27 July 2009 is fast approaching, and we expect our President to stand before toadies as she narrates her “State of the Nation Address” with the following words:
“We have built firewalls to protect ourselves from the global financial meltdown. We have made the tough choices. We have weathered the storm of the global downturn. Through our ingenuity we have prevailed.”
Satisfied with the encouraging words of wisdom the toadies and asslickers then clap their hands together like those without discernment, the child envisioned by Kiko Pangilinan.
Lo and behold, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2009 …
OCTOBER 2008
· Can the Philippines escape the financial problems of the West? After all, with a 2007 GDP per capita of $1754 (and about the same in 2008 due to the weakening peso offsetting lower than originally predicted growth) we don’t have as far to fall as US/Europe.
· Deputy Presidential Spokesman, Dr Anthony Golez, mentioned in the Bacolod Sun Star, Thursday 16 October, that Foreign Direct Investment ‘continue to post net flow.’
à by international standards, we do extremely badly in attracting FDIs. The relevant statistic is to relate FDI to a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Vietnam attracts FDIs equivalent to 3.8% of its GDP, China 3.0%, Philippines 1.7%.
Examples:
1. We were connected to a Kuwaiti consortium which, awash with oil cash, was examining the possibility of developing Clark. The consortium perceived that the required under-the-table payoffs would approach 50% of the total investment. Moderate greed would have been tolerable, but this was immoderate and the consortium backed off.
2. As it happened, another Kuwaiti consortium stepped in but the disappointed underbriber has not returned to our shores. Our FDIs diminish. We can attract the FDIs we need to engender growth, only if we eradicate corruption. The corrupt, under our present conditions, can cause a serious recession.
NOVEMBER 2008
· ON EDUCATION
Rally in front of the Bacolod City Hall pushing for a P3,000 across-the-board salary increase may be the beginning of more serious teacher unrest.
NB:
1. Our per capita investment in primary and secondary education is comfortably below what we would expect from the third world- let alone a developing country. Our education budget of around P120 billion, is allocated with great skill amongst the 23 million Pinoys born between 1991 and 2001 (those who could be expected to be between Grade 1 and fourth year high school). Allowing for dropouts and those in private sector education, we invest around P6,000 (US$125) per student per annum. It is amazing therefore, that we, too, can produce neurosurgeons and computer superstars as well as the United States and Singapore (each of which spends US$10,000 per student per year).
2. Teachers are now paid less than call center operatives and approximately half the remuneration received by police officers (ten years ago teachers and cops received similar incomes, as indeed they still do in most countries.)
3. We entrust the education of the nation’s school age children, around 20 million being registered in our public schools, to an army of around 450,000 largely unsung heroes. Simple arithmetic confirms the anecdotal evidence of horrendously large class sizes.
· ON JOBS
1. According to Malacanang’s Press Secretary, Cerge Remonde, we are pointing our offspring in the wrong direction; that there are currently over one million job vacancies, but because our students have taken the wrong courses, these vacancies cannot be filled.
à Details please, Cerge. Please name the employers, with addresses and number and nature of vacancies. At a conservative average of P5, 000 per month, you are saying that P60 billion annually is being lost due to our poor education/training decisions. Are you saying that we are pushing our children to become poets when employers, Hanjin? Keppel? are seeking welders?
2. Business process outsourcing (BPO) still has substantial potential job expansion in the Philippines. The critical factor, however, according to Jeffrey Purrit, president of Canadian BPO Telus International, is whether we have enough IT-trained and IT- certified people.
3. Japan is experiencing an upswing in the number of unemployed. A recent addition was Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa who wasn’t at the top of his game at a recent meeting of the G-7 group of industrialized nations in Rome, Italy. Nakagawa attended a press conference in what appeared to be an inebriated state. While the cameras rolled, Nakagawa yawned and slurred inarticulate answers to questions. He blamed jet lag. But international ridicule and an outraged Japanese public did not agree. Resignation was the only option.
· ON CHA-CHA (24 November 08)
Cha-Cha, catchy media shorthand for revising the Constitution, is frequently in the news. It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that the existing Constitution, ratified in 1987, still stands, unamended, over twenty years later.
