Today’s election campaign is targeting to bring national candidates to as many major cities and towns. I have been involved in presidential campaigns in many ways : as a child during the 1965 Macapagal & Roxas campaign when my grandfather was a campaign manager, when I joined the 1998 Roco & Santiago national campaign as a close in aide and now as a team member in the Noy & Mar campaign. Over the weekend, Presidentiable Noynoy graced a local rally in the island city of Samal. The gym was so full to the brim notwithstanding that the notice was just a day earlier.
I have had chances of face to face encounters with Noynoy early on in the decade during Abanse ! Pinay meetings and his overnight transformation as a national leader is unmistakable. Noynoy is now oozing with a charism that feels like divinely ordained. It is a feeling that I associate with Presidents like Obama and Cory much like a feeling of déjà vu.
As the campaign for local candidates has not started, all speeches before the arrival of Noynoy in a Samal City gym was about his presidential platform. In my own pitch for Noynoy, I introduced his educational platform of transforming secondary education as a stepping stone to a possible livelihood option after graduation and I was much pleased when he actually talked about it as the centerpiece of his rally speech.
We have also been bringing the presidential campaign to barangay hall meetings and barangay fiestas. I am finding out that the national campaign is a chance to review our soul and character as a nation : how despite our industry as a people, we are so impoverished in so many ways. In this sense, it should not be difficult to campaign for a president who is running on the platform of WHY we are poor. In sociology, we say, we know who are poor, where they live and what they do but we seldom address the issue of why we are poor. Therefore, the issue of why we are poor needs to be communicated well. In this electronic age, we have become visual creatures. The connection of corruption to poverty must be visually communicated. Of course, having the wherewithal and funds for communication is another matter. But, we are much pleased that the Liberal Party will accept donations only on the condition that there are no strings attached to the campaign donations. Donations will be accepted only on the condition that the future sitting president will not be beholden to campaign contributors.
It has been written by a literary pundit that we should not pin all our hopes in this 2010 election that is mostly funded by the so called upper class strata of society and that real meaningful change if we go by historical evolution will take, at least, two decades. But then again, if we are in rock bottom, the only way is to go up. And which is why, a palpable ambiance for change is in the air and this election will hopefully crystallize this. So, if as they say change happens every two decades or so, 2010 will be a year for good change and evolution through the ballot, two and a half decades later after the 1986 people’s power under the baton of our beloved President Cory Aquino.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
TSUNAMI
There was a tsunami scare in my island garden city of Samal because the Philippine Institute of Volcanology & Seismology (PHIVOLCS) gave a warning for Davao Oriental which is on the side of the Pacific Ocean. A tsunami is an unusually large sea wave produced by volcanic or under sea eruption or landslide, etc. I have visited Davao Oriental many times and yes, the waves are as tall as mountains.One beautiful spot in Mati, Davao Oriental that we love for its waves is Dahican, a place for surfing.
Anyway, they say that tsunami and earthquakes can happen anytime around the pacific ring of fire – from California to Davao Oriental. The last significant tsunami in the Philippines occurred in the Verde Island Passage (between Batangas & Mindoro Island and affecting Puerto Galera) in 1976 and, accordingly, it was a minor one because the waves were just two to three meters high when the wave reached land.
As an islander whose sailor forefathers came from storm battered lands in Eastern Visayas to seek shelter in the island coves in Davao Gulf, I knew very early on that a tsunami will be unheard of in these parts. As I was explaining to the informal settlers in the poblacion seaside of Penaplata : Samal island is almost entirely landlocked with only the southermost tip of the island exposed to the Mindanao and the Celebes seas. Still, I could not allay their fears. In recent memory as splashed on primetime television was the image of the tsunami in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka where hundreds of thousands ( 230,000) of people in this Indian Ocean died and so that was the picture that came to their minds. But, to the extent that informal settlers are reflecting on their safety is a good thing because every year, they are at the mercy of strong winds and storm surges brought about by the Southwest monsoons (Habagat) during the months of July, August & September.
There is a need to review the land use plan and zoning of the Island Garden City of Samal because it is one of the premier tourist destinations of the Philippines. The human settlement issues of informal settlers are also true in the coastal areas of Davao City particularly in Isla Verde and the entire stretch up to the next Davao province in the south. Davao City has relocation and resettlement areas. The challenges are how to bring livelihood to these relocation sites. I talk of Samal Island and Davao City as one contiguous space much like talking about the concept of Metro Davao as is the recent drift in touristic planning and drawing boards. After all, Samal Island is a few five minutes away from mainland Mindanao by fastcraft.
In various countries, the areas of about fifty meters from the lowest water mark towards the land are mostly inalienable parts and reserved for beaches and cannot be sites for human settlements. So, human settlements in higher ground should be our antidote to tsunami because if the earthquake happens close to shore, there may only be minutes between the earthquake and the arrival of the first wave. After, the untold sorrow and tragedy of the 2004 tsunami in Asia, we have had many lessons. They are now saying that our abode if near the sea must be at least fifty feet above sea level because at this height, we are already clear of any waves that are headed our way. So, high rise buildings are indicated against tsunami.
