Having Found the Solution

No, I don't think Duterte is part of the solution of the problems of the Philippines.

However, I think he actually found a solution as to how a not very well known politician from the south can get mass media exposure and to get at least a fighting chance in the coming Presidential election.

From the time he is supposed to be "not" running up to now that he has involved the pope into his campaign, it seems everything he did are all carefully crafted to get maximum media mileage.

He is now the talk of the town.  His campaign is using even his own detractors to spread his "strong, no-frills-kind-of-leader" image.  Even cardinals and presidential spokespersons are sucked into doing what he intends them to do:  react to his antics.

Cursing and swearing have now become fashionable. Suddenly, it is now alright to say bad words in the face of really really bad problems, as if those words set one apart from the problem itself.

I am so impressed with what he is doing in the mass media that I am beginning to suspect that his handlers already have a full calendar of well thought-out releases, from now up to May 9, that we the people can chew on in the meantime that we don't actually get to eat something with substance for meals.

Of course, if they would have such a calendar, it would not include serious discussions of his (lack of actual) qualifications and accomplishments... only myth-spreading and one-liners. Such a calendar would not give time for people to actually think, even for a while. No one would ever have the time to wonder how shameless it is that this great and heroic crusader Duterte while mayor of Davao City can have his son play Robin by being his vice mayor, and that while his daughter is mayor of the same city Duterte himself is her vice.

Will Duterte succeed?  Maybe, but it still remains to be seen.  What he is doing now to get himself hugging the headlines though is one for the books.  Bayani Fernando - the only person with real accomplishments, but who did not even elicit a hiccup in a past national election - must be drooling in awe, though.

(photo from www.sunstar.com.ph)

It’s the media, stupid.

Why are we so pathetic?  Why is our government so unprepared for Yolanda and defending itself by saying no one can prepare enough for this?  True, no one can prepare enough, but what is pathetic is government has not made the minimum required preparation at all.  Worse, why are many Filipinos picking up the very pathetic government line and even more pathetically saying we should stop blaming and think of ways to help instead? True, in times like these, we need all the help on the ground.  But the reality is, there is no shortage of help available.  Help just can’t get on the ground fast enough precisely because government is not able to direct them!

Now it takes foreign media to expose the crap we are in.  CNN for example is asking some questions that our government officials find discomforting to answer.  But believe me when I say, CNN is merely scratching the surface.  CNN is not the best at it but I have seen them grill their own governments with harder hitting questions.  Meanwhile, when asking our officials, they let pass answers that do not really provide answers.  They, perhaps because not knowing what to make us, or perhaps out of pity as our officials can only blurt out lies while trying to make a straight face, are merely throwing us softballs.

I saw in a CNN interview Roxas saying we are already using the full resources of the government.  Then in one of the questions he reasoned out we are not able to collect most of the dead bodies because we only have 20 trucks.  The CNN journalist surely is itching to ask but did not press on.  That is precisely the question, why do you only have 20 trucks?  Is this already the “full resources of the government”?

And in all these, where is the local media?  While some of them lambast the government for being too slow, they do not ask government officials directly.  And when they talk to government officials, they ask only of generalities, not direct and specific questions like they are meaning to get answers.  Meanwhile, a great number, if not the majority in the local media, amazing as if in unison on day six, are now drumming up the idea of “this is not the time to blame”.

Really, we are so pathetic.  I just hope everyone realizes and does not forget what brought us here.

The full force of the government, NOW!

This is an open call to the Philippine government, to President Aquino in particular. Please use the full force of the government now!

Three days after the typhoon, news reports said that thousands of dead bodies are still on the streets in the province of Leyte, many even unattended. Worse, hundreds of thousands of survivors are still not reached by any government support. They desperately need food, clean water, medicine and medical supplies – the most basic needs for survival. And because government is not present, there is now some breakdown in law and order. Every hour, the situation worsens. No amount of press statements that everything is on their way can diffuse the reality there.

 This is an emergency, definitely of the highest order. Dear President, we need your action NOW! We need to rescue our countrymen before they fall into a state of despair and chaos. I hate to suggest as I am not in a position to, but I honestly believe there are so many things YOU and only YOU can do.

Send government troops (police and military) there now, deploy 10,000 or more to all the places where they are needed. Secure the surviving food retail stores and commandeer them. Assure owners of compensation later. While we surely can ship food to places there, we can make use of supplies that are already there or near there. Do this before all these supplies are lost to looters, benefitting only a few.

Use all available aircraft that are needed. Ask our local carriers and transportation companies to help in the rescue efforts. Use all helicopters available. Make use of existing vehicles (transport equipment) there. Again, assure private owners of compensation later. Bring in all food, water and medicine (even body bags) that are required now. Also bring in needed power generators, fuel and other equipment that are needed to clear all the areas there. If people are needed, call on volunteers now.

Declare a national volunteerism day. Or declare a government offices holiday, and send government workers there. Filipinos just need to see their leader tell them what to do in times of emergency and everyone is willing to help. Send doctors, even just medical interns and other health-workers, where they are needed most.

Ask people to donate what they have to organizations who can help in the rescue efforts, the Phil. Red Cross and the Tzu Chi Foundation, among them. Give government support to the telcos and power distribution companies to be able to re-establish power and communications.

You will not be able to do everything by yourself. Assign a person to lead the rescue operations there. Or divide the area and assign one person per area. Assign people who have the leadership, intelligence, and experience to lead in this kind of situation. Make him/her answerable only to you. I suggest you consider Bayani Fernando, or Dick Gordon, or anyone else who is known to be able to execute difficult tasks. Give him/her/them the authority and independence to do all of the above and other necessary things.