Whenever Cha-Cha is mentioned, there are usually few specifics, though the populace has little difficulty in interpretation: usually the incumbent President would like to stay in office longer than one six-year term stated in the Constitution.
We encountered this in September 1997. Suddenly, over 5 million Filipinos (none of whom known to us or any of our associates) became experts in Constitutional Law and signed a petition seeking unspecified modifications to the Charter. The inference was drawn that President Ramos would have liked to extend his term of office beyond 30 June 1998. This concept was met largely by indifference, the ‘clamor of the people’ mysteriously evaporated and Ramos had the delicadeza not to force the issue.
In recent years, the question of Charter Change has been raised several times, again without any changes being made.
OBSERVATIONS
The Constitution was drafted at a time when the country’s future was in doubt, and when the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was, apparently, lukewarm towards President Aquino in their first telephone conversation. [Unlike President elect-Obama who had a cordial, nocturnal chat with President Arroyo last week].
The Constitution was also drafted at a time of great idealism- when out of the ashes of Marcosian depredations- the possibility that a corrupt-free, egalitarian society would emerge.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the Constitution appears to be both idealistic and somewhat defensive.
Example:
Art IV Sec 5 of the 1987 Constitution states: “Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law.” In fact, many natural-born Filipinos, intensely patriotic in the best sense of the word, have also acquired American citizenship and, hence, an American passport. It is difficult to see why this is inimical to the national interest.
We recall that the 2001-2004 Bacolod Mayoralty of Oca Verdeflor was impacted by this issue. The application form asked Mayoral candidates to specify their nationality to which Verdeflor truthfully answered ‘natural-born Filipino.’ But his opponents suggested that he was not answering the question, that he held an American passport and was therefore ineligible for the office of the Mayor.
Since then, the Dual Nationality Law has been passed. But we don’t recall the Constitutionality of this law was ever fully debated.
Does this mean that the Constitution is becoming slowly eroded?
Drafting the Constitution
Drafters of any national Constitution, by definition, are cementing the sovereignty of their country.
When that sovereignty is fragile, either from within or without, then the tendency is for the Constitution to be somewhat defensive.
Even in America. When the Bill of Rights, passed by the U.S. Congress in Sept 1789, as the first ten amendments to the American Constitution, the second amendment said (and still does) “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
There are many sections to the Philippine Constitution which seems cosmetic, which do not lead anywhere. Most of the paragraphs in the 1987 Constitution which do not appear in the 1935 Constitution are in this category.
e.g. Art II Sec 27
“The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.”
Or Art XII Sec 1
”The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income and wealth.”
Progress
Most would agree that as far as progress since 1986 is concerned, results have been disappointing.
The Constitution makes many observations about the harmful effects of graft and corruption. Many believe that as far as corruption is concerned, things are worse now than during the much-maligned Marcos era.
Could it be that a Filipino, encumbered by alliances, family connections, friendships, patronage, indeed the whole process of exchanging favors through intricate networks is perhaps at a disadvantage in the equitable stewardship of a major governmental responsibility?
Is the Constitution, by specifying that all significant positions be held by ‘natural born Filipinos’ actually engendering the graft and corruption that its drafters earnestly wished to eradicate?
There is, of course, a vast difference between sovereignty-the supreme power or authority- as determined by the Constitution, and management- the day-to-day stewardship of various functions.
So it is possible for Philippine sovereignty to remain inviolable but for there to be meritocracy of Filipinos and non-Filipinos to ensure that the Constitutional visions are achieved.
International Examples
France, a country of immense national pride, does not have any “natural-born Frenchmen” in its Constitution. After the overthrow of the French Monarchy towards the end of the 18th century, the first leader to emerge was Napoleon Bonaparte, a natural-born Corsican. And now we have as President of France, a natural-born Hungarian, Nicolas Sarkozy.
The United States of America does require its President to be born in the United States but this requirement does not extend to other vital offices. Two recent Secretaries of State, Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright were born in Germany and Czechoslovakia(the Slovakia part) respectively. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California was born in Austria and, judging by his accent, still belongs there.
The United Kingdom does not have any such problems because it never bothered to write a Constitution in the first place. A long, continuous history without any successful attempts on its sovereignty for the past 900 years or so has created a sense of continuity in which, legislative, judicial and executive authority has ebbed and flowed between various offices of State, its Monarchy and its Houses of Parliament (Commons and Lords).
