Emergency powers

Emergency powers

It’s an emergency, so President Arroyo is said to be considering asking Congress for emergency powers to deal with the drought. Farmlands are parched, threatening the country’s food supply, and low water levels in reservoirs are threatening power supply.

Mrs. Arroyo will not be the first Chief Executive to seek such emergency powers, which Palace officials emphasized would depend on whether the amount of rainfall would increase in the coming weeks. Fidel Ramos was given emergency powers by Congress shortly after he assumed the presidency in 1998 so he could put an end to the worst power crisis to hit the country. Ramos succeeded, quickly ending the eight-hour blackouts that had crippled Metro Manila for months and sent foreign investors packing to cooler climes.

But the emergency measures did not come cheap. Unable to absorb all the power generated by independent producers, consumers bore the burden of excess energy in their monthly bills. Such consequences must be considered as President Arroyo mulls asking Congress for emergency powers to deal with the drought.

There is another consideration: the use of emergency powers should not provide opportunities for state abuse or corruption. If any project requiring substantial financing will have to be undertaken quickly, the officials in charge should resist the urge to earn fat commissions in the process. From poll automation to airports and a government broadband deal, major projects in this country tend to end up tainted by scandals. Even if the drought persists, there is valid reason for critics to be wary of granting any form of emergency power, especially to an administration with a track record for the inappropriate use of its existing powers.

Yesterday lawmakers crossed party lines to oppose the grant of emergency powers. There may no longer be any need for such powers; weather experts said the drought could be over in a month. The reactions to the proposal should remind the administration that emergency powers are supposed to provide short cuts in decision-making during periods of national calamity. They are not supposed to pave the way for undermining the law.

Pinoys abroad are abreast of local news

Pinoys abroad are abreast of local news

THANKS to satellite communications feeding live television broadcasts to major cities around the world, and the ubiquitous mobile phones (cellphones to us), Pinoys abroad are kept abreast with news at home.

In some major cities in the US and Canada I visited recently, Filipino communities were up-to-date with major developments at home.

Their main interest, as expected, is politics. For example, the SoNA of President Arroyo was well-received by Filipino-Americans in these cities. However, there are some who readily disagreed with what she enumerated as her achievements in 2006.

Next to politics, showbiz’ happenings occupy Pinoy’s leisure hours at home. Typical of Filipinos pastimes they are all in the latest gossips in the local movieland.

The Filipino Channel (TFC) appears to have more subscribers than GMA’s Channel 7. The patronage includes Willie Revillame’s noontime show, TV Patrol and ANC news programs.

I would say that Eat Bulaga and 24-Oras news hour of Channel 7 are getting an increasing number of following and subscribers (average monthly subscription is $ 30).

One advantage of ABS-CBN is that it is now offering to Pinoys who are TFC subscribers money-transfer services, with service fees much lower than bank rates. The broadcasting company is likely to hit pay dirt here.

And the ubiquitous cellphones? Believe it or not, cellphone cards are selling like the proverbial cakes in Filipino stores in major cities in the US and Canada. Texting to friends and relatives back home has become a pre-occupation of Fil-Ams.

In fact, what Pinoys are now saying is that it was they who taught Americans how to send short messages (including the use of unique abbreviations). To friends from their cellphones.

And yes, it has now become easier for Pinoys to communicate with their families here with the use of the cellphone as to when is the next Balikbayan box is to arrive here.

CELLPHONE ROAMING RIP-OFF. When Globe wireless telecom advertised in different newspapers last June about its prepaid roaming World Widest Service, I took advantage of it thinking that it would be convenient for one who was to be out of the country for more than a month. There was no such international service. Instead I was fleeced of P700.

While in the US and in Canada, I received only one call and three TXT messages from the Philippines. Worse, I could not reply either by calls or TXT.

Instead, I received nearly two dozens of "Welcome to the USA/Canada" messages and other "advisories" from Globe. Each of those meaningless messages, I understand, were charged to me.

Arriving here last Monday, I immediately dialed Globe for a de-activation of that supposedly worldwide (in 100 countries, "daw") calling and texting service. Believe it or not, this is what Globe answers:

"Sorry, your request cannot be processed. No active roaming yet."

Help, National Telecommunication Commission!

Why did Marcos conceal his wealth?

Why did Marcos conceal his wealth?

The heirs of Ferdinand Marcos are laying claim to several of the country’s biggest businesses, which include nearly a third of the GMA broadcasting network, over half of taipan Lucio Tan’s conglomerate and valuable real estate in the Ortigas business district.

They allege that the dictator was the silent partner in these enterprises. As executor of his father’s estate, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. now insists he has proof that their patriarch owned these assets.

The question immediately comes to mind is: Why did Marcos feel that he had to conceal his partnership with the likes of Gualberto Duavit, Tan and Jose Y. Campos?

Need we mention Roberto Benedicto of the sugar monopoly, Herminio Disini who arranged the multibillion-dollar white elephant called the Bataan nuclear power plant, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. of the coconut monopoly, Imelda’s brother Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez who gobbled up Meralco and the rest of the Lopez business empire and other “cronies”?

For 14 years Marcos wielded absolute power. Throughout his one-man rule, the press was muzzled. The legislative and judicial branches of government functioned as veritable extensions of Malacañang. The Armed Forces and police did his bidding without question.

The only earthly power that could have reined him in, the United States, was perfectly willing to, as an American author put it, “waltz with the dictator” for as long as he could guarantee the US lease on its military bases in the Philippines. Yet even American sponsorship could not rescue Marcos from the 1986 People Power Revolt.

But throughout much of Marcos’s rule, what opposition there was were restricted to the hinterlands, Manila coffee shops, military stockades and the pulpit. Marcos reigned supreme. And yet he felt compelled to conceal his business interests.

As one of the finest legal minds this country has ever produced, he must have realized the illegitimacy of his commercial and financial dealings. He probably knew that if he publicly acknowledged ownership of these assets, he would be giving evidence of his own wrongdoing.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government—21 years after it was given the mission of recovering “ill-gotten” wealth—has failed to get back the bulk of the loot purportedly amassed by Marcos and his cronies. However, the PCGG’s failure does not automatically mean that the dictator accumulated his mind-boggling riches legally.

His heirs say that Marcos had other sources of income, that he was already wealthy from his law practice even before he entered politics, that he had found the legendary wartime gold hoard of Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita.

Yet—as Sen. Benigno Aquino III has pointed out—in none of his statements of assets and liabilities as a government official did Marcos ever publicly disclose his treasure.

Why?

Secret deal

As mayor of Cagayan de Oro, Aquilino Pimentel Jr. was jailed thrice for opposing Marcos at a time when it was neither safe nor fashionable to do so.

As Senate minority leader, Pimentel has dared the PCGG to stop the dictator’s heirs from reclaiming suspected ill-gotten assets amid speculations that the government has secretly forged a compromise deal with the Marcoses.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita has, of course, denied the existence of a deal. However, recent reports tend to support speculations that the Marcoses and the government—through the PCGG—are trying to pull a fast one.

Pimentel articulated the outrage of many Filipinos over reports that the Marcoses have already regained control over assets sequestered by the PCGG. Among the assets that have reportedly been “returned” to the Marcoses are shares of stock or their money equivalent in PLDT; mansions and rest houses such as those in Paoay, Ilocos Norte; Canlubang, Laguna; and Tolosa, Leyte, and even bank deposits.

In calling for a Senate inquiry, Pimentel said the aggressiveness by which the Mar­coses are claiming ownership of billions of pesos worth of assets, many of which had been sequestered by the PCGG, boosts suspicions about a secret deal between the dictator’s heirs and the government.

Pimentel said the PCGG’s inability—or reluctance—to gather evidence of the Mar­coses’ ill-gotten wealth is reason enough for its abolition.

“If they cannot yet figure out who own these assets after 20 years, even if we give them forever, they will still not be able to find out who really own them,” Pimentel said.

“In the meantime, there are unscrupulous officials who are making money out of the continued sequestration of these assets,” he added.

Asean 40th AMM’s achievements

Asean 40th AMM’s achievements

The Asean Regional Forum (ARF) opened yesterday under the tragic cloud of the plight of the 21 South Korean hostages threatened with execution by their Taliban captors in Afghanistan. The Cabinet ministers of 30 countries sat down to find ways of working together to meet such threats as global warming, the spread of atom bomb capability in North Korea and Iran and terrorism. They appealed to the Taliban for compassion to their Korean Christian missionary captives, two of whom had been executed before the ARF meeting started.

The ARF is an important annual event that comes with the annual Asean Ministerial Meeting. The members of the forum are the 10 Asean members and the Asean secretariat plus Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Republic of Korea (South Korea), Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and the USA.

Despite the gloom of the ARF, there was much joy in the achievements of the 40th Asean Ministerial Meetings on July 30. The ministerial meetings could only take place—and documents could only be signed on July 30—after a lot of work had been done at various task force meetings to draft the Asean Charter, at the Asean standing committee and senior officials’ meetings, at the meeting of the executive committee of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty, at ad-hoc consultations with East Asian states’ senior officials and at the meeting of the working group for the so-called Asean Human Rights Mechanism and the meeting of the SEANWFZ Commission. These meetings and working sessions took place on July 22 up to the eve of the July 30 AMM.

Secretary Alberto Romulo, chairman of this year’s AMM, gave a press conference detailing the achievements of the 40th AMM late afternoon yesterday.

Perhaps the most important achievement is that the Asean Charter has been readied for the Asean heads of state to approve at the next Asean summit before the year ends.