Again this is an emergency. Everyone, especially the victims, will agree that this is like war. This is like some enemy has invaded our shores and we need to act swiftly. If in order to do the above, you need to declare martial law, by all means do it. People will understand. Please use the full force of the government. Please do what is necessary. And, for the sake of our countrymen in those areas, please do it NOW!!!

At last, the Pinoy Solution

Many are trying to come up with solutions to the problems of the country. The problem is, no one can define the real problem, and hence, no one can come out with the ultimate solution.

Until perhaps, now. Click and read: The Ultimate Pinoy Solution.

The Drill

One can now easily get the drill. First, mainstream mass media miraculously thought of some evil doings by the former (and the allies of the former) administration. Then the present administration, who of course is simply ‘reactive’ to questions by the media, confirms the evil doings with a sampling of confusing details. Then, when the masses are now convinced that the evil perpetrators are indeed evil, the same evil perpetrators, to be fair to them, are now given the chance to speak by the mainstream media. And to be more than fair to them, the ‘evil doers’ are even given more time to speak and to defend themselves in a long winded hearing in one of the highest court of the land with the most respected jurors in the country, the Senate. Since they have nothing for defense, the only thing the ‘evil doers’ can end up saying is “bring us to court”, which of course doesn’t matter anymore because they are ‘obviously’ ‘guilty as charged’.

We have seen this in a number of cases already. This is simply an improvement of older scandals which require whistle blowers. Perhaps now, whistle blowers are becoming harder to come by so the mass media starts the process on their own.
But what is not yet apparent is that it doesn’t and wouldn’t stop there. When the accused (or more properly the ‘guilty’) says “bring me to court”, he now may actually get what he wished for. Surely the next step, as requested by the ‘evil doers’ themselves, is perhaps the reinvestigation by the divine DOJ or, when they are ready, the Reinvigorated Office of the New Ombudsman. There’ll surely be more headline materials during these reinvestigations and the masses will surely understand better that the ‘evil doers’ are brazenly lying to their teeth.

Even less apparent is that it wouldn’t end there, still. The DOJ or the New Ombudsman, in their adherence to their sworn duties and in testament to their commitment to the public and for the truth, and at the right time, perhaps when there is a dying down of interest in the scandal, will surely file the charges in the proper courts. Also, by that time, the courts would have already been fully transformed for the people, a transformation that we already see in the Supreme Court with their latest decision on the Hacienda Luisita Stock Distribution Option case. By that time, one doesn’t need help from any fiction writer to know how the story would end.

By the way things are going, I suspect the ‘evil doers’ are still sleeping and are unaware of what is going on. They still do not get the drill. The question is: Will the ‘evil doers’ be able to awaken themselves early enough to be able to think what they could do to avoid getting ridiculed, diminished and embarrassed, or for the unluckiest of them even to save themselves from getting to their eventual penal destination? It is easy to see when one is as good as sleeping. If his reaction to the drill is to defend himself, then you know he is not fully awake.

The Parliamentary System: Would it produce better leaders?

I am not a solid advocate of Constitutional Reform but I generally support the idea. However, while others support it primarily for the economic agenda, I on the other hand do so for my search-for-leaders agenda. I think that by getting the right leaders, we also solve the problem of our bad economy. Actually, to be more accurate, by getting the right (or at least better) leaders in control of government, it follows that those right (or at least better) leaders (not us directly) will also do the right (or at least better) things to improve the economy.

So to me, the prospect of Constitutional Reform is attractive primarily on the chance to reform the way we elect our leaders. It is for this reason that I am closely looking at the Parliamentary System for which, at this point, I still have not encountered any solid argument against. But the main question is: How was I able to say that we could have right (or at least better) leaders under a Parliamentary System?

In order to answer this question, let us see the differences on how we elect our leaders now and in a Parliamentary system. In our Presidential system, the people choose a President by direct vote. In a Parliamentary system, the people choose their representatives for the parliament who then choose among themselves the prime minister.

Under our present system therefore, a person who would like to be President would need to campaign in every corner of the country. He will need to visit all districts or at least have his posters all around everywhere. He will need to have advertisements in all possible mass media outlets, TV, radio, print and the internet. He will need to build his machinery, those who would campaign for him everywhere and those who would guard his votes. In short, he needs several billions of Pesos that he either has (he’s filthy rich, eg. Villar) or given to him (someone else controls him, eg. you-know-who). But Billions of pesos would not necessarily assure him of winning (eg. Villar again). He also needs mass media supporting him widely (translation, he needs Billions more or the prospects for mass media of Billions more).

Now if I am really a good person with good leadership and good policies in mind, suffice it to say that under the present system I wouldn’t be President. No, not in 6 years, not in 12, not in my lifetime.

On the other hand, in a parliamentary system, the potential Prime Minister or PM would need first to win in his district where he needs to spend perhaps only a few million pesos (P10M the most by some estimates). Then, when in parliament, he would need to convince his colleagues. If there are say 300 representatives, he would need to convince just 151 of them.

This brings us to the tricky part. If that were you, how can you convince 151 representatives to make you PM? Do you need money or talent? Do you need money, the ability to buy off your colleagues? Or do you need talent, the ability to show the stuff you are made of and convince your colleagues that it’ll bring them longer tenure if they are on your side?

In order to answer this second set of questions, we need to review further how the system works. In the present system, once budget is approved (and there will be budget whether congress likes it or not), the President holds the pot (the money). That is why the President holds more power than congress and the latter tends to follow wherever the former goes. Meanwhile, in a parliamentary system, it is parliament who holds the pot. To be more precise, it is the majority of people in parliament who holds the pot.