Quo Vadis- Philippines
The 2010 elections are vital to our future. Obama won the US Presidential election on a theme of ‘Change’.
Will the same happen here?
Possibly.
But we need to be vigilant. Some say that Press Secretary Jesus Dureza was sending us a coded warning last week.
The Villar resignation as Senate President can be interpreted in many different ways, including that he wants to put distance between himself and Malacanang prior to a Presidential run.
Indonesia, G-20 member, is making rapid progress. We can do the same.
But do we have the will?
· On Sugar
o RECENT data from the regional chapter of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Association Inc. (CONFED) suggests that sugar production may drop by 15-20 percent compared with last year.
o If this regional trend is repeated nationally, then this suggests that last year’s bumper production of 2.4 Metric Tonnes(2.4m MT) may be followed by an output of around 2.0 million MT this year.
o Consequences
§ Amount of Sugar we Consume
· difficult to quantify
· But in 1997, it was estimated that the national sugar consumption was approximately 1.75m MT. The population then was 70 million, suggesting a per capita consumption of 25 kgs. We believe that per capita consumption has neither increased nor decreased markedly since 1997. Since the population is now 90 million, then we estimate that national consumption is around 2.25m MT.
o International Aspects
Our burgeoning population is making food self-sufficiency problematic. We are already the world’s largest importer of rice.
We now have 90 million souls living on 300,000 sq km (30 million hectares) of land, including uninhabited and uninhabitable land. Our population density, therefore, is 300 people per sq km; more than double that of Thailand (140 per sq km). Thailand has an annual sugar production of around 5.5 million MT.
Thailand has a reasonably well-developed secondary sugar industry. For example, the international conglomerate, Kraft Foods, manufacturers in Thailand the popular powdered drink, Tang. Produced in a wide variety of flavors, all of which contain 97% sugar, it is an effective way of gaining much added value with little effort.
Despite the buoyant secondary sugar-fuelled industry in Thailand, there remains a surplus of sugar there, some of which is smuggled here.
When the world market price is only around US$0.12 per pound (P700 per 50 kg bag) compared with an internal Philippine price of around P1,000 per sack; when we have a tariff of 38 percent; when Philippine domestic demand usually exceeds domestic supply, then it is difficult for some to resist the temptation to smuggle sugar into our archipelagic country with its many remote beaches and some allegedly bribable officials.
The question of disparity between our own price and the world market price needs examination. The disparity varies, but the current level where the world market price is 30 percent less than our domestic price is not untypical.
Pricing difficulties can occur, particularly with the sometimes extremely high retail prices. In November 2007, for example, the world market price was around P12 per kg but the retail price in the Philippines was P40. This difference meant that Pinoys were paying more for sugar in supermarkets than Americans earning an average, 20 times as much.
It should not be beyond the capability of our government to ensure fair play to the 90 million consumers as well as those in the industry.
· Asean
In 1995, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached a general agreement that by 2007, there would be no tariffs on any goods between member states. Some years later, the Philippines negotiated to extend its tariff on sugar until 2010. Now there are observations by Senator Mar Roxas and others that the Philippines should renegotiate to extend its 38 percent sugar tariff to beyond 2010.
If the Asean is to be more than a talking shop (and there are mutterings from some member states that it is close to being just that - a talking shop), then there comes a time when all members have to accept the implementation of free trade. This time is maybe now.
At a marketing conference at the University of St La Salle, Bacolod on October 8-9, Lito Coscoluella, head of the Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) addressed the issue of cheap sugar imports from 2010. The main theme of his presentation was that improved competitiveness is the way forward.
Is this a subtle signal that the government accepts the current Asean agreement that the tariff will be the 0-5 percent range from 2010?
DECEMEBER 2008
· PDEA claimed that the DOJ dismissal of the Alabang Boys’ charges was because `P50 million changed hands.’
· GASOLINE
Since fuel prices are necessarily closely related to world oil prices, it is understandable that vehicle owners pay fairly similar prices, subject to caveat of government taxation. A substantial caveat. Europeans have traditionally paid more fuel tax than Americans. The American Dream is predicated on many factors, of which the mobility associated with cheap fuel is an important one. So when oil prices peaked at $147 per barrel earlier this year with a consequential fuel cost of $4 per gallon, Americans were horrified. But $4 per gallon is equivalent to only P48 per liter. We peaked at P61.82 per liter. It is typical for us to have to pay 25% more for our fuel than Americans.