That Asean’s dialogue partners have unanimously expressed their optimism about the association’s future is an achievement in itself.

Three of the six dialogue partners in Wednesday’s separate Asean Plus one sessions—Canada, New Zealand and the European Union—were particularly impressed by the palpable solidarity among the members and their willingness to be bound by their proposed new charter that will make Asean more rigorous about enforcing its decisions than it has ever been. With the charter, Asean will become rules-based and cease to be the unintrusive discussion group that it has largely been all these decades.

In the separate Asean sessions with Australia, Russia and the United States, these three countries rejoiced in the regional grouping’s being an organization that in the next eight to 10 years is to become a more solid economic unity of 500 million people, their increased purchasing power a boon to global trade and prosperity.

Asean against terrorism

The dialogue partner that stressed Asean’s importance in the global fight against terrorists was Australia. Its foreign minister, Alexander Downer, praised the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for contributing to the all-out war against terrorism.

“What happened in the couple of years, the Indonesians, the Filipinos as well as the Malaysians and Singaporeans have been very successful in tracking down terrorists and in some cases they have killed them,” Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told a press conference.

Australia has been seriously victimized by terrorists. That is why it has been in the forefront of the global war against terror and helping Asean in this effort.

Of the 10 Asean members, the Philippines and in Indonesia are the two that have had the longest history of dealing with homegrown terrorists. Here it is the Abu Sayyaf and Indonesia it is mainly the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which has also forged alliances with Filipino rebels.

JI terrorists carried out the monstrous bombing in Bali, Indonesia, that killed over 200 people, mostly Australian tourists, in 2002 and the attack on the Philippine embassy in Jakarta that almost killed Philippine Ambassador Leonides Caday in 2000. The Abu Sayyaf, on the other hand, is notorious for their various deadly attacks on churches, ferries, buses, airports and public markets—and most recently the un-Islamic beheading of fallen Marines killed in an ambush in Basilan.

The Australian foreign minister congratulated the Filipinos for their successes against the ASG and pledged to increase his country’s assistance to Philippine antiterrorism programs.

Promoter of democracy

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, busy with her efforts to forge a new push for peace in the Middle East, could not make it to the 40th AMM and the ARF. She was, however, ably represented by her deputy secretary, John D. Negroponte.

He lauded Asean for its critical role in promoting democracy in its own region. He specially praised the 40th AMM’s decision to include a human rights provision in the Asean charter.

Canada, New Zealand and the EU also view with special appreciation Asean’s plan to create a human-rights commission.

Judicial limbo

Judicial limbo

SEN. Antonio Trillanes IV will remain in detention, and incommunicado, until Judge Oscar Pimentel's decision refusing him permission to go to work or set up an office in his cell is overturned by a superior court.

Pimentel justified his decision by citing the case of Romeo Jalosjos, who'd been convicted of statutory rape and reelected congressman, but was refused permission to attend sessions of the House of Representatives because the Supreme Court said he had to serve his sentence. In a word, Pimentel decided that an individual facing trial is on par with someone who has already been convicted of a crime.

But no one--not even Trillanes himself, to the best of my knowledge--is proposing that he be allowed to avoid punishment if he's convicted. He is not, at this point, a convict. He is a detainee.

What is the purpose of detention? It isn't punishment, it's to prevent escape, and to close off the possibility of someone accused of a crime evading justice.

Trillanes' lawyers had brought up a more appropriate legal precedent: the case involving the late Sen. Justiniano Montano. Facing multiple murder charges, arrested and denied bail, Montano was granted permission by the Supreme Court to attend Senate sessions anyway. The purpose of denying bail being to prevent the accused from fleeing, Montano's position as a senator made escaping justice impossible.

In contrast, that famous escape artist, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, was not only allowed to post bail so that he could campaign for election, but he subsequently received the delightful news that the charges against him would be dropped. Jalosjos, chairman emeritus of Kakusa, also became the beneficiary of a remarkable grant of executive clemency.

Honasan has, of course, been inclined, with his return to office, to preach the virtues of collaboration with the administration. Kakusa remains on the threshold of winning a seat in the House, and its chairman emeritus can reasonably be expected to preach a similarly accommodating political line.

It is therefore not a question of what you've done, but whom you support. Nothing is impossible, it seems--bail, the dropping of charges, executive clemency--if you publicly proclaim a, shall we say, flexible attitude toward the administration.

But to remain determined, and thus, inflexible, in your political stand, as Trillanes has done, gets you not only an interminable trial, but a grudging accommodation of your reasonable requests at best (and more often than not, as Pimentel recently did, a harsh scolding and rejection from the courts).

But the charges against Trillanes are so serious, some would say, that he deserves no consideration from the courts.

Justice is blind. Even if someone faces the accusations raised against them squarely, as Trillanes has, what of it? Even if he's submitted to the various proceedings against him, and conducted his defense without benefit of the pork barrel and the entire Armed Forces to protect him (in marked contrast to, say, the President who enjoys and uses with relish, every advantage accorded her by her office), so what? And why should the courts care if Trillanes never skulked around from hidey-hole to hidey-hole, a tried-and-tested strategy of then ex-Senator Honasan?

That is what separates the courts from the political system. Trillanes went willingly, and with head held high, straight into captivity in 2003; the commander in chief he rebelled against has used every means at her disposal to avoid, then thwart, any attempt to hold her accountable for the conduct of her duties.

It's no surprise, then, that every vote for Trillanes was a vote against a commander in chief who praises generals accused of sanctioning political murders, and who presides over a military top brass which provides dud ammunition to its troops. There is a mountain of evidence to prove the accusations hurled by Trillanes; his accusers can only hide behind a heap of lies.

Still, he is under detention. In the eyes of the judge, he deserves no consideration.

And so, a senator with an iron-clad mandate, duly proclaimed as a bona fide member of the upper house, can neither attend sessions nor set up an office where he is detained.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, dissipated whatever benefits of the doubt he might have been given by a skeptical public, basically embarking on a career of whining in office and beginning his senatorial stint by pawing at and fawning over Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

An administration that is prepared to extend every consideration to Honasan and demonstrate its compassion to Jalosjos, which gave its unstinting support to Zubiri, and expressed its admiration for Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, can't be expected, of course, to lift a finger so that Trillanes can do his job. Just as it can't--and won't--permit anyone but Sen. Joker Arroyo to head the blue ribbon committee, which, in the wrong hands, would make it its first order of business to question not only the ZTE deal but why the Department of Justice had declared the whole deal kosher.

An administration moving heaven and earth to prevent any of its senatorial critics from sitting on the Commission on Appointments, where they could question the fitness of Angelo Reyes for the Department of Energy or Lito Atienza for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is one that won't let justice get in the way of keeping Trillanes from showing up in the same session hall graced by the presence of Honasan, Zubiri and that exemplar of judiciousness, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. It wouldn't let him be there for the State of the Nation Address, it won't let him go to work and it certainly won't let a verdict be rendered. It will only keep him in limbo.

To think that he's one of our few officials whose mandate isn't in doubt. Justice is blind, indeed.

Innocent narcissists

Innocent narcissists

IT CANNOT be denied: Filipinos are far from thinking of themselves as ASEAN. UP Political Science professor Natalia Morales, in a commentary published in these pages last Monday, traces this lack of an ASEAN mind-set to what she calls our "innocent narcissism," a self-absorption that stems from our "ongoing search for national identity."

We can debate her premises, but we cannot argue with her conclusion: Belonging to an ASEAN community, much less to "one caring and sharing community," does not seem to figure much in the Filipino consciousness.

The ongoing high-level meetings in Manila among ASEAN officials and their counterparts in some of the world's leading powers have encouraged us yet again to put our best foot forward; but the hype and the hoopla about the meetings cannot cover up, or make up for, their lack of resonance in our daily life.

This is a pity, because this week's meetings have in fact made some remarkable headway. Given the culture of consensus that animates the 40-year-old regional organization, the carefully choreographed initiatives announced in the last several days must be considered to be genuine breakthroughs.

The most important is the decision to include the formation of a human rights commission in the proposed ASEAN Charter. The diplomatic community gathered in Manila was prepared for a rejection of the provision, or at least a postponement of any decision on it. The military rulers of Burma (Myanmar) were expected to object to the provision. (Insider reports suggest that Burmese officials did raise objections, but, regrettably, they were not the only ones.) When the ASEAN foreign ministers ended up agreeing on the basic principle, therefore, and announced that the proposed charter would include a provision on the human rights commission, the unexpected news was greeted enthusiastically.

To be sure, the victory for the democratic cause was less than complete. Crucial details of the human rights commission and the process of forming it were left for future meetings to determine. In other words, it was a typical diplomatic advance, a cautiously worded declaration unburdened by too much specificity.

But Foreign Minister George Yeo of Singapore, the chairman of the next ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, could not contain his optimism. "Myanmar had a positive attitude toward all of this. At the ministerial level, we have reached a consensus," he noted.

Another milestone is the high-profile participation of the North Korean foreign minister, who visited the Philippines for the first time to bask in the applause of regional officials, who praised the isolated nation's decision to shut down its nuclear facilities, and to forge closer links with ASEAN countries. The Philippines, for one, entered into an agreement with the Stalinist regime in North Korea to forge a "bilateral consultation mechanism," one that institutionalizes regular consultations between the two countries.

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun called the agreement "an important phase in our bilateral relations," and added: "Our cooperation is moving from strength to strength."