This means if a would-be PM plans to buy off the majority of his colleagues to make him their leader, he needs to have a bigger pot than what the parliament already has. By the way, the pot we are talking about here is in the Trillions, the entire Philippine budget plus more. So I am sure whoever has trillions can indeed become prime minister, that is until the next budget where he needs to spend another set of trillions more. So, I really doubt anyone would spend trillions to become PM. And that is where the opportunity for talent comes in. It is obvious that, in a Parliamentary System, a person with real talents has good if not better chances of winning than one who relies only on money.

So if I am a really talented person, I can say that I have better chances of being prime minister in a Parliamentary than in our present system. But of course, I cannot really be sure. I am saying I have talents, but that is according to myself. There could actually be more people more talented than I am, perhaps an older person who has more experience politically, perhaps a richer dude who has more business background and who knows finance better than I do, perhaps a better speaker who easily convinces more people than I can, or perhaps a party leader who started earlier than I did. You see, people with various talents would be encouraged by the system that more and more people who are better than I am could be competing. But if I am really good, that wouldn’t stop me from trying, nor would it stop me from learning and eventually be like or be even better than the best of my colleagues, and perhaps in the end be PM.

Hey, don’t get me wrong. I do not plan nor want to be Prime Minister. The search for leaders is my first agenda, and I think the parliamentary system given the above considerations simply and naturally produces better leaders than our present system, which consistently shows enough proof of producing mediocre ones.

The Cost of Change. How much are you Willing to Invest?

Let us talk numbers this time. How much do you think you need to be able to definitively change the country’s course? Let us list four of the ‘how’s’ one can effect change, the size of change each ‘how’ could accomplish, the probability of success say in 10 years for each ‘how’ and compare the costs:

1. Be President. If you are President of the country, you definitely have a great chance to change the country’s course. Problem is, you cannot go one day and declare yourself President. So you have to start politicking right now and get yourself noticed, that is if you have the talent to do that. You may start as a local politician and then work your way up to be Senator, which is the best jumping board to becoming President. Or you may start becoming an actor. Aim to be an action star or a drama queen and be a box office champion for many years. Whatever you do, you still need a huge pot of campaign money in the end. But whatever amount of money (say P5B) you have, you still are not sure if it will get you somewhere. There is still a great chance that after spending a great fortune you still end up not being President. (Or instead of being President, you can make someone whom you can control President. However, the investment and chance of success is still the same.)

Solution proposed: Be President
If successful, chance for Change: Great
Chance of Success: Small
Investment required: PhP5B upwards

2. Change the Charter. Looking at the problems of the country leads many people to conclude that changing the constitution is the best way to go. With the kind of faulty elections we have and the faulty leaders we produce every three (or less) years, the only viable conclusion one can have is either change the rules of the game or change the game altogether. However, the choices one can take on how one can change the charter are few and expensive. In order to do it, you need to control the majority of congress (who has the power to initiate the change), and get the support of the mainstream media (who has the power to make the changes acceptable to the people). And we all know what moves congress: Pork Barrel. You therefore have to match that (at least P10B). You also have to push your cause to the mainstream via mass media costing you perhaps a couple of billions more. Still, your chance of success is small considering that people against your brand of change can match you peso per peso just to oppose you. Worse, your opponents are using money that is not even theirs (most probably tax money).

Solution proposed: Change the Charter
If successful, chance of Change: Great
Chance of Success: Small
Investment required: PhP10B upwards

3. Promote Change via FB. It is said that FaceBook (or Twitter, or the Internet as a whole) is a revolutionary way of communicating with others. Still, many are looking into its possibility as an effective way to launch a revolution (change) by influencing others. Promoting change via the internet virtually requires and costs nothing. And the best part is, you can just be about anyone and anywhere to promote change. As long as you can type on a keyboard and have some wonderful solutions (you think), you can immediately start your grand quest for a better country. Unfortunately, the same accessibility to the internet that you have is the same factor that works against you. On FaceBook for example, there are virtually thousands if not millions of people like you with thousands if not millions of ideas that are not necessarily like yours that you have to compete with. Worse, people against you can work with trolls (i.e. people who disrupt internet forums by posting irrelevant arguments and messages) or be trolls themselves or even employ spammers to sabotage and cancel your efforts, making your chance of success limited if not totally nil.

Solution proposed: Promote Change via FB
If successful, chance of Change: Not applicable, virtually no chance of success
Chance of Success: Virtually zero
Investment required: Virtually zero

4. Compete in the Mass Media. Another solution which mostly everyone ignores is changing the country by competing in the mass media. If people would just look at all the problems of the country, everyone will see that all the problems would not have happened if only the mass media has been doing its job properly. Let us take corruption for example: had the mass media been not corrupt themselves, they would have exposed anomalies before, during and after they are made, making sure they don’t happen again. Let us take the problem of our faulty elections: had the mass media been fair, we would have gotten better leaders with better solutions. Let us take poverty: had the mass media focused our leaders and everyone’s attention on the economy, we would have less poor people and more people with higher paying jobs locally. In fact, all the three solutions mentioned above would benefit much with the help of a fair and popular mass media entity. And the best part is, when you compete in the mass media, you can even make a profit. If you take into consideration that many people are frustrated in the state of the country as a whole and the state of the mainstream mass media in particular, a fair, honest and professional new player can easily acquire audience, audience that would all want this country changed. And in order to affect change, the mass media entity should simply be airing in a popular even in a less expensive medium such as radio, as long as that medium affords you the capability to address and question government officials directly and live in front of a number of audiences. Last time I heard, one can gain control of a popular FM radio station for about Php250M. Or, if that is too expensive, one can go on air on primetime in a popular AM station for merely Php20K per hour. And in the unlikely case you fail in changing the country, you can just settle with the extra money (profit) you gained in running the venture. On the other hand, if you succeed, you can use that success to even produce more programs and acquire more media stations, even newspapers, and effect change some more.