· SUGAR
Retail sugar prices in most parts of the world are, unsurprisingly, related to the world sugar market price, currently about $0.12 per lb (P12 per kg). But not here. Our retail sugar price which is higher than most countries is now P30.75 per kg, 2.5 times the world market price. Clearly, our sugar industry is important to Philippine economy, although it contributes comfortably less than 1% of our GDP. But, bearing in mind the importance of sugar’s calorific value to population’s diet, we wonder whether, it is appropriate for our sugar to be so expensive.
· Electricity
Electricity is another essential which consumes up to 20-25% of wage earners’ incomes. The electricity metric is that an employee earning P6,000 per month has to work for about 10 minutes to pay for a kilowatt hour of electricity. His American counterpart can pay for 30 KWH in the same time. So the degree of difficulty ration is 30:1 against the Pinoy. If he has the misfortune to live in Iloilo, the ratio climbs to an unconscionable 70:1.
· CORRUPTION
Transparency International recently released its 2008 corruption perception index. 180 countries were surveyed. The Philippines was ranked 141st.
We are in bad company. Yemen, Cameroon and Charter member of George W. Bush’s Axis of Evil, Iran share the same slot as ourselves. Below us, but not by much are failed states (Zimbabwe) and war-zones(Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia). Indonesia, which we never regarded as squeaky clean is 15 countries higher than us at 126th. Until this year, we were regarded, rightly, to be cleaner than our archipelagic neighbour. But Indonesia’s President SBY is making a difference.
The link between corruption and poverty is as strong as the link between smoking and lung cancer. NO poor country is even approaching cleanliness: there is no such thing as a poor but well-managed country.
Corruption reduces Foreign Direct Investment which in turn reduces job creation, thereby making it more difficult for the poor to become less poor.
In 2000 the United Nations passed a resolution to eradicate poverty by 2015- this was one of the US eight millennium goals. This September, President Aroyo spoke at the UN’s General Assembly to confirm that we would achieve the poverty eradication goal on time. We also recall that in 2004 the President stated that we would eradicate corruption by 2007.
How do we react on this depressing data on our corruption level compared to other countries? Should we be in denial, as our government officials seem to be. Should we engaged in banal sophistries: ‘perception is not the same as reality’ that we hear from some of our elected representatives or our unelected mandarins? We don’t think so. Transparency International’s methodology has been consistent for many years. There is no obvious bias for or against any country. The relative rankings of various countries is compatible with our own experiences and anecdotal evidence- both within and outside the Philippines. Of particular relevance is the perception which we find is held by the majority of the Pinoys, that corruption is become worse year by year. More blatant, less subtle.
Although Romulo Neri’s testimony at the Senate’s NBN hearing was less complete than many would like, his alleged instruction to Jun Lozada ‘moderate their greed‘ has become significant and risible addition to corruption lexicon. It is highly revealing. Neri was saying that 20% ‘greases money’ constituted moderate greed and was, therefore, acceptable. (In reality, of course, 0% is the only acceptable level.) In contrast in Pakistan, when the late Benazir Bhutto was President, her husband Asif Abdul Zardari was sneeringly referred to as Mr 10%. Now the widower Zardari is the President. Time will tell whether the Pakistan will become more or less corrupt.
We mentioned blatancy. This takes many forms. One aspect is that when items in common use are being contracted and paid for through government agencies, the prices being paid sometimes seem higher than what the average walk-in punter has to pay. If there is hocus pocus, in a government contract, then presumably this requires the collusion of the supplier who prepares inflated invoices.
Last year, Bacolod City working with DSWD paid according to the Panay News, P664,000 for four Nuga Best orthopedic beds for the elderly. Since the full retail price for one bed is only P135,00, there is possibility of overpricing.
Over the years, we have had good experiences with local suppliers marketing computer equipment. In this regard, we give unsolicited praise to MF Computer Solution, Jegabytes, and IECC. Prices are negotiable, substantial discounts maybe obtained in this highly competitive market, and energetic, capable staff work well to ensure that the customer obtains maximum benefits from his computer installation. So we were somewhat disappointed to find that some computers supplied to schools last year appeared to be less cost-beneficial than our own configuration.