The entire region should welcome this "cooperation," because agreements like it strengthen the Six-Party Talks and provide Pyongyang less reason to prefer military action over diplomacy.

But if there is an initiative that will foster greater ASEAN consciousness among Filipinos, it is the agreement on sanctuary.

Under the agreement, classified as a standard operating procedure, citizens of any ASEAN country caught in civil conflicts can seek refuge in the embassy of any other ASEAN country. The SOP provides that, in case of imminent danger, "a citizen of an ASEAN member country may directly seek assistance from the missions of other ASEAN member countries or go directly to shelters or sanctuaries provided by their missions."

This is an initiative as sweeping, and as useful, as the earlier historic agreements to do away with visas for ASEAN citizens travelling to ASEAN destinations. Sanctuary will benefit overseas workers not only from the Philippines, but from neighboring countries, too. Thousands of Filipinos undergo pre-departure orientation programs; if they learn to look at other ASEAN embassies as sanctuaries, too, Filipinos may yet learn to leave their innocent narcissism abroad.

‘SANA’ – State of Palengke Address

‘SANA’ – State of Palengke Address

THREE days after President Arroyo delivered her State-of-the-Nation Address, we continue to try and decipher from her remarks what it all meant in terms of a national framework for collective action.

Valid hopes have been raised by our national leadership. But despair continues to fester among our people.

Yes, there is payback for some, but the multitude remains left out, disconnected from the nominal accomplishments enumerated by the President.

Noong Lunes, napakinggan natin ang SONA. Ngayon naman aking hinahandog po sa inyo ang "SANA"… sana mangyari na sa ating bansa. O kung ayaw niyo ang SANA, siguro ang SOPA – State of the Palengke Address.

Ang agenda ng Pangulo at ng pamunuhan ay dapat hindi lumayo sa agenda ng palengke.

Ang huntahan sa kanto, sa sari-sari store, sa karinderya, sa bawat tahanan ay dapat dalhin sa pambansang entablado kung saan malayang makakalahok at mapapakinggan ang hinagpis, ang pangarap at panukala ng bawat Pilipino.

For it is in the true lives of real people struggling with their everyday problems that the true state of the nation is found — where Filipino values and dreams are hoped for and expressed every day.

Our country is buffeted by large, pervasive jetstreams of change that affect the whole world.

We are part of a global community that shares the effects of global warming and unpredictable weather patterns; terrorism; energy shortages; pandemics; unregulated movements of capital in turbulent financial markets.

To combat these afflictions, the world is aggregating and consolidating; sadly we here in our country are atomizing. Ibig sabihin, tayo watak-watak, ang buong mundo, nagco-consolidate, nag-u-unify.

Our institutions and their occupants are inadequately equipped in terms of values, knowledge and the moral will to meet the increasing tempo of global change and transformation.

We need a crash course to revamp and fortify our institutions; build character in our leaders and bureaucrats, regulators, state and community actors.

We must break out of our parochial views, and embrace the brave new world as one nation founded on strong and robust institutions.

And we can start by rejecting the worn-out dialogue that is engaged in by politicians and pundits, and engage in the dialogue of the people with an authentic sense of civic duty.

Let each dialogue begin and end with the people’s interests as the driving force.

This dialogue should include:

1.) How with each day that passes, we witness a debilitation of the freedom from want and the freedom from fear that we are all entitled to expect.

The financial economy is different from the real economy. Incomes are diminishing, stomachs are aching, opportunities are found wanting.

Wall Street is different from the main street, just as Ayala Avenue is different from J.P. Rizal St.

The stock market is different from the palengke where food and other items are sachet-fied to make them more affordable. Kung dati-rati por kilo ngayon mas tingi-tingi na lamang.

Lumalalim ang mga hinanakit sa ating lipunan dahil sa di makatarungang pagkawala at pagkapatay ng ating kababayan, at malawakang korapsyon.

2.) This dialogue should also address how we must come together, to repair the derangement in our republican institutions.

Kailangan tayong magkaisa upang ituwid ang kahibangan sa ating mga institusyon.

The President’s vision, as stated in her SONA, is for the Philippines to join modernity, or what she refers to as the first world twenty years from today.

Her plan is cast in physical infrastructure terms, striving to bring the nation together through a network of ports, airports, bridges and roads, assuming that simply building the connectors that the country will then come together. That is different as timber, plywood, hollow block, steel bar – building a house – which does not automatically make it a home.

I ask, even if we had all the infrastructure in the world, who or what will bring together our political, social and economic institutions to save the nation from poverty, fragmentation and conflict?

Even in the hallowed halls of the Senate, what I see are convoluted political arrangements where once again the people’s will is being thwarted.

The Senate Presidency and the committee leadership is now in the hands of a coalition even as in the last elections, clearly our people ordained the opposition to lead and direct the agenda of the Senate.

Let me say, as an aside, that I am and shall continue to be in the opposition. I am faithful to the mandate of the Liberal Party. I shall do my part to serve the people. As it was when you elected me, so shall it be today and everyday.

Indeed, the dividing line between any third and first world nation is drawn on the comparative strength and quality of their institutions.

The dividing line between any third and first world nation is drawn on the relevance of their institutions to the lives of the common people, on the force of principle in their politics, in the integrity and cohesion of their democratic organs of power.

Institution building is in the fullest sense of the word—nation building; and the quality and consistency of governance is the ultimate measure of what makes a country first world and modern.

Our political institutions, regrettably, the great powers of this republic, are not only in a state of weakness or disrepair but are in blatant disarray.

We have an anti-terror law that, given our weak record for law enforcement and intelligence, as well as a poor record for human rights, can end up terrorizing the citizens themselves.

We have ambitious fiscal targets but underperforming revenue agencies. Rather than whip them into shape, government instead plans to sell more of our national assets.

The public agenda has been usurped by personal and partisan ends.

We are heading for the dark abyss of endless bickering and fragmentation even as we bask in the seeming illusion of normalcy.

I am here to propose a solution, or at least the beginnings of a solution— to the increasing divide as between the people and their government.

Everyone, first of all, ought to focus on the power of collective responsibility guided by our common faith. Ang panawagan nang matagal na hindi nadidinig; subalit makabuluhan pa rin lalo na ngayon – ay Pilipinas muna bago ang sarili.

I call upon President Arroyo to make the nation whole by a committed, relentless leadership to repair the derangement of our institutions:

To remove the climate of fear and to heal the nation with justice.

To bring to every household the prosperity only indicated by the economic statistics.

The first principle of institution building is transparency and accountability. I believe that the best way to make our republic whole and enable the effective working of our institutions is to accord the people the freedom of access to official information.

We want to demolish the barriers that keep people out of governmental affairs, dismantle the culture of official secrecy and banish the belief that the man on the street is not enlightened enough to participate in government decision making.

The people must not only be the governed but themselves be the governors of the nation.

In the Free Information Act which we propose, government functionaries must respond to all written requests for information, unless proper justification is given on the basis of privacy, national security or diplomatic imperative. And even then, upon official notification, there will be recourse for the inquisitive to find out exactly why their request has been denied.

Harsh penalties shall be levied against government functionaries who knowingly and unjustly refuse to provide this information.

Our history is replete with events and contracts that would benefit from greater transparency, all of which have served to make Juan de la Cruz view his government with distrust and disdain.

The ZTE Contract, conceived, negotiated and consummated outside the normal process that govern such contracts;

The privatization of the electric power sector and numerous biddings, cancellations, failure of bids and all of these other contracts pertinent thereto;

The Radstock-PNCC deal where details reveal how government to its detriment unilaterally recognized a debt that was never on the books, and so on and so forth.

These are part of a rogue’s gallery of questionable transactions that brings the government further away from the people, making the people look upon their government with such disgust.

Just the other day, the Finance secretary indicated more sales of prime government assets.

Hilingin din natin ang detalyadong plano ukol sa pagbenta ng mga ari-arian ng sambayanan para lamang mapagtakpan ang kakulangan sa performance ng BIR at BOC. Hindi sila nakapagkolekta, ibebenta ang ating ari-arian at matapos pagbenta nito, kung saan na tayo pupulutin, sa kangkungan na lang.

The second principle of institution building is oversight by the people’s representatives.

Of immediate concern is government’s preoccupation with security and intelligence matters proceeding from the implementation of the Human Security Act, albeit without its IRR.

I was one of the very few who voted against the passage of this Human Security Act.

We propose the establishment of a bipartisan oversight committee from the legislature, sworn to confidentiality under sanctions, so that they can be given full access to all intelligence information, so that all the activities under this Human Security Act can then be monitored and can be guided by the actions of the people’s representatives. These representatives should be able to shape policy and advise the President and Commander in Chief on matters involving:

The appropriation and deployment of national security and intelligence resources.

Ideological and doctrinal issues; as well as the rules of engagement against the enemies of the state, and

Orders of battle drawn up by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

We feel that this oversight on intelligence committee would be much better off than the National Security Council which operates more like a debating club and only discusses that which the executive provides to it. It does not have its own ability to figure out what the real information is, it only debates what it is spoonfed to it.

Our proposal is intended to reinforce the stated commitment of the President Arroyo to arrest the assault on civil liberties.

And just much as there ought to be public oversight in the security and intelligence activities of the government, our government’s regulatory oversight over dishonest practices by unscrupulous elements in the business community likewise must be made more robust.

We need stronger action against those who swindle the consumers’ hard-earned money; those responsible for pyramiding and Ponzi schemes; those who fool the public in order to make some money.

