, monks for the past days have been marching, calling for an end to military rule, which has isolated the country and depressed the local economy. The leading opposition leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is still under house arrest, but is now reported to have been moved by the military out of her house and transferred to prison.

The military has also started to attack the monks with tear gas. Many people around the world fear that soon the military will start shooting them, as it did in 1988.

Filipino friends of the Burmese people, led by the Free Burma Coalition, are planning to join the Burmese people in protests. Here are the tentative dates, hope you could join any one of them:

*Friday, September 28 *- solidarity picket in front of Burma Embassy at
10:30 am sponsored by Partido ng Manggagawa (PM)

*Saturday, September 29* - solidarity activity at the Quezon Memorial
Circle - 8888 faces for a free Burma photo campaign booth (to be
confirmed) sponsored by IID and FBC

*Monday, October 1* - solidarity picket in front of Burma Embassy at
10:30 am sponsored by Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)

*Tuesday or Wednesday, October 2 or 3* - solidarity picket in front of
Burma Embassy at 10:30 am sponsored by Alliance of Progressive Labor
(APL) - final date to be confirmed

*Tuesday or Wednesday, October 2 or 3 *- solidarity picket in front of
Burma Embassy at 10:30 am sponsored by Akbayan Citizen's Action Party
(AKBAYAN) - final date to be confirmed

(some of the pickets may be staged at China Embassy or DFA.

If voting were held today, JPEPA would be junked

The Daily Manila Shimbun, the Philippine Daily Inquirer,and GMA 7 report on the rather disastrous turn of events for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) when it defended the JPEPA during the first hearing for the agreement's ratification in the Philippine Senate.

In separate media interviews after the hearing, Senators Enrile,Defensor-Santiago, Roxas said that the government was unable to make a sound defense of the JPEPA. Senator Roxas was "underwhelmed." The Junk JPEPA Coalition was more prepared than the government officials, according to Senator Defensor-Santiago. This was despite the fact that there was a full ensemble of top government officials defending the JPEPA (Secretary Favila, Usec Aquino, Secretary Gary Teves,etc)versus only one from the Magkaisa Junk JPEPA COalition: Atty Golda Benjamin of the alternative legal group IDEALS.Senator Enrile said that the pro-JPEPA panel was resorting to scare tactics to bully the senators to vote for JPEPA, the agreement's merits being incomprehensible to ordinary Filipinos.

Also, the invited Japanese panelist, the VP of the Japanese chamber of commerce, did not help the case of the pro-JPEPA panel, with senators pouncing on his casual remark that the Philippines "does not have a good image" in Japan. Senators Gordon and Enrile asked if JPEPA will improve that image and bring in the investments from Japan.

You can see the report of GMA 7 below:


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Philippine security and Chinese ZTE Broadband

There are many compelling reasons why the ZTE Broadband project should be scrapped; today's Manila Times editorial outlines most of them. But what is never mentioned is that the project, which will build the Philippine backbone for multi-media interconnectivity among government offices, might endanger Philippine national security by potentially allowing China unfettered access to government information.

China is indeed interested in information. Recently, there were reports that the government and military networks of Germany, Britain, and the United States sustained cyber attacks by Chinese hackers testing information technology defenses. Now, there's this news saying that France sustained similar cyber attacks from China. The attacks targeted the French defense ministry's public Internet site.

What was the purpose of such attacks? Critics say motives for such hacking include stealing of secrets or confidential technology, probing for system weaknesses and placing hidden viruses that could be activated in a conflict.

So far, no official complaint has been made to China for those attacks. The governments concerned are only saying the the attacks can be traced back to China, but not necessarily to the People's Liberation Army.

US State Department officials believe that that every telecommunications company in China is linked to the Ministry of Post and Communications and/or the military. There is, therefore, a distinct possibility that China could be bugging our proposed ZTE broadband network, wiring our government offices directly to Chinese intelligence. The ZTE broadband scandal may not solely be about who got how much bribes. Perhaps the stratospheric bribe offers from ZTE could be explained by the fact that China has political and strategic interests in the completion of the project.