As we recall, there was some public finger-pointing between Dep Ed officials and Bacolod’s elected representative Rep Monico Puentevella. but we are not aware of the outcome.
Possible overprice of small items is depressing. It makes one wonder what happens in major road-building projects, for example.
JAN 2009
· ‘From a personal realm, I state this; I am a mother who is bothered by an alleged conspiracy to let loose on the streets anew pushers of illegal drugs. What if they lurk on my street? We cannot overstate the reminders from our anti-drug agencies that illegal drugs wreck lives.’ àThe self-proclaimed anti-drug czar [sic]
o Recall the war on drugs reached a peak in 2003. Senior Supt Vicente Pontreras and ably supported by Senior Inspectors Bonifer Gotas and Jonathan Lorilla and others were making life uncomfortable for drug pushers. Unfortunately, the troubling Salabas case occurred at the same time and the aforementioned officers are now fugitives.
o Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez seems perturbed by PDEA officials. ‘They (PDEA) started this hullabaloo”does not constitute prima facie evidence of wrongdoing. Is the Justice Secretary expressing the view that the Alabang Boys’ case should never have entered the public domain? We hope not.
To be fair, the Justice Secretary may feel conflicted between the desire to protect the performance of his own Department and the wider- ranging issues that will be discussed in Cabinet.
· Our unemployment data is obtained from the Labor Force Survey undertaken by the National Statistics Office. The results of this survey showed that there are 37.1 million persons in the labor force, of whom 34.5 million are currently employed. à 2.6 million unemployed
· NSO and Labor Secretary Marianito Roque did not say, but erstwhile Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno did, is that 6 million of the employed 34.5 million are “underemployed”. Semantics aside, it is clear that we are already in a soft labor market.
· Old airports serving Bacolod and Iloilo have recently been closed. The site of Iloilo’s old airport at Mandurriao, consisting of 54 hectares, was auctioned. The astutely successful bidder, Megaworld Corp., obtained this strategically located commercial site for P1.09 billion (P2, 000 per sq. meter). Hundreds of jobs have been created from its development.
· It is vital for local employment that something useful be done with the 37 ha site of the old Bacolod airport. Jointly owned by the government (20 ha) and Lucio Tan (17 ha), the time has come for the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’ criterion to be applied.
· the number of call center jobs in Bacolod has grown from zero in 2005 to 5,000 to-day
· Contributing to job creation woes is our endemic corruption. This causes our Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) to remain stubbornly below 1% of GDP. We could expect FDIs to be treble this amount (3%) if we were a crocodile-free zone. The effects are cumulative. Over the years, therefore, millions of jobs have not been created due to our dysfunctional governance.
The World Bank put a moratorium on infrastructure projects early last year and we continue to fail to obtain Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding, due to the government’s inability to demonstrate leadership in good governance, particularly in combating corruption. Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo’s anodyne silliness about ‘misperceptions’ will not impress current MCC Board Chairman US Secretary Condoleezza Rice who needs to see tangible improvements.
· REMITTANCES (data by Central Bank)
o Remittances are equivalent to approximately 10% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product
o Approximately 9 million individuals send money to our shores.
o More than half the remittances come from America [$8.2 billion out of a total of $14.4 billion in 2007].
o Who remits the most?
The centuries-old maritime tradition of ensuring that a sailor’s family is being provided for when the bread-winner is on the high seas is alive and well. The employers of 270,000 sea-based Filipinos facilitate the transfer of an average of $8,000 per seafarer annually. This is by far the largest per capita amount of any grouping of remitters. In contrast, 4.6 million American and European based remitters send an average of $2,500. The 3.4 million Middle East and Asian-based remitters send an average of $1,000.
o Are the official statistics accurate?
No. The good news is that the total remittances are significantly higher than the data provided by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Substantial finds enter the country without involving the banking system, thereby not attracting the attention of the Central Bank. In 2005, the World Bank hypothesized that an additional 50% of remittances arrived by informal means. We believe this may account for the apparently relatively low remittances coming from a large number of people based in Asia and the Middle East.