These oversight functions in financial matters can be extended to other matters as well:

The CHED could be more proactive in shutting down non-performing schools and diploma mills.

The SEC could be more rigorous in regulating the pre-need companies. Thousands of students and parents, many probably who are in this very room, suffered greatly because of dishonest and fraudulent educational plans, the companies unable to redeem the promises that they made when they first sold these plans.

The BFAD, the Bureau of Food and Drugs, could be more consistent in its effort against substandard medicines and food items.

We need oversight in the full sense of the word without impairing the separation of powers.

The measures I propose will open the doors of dialogue between the institutions of government and between government and the people, for the good of all.

Our dialogue with the people must begin with an earnest dialogue of leaders.

The era of gridlock must give way to the era of authentic nation-building.

And we can only heal the nation by healing the despair.

Maghihilom lamang ang mga sugat ng bayan kung mapapawi ang pighati sa puso, damdamin, at isip ng bawat Pilipino.

By healing despair we can proceed to the essentials that make lives better for every Filipino.

Apart from repairing our republican institutions comes the task of repairing human lives and keeping families whole.

We want a national development plan focusing on better brains and bodies – better, more competitive and productive Filipinos – that can rise above the humblest beginnings on merit instead of patronage or palakasan.

We need huge and broad investments in health and education to carry Filipinos across the digital highway, above the poverty threshold, into the more competitive global markets.

The EVAT ought to be converted to a people’s fund earmarked as a special account in the national treasury separate from the general fund.

This EVAT, coming from all of your and your parents; sacrifices amounts to about P80 billion every year. This is the result of your sacrifice, and there must be a firewall between these funds and the hands of discretion and patronage.

Let us truly put our money where our mouths are. Our most valuable resource is our people, all of you.

Thus, we propose that half of this amount, half of the Php80 billion should go to education, to close the resource gaps in teachers’ training, in the number of teachers and salaries, classrooms and school buildings, as well as to purchase textbooks and funds for scholarships, and the balance to go to public health.

We are for better public clinics and hospitals, continuous training of medical personnel, and reduced malnutrition among mothers and their children.

These basic requirements, other societies take for granted. They’re looked upon as realities in each of their societies. We must summon the political will to align ourselves, our institutions, our laws and our resources to our own development realities.

On another front, those who work in the country, specifically minimum wage earners, must be given relief from their daily financial burden including having to pay the EVAT.

To ease the burden on millions of minimum wage earners, we propose exempting the minimum wage from any income tax. The aggregate "lost collection" for this sector is small compared to the massive relief it would bring to the number of families and to the family budget.

Tax exemption for minimum wage earners is a concrete measure for social payback. Elevating the social payback of the economy also means collecting the right taxes and exorcising the conspiracy of tax thieves from both the government and private business.

We have pointed out the derangement in our institutions and the need to assert common values in order to build strong institutions and keep our country together.

I now propose two more urgent steps to create a more hospitable condition for development to happen.

First, let us resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front without any conditions from both sides.

I urge the government to withdraw the condition attendant to a ceasefire, and the NDF to withdraw the condition attendant to their being tagged as a terrorist organization.

Second, Senator Sonny Trillanes ought to take his seat in the Senate, without prejudice to the handling of his case.

This would be a solid step to ease the restiveness in the soldiery, depoliticize the uniformed ranks and advance political stability.

About 12 million people, knowing that he was charged for his crimes, knowingly voted for him. They want him to bring their voice to the Senate, and we must respect this.

More than just a litany of infrastructure projects just as we’ve heard last Monday, we need strategic steps to pull the rug from under the small hurts, the petty fights and misgivings that serve to disunite us.

Let us open the table for new ideas to move forward.

Kung hindi lahat kasali sa tunay na dayalogo, at kung hindi magtatapat ang pamahalaan sa sambayanan, paano malulutas ang mga problema ng ating bansa? Buksan natin ang pinto natin at hayaang sumibol ang mga bagong panukala at kaisipan. Makinig tayo sa taong bayan, hindi lamang doon sa may kapangyarihan.

I have presented three steps for winning our future:

1. The repair of our broken institutions through transparency and accountability.

2. The harnessing and safeguarding of our resources to deliver economic gains to the home of every Filipino family.

3. And the creation of hospitable conditions for development and peace.

This conceptual framework for national development is our best hope for economic freedom, political stability and first world modernity.

Maraming maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.

Chaos in our streets

Chaos in our streets

Reading the newspapers the past few days, I’ve noticed that calls seem to be mounting for our national and local government agencies, particularly the MMDA, LTO and PNP to put order to the worsening situation taking over our country’s main thoroughfares, especially those within Metro Manila.

I am, of course, referring to the lack of discipline that seems to be becoming the norm among the majority of our motorists. This lack of discipline is oftentimes the cause of many obstructions and accidents. These are the same problems we have been encountering for so many years, one would think our government would have formulated solutions to these already. Yet, you see the same scenarios everyday, on your way to school or office.

Too many illegal bus, jeepney and tricycle terminals situated along major road arteries, more often than not, cause major traffic jams. The drivers of these vehicles also have a bad habit of overtaking, then, indiscriminately stopping in the middle of the road to unload passengers, with nary a care if they are inconveniencing other motorists. There are many drivers too who seem to be very ignorant of traffic rules and regulations. Many times, you see drivers beating the red light, traveling without license plates, changing lanes suddenly without signaling properly and committing many other kinds of offenses. These kinds of violations clearly indicate the drivers’ lack of comprehension of road rules and regulations, you wonder why they are able to obtain licenses. These drivers have become the scourge of our streets!

And there is another kind of scourge – the motorcyclists who have sprouted like mushrooms all over the country — that is further aggravating what is already a terrible situation. These motorcyclists weave themselves through small spaces between vehicles during a stop signal, sometimes causing damage to the vehicles they are passing. They zoom along the streets, carelessly changing lanes at will, passing other vehicles, risking not only their lives but other motorists as well. These motorcyclists even use the sidewalks, unmindful of the danger they pose to pedestrians. Small wonder that road rage is fast becoming rampant.

World Health Organization studies have shown that a total of 1.2 million deaths and 50 million injuries around the world annually are attributed to road accident related incidents. The number of deaths and injuries worldwide has become so alarming that it is now considered an epidemic – comparable to malaria and tuberculosis! This has prompted the Vatican, citing the need to address these people’s pastoral needs, to come out with the “Ten Commandments” for drivers. The Vatican warned about the effects of road rage, saying driving can bring out “primitive” behavior in motorists, including impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility or deliberate infringement of the highway code.

The problem, however, is not the lack of laws, but rather, the implementation of it. Too many times, we have heard about how these traffic offenders have not been apprehended in exchange for a measly sum or just because they have “connections.” We call on all concerned government agencies to put order to our streets. The rule of law must be enforced, otherwise, chaos and anarchy will prevail.

Substandard

Substandard

Since the administration of Joseph Estrada, scandals have hounded the production of textbooks. At the time, influence-peddling and corruption were blamed for the publication of textbooks riddled with typographical, grammatical and even factual errors.

Today no one is being accused of influence-peddling at the Department of Education to favor any particular textbook producer. Experts have also been called in to check the contents of textbooks. But errors remain, as the country’s most zealous textbook watchdog has again announced to the nation. Educator Antonio Calipjo Go has incurred the ire and disdain of a number of his peers for pointing out textbook errors. Some quarters have challenged certain points he has raised, saying he was the one who had erred in his appreciation of grammar and facts. Many of the items he has cited, however, are in fact erroneous, and some mistakes are downright atrocious.

The problem of substandard textbooks is particularly worrisome in public schools, which rely on book handouts from the government for students’ needs. With an ever-growing student population, public schools suffer from an acute shortage of textbooks. It is not unusual for one classroom of up to 80 students to share only one book per subject. If that book is riddled with errors, and the teacher lacks the qualifications to detect the mistakes, the entire school year will be wasted on what we describe as miseducation.

With many of the country’s best teachers now working overseas, there aren’t enough educators left to detect textbook errors, especially in teaching English or subjects that are taught in English. Exclusive private schools have it easier; students who live in English-speaking households can themselves detect grammatical mistakes. But factual errors cannot be detected quickly enough.

The government has been making noises about the need to stop the deterioration in the quality of Philippine education. If the government is sincere in addressing the problem, it should give priority to improving the quality of textbooks. Companies that publish textbooks riddled with errors must be blacklisted by the government. In addition, prosecutors should consider filing appropriate charges against both the company owners and the education officials who approved the book deal for wasting public funds. Unless this problem is addressed decisively, millions of Filipinos will face a bleak future because of substandard education.

Blameduck

Blameduck

Nobody wants to be a lame duck. This is especially true for politicians and in particular, for the President of the Republic of the Philippines whose term ends in 2010 without reelection. But who exactly is the lame duck? Or rather, what is a lame duck?

We usually understand the term to mean government officials who no longer yield effective power. They are waiting to finish their term with the least controversies or to warm the seat until the new guys comes in. The consequence is that the official will not be listened to or obeyed. Worse, the transient and opportunistic allies are easily sifted from the loyal and well-intentioned friends who are behind the official because they believe in him, his ideas, and his integrity.

An outgoing official then is akin to the lame duck in the animal world which is a duck in a flock unable to keep up and serves as easy prey for predators. Pundits and brokers, now in the rational animal sphere, look to possible successors and realignment of interests.