Solution proposed: Compete in the Mass media
If successful, chance of Change: High to Great
Chance of Success: Better
Investment Required: Php20K/hour to Php250M, depending on the chance for change wished.

It is obvious from the above that if we really want change in this country the best way to go is to compete in the Mass Media. No, don’t get me wrong. I do not oppose any of the solutions stated above. In fact I am always in the lookout for good leaders to support in the next elections. Meanwhile, the promotion of changing the charter is one of those advocacies I support and honestly believe in. And, I always check my Facebook and Twitter for any new ideas out there. However, from a businessman’s (such as I usually pretend to be) point of view, I think it is obvious that we have to compete first in the mass media even before we think of solving any of our problems. To me it is very clear that this is a necessary step. For we simply cannot swim where there is no water. We simply cannot breathe where there is no air.

With the Ombudsman gone, is CJ Corona next?

In the recent past, the embattled Ombudsman refuse to resign her post and succumb to pressure from the President. However, just after the holy week, and perhaps timed to coincide with the so called Royal wedding of the decade, the Ombudsman announced her resignation. What could have precipitated the change of heart?

The Ombudsman and her supposed master, the former President, has relentlessly been attacked by almost everyone in the mass media for quite some time already. As an observer, I saw that the mass media even increased its attack in the past couple of weeks, even when there are no actual updates on the Ombudsman’s impeachment. Surely, the Ombudsman saw what is happening and knew that no mortal in the Senate could withstand the pressure to find her guilt. Perhaps all she can really do now is to resign.

In my opinion, this proves that when the mass media and the President banded together for a certain cause, they can virtually do just about anything. The question is: What (or who) is their next cause?

For reasons many see only as for political gains, it is quite obvious that the ultimate target of the Aquino government is the former President Arroyo. One can even easily prove that getting at Arroyo may be the only promise Aquino has the determination to fulfill. Meanwhile, everyone knows that whatever stone they throw at the former President will ultimately need the Supreme Court’s concurrence. It is therefore quite simple really to conclude that in order to pin Arroyo down, the government must be able to control as to how the Supreme Court decides. Indeed, it could be noted that the President and the mass media has already been pounding on the SC, CJ Corona in particular, since day one. So far, the administration might have succeeded partly but not yet convincingly.

In order to force the issue against the Ombudsman, it was the House of Representatives who generated some news topics and issues via the impeachment which the mass media all so willingly propagated. In order to pound on the Supreme Court, I am sure a similar impeachment tact is considered. However, I think it is unnecessary. All the administration needed to do is to convert some of the justices to their own fold, albeit silently, and control the majority. With the power of the purse, it is quite easy to do. With the power of the mass media, the conclusion of the task is easy to tell.

This means that former President Arroyo will ultimately be toast whatever her sins are. It is just a matter of when. This is unless something happened with the Aquino government who given its incompetence has a good chance of again chomping on its own tail worse than how they did it in the hostage fiasco last year, or unless Arroyo supporters learn to compete where it matters – in the mass media.

The RH Bill, its intent and main issues

The Purpose of the Bill
There are so many poor families in the Philippines. Worse, poor families have more children, and therefore they have the tendency to become even poorer, resulting into even more and more families becoming poor.

Being poor, they need more help from government because they cannot pay for their own healthcare, education, housing, etc. And when there are more poor people, there are more people who go hungry and easily agitated that national security (peace and order) is also threatened. To put it bluntly, government sees it that the poor are a drain to government resources.

The plan of the RH bill (or RP bill) is to attract poor people into using contraceptives. Not just giving contraceptives for free, the bill will also promote it heavily including to young people from poor families, make it available everywhere, especially where there is a huge concentration of poor people, and give the poor people monetary incentives (tying the CCT program with it) to use them.

There is another purpose of the bill, which is to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STD) including AIDS. However, again, this purpose is directed to the poor, whose related future healthcare expenses in case of STD are foreseen to be shouldered by the government.

Some people may be saying other purposes for the bill, say, “freedom to choose”, for “women's rights”, to “lessen abortion”, “maternal health”, etc. These are all misleading and merely used as arguments to promote the bill and nothing else.

Of course, it should be understood that the Catholic Church and others who teach against the use of contraceptives and prophylactics will be against the bill. On the other hand, the manufacturers of contraceptives and similar devices will surely support the bill. Rich countries, and owing to our special relationship with them, the US, also will support it as they don’t want the potential of more poor families from poor countries knocking on their doors, asking for help (jobs), competing against their own citizens and bringing security threats with them.

The question is, should we or should we not support the bill. In order to answer this question, we should be able to look into the issues.

First, how much does the bill really costs?
The first issue that must be understood is a question of economics. Those against the bill say this is another drain on the government’s resources. The money to be used here is a dole-out and dole-outs are never good. The money could be used instead in improving the education of our children or on infrastructures that could help make more jobs available. We cannot even be sure that the money used to finance the bill will be used properly and we are even less sure that it will bring the expected results. Costing at least a Billion Pesos a year (and it is not unreasonable to guess it could cost more than P20B per year), this argument is straightforward.