The not-so-good news is that informal remittances may be a declining proportion of the total, due to improved efficacy of the international banking system, in particular the rapid expansion of electronic funds transfer mechanism.
GROWTH
We have enjoyed double-digit growth in remittances for the past few years. The global downturn will have an adverse effect on growth rates by authoritative estimates suggest that the 2009 remittances will nevertheless be 6-8% higher, therefore $1 billion higher, than those for 2008. We hope so, but our calculations are not reassuring. The first aspect is that global trade is severely imperiled by the economic situation. Suddenly, there is an excess of sea-freight carrying capacity which has resulted in serious revenue losses. In 2007, a 40 foot container transported across the Pacific Ocean (Hong Kong to San Francisco) attracted freight charges of $2,500. Now, due to excess capacity, the freight charge is only $800. It is difficult to see how earnings by, and therefore remittances from, sea-based Filipinos can rise appreciably under these adverse circumstances.
Remittances from the United States which, as mentioned earlier, includes those people who may never return, are also problematic. At a personal level ‘handout fatigue’ may become widespread. The Philippine culture of entitlement is now irritating American-based cousins who have seen the value of their savings for pensions halved and their job security eroded.
FEBRUARY 2009
· FINANCIAL MELTDOWN
Obama inherits a trillion dollar problem associated with losses in the financial services industry
o ‘To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and silencing dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclenched your fist.” – Barack Obama
· Arroyo gave a speech at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland. The speech has two main thrusts. Firstly, she stated that it was imperative that President Obama puts forward an economic stimulus package as soon as possible. Secondly, she said that the current grouping of the G-20, consisting of twenty key countries, responsible for much of the world’s economy, should be expanded to become the G-30.
o President Obama, who was inaugurated only two weeks before President Arroyo’s Davos speech, has indeed, produced a stimulus package amounting to US$787 billion. à but not due to Arroyo’s Davos speech
o US State Department does not consider President Arroyo as successful in reducing corruption in the Philippines.
o President Arroyo’s suggestion of expanding the G-20 to become the G-30 has not been taken up.
o President ‘SBY’ of Indonesia is awarded a place in this important group, presumably due to his early progress in reducing corruption in Indonesia
o At the International Level
Gordon Brown is calling for a sweeping new global regulatory framework, an overhaul of the global financial institutions and a drive for a new, green, globalized economy. Obama not completely seeing eye-to-eye with Brown; perhaps due to the American Mid-West’s dependence on General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and numerous satellite companies manufacturing automobile parts, which has already suffered greatly.
o At the National Level
East and South East Asia’s economies are now largely independent of those from the United States and Europe. Not the reality. For example:
o We are having setbacks. The downsizing of electronics companies Intel and Texas Instruments together with the departure of Federal Express produce job losses which cannot be overcome.
NB: Over the past few weeks, forecasts predicting remittances have become steadily more pessimistic. We agree. 2009 remittances will not exceed those for 2008.
· President appointed herself a month or so ago as the anti-drug czar where there was widespread criticism.
o Senator Francis Escudero made snide remarks about `micromanagement’.
o Perhaps the most serious criticism of the Arroyo Presidency which is made now and which will appear in school history books in the decades to come, is the failure of the administration to control corruption (a 2004 electoral promise, sadly unfulfilled, was to `eliminate’ corruption by 2007).
o What about the Alabang Boys case?
o Without the theatrics of the House hearings, the fact-finding committee interviewed, without fuss, 37 people in 10 days, then submitted its report to Ms Arroyo on 12 March. As a result of this report, the czar ordered:
1. Set aside the prosecutors’ resolution dropping the case vs Brodett, Joseph, Tecson.
2. DOJ to charge Alabang Boys in court.
3. PDEA to conduct an administrative investigation of its agents who allegedly manhandled Brodett during the buy-bust operation on 30 September 2008.
4. Presidential Anti-Graft commission (PAGC) to file an administrative case against Chief State Prosecutor Zuno and State Prosecutor Kimpo for negligence.
5. PAGC to file administrative charges against Prosecutor Resado for bribery.
In addition, Muntinlupa Rep Rufino Biazon criticized the NBI who had cleared justice officials and prosecutors of bribery.