In another sense and in a worse way, lame-duck politicians no longer respond to their constituents and turn their back on their mandate. They might do midnight deals to ensure lifetime retirement or favor entities as vehicles for golden parachutes. They fear leaving government service and its perks and anticipate the freedom from accountability.

Laden with these constraints and conflicts, the lame-duck official becomes the target of attack. The official becomes a blame duck. While in a democracy, discourse is essential to promote the public welfare and to point out mistakes, criticisms cannot be made irresponsibly and with ulterior motives. To target the blame duck to further personal political agenda is below the belt and is most vicious not to mention that it is too popular and too easy to do. When will we ever learn to see the difference between personality and policy? To separate programs of progressive action from power-play politics?

I refuse to believe that our President is not made of sterner stuff and of a better quality worthy for national inspiration. For so long we have searched and waited in vain for the best president who never was and the most competent president who never became. A president is not in any measure an ordinary duck. She is not primus inter pares for she is not even one of the flock. The president is our one chief executive who possesses the vast powers of the executive branch who implements the law without fear or favor. The president is our leader who stands four squares for the people to embody our unfinished aspirations and see them through. She can be no less.

And it is in this light that the President singularly stands out. She can, at any point in time, be it the first day or the last day of her term, make the tough decisions based only on the criterion that is the long term welfare of the country. It is now more than ever in the homestretch of her nine years to choose to build and leave a legacy. The President is at the height of her powers when she takes a stand in the name of the people versus the parochial interests of politicians. We will respond her because she no longer cares about reelection. She is in maximum control to make governance the platform when she clearly sees who is friend and foe. We citizens will take sides, her side, when the line is drawn between those who work for the common man and those who work for themselves. Finally, a President whose only task is to do right and to do good is truly our leader and on whom we the vital public should bestow unconditional support and on whom we shall confer a national legacy.

All this talk about a lame duck president and those in media who foment discord is therefore lame. Let us stop the blaming the duck and get on with our urgent tasks. Let us close ranks behind the President and forge ahead.

Go ahead, Chief Justice Puno

Go ahead, Chief Justice Puno

"The people should support the decision by the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Reynato Puno, to investigate corrupt men in the judiciary. Hoodlums in robes—these are the men who sell their power to the highest bidder. They should be unmasked.

Many Filipinos know there is corruption in the judiciary. But they are difficult to ferret out because corrupt judges deal only with their close friends in the profession—law school classmates—or relatives. If there are a few judges (or fiscals) caught receiving money in exchange for a favorable decision on a case, it is only because of indiscretion.

We look forward to the investigation of the 12 members of the Court of Appeals based in Cebu—the so-called Dirty Dozen—who have been suspected of selling temporary restraining orders (TROs). By the way, TROs have a price because it provides relief to a client—he or she can buy time enough to fix a case.

With the Supreme Court at the head of the investigation body, we should not expect a whitewash on the case. No less than the Chief Justice has showed interest in the problem of the Dirty Dozen.

The Court’s decision to press the investigation is supported by leaders of Cebu, including Rep. Antonio Cuenco. He said: “For all we know, the alleged sale of TROs by 12 CA justices dubbed the Dirty Dozen may just be the tip of the iceberg. This cleansing process is long overdue. Let the ax fall on the hoodlums in robes.”

Solving water and energy problems

We always love to scare ourselves. The latest evidence of this is the headlines about the potential crisis in the supply of water and energy. The best way to solve these problems is to call for a meeting of LEDAC which coordinates the work of the Palace and the legislators.

Sen. Chiz Escudero has an input on what he calls the looming energy crisis. He said that this problem needs to be addressed immediately to “abate falling into the pitfalls of the same problem in the early 90s where the country resorted to the so-called power purchase adjustment [PPA].”

“PPAs proved to be grossly disadvantageous to the people and the government. The price is always more than what is right and is needed, and up until now we are still paying for it. If we do not heed to the urgency of this matter, we might be falling into the same trap again.”

Escudero wants Senate to immediately constitute the Committee on Energy amid the alleged imminent power crisis. “We are not here to implicate anyone but if someone out there is responsible for this trouble, we will not hesitate to run after their heads.” By the way, negotiations are still ongoing on who will head the several committees in the Senate.

The senator said the Committee on Energy needs to get down to work to look closely into the root cause of this problem and immediately identify stopgap measures. “We would like to know what went wrong. Was it something that could have been avoided? Was it artificially created?”

Artificially created? Coming from a senator, that should be intriguing. We should go to the bottom of this—whether there are interests involved in this looming shortage. Baka may kumikita na diyan?

We’re counting on you

We’re counting on you

If there is a national activity that deserves the participation and support of every Filipino, that would be the national census.

Actually, the participation of the head of family or a responsible adult in the household would suffice for the 2005 census of population that started yesterday across the country.

The National Statistics Office shall cover all residents, Filipinos and foreigners, who have stayed or expect to stay in the country for at least a year, by province, city, town and barangay. Overseas workers shall be counted.

To ensure comprehensiveness, the census shall cover institutional populations such as those living in hospitals, sanitariums, military camps, convents and seminaries. Condominiums and exclusive villages shall also be enumerated using a self-administered questionnaire.

Census enumerators carrying pink umbrellas and wearing ID cards trimmed with pink lace will interview every household. They will gather information on the number of people in the house, their age, sex, marital status, education and other demographic, economic and social indicators.

Should you worry that the interviewer may reveal family secrets or personal information? The law says that any and all information obtained during the census, including the identities of the interviewees, are confidential. Only the statistics will be released.

The information gathered and organized helps in the formulation of development plans, policies and programs at the national and local levels, in the government and the private sectors. They are useful for national planning bodies like the NEDA or local think tanks like the one at the city hall.

The information has many uses. It serves, for example, as a basis for internal revenue allotment of local governments, apportionment of congressional seats, and the creation of new towns or new congressional districts

Big and medium industries and businesses use the information as a basis for expansion, relocation, estimating consumer demand for goods and services or determining the size of the labor supply.

National and international programs that serve the national interest—such as foreign relations, legislation, the administration of justice, national and local elections, defense and national security—are strengthened by the numbers furnished by the census.

The new census has raised concerns again on the issue of population policy. The 2000 census revealed that there were 76.5 million in the Philippines. Using this as baseline, the NSO has projected the current population at 88.7 million on a projected population growth rate of 2.36 percent.

NSO Director Carmelita Ericta said the government should aim for a two percent or lower growth rate after the head of the NSO household statistics department described the current population growth as “explosive and unacceptable.” This is debatable.

The census is considered an important human activity since the biblical times. The most famous census took place more than two thousand years ago when Joseph and Mary set out from Nazareth to register in his hometown of Bethlehem in compliance with an order by Caesar Augustus when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

Not an imperial decree but a law mandates the new census. We need not go out of the house to be enumerated, but wait we must for the enumerator who will brave rain, floods, the neighborhood toughies and dogs to interview us for a few minutes to help establish a national snapshot that tells us who we are, how big we are, where we reside, how we live, and where we are going.

We’re counting on them

AFTER ordering the merciful release of minors from the national prisons and local jails, President Arroyo has ordered Interior Secretary Rony Puno to expand and improve jails in Metro Manila.

Does she mean it? Will or can Secretary Puno carry out her order?

City, municipal and provincial jails are a national embarrassment. They treat prisoners almost like animals. If there are facilities that our government would rather not be visited by foreigners, including the delegates to the Asean meetings, that would be your local jail.

Our jails are notorious for overcrowding, fetid air, unsafe water, dirty toilets and violence. In many prisons, inmates have to take turns sleeping.

Most were built decades ago to house small prison populations. The Quezon City jail was built for 800 but houses 3,400. The Caloocan City jail takes in more prisoners than it was built for.

The United Nations, the European Union and the Commission on Human Rights have taken note of conditions at the prisons and have described them as deplorable.

The President should talk to Speaker Jose de Venecia whose House can increase the money for the food allowance (P30 a day) of inmates or for the improvement of jails. There is not much the DILG or the Department of Justice (which administers the national prison) can do without the money.

But it’s noteworthy that President Arroyo has cast an eye on our prisons. She should back that up by actively lobbying the House or sharing her special funds with prison administrations.

What went wrong

What went wrong

The country’s dream of playing basketball in the Olympics after an absence of over 30 years has turned into a nightmare. Beijing is now out of the question for the Philippine team, which failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the still ongoing FIBA-Asia Championships in Tokushima.

Only the Tokushima winner will join China, as host nation, in the 12-team Olympic basketball competition. The runner-up and third placer will be invited to participate in the pre-Olympic world qualifiers for three wildcard entries in July next year.

There are so many what-ifs to think about in analyzing what went wrong in the Philippines’ crusade.

What if Greek referee Nikolaos Zavlanos didn’t call that technical foul on the Philippines with 57 seconds left and Iran up by only a point?

What if the Philippines got lucky in the draw and went to Indonesia’s bracket with Qatar, Kazakhstan and India instead?

What if James Yap made it to the final 12?

What if the Philippines had more time to practice and not crammed because of the late lifting of the FIBA suspension?

What if Danny Seigle and Kerby Raymundo, nursing injuries, played 100 percent against Jordan?

What if the PBA used FIBA rules to familiarize the national cagers with the international game and break their habit of playing the NBA style of one-on-one?

What if the Philippines recruited a naturalized player like Jordan’s Rasheim Wright, Lebanon’s Joe Vogel and Japan’s J. R. Henderson?

If only the Philippines beat Iran, the team would now be playing in the quarterfinals and not battling for ninth place. The Iran heartbreaker destroyed the country’s Olympic dream, more than the loss to Jordan.