Meanwhile, those who are for the bill says this money is definitely worth it. They see it as an investment that will result in net savings to the government, savings gained from less government expenditures on education, healthcare, housing, security, etc. This argument is also plausible. However, for reasons unknown, the proponents do not present the economic impact (in figures) of the bill. Surely they would know that it is up to them to prove that the plan would work, economically that is. (Note: In fairness to the proponents, perhaps they have presented it but which was not picked up by the mass media).

One component of the bill that could also have a negative impact in the country’s economy and therefore needs clarification is the provision where employers are required to make available and provide Reproductive Health services free to their employees. This means that employers are partly financing the bill directly which surely is another addition to the cost of doing business in the country. The proponents of the bill therefore should also factor in this negative dent, when explaining the economic impact of the bill.

Sadly, this important issue is not discussed openly, leaving ordinary people both for and against the bill holding on straws to support their arguments.

Second, the Constitutional Issue.
Another issue, this one brought up by people against the bill, is its constitutionality. The Constitution of the Philippines expressly says that the State shall protect life from conception or from when life begins. The problem is we do not have a definition as to when life begins. Is it from fertilization (Catholic belief) or from implantation?

This became an issue because most if not all contraceptive pills now in the market have multiple modes of action, a fail-safe mechanism to decrease further the chance of pregnancy. This means that pills avoid ovulation, destroy the egg cell in case ovulation still occurs and prevent implantation if fertilization still occurs.

If the bill therefore does not make distinctions between those contraceptive pills with or without “abortifacient” properties, and endorses both, which the present form of the bill does, it runs into this constitutional issue.

At this point, everyone is ready to say he or she is against abortion. Even the bill is against abortion and expressly says so. The problem is, we do not have a definition of what constitutes abortion, making any express opinion against abortion less useful. If you believe in the Catholic teachings that life begins from fertilization, then perhaps you are against the bill. If not, this issue does not concern you as much.

Third, the freedom to exercise one’s religion.
The RH bill in its present form requires employers to provide their employees free access to reproductive health devices such as condoms and contraceptives. The bill, again in its present form, also requires healthcare providers, hospitals, institutions and individuals, to at least provide information on where such services can be availed of by whoever requires them. The problem is when the subject employer or the healthcare provider is a member of a religious organization whose teaching says that the provision of such services or information is against their beliefs. Shouldn’t the bill at least provide exemption in this case?

Again, if you are an employer or a healthcare provider who follows the teachings of the Catholic Church (e.g. Catholic-ran hospitals), you will be against the bill unless such provisions are removed or at least amended to exempt you. To support your cause, you will even surely point out that part of the constitution that protects your right to practice your religion. Of course, the proponents of the bill are not inclined to allow any or such an exemption considering that about 80% of the citizens are Catholics and may avail of such exemption (if there is). If on the other hand your beliefs do not limit you on such, this issue again does not concern you, except when an exception is included.

Aside from the above, I do not see any other major issue worth considering at this time. The Catholic leaders oppose for example the teaching of use of contraceptives to students. However, even without the bill, the Department of Education already has the power to do that and could be dealt with entirely as a different issue. Meanwhile, I have heard people rant against the dominant religious organization for blocking this bill. Of course, such ranting is useless and in fact misplaced. Everyone, including church leaders have the right to express their objection to and exert pressure against legislation that they deem wrong. Those who are for it has the right to do that as well. But people should not resort to spins and cheap propaganda. People must stick to issues and discuss the points on the bill that really matter.

Amazingly though, it deserves pointing out that even when the people are not provided enough information on the real issues for and against the RH bill, support for it and even vilification of those against it has gained ground. Even those who cannot find any good from government on practically all other issues, from both the executive and legislative branches, are joining the present administration to support the bill. It is quite obvious that the mass media supports the legislation, and is proving once again that wherever they go the rest of the country goes. So, it is easy to predict the bill will be passed sooner than later, but it does not mean as citizens we should not look at the issues.

A time to ask questions?

We are all Filipinos and we love our country. But there are questions we now must answer…

Why do we all want our country clean, tidy and flood-free then we throw our trash just about everywhere we go? Why do all our drivers complain of heavy traffic and then we cut lines and not follow rules? Why do we lament graft and corruption when we ourselves prefer to bribe our way than pay our dues? Why do we lambast the failing quality of education while we let our kids watch even meaningless supposed real-life reality shows?

Why do we all talk about how bad our country has become and then turn a blind eye on those little children begging or sniffing rugby on the streets? Why do our doctors let our public hospitals rot while our poor countrymen die even from avoidable diseases? Why do our best lawyers and politicians argue just about everything while we all let injustice prevail? And why do our businessmen feel sad about our economy, when we all rather bring our money abroad?

How can we feel proud of our own honesty when we all fall in line to praise our leaders who cheat? How can we all sleep so well on a rainy night when we all know children and old people under that dingy little bridge could die? Where are the graduates of our prestigious schools, Ateneo, La Salle and UP? Are you leading our country the way you should? Where are the religious of our churches, are you showing us the way or are you too busy arguing with one another?

We say we are a country of the bests, of Manny Pacquiao and Leah Salonga. We are the country of heroes, of Ninoy, Rizal and Bonifacio. We are the world’s best debaters and the best teachers, the best nurses and caregivers. But where are our mothers? Who are they caring for? Why do we push them out our country, call them heroes, while our children are left astray?

Perhaps, it is time to stop asking questions. Now is the time to act.

More on LeadIndia

In a nutshell, this is what happened in India and how it can apply in the Philippines...