· SSS has assets of approximately P230 billion. There are 28 million members, so we are talking about an average of only P8, 000 per member to cover pensions, loans etc. Furthermore, SSS is sitting on a demographic time-bomb. At present, not many members are of pensionable age but this will not always be the case. We all get older.
o The President was seeking P330 billion for unspecified and off-budget projects. Romulo Neri, SSS President and CEO immediately offered P12.5 billion as SSS’s contribution.
o ‘Not so fast. Our funds are subject to rules specified by Republic Act 8282!’ says Corazon dela Paz, Romulo Neri’s predecessor.
o SSS can invest up to 30% of its reserve fund in infrastructure provided that projects are fully guaranteed by the government, and the loans have ‘favorable’ interest rates.
o NBN Revisited
Huh! Well, the very same Romulo Neri, when Chairman of the National Economic Development Authority(NEDA), claimed that an investment of $329 million – the bid submitted by Zhong-Zhen Telecommunications and equipment(ZTE)- in the NBN project would produce an annual rate of return of 29.6%. WOW! That means guaranteed benefits over $90 million annually!
We recognize that Neri was doing his sums under a regime which was extremely favorably disposed towards the project, even though this would add another P15 billion to the country’s indebtedness of over P4trillion (doubled since 2001). We also realize that Neri is a good soldier who knows what results he should produce.
P15 billion is too much for the SSS budget, surely? Yes, but we recall, though, that $329 million (P15 billion) was the highest bid for the project. Then there was the bid of $242 million from Amsterdam Holdings, put forward by Joey de Venecia. He admitted that his bid was padded to accommodate moderate greed. Lest we forget. Joey’s was not the lowest bid. This was submitted by an American entity, Arescom, which offered to do the specified project for $145 million. This covered the cost of the project plus, presumably, reasonable profits for Arescom. But no room for ‘commissions’. It is illegal under American law, though perhaps not Chinese or Korean laws, to be involved in hocus pocus anywhere in the world.
At the time, US Ambassador Kristie Kenny wrote to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo bemoaning the lack of transparency in the bidding process. No doubt, as with the recent World Bank missives, no substantive reply was forthcoming.
Given that the American bid was not unrealistic, it seems that a reasonable NBN network could be installed for around P7 billion.
We also believe that the project can be implemented by Filipino entities. Significant job creation would be apparent both during and after project implementation.
Enormous benefits would be obtained-some quantifiable and some inherently qualitative in nature. For example, full implementation of NBN provides opportunities for much better learning materials to be delivered on- line to students at all educational levels.
One caveat, however. There must be no collusion, commissions or other corrupt practices. Our economic condition is too dire.
Unrealistic?
No. Funds will be disbursed directly to the contractor.
MARCH 2009
· CHEd has recently withdrawn its proposal to have a five year college education program.
NB:
1. The unfairness of a classroom teacher earning perhaps P150, 000 per year when the fees paid for the students in the classroom comfortably exceed P1, 000,000 should be addressed. We believe that a minimum of 30% of total tuition fees should be allocated to classroom teachers’ emoluments. Some private schools have an excess of non-teaching faculty whose alleged supervisory role is of little or no value.
2. Juan Miguel Luz, head of policy research, National Institute of Policy Studies and a former undersecretary, Department of Education draws attention to poor quality textbooks. He mentions the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, 1995, under which textbook development for public schools was a government monopoly under the Textbook Board Secretariat (now the Instructional Materials Council Secretariat or IMCS). Due to incompetence and/or corruption, IMCS is unable to exert control over the management of textbook content evaluation.
· Beware the Ides of April
The Securities and Exchange Commission was created to bolster confidence in financial markets and root out fraud; Commission to make early discoveries of any financial malfeasance; SEC to make proposals seeking reforms when it becomes apparent that the existing apparatus is dysfunctional à pertains not only to RP but also US
What the Americans did:
1. fired the SEC Chairman, Christopher Cox who had a three year stint (2005-2008) à replaced by Mary Schapiro
2. She cancelled the rule requiring staff to obtain approval from the SEC Commissioners before investigating and resolving cases. This recognizes a feature of oversight organizations worldwide; that many of the foot soldiers operate with energy, drive and integrity which is not always shown by their `superiors’
3. To find more effective ways of dealing with whistleblower information
NB: Schapiro has wasted no time filing charges against Allan Stanford for an allegedly fraudulent $8 billion investment scheme.