The team’s most glaring weakness was in offense as the Philippines shot a dismal .400 from the field in the first three games. Of the 16 teams in Tokushima, only Kuwait turned in a lower field goal percentage at .331. On the upside, the Philippines ranked second to top-notcher Chinese-Taipei in free throw marksmanship at .722.

It wasn’t that the Philippines had limited open looks or took poor shots. The players just couldn’t find the pulse to hit consistently, whether from up close or the perimeter. Who can forget those point-blank misses under the basket against Iran and the wide open shots that clanged from mid-range?

The players were too tense, too pressured to hit the shots they normally convert. They were burned out, victims of an exhausting conditioning program that was crammed to fit limited schedules. They never enjoyed themselves on the court – the tension was too unnerving.

When Jordan began knocking down threes in the third period, the defenders were often a step slow in challenging shots. Their legs were gone. They were dog-tired and lacked the energy to chase the outside shooters. Jordan opened the fourth period with an 8-0 blast that stretched a three-point lead to 11. The Philippines never came closer than seven and wound up losing by eight.

The reasons why the Philippines isn’t playing in the quarterfinals are:

Burnout. Coach Chot Reyes’ cagers couldn’t play with consistent high energy for three straight days. They were exhausted. The pressure was overwhelming and took away the fun in the game. It showed in the way the players bungled easy shots, couldn’t assert themselves defensively to force turnovers and allowed transition baskets. They rarely broke out for uncontested buckets.

Unfamiliarity. The players had difficulty adjusting to FIBA rules where a technical foul, for instance, has a penalty of two free throws and possession, a sense of urgency is dictated by 10-minute quarters and four team fouls mean penalty situation.

Absence. Because of a long layoff from FIBA competitions due to the country’s suspension, the PBA stars were shown little respect by league officials and referees. Zavlanos’ call in the Iran game is proof. The Philippines was disqualified from playing in the last Asian and Southeast Asian Games and the previous FIBA-Asia Championships. It was a rough re-initiation for the Philippines.

Mentality. Habits are hard to break and with their backs against the wall, the national cagers played instinctively, doing what they’re used to in the PBA. They resorted to going one-on-one, dribbling too much and playing to their individual talents instead of as a team.

Draw. Bracketed in the “Group of Death” was a killer blow because unlike the other teams that are used to the international game, the Philippines had little time to familiarize. It was a war for the Philippines from Day 1 and the attrition factor took a heavy toll on the squad.

With the Olympic dream extinguished, the Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas must now do some serious soul-searching to determine what to do next in planning for future international competitions.

Is the Philippines’ love affair with basketball doomed to an unhappy ending like Romeo and Juliet?

Affordable medicines

Affordable medicines

THE alleged drug firms’ lobby fund only highlights the need for congressional action to bring down the prices of medicine. How to reconcile the Biron bill (House) with the Roxas version (Senate) soonest is what our people expect.

We always look up to India, with more than a billion population, providing affordable medicines and consequently appropriate health care, for its people. In fact, studies reveal that Indian manufactured drugs are 1,000 to 4,000 percent cheaper compared to US brands. For instance, 2006 price records show that Hytrin (an anti-hypertension drug) sells for $ 4.20 for a month supply of the tablet in Bombay while the same drug from the same company costs $ 44.48 in Boston!

Why are medicines priced so low in India? This immense difference in prices of medicines, according to studies, may be attributed to some "discriminatory’’ features of the Indian Patents Act of 1970 which "provides for the grant of only ‘process’ and not ‘products’ patents in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors.’’ Salil Panchal of Morpheus Inc. in Mumbai, in an article "Just what is a Patent?’’ (April 6, 2005), differentiates "process’’ from "product’’ patent by stating that: "A product patent allows rights (including exclusive manufacturing and marketing rights) relating to the object, while process patent relates to a means.’’ In other words, even if drugs have existing patents in the United States, Indian drug manufacturers can utilize the process of reverse-engineering to come up with a drug that is as effective as the patented one, bear the same brand name and manufacturer and yet may be sold at very low costs, and still maintain the legality of their acts under Indian Law. It is perhaps for this same reason that the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry is currently one of the world’s fastest growing industries that has expanded 30 percent more in the last 15 years. Data from the Community Development Medicinal Unit reveal that there are 15,000 pharmaceutical companies that are registered in India and that such growth has provided jobs for three million people in the fields of production, research and marketing. "Currently, the global output of the pharmaceutical industry ranks fourth in terms of volume and 13th in terms of value. . . The total size of the industry is estimated at $ 7 billion, with exports accounting for $ 2.5 billion.’’ (Patents Era: How Will Pharma Firms Cope by Salil Panchal – Mumbai, April 7, 2005).

In the introductory pages of the study conducted by Voluntary Organization in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE) entitled "A Study on the Availability and Prices of Medicines in India’’ during the first quarter of 2002, it was stated that pharmaceutical industries in India were largely developed due to the "need for achieving self-sufficiency in medicines and ensuring abundant availability of essential medicines at reasonable prices.’’ This need paved the way for the formulation of the Indian Drug Policy of 1986 titled "Measures for Rationalization, Quality Control and Growth of Drugs Pharmaceutical Industry in India’’ and aimed at ensuring the availability and affordability of good quality, life-saving drugs, especially for the greater number of Indian living below poverty line.

According to the same source quoted above, even before the formulation of the Indian Drug Policy, the Indian government had declared a Drug (Price Control) Order in 1970 (the same year the Indian Patents Act was enacted) that was succeeded by similar orders in 1979, 1987 and 1995, adding more liberalized views with each amendment. "DPCO controls the domestic prices of major bulk drugs and their formulation with an aim to provide patients with medicines at affordable prices.’’ In August 29, 1997, the Indian government also established the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) as an independent body tasked among others to: "Fix/revise prices of pharmaceutical products, enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Price Control) Order; monitor the prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs in the country; and, recover the amounts overcharged by the manufacturers for controlled drugs.’’ All these policies and agencies have largely contributed to keeping the prices of medicines in India as one of the world’s lowest, not only for the benefit of combating diseases within the country but as well as for the rest of the world’s sick and poor nations.

Now that India has taken its initial steps towards a market economy that is guided by World Trade Organization policies, and as it shifts from a process patent regime to a product patent one (to meet its 2005 WTO deadline), the question of whether availability and affordability of life-saving medicines can still be assured (not only for India’s 1,080,264,388 [July 2005 estimate] people but for all the other communities around the world that depend on cheap drugs for disease treatment and survival) arises as a global concern. In a recently published article in the Asia Times written by a New Delhi-based journalist Siddharth Srivastava, the writer expresses a similar concern when he wrote: "The question is: While one understands the exigencies of multinational pharmaceutical companies needing to protect their patent right as well as profits, why shall medicines, whether in India or anywhere, be inaccessible to those who need them.

The Indian government has reportedly assured the public (and the world) that there would be no "tragic" in drug prices as "97 percent of the drugs sold in India are off-patent’’ and the "remaining 3 percent covered by the new patent regime all have alternatives that may be purchased at their previous cost.’’ Considering that the patent shift in India would have an impact in two years time, Indian pharmaceutical companies have now diverted their investments to research and development activities to keep abreast with multinational drug companies.

Drug price regulations would probably work, even in short-term horizon just as importation of cheaper drugs from India would, as the House and Senate versions would want to accomplish. But following the Indian model, we need to devote more resources to research and development including the upgrading and support to our cheaper herbal medicines such as ampalaya or even coconut oil. Perhaps Mr. Roxas and Mr. Biron can both study the creation of a state-owned national pharmaceutical company to focus on research and development as well as the importation of cheaper drugs. That is, if they can get their acts together.

Roadblocks

Roadblocks

If only for the tedious recitation of politicians’ names and the infrastructure projects they have requested, the unabashed display of patronage politics has become the most remembered aspect of President Arroyo’s recent State of the Nation Address. Since then the annual report to the nation continues to draw reactions, a number of them from unbiased quarters whose observations the administration would do well to remember.

Share prices dropped when Fitch Ratings voiced the biggest concern: with a budget deficit that is expected to be much larger than projected for the year, how did the administration intend to finance the President’s so-called “legacy projects”?

The other major concern has been voiced even by pro-administration politicians: the projects in the pipeline provide opportunities for corruption, which can result in overpriced and substandard finished products or more white elephants. The country has enough roads and bridges to nowhere. Controversy can taint even foreign-funded projects, such as the broadband contract with a Chinese company. Certain quarters have also expressed concern about the qualifications of contractors who will be awarded legacy projects proposed by lawmakers under the congressional pork barrel.

These are valid concerns that the administration cannot ignore. Among the projects mentioned by the President were new or larger airports. But the country cannot even open a new airport terminal, which is now rotting away from disuse at the NAIA.

Corruption is also one of the biggest roadblocks in taming the deficit. The Office of the Ombudsman has made some progress in going after the corrupt in the largest fund-generating bureaus, Customs and internal revenue. But it will take time and many more indictments as well as political will to clean up the two bureaus that have consistently topped all surveys on the most corrupt government agencies. Competing with the two bureaus for the lowest rungs in transparency ratings is the Department of Public Works and Highways, which will be tasked to undertake many of the projects mentioned in the President’s legacy list.

Critics of the SONA point out that instead of a roadmap to 2010, President Arroyo had merely presented a map of roads in the archipelago — a lesson in Philippine geography. If the President wants to achieve her legacy, there are heavy roadblocks that she must get out of the way.