Here is what they did in India:
One day, without other announcements, the Times of India (India's leading English newspaper) had a full frontpage ad on their own newspaper about Lead India wherein they ask readers a lot of questions affecting their country. Later, there were other full front age ads on the same paper extolling the need for new breed of leaders and asking people to join the search for leaders. Still later, there were TV and internet ads echoing the same call.

It was said that thousands of people heed the call to do something and applied to be considered as future leader. The organizers then screened the candidates, poured over their resumes, assessed their backgrounds, etc. like job applicants until fewer applicants are left. Then they expose all remaining candidates in public and asked them all sorts of questions until there are still fewer candidates left in the finals.

Then, the finalist are brought everywhere, much like real candidates conducting town-hall meetings, answering the people's questions etc. They also debated on issues and tackled all of India's concerns, presenting solutions and their ideas on each of the issues. In the end, the people sent in their choice through SMS or text messaging, until the final winner is chosen. Today, everyone in India agrees that the winners, and even all the finalists are worthy future leaders. Some even suggest that the winner could be the next Indian Prime Minister!

How leaders are selected in the Philippines:
Meanwhile, back in our country, we hold regular elections for President and senators, etc. However, everyone thinks that everybody cheats and questions everyone that won the elections. Indeed, we believe that all politicians cheat the elections. Meanwhile, those who do not cheat will surely lose:

1. At the start, politicians cheat in the campaign.
Even before the campaign period, we see posters and advertisements by politicians, clearly violating the prohibition of early campaigning. Also, mass media, both radio and TV conduct questionable interviews on those winnable candidates while completely ignoring those capable and honest yet unknown leaders. Also, good candidates do not figure in surveys. Surveys are easily manipulated by not including the names of the worthy candidates. Of course, surveys are released for the benefit only of those who commissioned them.

2. In the end, politicians cheat in the counting of the votes.
Upon elections, there are many ways politicians cheat. We hear stories of vote shaving (dagdag-bawas), as well as more votes than voters. The huge turnout of voters in the counting is often questionable. If you are cheated in the counting, you can protest which is useless because often, the results of the protest will finish after the next election!

Here is what could happen if we copy the Lead India concept here in RP:
With this concept, anybody can join the contest and given free publicity. But those who are incapable will be exposed because they have to answer real interviews and engage in real debates. All fakes will be exposed while those with great ideas will be given national recognition.

In the end, the people (millions of us) will have the chance to choose directly the best from the best (the finalists). All the Pinoys, armed with a cellphone, can easily text in their choice. The winner will then be conceived as a real winner which mass media cannot ignore. No amount of manipulated surveys can disregard the selected leaders.

Expectedly, the winners will join the elections. If they are cheated in the elections, then the people would be stirred to act. Cheaters will therefore have a harder time to cheat.

I feel so excited.

Lead India

I found this video in YouTube. It is a very unique idea wherein India searched for a leader much like a reality show. In the end, all of India voted for a most likely future prime minister by SMS or text voting, much like what the audience do in American Idol!



I think the idea may be applied in the Philippines. We are known to be one of the world's biggest user of text messaging. Perhaps we can put this distinction into good use in search for a good leader? Who knows, this could prove to be another way of people power through texting!

Top Problems Facing the Filipino - a Review

It has been a while since I last posted something in here. No, my absence doesn't mean the problems we are facing are already solved that I have nothing more to write. Actually, I was more of solving my personal financial problems first (translation: I have work), but then on that too I realize it will never be permanently solved.

So, here I am, back to thinking what our problems are and how we as ordinary Filipinos can solve them. Again, I have to review what the problems are in the first place. May I now improve on my previous list and list them again here in ascending order of importance. I listed thirteen problems (a bad luck number, from ten) and hope to have covered all the problems Filipinos are facing.

13. Garbage (Dirt and Filth)
I am not really sure whether what I am doing here is pure garbage, but garbage on the streets surely irks me. The average Filipino takes a bath daily, but does not clean about as often. I think we have to solve this problem.

12. Floods
Related to #13, this problem is personal to me. In Meycauayan where I grew, there is flood everytime there is rain (not so before). In fact, even when there is no rain, there is flood due to high tide. The same is true in many parts of Metro Manila. I guess flooding is a concern of many Filipinos and deserves to be on this list.

11. Heavy Traffic
Living in Metro Manila becomes horrible because of heavy traffic (aggravated by Problems #13 and #12). On an ordinary day, Paranaque to Caloocan takes at least 2 hours by car. When people cannot afford to live near where they work, just as most working Pinoys can't, heavy traffic is a burden.

10. Poor Values in Mainstream Media
Sometimes, we can't say that this is a problem for media is mainly used for entertainment, right? Wrong. Let us see... what are the kinds of programs do you see on mainstream TV and AM radio (the main media subscribed to by most Pinoys who are either "Kapuso" or "Kapamilya")? What kind of values do those program inculcate in our children? Now tell me, what is the future of this country, then?

9. Pollution
Do we hasten our death just by living in Metro Manila and breathing its air? That is the question Manilans face everyday. Although this problem is purely in the Metropolitan areas, I think it deserves a higher ranking than the previous problems because this one kills us softly without us knowing it.

8. Fewer (and fewer) Employment Opportunities
An additional one million Filipinos are expected to work abroad per year, sending Billions of dollars back home and keeping our economy afloat. Good? But at what cost? -- broken families, children left on their own and without moral guidance, a much bleaker future!

7. Illegal Drugs
I have seen drug busts of factories manufacturing Shabu, recovering illegal drugs worth in the billions of Pesos. But where are the mastermind? How long were they able to operate before being busted? Where were the drugs distributed? Again, this problem poses hard questions about our future.