And for us in the social development world, as always, we look at the human rights perspective in disasters. For example, orphaned girl children need protection as they can fall prey to human trafficking and violence.
People Power & Lessons From EDSA
"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting" — Milan Kundera (The Book of Laughter and Forgetting)
We have to share to everyone born after EDSA, the context of those heady days in February 1986 when the Filipino people decided to end twenty years of Marcos rule. We have to explain that EDSA ( Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) is the historic road where people converged to protest the results of the February 7, 1986 snap elections. The Commission on Elections ( Comelec) final tally, then, had Ferdinand Marcos as winner while Namfrel, the poll watcher had Cory Aquino as winner. The walkout of our early EDSA`heroes in the 29 Comelec computer technicians was one of the early events that culminated in the massing of the people at EDSA now called the People Power Revolution. The Filipino people were convinced that Cory Aquino won the election but lost in the 1986 Comelec count. The Filipino people power revolution inspired many national protests worldwide. Of course, it can also be said that the EDSA event was a culmination of protests that for us was first manifested in the students’ protests called the First Quarter Storm ( FQS or the first three months of 1970) of the early seventies. Two years after FQS, martial law was declared in September 21, 1972. The seventies to the mid eighties was a martial law period that was legally justified as constitutional authoritarianism. And that is why, our slogan then was “ what is legal is not necessarily just.”
In hindsight, the message at EDSA is about a people believing in basic morality and the meaning of good governance through its direct exercise of democracy through people power.
Those of us in Davao who were a very part of what we fondly call the yellow color revolution of 1986 are kind of protesting the naming of the EDSA revolt as just an imperial Manila phenomenon because for many Fridays after the 1986 official Comelec count declared Ferdinand Marcos to be the winner of the January 7, 1986 elections, the Davao yellow Friday movement began. As yellow is the symbol of change, this phenomenon can be owned and adopted by all aspiring for good governance.
Yet, as we see so much of the same problems besetting our nation since twenty years ago, it is difficult to celebrate the meaning of EDSA. Today, the same problems are still with us: failing agrarian reform and lack of food security, assassinations and human rights violations, corruption, so much social inequality, etc.
So, at this juncture in time, it is good to ask if people have been organized for good social change. Have we organized a constituency for social change – at the level of villages and barangays - which believes that real power comes from the people? Policy reforms are traditionally legislated by those in power or ruling class and these policies are far removed from the wishes of the poor and powerless.
So, in practical terms, the ballot and whom we vote for is our modern expression of democracy. In this transition to the next six years of leadership in the Philippines, we must choose well because as they say
“ six years is a very long time for a bad president….”
We have to share to everyone born after EDSA, the context of those heady days in February 1986 when the Filipino people decided to end twenty years of Marcos rule. We have to explain that EDSA ( Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) is the historic road where people converged to protest the results of the February 7, 1986 snap elections. The Commission on Elections ( Comelec) final tally, then, had Ferdinand Marcos as winner while Namfrel, the poll watcher had Cory Aquino as winner. The walkout of our early EDSA`heroes in the 29 Comelec computer technicians was one of the early events that culminated in the massing of the people at EDSA now called the People Power Revolution. The Filipino people were convinced that Cory Aquino won the election but lost in the 1986 Comelec count. The Filipino people power revolution inspired many national protests worldwide. Of course, it can also be said that the EDSA event was a culmination of protests that for us was first manifested in the students’ protests called the First Quarter Storm ( FQS or the first three months of 1970) of the early seventies. Two years after FQS, martial law was declared in September 21, 1972. The seventies to the mid eighties was a martial law period that was legally justified as constitutional authoritarianism. And that is why, our slogan then was “ what is legal is not necessarily just.”
In hindsight, the message at EDSA is about a people believing in basic morality and the meaning of good governance through its direct exercise of democracy through people power.
Those of us in Davao who were a very part of what we fondly call the yellow color revolution of 1986 are kind of protesting the naming of the EDSA revolt as just an imperial Manila phenomenon because for many Fridays after the 1986 official Comelec count declared Ferdinand Marcos to be the winner of the January 7, 1986 elections, the Davao yellow Friday movement began. As yellow is the symbol of change, this phenomenon can be owned and adopted by all aspiring for good governance.
Yet, as we see so much of the same problems besetting our nation since twenty years ago, it is difficult to celebrate the meaning of EDSA. Today, the same problems are still with us: failing agrarian reform and lack of food security, assassinations and human rights violations, corruption, so much social inequality, etc.
So, at this juncture in time, it is good to ask if people have been organized for good social change. Have we organized a constituency for social change – at the level of villages and barangays - which believes that real power comes from the people? Policy reforms are traditionally legislated by those in power or ruling class and these policies are far removed from the wishes of the poor and powerless.