Starting a business in the Philippines

Starting a business in the Philippines

It is not easy to start a business in the Philippines.

It takes 11 steps, 48 days and is costly—about 18.7% of income per person, and costs 1.8% of your minimum capital, per capita, according to World Bank data using figures supplied by the Philippines’ leading corporate law firms.

The bank studied how to start a business in the Philippines—all the procedures, how to obtain licenses and permits, completing the required notifications, verifications, or inscriptions for the company and employees with relevant authorities.

The bank also measured the time and cost of complying with each procedure under normal circumstances and the required minimum paid-in.

Cost is recorded as a percentage of the country’s income per capita. So 18.7% translates into $243, assuming per-capita income is $1,300.

Canada, which ranks No. 1 in ease of starting a business, requires just two steps, three days and 0.9% of per-capita income. There is no minimum capital.

The World Bank suggests that the easiest way to ease up on starting a business is to change the corporation code. “Eliminate the minimum capital requirement, make business registration administrative rather than judicial and allow registration notices to be published online or at the registry,” advises the bank. Get rid of the judges.

Business start-up takes 20 days more on average where judges have to approve the applications.

Serbia and Uganda avoided these delays by creating a new administrative registry. Bulgaria did the same in April 2006, despite fierce opposition from the judiciary. Honduras and Italy transferred registration from judges to private chambers of commerce.

In Serbia, the government decided that radical reform was better than wrestling with the existing system. The reform took nearly two years to complete, starting in January 2003 with a seminar on business registration in countries of the European Union.

In May 2004 parliament passed a law to create the new registry. Registration was simplified, and agencies linked through a central electronic database. The registry no longer has the authority to check the authenticity of data or to refuse registration if the application is complete. A “silence is consent” rule ensures automatic registration within five days.

As soon as the law came into force, the focus shifted to training and publicity. The registry’s director, named in July 2004, became the spokesperson in the publicity campaign. By January 2005, when the registry opened, everyone knew about it. New registrations increased by 43% in the first year.

Slovakia took a different approach, reforming in steps. In October 2003—in time for its entry into the European Union the following year—Slovakia passed the Act on the Commercial Register, transferring registration from judges to court clerks. Standard documents and clear filing procedures replaced substantive review by judges.

And Slovakia did not stop there. In July 2004 it cut the statutory time limit for issuing a trade license from 15 days to seven.

Three years after the commercial register act was adopted, opening a business takes 25 days rather than 103.

Reformers who want to start simple could consider administrative reforms first: Cut unnecessary procedures, create a one-stop shop for business registration, introduce standard application forms and a single business identification number and move any tax payments to after the business has started operations.

Creating one-stop shops for company registration was the most popular reform in 2005/06. But one-stop shops are not enough. Many other procedures may be required before a business can legally operate—such as obtaining documents and having them notarized, depositing initial capital or registering for social security.

One-stop shops work best when other start-up procedures are cut or simplified. For instance, El Salvador cut the time to start a business—with no changes to the law.

In 18 months start-up time dropped to 40 days and the share of satisfied customers rose to 87%.

But reformers went even further, transferring staff from the Ministries of Finance and Labor and the social security institute to the company registry. Entrepreneurs now register with all 4 agencies in a single visit and can open their business in 26 days—down from 115 before the reform.

Whatever reforms are made, reformers should advertise the changes and monitor their effect on new registrations. Most reformers are bad marketers.

So, few entrepreneurs know how much easier registration has become. El Salvador first established a one-stop shop in 1999, but local entrepreneurs thought it was only for foreigners. A lesson was learned. The second time around reformers staged two “ribbon-cutting” events with President Antonio Saca and Vice-President Ana Escobar. The media coverage ensured that everyone knew about the new system when it opened in January 2006.

Finally, reformers best stick to one principle—simplify. Cumbersome entry procedures mean more hassle for entrepreneurs and more corruption, particularly in developing countries.

Each procedure is a point of contact—an opportunity to extract a bribe. The cost of such systems is the forgone jobs that new firms would have created.

A sober look at the property boom

A sober look at the property boom

It's in bad taste to revel in one’s success just when your neighbor is down in the dumps.

But in the case of the Philippines’ newfound property boom, the party simply cannot wait. After all, it took the country nearly a decade to shake off the debris from a financial crisis that left many real estate projects unfinished and sent huge amounts of capital down the drain.

So while we should keep an eye on the United States’ sub prime market debacle, we shouldn’t lose sight of the potential of the local property sector. Those living abroad sure aren’t taking their time and watching the boom from a distance. In fact, a growing number of Filipinos living outside the country, including overseas contract workers, are plowing their savings into the local housing industry.

A look into the books of blue-chip property firms like Megaworld would indicate that the bulk of their growth is due to real estate sales, and only to a smaller extent on the business process outsourcing craze.

This is why a number of property developers have set up marketing units abroad, to benefit from the renewed interest in the Philippine real estate sector. This interest is only partly due to risk aversion, as investors shy away from the troubled US market and seek safe havens abroad.

A greater part of the attraction of the local property sector is the country’s sound economic fundamentals. This is economese for low interest rates, easing inflation, a strong currency, and improving government finances. The Philippine real estate sector in particular is reaping the benefits of a low interest-rate regime, thanks largely to easing inflation.

Before the government’s bungling of its first-half fiscal position, benchmark rates as measured by the yields on risk-free government bills and bonds, had sunk to historic lows. This was after consumer prices rose to their slowest in years, with inflation back in the low single-digits.

Combine that with strong remittance inflows and you have the makings of a strong domestic economy supported by robust consumer spending.

Dollar inflows boost the country’s foreign-exchange hoard, which in turn helps bring down inflation and with it interest rates.

Property companies are the first to benefit from sliding interest rates, as this makes bank borrowing cheaper. Indeed, a growing number of lenders are offering long-term housing loans with fixed interest rates. State housing agencies likewise plan to cut their loan charges.

It is a good time to buy a house or condo, or refinance an existing loan, using other people’s money.

This is why the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ recent reduction in its overnight borrowing rate is welcome news. In so far as it discourages banks from leaving their excess funds with the BSP, the monetary loosening prods them to increase lending to the public.

With easier access to bank lending, which is still the main source of credit in this country, the pace of economic activity quickens, creating more jobs, and hopefully better-paying ones. Moreover, Filipinos, especially those benefiting from remittances, can leverage on these flows and borrow money for consumption or income-generating activities.

Having said the above, the recent retreat in the US stock market, which has reverberated across Asia, should be viewed with concern not because of any direct impact it has on the Philippine economy and its job- and income-generating capacity. But because an erosion of consumer confidence in the world’s largest economy would take its toll in terms of spending on all things the US imports, including the

Philippines’ digital signal processors, wiring harnesses, garments, and electronics components among other items that find their way on the shelves of Wal-Marts and Sears stores across America.

Of course, a feeling that they are worse off than before would cause Americans, including Fil-Americans, to cut back on non-essential expenditures, which include that nice vacation lodge along the Batangas coastline or on a hilltop in scenic Tagaytay.

Its not just about sustaining confidence in the Philippines, but also keeping foreigners’ and overseas Filipinos’ confidence in their future economic condition. And that is one important reason why we should prevent the revelry from deluding us into complacency. Our neighbor’s woes may yet befall us.

Folk knowledge

Folk knowledge

Is there any scientific basis for the belief that mushrooms emerge after thunderstorms? What about the belief that planting fruit crops at early dawn increases the chances for larger fruits?

A book published back in 1998 by the University of the Philippines (UP) Institute for Science and Mathematics Development (now Nismed, the “N” for “National”) reviews the empirical basis for such beliefs and practices from agriculture, fishing, food and nutrition and medicine. I’ll get back to the mushrooms and planting in a while, but let me first talk about the book’s focus, captured in its title: “Philippine Folk Science: A Sourcebook for Teachers.”

I bought the book many years back and remembered it recently while preparing a paper for a conference organized by the International Organization for Science and Technology Education (IOSTE). Appropriately, UP Nismed hosted the conference, which had sustainable development as its theme. I was requested to deliver a paper on the relationship of culture to science education and sustainable development.

Culture and knowledge

As a medical anthropologist, I’ve been training medical students and physicians to become culturally sensitive in their clinical practice. The IOSTE request was somewhat more challenging, but the links were still fairly easy to make. Sustainable development means development in a way that does not jeopardize future generations. That does become a challenge especially because our development models have always emphasized massive consumption of resources. It was presumed that the more you consume, the more rapid the development.

When sustainable development came around, science educators found out that they had to rethink their curriculum. Can you do “modern” science using smaller-scale technologies? Maybe even more radically (and this was where my presentation came in), can we return to local beliefs and practices -- the ones so often labeled as “backward” and “primitive” -- to advance science?

For several decades now, even before sustainable development came into vogue, anthropologists have been exploring “indigenous knowledge” (yes, with its own abbreviation, IK), arguing that such knowledge has much to offer. Some of the earliest work around IK was conducted in the Philippines by anthropologists. In 1957, for example, the Food and Agriculture Organization published a book, “Hanunoo Agriculture,” by Harold Conklin, describing the agricultural practices of the Hanunoo, an ethnic group living in Mindoro. Conklin documented the Hanunoo’s vast knowledge of their natural environment, which they applied to shifting agriculture, or "kaingin."

I’m sure some readers reacted to that word, thinking immediately about soil erosion and destructive floods. But kaingin need not be destructive. When populations were smaller and people had access to large tracts of land, they knew how to move from one part of their land to another, planting in some plots and allowing others to rest. It was a system that worked, with its own IK.