6. High incidence of crime
Kidnappings, burglary, rape, petty theft happen daily. Everyday, there are news of murders, even what seem to be summary executions. Are we safe?

5. Poor Healthcare
I work in the healthcare industry and I see how poor people lack access to healthcare. But middle class people (such as most of us who have access to internet are) have problems too. I work within the industry yet I cannot say I can receive good healthcare when I need it. The problem is more on the infrastructure. There are very few hospital beds, we sorely lack medical equipment (especially government hospitals), and we lack specialists who can work on the equipment.

4. Poor Education
In the country, there are so many unemployed yet there are few people qualified to get employment. I have been conducting pre-employment and screening interviews (for my business) and I am surprised by the fact that many college graduates cannot write a complete sentence (in English and even in Filipino)! So, not only is there a ack of education for the majority, there is also the low quality of education received by many who are lucky enough to receive it.

3. Insurgency and Terrorism
As if the above ten problems are not big enough, people still tend to put the country down. Communists and terrorists, ideologists or crazies, Filipinos still kill each other for nothing. I suspect this problem is purely political in nature, but it is putting us all down when what we need is help!

2. Graft and Corruption
The biggest problem in goverment, this problem did not stay there but actually has become the culture from which all of us Pinoys learn to live in. As such, we no longer realize what is corruption. We now tend to accept things as normal. We now naturally give bribes to get by, get through, or survive. But it is that problem that give life to all the problems listed here. It deserves the top spot actually except that the #1 problem listed here involves and is directly felt by majority of the Filipinos.

1. Poverty
Everyday, people are actually dying because of poverty. Many children are hungry. Yes, it is noble to teach people how to fish rather than give them the fish. But if people are dying now, do you still have time to teach them how to throw that bait? No you don't. To address poverty is more like saving people who are drowning - you just do not have the time to teach them how to swim. That is how sad and urgent the problem of poverty is in the Philippines, that is why to me, it is the biggest problem we face.

An Open Letter to the Management of Smart Communications, Inc. on SMART BRO

Dear Sir/Madam:

We are some of the subscribers of your SMART BRO Wireless Broadband Internet Service.

We all experience similar and recurring problems with your SMART BRO. Everyday, we experience intermittent signals and we cannot get continued internet service. Although there were some days that the service is disrupted only about 20% of the time, the disruption is often more than 50% of the time. There are days even that we cannot receive any service at all.

Many of us are planning to discontinue our subscription but we are still hoping that you will improve your service. We are sure you know that we cling to this hope mainly because we are subject to a hefty pre-termination fee once we discontinue our subscription!

Meanwhile, when we contact your customer service numbers to complain, we were answered by your customer service staffs who seem not aware of the problems that we encounter. Please understand when we feel disrespected by your staffs who try to sound as if our bad experience is unique and isolated when we are sure it isn't so.

You may please note that our experience is the exact opposite of your ongoing advertisements which promises among others “Anytime, Always on, unlimited Internet Access”. Our experience is better described as “Sometimes on, Sometimes off, Intermittent Internet Access”. Your wireless broadband service is "Disgusting" rather than "Amazing". Therefore, it is not only our satisfaction that is at stake here but your corporate integrity as well.

We therefore hope you will find a way to inform us of what you are doing to correct the situation and how soon improvements will be realized. In the meantime, if you still have not done so, we suggest you reimburse our payments for days when your internet service is disrupted. Also, kindly wave your pre-termination fee for those subscriber who opt to discontinue their subscription.

Finally, we also suggest that you taper down your advertisements to avoid further insulting the unsatisfied subscribers that we are.

Sincerely,

SMART BRO Subscribers

Can we do anything about flash floods?

So far, the problems discussed here in this blogsite entails solutions that are to be acted upon by the government (and not by individual Pinoys). Big solutions are needed to solve big problems, not just small solutions that everyone can do.

How can we, for example, stop Buses or Jeepneys from loading/unloading anywhere they like? Only the MMDA, or the LTFRB, or the Police, or the Mayor have the solutions for this. How can we stop corruption when you wouldn't know who is not involved in it? The only participation ordinary Pinoys can make is not to vote for the people directly responsible or the people who appoint people who are directly responsible to solve the problems. But do we actually have a choice?

Now that rainy days are here with us and still ahead, we see floods happening again and again. There are places that have floods even when there is no rain. What are the solutions to stop flood water rising? Hmmm, how about proper garbage disposal and management.

Here is one where every individual can help. Do not throw trash not just anywhere! I guess that is all we can do. Yes, sad to say, that's it. The question is if we are not to throw not just anywhere, where can we throw our garbage if the same are not properly collected?

I think government should agree with themselves and come up with one good big policy on how to manage our garbage. Should we do more of recycling and how? Shall we separate which garbage from what and how can classifying garbage be encouraged or forced. City/Town governments should have good garbage collection policies. They should provide big trash bins around and everywhere and which all should be properly and regularly collected. They should regularly clean the esteros and other waterways. Anti-littering rules should strictly be implemented.

It is as if I said there is nothing we can do about it.

Garbage-Free EDSA

I have been travelling by EDSA, from Magallanes to Balintawak and it is only now that I realize that EDSA is trash-free (at least those that I regularly see). Earlier, I also noticed that there are no grafittis written on the walls and MRT posts in EDSA. Plants are also growing on the center island while new signposts are being erected too.

Meanwhile, although the pink fences are sore to the eyes and the U-turn slots are sometimes confusing or even dangerous, it seems that they are doing what they are supposed to do, lessen the traffic at EDSA. Even the men's sidewalk urinals are also working well - there are no more guys seen peeing on walls!