So, in practical terms, the ballot and whom we vote for is our modern expression of democracy. In this transition to the next six years of leadership in the Philippines, we must choose well because as they say
“ six years is a very long time for a bad president….”
Education Towards a Means of Livelihood
In all probability, educational preparation enhances one’s earning capacity. It is one of the most sustainable ways to address poverty. The education agenda is common to most candidates in this 2010 election campaign.
First, let’s look at tertiary education. In this globally competitive world, we should catch up with the rest of the world. The requirement for college education in most countries abroad is six years secondary education ( equivalent to our four years high school). During the last two years of secondary education abroad, it is presumed that students have taken advanced courses called general education ( the equivalent of our liberal arts education). So, by the time students enter university, the focus is already on one’s field of specialty. In most of Western Europe, the Bachelor’s degree no longer exists; after four years in the university, all students receive a Master’s degree upon graduation. If we are to promote trade and exchange of human resources in the Asean region or in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines - East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), we must facilitate a “credit transfer system” in our educational systems within the Asean region. This system will make education in the Asean region comparable in terms of credits earned in our various universities in the Asean economic region.
In our country, our educational system is divided into basic education for ten (10) years, vocational or technical education and tertiary education. It is said that the last four years of our basic education is more geared towards college preparation. Unfortunately, less that fifty ( 50) per cent of those who entered grade school do not go to college. Which is why, one of the proposed educational reform agenda ( i.e. Ten Point Education Agenda of presidential bet NoyNoy Aquino 111) is to bring back technical vocational education to high school. NoyNoy says “ Half our High School graduates want to work upon graduation rather than attend university….. We need to provide a technical-vocational education alternative to better prepare students for the world of work. I will re-introduce technical-vocational education in our public high schools to better link. “
Juan Miguel Luz, former Undersecretary of the Department of Education and consultant to the Davao City School Board echoes this and he says “ we would like to create agribusiness high schools ( for agri, aqua, food processing, etc ) where these would be meaningful and appropriate….. Pass the agenda to as many teachers, principals, educators as you know and ask them to explain what it means to our parents and university students.”
Our constitution says, particularly under the article on Declaration of Principles and State Policies, our state shall….“ promote full employment.’’
This provision is akin to promoting a right to work provision. A right to work provision is not found in other constitutions of other countries. This full employment provision in our constitution is repeated in our Labor Code and therefore with the Labor Code’s Implementing Rules and Regulations, it is like making this provision ready and enforceable through our legal and judicial system. Which is why many jurists insist that economic rights are justiciable issues in the Philippines. As we are not a litigious society, the best way of promoting full employment is through a labor friendly or work friendly educational system. Now, this needs to be communicated to the public at large.
First, let’s look at tertiary education. In this globally competitive world, we should catch up with the rest of the world. The requirement for college education in most countries abroad is six years secondary education ( equivalent to our four years high school). During the last two years of secondary education abroad, it is presumed that students have taken advanced courses called general education ( the equivalent of our liberal arts education). So, by the time students enter university, the focus is already on one’s field of specialty. In most of Western Europe, the Bachelor’s degree no longer exists; after four years in the university, all students receive a Master’s degree upon graduation. If we are to promote trade and exchange of human resources in the Asean region or in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines - East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), we must facilitate a “credit transfer system” in our educational systems within the Asean region. This system will make education in the Asean region comparable in terms of credits earned in our various universities in the Asean economic region.
In our country, our educational system is divided into basic education for ten (10) years, vocational or technical education and tertiary education. It is said that the last four years of our basic education is more geared towards college preparation. Unfortunately, less that fifty ( 50) per cent of those who entered grade school do not go to college. Which is why, one of the proposed educational reform agenda ( i.e. Ten Point Education Agenda of presidential bet NoyNoy Aquino 111) is to bring back technical vocational education to high school. NoyNoy says “ Half our High School graduates want to work upon graduation rather than attend university….. We need to provide a technical-vocational education alternative to better prepare students for the world of work. I will re-introduce technical-vocational education in our public high schools to better link. “
Juan Miguel Luz, former Undersecretary of the Department of Education and consultant to the Davao City School Board echoes this and he says “ we would like to create agribusiness high schools ( for agri, aqua, food processing, etc ) where these would be meaningful and appropriate….. Pass the agenda to as many teachers, principals, educators as you know and ask them to explain what it means to our parents and university students.”
Our constitution says, particularly under the article on Declaration of Principles and State Policies, our state shall….“ promote full employment.’’
This provision is akin to promoting a right to work provision. A right to work provision is not found in other constitutions of other countries. This full employment provision in our constitution is repeated in our Labor Code and therefore with the Labor Code’s Implementing Rules and Regulations, it is like making this provision ready and enforceable through our legal and judicial system. Which is why many jurists insist that economic rights are justiciable issues in the Philippines. As we are not a litigious society, the best way of promoting full employment is through a labor friendly or work friendly educational system. Now, this needs to be communicated to the public at large.
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