This is a good time to return to the examples I gave at the beginning of this column. Why the field of mushrooms after thunderstorms? Because the sudden downpour causes dormant mushroom spores, already in the soil, to germinate. The lightning fixes atmospheric nitrogen, which, when it reaches the earth, is used as a nutrient by the growing mushrooms.

And planting at dawn? The authors of “Philippine Folk Science” say it makes sense because that’s when soil is moist and solar radiation is low.

Folk science

“Philippine Folk Science” was compiled by a team of Filipino scientists that included Dr. Vivien Talisayon, dean of the UP College of Education and one of the conveners of the IOSTE conference. She told me that some Western scientists dislike terms like “folk science,” pointing out that “science is science.”

They do have a point. You have science when people formulate a hypothesis (in Tagalog, "kutob") that is tested by observation and experimentation, and when they’re open enough to revise those hunches based on empirical evidence.

Business corporations have always been quick to recognize the value of folk science and IK, sending expeditions out to remote areas to gather information about medicinal plants, food crops and other natural products that have commercial potential.

In my IOSTE presentation, I reminded the science educators that tapping into IK isn’t a matter of extracting knowledge, it’s also being open to new ways of looking and thinking. Paul Sillitoe, in his book “Local Science vs. Global Science,” points out that Charles Darwin got some of his ideas about evolution from the natives of the Galapagos Islands. The natives could tell which islands tortoises and finches (a type of bird) came from, by looking at parts of their anatomy. Darwin realized, from those observations, that the anatomical differences were actually adaptations to different environments.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in traditional “wellness” practices. The example I gave at the IOSTE meeting was Buddhist meditation. Formerly scoffed at as a faddish practice that worked only on the gullible, meditation is now the subject of research by neurologists and psychologists. Monks are wired up with electrodes so researchers can figure out what goes on in their brains and their bodies as they meditate. The studies show there are very real physiological changes during meditation, with many favorable effects. The most startling are findings that meditation (and, we know now, mental exercises) allows the central and autonomic nervous systems to “regenerate” or compensate for damaged parts. Medical scientists now talk about “neuroplasticity,” or how the nervous system can be trained and exercised to prevent or slow down dementia and senility.

I don’t want to romanticize all that indigenous knowledge; certainly, there are many irrational beliefs that persist, but you find them as well among “modern” scientists, even with doctorate degrees, who stubbornly cling on to outdated theories.

Science -- “indigenous” or “modern” -- thrives best in an environment where there is dialogue and peer review. At the UP College of Medicine, I’ve convinced professors not to use terms like “primitive” and “superstitious” to refer to folk practices. We’re making some progress there, a recent example being a group of medical students looking into “pasma,” a folk illness. I’m going to describe their fascinating findings next month.

Yes, “Philippine Folk Science” is still available at UP, but I hope we’ll see more publications of that type. IK and folk science consist of accumulated experiences through several generations that need to be validated, but the first step is to rediscover them, together with our young so they take pride as well in things local. Unless we do that, we’ll lose all that knowledge, together with all their potential contributions to sustainable development.

Educating Gloria

Educating Gloria

IT DOESN'T add up. The announcement that Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri has been named "education czar" is like an equation missing a variable.The official line is that Neri's temporary transfer to the Commission on Higher Education this week is a sign of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's resolve to fix worsening problems in the education sector. We think it is the exact opposite: It reflects, not the President's resolve, but her irresolution.

We do not question Neri's qualifications; aside from handling the economic planning and budget portfolios, he has also served as high-profile head of the Congressional Planning and Budget Office and, as he reminded reporters the other day, a professor at the Asian Institute of Management for 16 years. He also seems to have the President's ear, a not invaluable advantage for someone poised to shake up the government bureaucracy.

But all the same, his appointment raises more questions than it provides answers. Consider the following:

Earlier this month the President issued Executive Order 632, which created the position of a presidential assistant to "assess, plan and monitor the entire educational system." (Curiously, EO 632 is not immediately available online, from the otherwise impressive archive operated by the Office of the Press Secretary.) The new position has, naturally enough, been described as the office of a virtual education czar, but Neri insists he is not the new presidential assistant contemplated in the EO.

Neri says he has been asked to fix a specific problem, albeit one that has grown to crisis proportions. "We have too many unemployed college graduates," Neri said the other day, numbering "about one million." His task is to fix the "mismatch" between what the country's colleges graduate and what the country's companies employ. "We want to make sure the college graduates are matched with the requirements of the industry," he said.

This is an enormous--and necessary--undertaking; we are not sure, however, whether it is up to the CHEd to fix the problem. No doubt, the CHEd has a major role to play in reengineering the curriculum, for example, or in creating a program to turn entire colleges around, so that the degree programs they offer match the jobs available in the market. But what about the million college graduates who are already unemployed? They are the crisis; what can Neri, as CHEd chairman, do for them?

Neri was named CHEd chairman vice Carlito Puno, a long-time official who seems to have been completely left out of the loop. Reached by reporters last week, Puno refused to comment on Neri's impending takeover, saying the appointment papers had not been signed. Now the Arroyo administration is not exactly known for treating formerly useful appointees with the highest respect, but surely, if a new crisis in education does exist, shouldn't it have taken great care to ensure that an outgoing official did not, inadvertently, undermine the case it was making? As it is, the ruffled feathers and rush to publicity in Neri's new "special assignment" suggest the whole thing is just another politically motivated rigodon.

And if it is a crisis, isn't there anyone in the private sector, of sufficient stature and undeniable competence, who can help the President fix it? If education is truly one of the President's priorities, isn't it possible for her to recruit into the Cabinet a prominent personality who can serve, full time, as education czar? Indeed, instead of appointing the new presidential assistant for education, why not reconsolidate the functions of CHEd, the Department of Education and such agencies as Tesda under one office? If Education Secretary Jesli Lapus is doing a good job, why not get him to run the entire education sector?

Neri also says his transfer is merely temporary. "I have to go back after six months, hoping I can do my job properly," he said. Frankly, this sounds bizarre. If a crisis exists, how on earth can it be resolved by a troubleshooter with a six-month window of opportunity? Like we said: It doesn't add up.

Slim pickings

Slim pickings

Like dislodged clumps of arterial plaque, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s son and brother-in-law, drifting along the currents of politics, have lodged themselves in the chairmanships of two significant committees. Where they’ve lodged, they’re now poised to act, as arterial plaque does in terms of the circulation of blood, as a means of restricting the flow of legislation concerning natural resources and energy.

Is having the President’s son and brother-in-law in such prominent, gate-keeping positions in the House of Representatives the sort of signal she wants to send? As she proclaims herself in “legacy” mode, does she view her legacy as a kind of hardening of the political arteries? In a word, is this, in the phrase immortalized by the President in her recent State of the Nation Address, the “good kind of cholesterol”?

When Mikey Arroyo was given the chairmanship of the House committee on energy, Rep. Eduardo Zialcita of Parañaque City stared down criticism by citing the young Arroyo’s master’s degree in business from the University of California at Berkeley. Zialcita also said, “There are those who say that he’s not qualified, but one doesn’t have to be an expert in the power industry to know the issue confronting the sector. As chair of the committee one only has to listen and build a consensus on which solutions to adopt.”

But, of course, he could simply have told the truth (which is not to say he lied, in terms of defending the younger Arroyo; rather, it was a Churchillian “terminological inexactitude”). The ultimate arbiter of fitness for any committee chairmanship is party affiliation; second to that is perceived usefulness either to the House leadership, or the national leadership, specifically whoever happens to be president of the Philippines at the time. Expertise in the committee’s scope of legislation comes an expendable third in the House’s hierarchy of values.

The younger Arroyo’s chairmanship and the older Arroyo’s designation as chair of the committee on natural resources make perfect sense then in terms of pragmatic politics. The President proclaimed her administration as having a keen interest in energy and mining; her much-ballyhooed Cabinet revamp ended up a reshuffle, with two officials moving sideways -- Angelo Reyes from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Energy, and Lakas-CMD party stalwart Heherson Alvarez named mining czar -- and a Cabinet portfolio serving as political reward to Lito Atienza, who closed a park and reaped stewardship of the environment as the President’s thanks.

If the President’s vision, then, is limited to political recycling, then it shouldn’t be surprising that that chamber of Congress, which is always eager to take its cue from the executive, would demonstrate an equivalent narrowness of vision. That the talent and gene pools are so obviously limited is neither here nor there for the powers-that-be. It’s not what you know, after all, that matters, but rather whom you know. And who knows the President best than her son and brother-in-law?

When the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin famously sneered, “How many divisions has the Pope?” he might as well have been a Filipino congressman. To be sure, there is opposition to the designation of the two Arroyos. But how many votes do they have? The environmentalists and consumers who have questioned the Reyes, Alvarez and Atienza appointments may make noise, but it has to be asked whether such noises can affect the shrewd political calculations the President constantly makes. The party-list representatives questioning the House’s decision, too, represent the wrong constituency.

There is no mining vote and no environmentalist vote, no constituency locally. But there are interests that are comfortable with dealing with the House and national leadership on these issues. They, too, would see the obvious political benefits in having the President’s family serve as gatekeepers in the House, for legislation required to achieve the President’s priorities.

In H.L. Mencken’s view, “Democracy is the theory that holds that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” The citizenry is certainly getting it good and hard, courtesy of the House of Representatives.