I really cannot help now but notice, that all in all, EDSA is most improved. There are improvement also in the other roads supervised by the MMDA, but improvements in EDSA are most noticeable, coming from how it was before!

Congratulations to MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando and his team. Please, keep up the good work.

Jeepneys do it too!

Last time, I talked about how buses load and unload their passengers across EDSA. I rode the bus and heard the term they use... "nakabalagbag".

Jeepneys do it too... But since they ply single lane roads rather than routes with more lanes such as EDSA, and they are not as long as the buses, "balagbag" doesnt really apply to them. They are more of like a head coach of the train. When they stop to load/unload, everyone stops. When they wait for passengers, everyone behind them does that too. They do it mostly near or on the intersection, where there are more passengers, and where traffic is heaviest. Most jeepney drivers wont bother even if you honk from behind. "Trabaho lang po" is what they have in mind.

Again, we cannot blame them. The system is made for that to happen. We can only change the situation by changing the system.

Solving Heavy Traffic (one thought at a time)

How do you solve a problem like heavy traffic? When everyone wants to go home and fast, there'll be traffic everywhere. I guess the solution is not to want to go somewhere at the same time. But that is running against the tide... on a waterfall..., something that is impossible to do.

In order to pose a solution to any problem, we might as well think of how the problem happens in the first place. Why is there traffic? That is the question we should answer... and here are some of those reasons:

1. Buses that are "nakabalandra"

You see this in EDSA everyday. The MMDA calls this "nagbubuntis". I prefer to call it "bumabalandra". When buses go out of their lane, and returns to it by crossing 3 to 4 lanes of EDSA and stop to load/unload, that is when that bus is "nakabalandra" or simply "nakaharang".

For the bus drivers, there are two reasons they do this: (a) They want to get ahead of the other buses (that is why they go to the outer lanes) yet (b) they do not want those same other buses to overtake them (that is why they are "bumabalandra").

Now imagine every bus driver trying to do the same thing and you will now have the traffic that EDSA is famous (infamous) for.

But hey, we cannot blame the bus drivers. Their employment contract is designed for them to do that. They are purely compensated on commission basis, therefore they have to get as many passengers as they can on their single run. Kapag hindi sila bumalandra, liliit ang kikitain nila, and it is as simple as that. Now tell me, who would volunteer to have smaller pay?

Meanwhile, the bus companies doesn't want to pay their drivers on a regular basis because they are not sure of their own profitability when they do that. These are the usual small thinking business style that Filipino businesses are mostly doing - spreading the risks as small as possible, and thinking profit in the shortest of term.

Is the problem purely economics then?

I agree, MMDA should implement the rules on EDSA, and they should set rules against "pagbalandra" (I am sure there is already some rules against that). MMDA (or the others mandated to do so) should apprehend drivers as they break the rules.

But the LTFRB (if I have it right) should also set some kind of rules for bus owners whereas the latter have to change the way drivers and conductors are compensated. A commission basis compensation may pose less risk to a start-up bus company, and beneficial to a driver who get more pay in the short term, but it is not to the benefit of the riding public. Meanwhile, this compensation style is not even good for the bus companies themselves in the long term, because they end up paying more to their employees, while they have less passengers because of the traffic. Even for the drivers and conductors, this is not beneficial in the long run, because they will never be assured of long term employment and they would never have the benefits that goes with regular employment.

And of course, traffic because of "pagbabalandra" is never beneficial to anybody, not to the riding public, not to the bus drivers, not to the bus companies, not to anyone.

Corruption

How can I miss this one? Corruption is our biggest problem yet I did not mention it in my 10 biggest problems! I am not trying to justify my forgetfulness but perhaps I forgot it because corruption is so rampant that I cannot recognize it anymore when I see it?

And where do we usually see corruption?

I know that public utility vehicle drivers regularly give traffic enforcers something (money) to get them off the hook everytime they are caught with violations. In fact many times I saw drivers apprehended yet never have I seen any driver who got a ticket. Surely, they gave the traffic officer some Pesos 20 to 50, which the drivers themselves boasted to have done, as they ride back their vehicles. There are even drivers who have some kind of a letter or a calling card to show a traffic officer, who will then not issue them tickets. I saw one calling card of a supposed high ranking officer that said "sa akin to pare" (this is mine) scribbled at the back.

It is so common when anybody need some documents from a goverment agency, to suffer long hours waiting in line. Everyone knows how long it takes to get your license renewed, or to get some police or NBI clearance, or get a passport. I always wonder why inside the offices of the many government agencies, there are people there that are obviously non employees. Many look like fixers (these are so obvious before when renewing driver's licenses, but I remember things started to change at the time of Oscar Orbos as secretary of the DOTC). Some even look like the ones that just arrived or that was in line behind me earlier! Surely there is corruption taking place here.

Still, there are a lot of places where corruption is taking place. We can name them all here, if readers of this blog would help me. We have to know how, when and where corruption happens even before we attempt to propose a solution to stop them.

But stop them soon we should.

The Ten biggest problems facing the Philippines today

In order to find any solution, one must know the problem. So let us make a list of the biggest problems facing our country today. Here is my list of 10 and everyone is invited to tell me which problems I missed or which problems should have been not included:

1. Heavy Traffic
2. Trash
3. Flooding everytime there is rain
4. High crime rates
5. Drugs
6. Poor Educational System
7. Poverty as seen in the squatter areas
8. Too much politics
9. Pollution
10. Poor healthcare

So there it goes. One by one, let us find solutions to solve them, won't we?