Full circle for Chairman Abalos

If Chairman Abalos does not resign, he may very well be impeached. And it seems he has no intention of resigning because he's digging in and declaring a position of absolute innocence.

Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico will be filing an impeachment complaint against Chairman Abalos next week and, despite this report that claims the Speaker will not use his clout to promote the impeachment complaint, one can not reasonably expect the Speaker to block Abalos's impeachment with the same energy and stamina he blocked the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo since his own son is an aggrieved party in this deal. When someone is implying your son is a liar, it's hard to be totally neutral. Blood, after all, is thicker than anything.

The knives are out. The people who failed to get Chairman Abalos for the Mega Pacific deal are probably lining up to get him this time. And the stars are starting to align against him: the business groups calling for his resignation, Church members calling for Neri to testify "to save his soul," allegations of sexual marathon with nubile Chinese women, and, in an interview today on the radio, a distressed Abalos complaining that his wife and children are being ostracized by their peers.

All this is bad for the Philippines and also bad for China. First, there was the contaminated White Rabbit. Second, there's the perception China's taking over some of Philippine agricultural land. Now, a Chinese company is corrupting our government, offering scandalously high bribes for a project that has an indefensible rationale.

Sa pintig ng cursor, ideolohiya

From Richard Ernacio of the Tinig yahoogroup:

Inaanyayahan kayo ng LIKHAAN: UP institusyon ng malikhaing pagsulat (UP ICW) na dumalo sa "lecture" ni Dr. ROLAND TOLENTINO na pinamagatang "SA PINTIG NG CURSOR, IDEOLOHIYA)" na gaganapin sa SEPT. 14 (BIYERNES), 2:30 pm sa VARGAS MUSEUM. ITO AY WALANG BAYAD

Si dr. tolentino ay kasalukuyang guro sa UP Film Institute at associate sa fiction ng UP ICW.

A salve to one's solitude

The sad death of another student desiring of acceptance to a fraternity has reminded me once again how despite all the affectations we may assume, in spite of all the sophistication we from time to time want to convey to the world, we are all, deep inside, just a solitary people needing the warmth of other people's friendship.

How else would you explain the deep aspiration for a seemingly intelligent young man to subject himself to physical torture just to belong to a clique he can call his own?

Aristotle wrote that a man who doesn't need the companionship of other people, who doesn't feel the need to join the polis, is either a god or a beast. Yet, irony of ironies, the ideal good life outlined by Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics, is one that is meditative, a solitary pursuit.

How does one join other people in various human pursuits and still retain the space to privately pursue a meditative life? If you pursue the warmth of human companionship, you, surely at one point, are bound to be disappointed, even brutally hurt and disillusioned. Friends betray each other, lovers part for newfound love, an apprentice trumps his master, a UP pledge sometimes get beaten to death all in the hope of human friendship and fraternity.

Really, what is the value of a human relationship attained thus? It must needs be better to be a hungry wolf that hunts the world in solitude. You may not be Aristotle's solitary god, but a troglodytic beast will survive in the wild best.

One more time with feeling

Not content with having heard them at the House of Representatives, some in the opposition want to replay the Hello Garci tapes - this time around in the Senate. Senator Miriam Santiago, Senator Joker Arroyo and Senator Richard Gordon are rightly opposing this recidivist move, with Senator Santiago even threatening to bring the issue to the Supreme Court should the Senate majority insist.

You see, we may all loathe the president and relish each time we see her flailed in public, but the Anti-Wiretapping Law or RA 4200 is unambiguous in its language that: Any communication or spoken word, or the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the same or any part thereof, or any information therein contained obtained or secured by any person in violation of the preceding Sec.s of this Act shall not be admissible in evidence in any judicial, quasi-judicial, legislative or administrative hearing or investigation.

Just because we all want to see President Arroyo ousted does not mean we should be free from all legal impediments to do whatever we wish. That is the mistake we made at Edsa Dos.

2008 International Postage Stamp Design Contest

The Bureau of Post of the Republic of Korea is inviting participants to the 2008 International Postage Stamp Design Contest to increase public interest in postage stamps at home and abroad, as well as to find more creative ideas for stamp design.

The competition is divided into two categories:

• Youth category for those 17 years and below with the theme “The Mailbox of the Future”
• General category (no age restriction) with the theme “A Happy Nation that Nurtures Kids”

Application forms may be downloaded from the web page of Korea Post: www.koreapost.go.kr

Application period: July 2 to September 21, 2007

For more information, contact +82 2 2195 1255 Fax: +82 2 2195 1299
Email: vogelruf@mic.go.kr

from the NYC website: www.youth.net.ph

The Chinese as migrant worker in the Philippines

Two weeks ago, I was at the UP University Press Bookstore looking for Nick Joaquin's biography of Senator Angara when, while browsing the shelves, I came across Bai Ren's Lagalag sa Nanyang translated from the Chinese to Filipino by Joaquin Sy.

Lagalag sa Nanyang (Nanyang Piaoliuji) is an autobiographical novel, a Bildungsroman, told by A Song, a boy from a small village in China who left the country in 1932 when he was only ten years old to look for work in the Philippines. He took on the jobs of apprentice in a Chinese dry-goods store in the Visayas, newspaper boy in Binondo, salesman of katol (anti-mosquito coils), and later translator of English news reports for a local Chinese publication in Manila.

Lagalag sa Nanyang chronicles the hardship experienced by A Song as a poor migrant worker in the Philippines, how he had to scrimp in order to eat and send remittance to China, how he deliberately spent each centimo as though it were a whole peso.

The novel has such a huge impact on me because I imagine that my maternal and paternal grandfathers must have had the same experience as A Song's. They came here about the same time A Song left China for the Philippines. At the beginning of the novel when A Song was describing the boat packed with Chinese all bound for the Philippines and all vomiting because of the violent seas, I imagine the boat where the brother of my maternal grandfather perished somewhere near Batanes, almost reaching the Philippines.

A Song fell in love in the Philippines, was brokenhearted here and, at the end of the novel, left the Philippines to join the Chinese resistance against the Japanese in World War II. Lagalag sa Nanyang is such a sad and lonely book it is likely you'll find yourself in tears in several episodes. The last time I felt as heartbroken reading a novel was more than ten years ago with George Eliot's Silas Marner.

I've finished reading Lagalag sa Nanyang today and it has become one of my favorite novels. The novel has such huge love both for the Philippines and China. I wish I could thank Joaquin Sy myself for translating this wonderful book. If you have a Chinese-Filipino friend, do him a favor and give Lagalag sa Nanyang as a gift.

Money to burn

For the past week, I was too busy to blog and was too preoccupied with JPEPA and a new campaign we launched this week about another onerous Philippine loan that financed a failed white elephant project of the Department of Health.The Philippine Star, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Malaya and the BusinessMirror reported on the campaign launching.

The loan is roughly a US$ 2M obligation every year for the Philippines until 2014. The loan was incurred by the government to pay for medical waste incinerators that we are no longer using today because of their unacceptably high emissions plus the incinerator ban declared by the Clean Air Act of 1999.

We will be paying 100 million pesos every year for the defunct incinerators. What is sad about this is that the total 2007 budget of the DOH to address its backlog in infrastructure is just about 400 million pesos. The incinerator loan is one-fourth of that total budget for infrastructure.

And now, of course, we have another white elephant project in the offing: the ZTE broadband project. The ZTE broadband deal is such an atrociously bad deal that Secretary Neri should not have been simply demoted as CHED Chairman; he should have been banished from public service forever instead.