OMBUDSMAN
Some years ago, the European Union paid generous emoluments to Tony Kwok who had recently retired as Director of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Kwok’s task was to help the Ombudsman set up a vigorous anti-corruption operation in the Philippines. This activity was mentioned by the President in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2004.
Approximately year ago, British Ambassador Peter Beckingham wrote plaintively that he hoped Kwok’s work would not `wither on the vine.’
Apart from low-level cases, the Ombudsman is an efficient `black hole’ in which useful data alleging prima facie hocus pocus disappears, never to see the light of day again. Even low-level cases can get the `black hole’ treatment. Whatever happened to the investigations of allegations of Bacolod’s overpriced school computers?
CONFIDENCE IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY
Put your appeal in writing and we shall consider it’ is the lop-sided situation that the customer faces.
We need a paradigm shift. Conflict resolution should take place on a level playing field, not an arena controlled by the financial institution.
In theory, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas could offer the level playing-field arena, but in common with other oversight entities in the Philippines, it is not up to the task.
We therefore suggest the need for a Financial Services Agency and hope that legislation will be enacted to ensure that customers of financial services institutions are treated fairly.
LEGACY GROUP
The recent Legacy Group disaster has unearthed horror stories. `Come back in 120 days’ time’ was the supercilious, disdainful response to those who wished to make legitimate withdrawals.
PDIC’s Jose Nograles counsels us to beware of institutions which offer high rates of interest to depositors. We agree. We trust, however, that those who have suffered at the hands of the Legacy Group received prompt and efficient payments from PDIC.
UNRELAXED
Banks pretend not to realize just how unrelaxed depositors have become due to national and international debacles. Our experience is that local bank staff does a good job but their efforts are insufficiently supported by head office mandarins.
A new bank, Sterling Bank, has in the past, spoken reassuringly about relying on organic growth as being the main platform of its development. But recent press releases talk about acquiring possibly toxic assets which the Royal Bank of Scotland is trying to sell in Asia. Customer inquiries on this matter to Sterling Bank’s head office are ignored.
What does Jose Nograles suggest depositors should do in order to protect their interests? And, incidentally, the interests of PDIC which does not have a bottomless pit of funds to pay out under its scheme if a major Philippine bank defaulted on its obligations.
POVERTY ERADICATION
Much of the foregoing is indirectly related to the injustice and cruelty of poverty. The Legacy Group was an operation in which poor people entrusted their money to rich people who abused that trust.
The World Bank has recently released a book: `Moving Out of Poverty: Success from Bottom Up’ written by Deepa Narayan, Lant Pritchett and Sounya Kapoor. In this book, which is not confidential so we can act upon it, the World Bank calls on governments to ensure that local democracies serve their constituents and are free from corruption. `Well-functioning local democracies can help people move out of poverty. Government at the local level all too often turns into a zero-sum contest for spoils.
Corruption is pervasive, creating opportunities for some and barriers for others.
Let us ensure that in 2010, the tradpols go the way of the dinosaurs.
· Extreme sensitivity about the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States
APRIL 2009
· COPS IN HOT WATERS
· Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association Inc (AFPSLAI)
Salary checks pouring in and disappearing AFPSLAI comprises 25% of Legacy’s business à Mar Roxas onto Legacy Group.
· Recall doubling cops’ salaries in 2003
o cops discovers housewives selling 0.03 gram shabu sachets through buy bust à but, afraidto catch drug lords in Bacolod à Katrina Halili had more sense to evade the controversy (alleged supplier of Kho’s drugs)
· Unemployment Benefits
A recent cabinet meeting decided to provide unemployment benefits to 200,000 laid off workers. Ralph Recto, Secretary of the National Economic Development Administration (NEDA) mentioned that the redundant workers would receive P5, 000 or P10, 000 per month for the following six months.
According to NEDA, SSS pays. SSS President Romulo Neri who, closely supervised by the incumbent SSS Directorate and management, has proved, after a shaky start when he mistakenly agreed to provide P12.5 billion to the Government for an alleged ‘stimulus package’, has proved to be an excellent OJT student. As such, he declines NEDA’s kind invitation to relieve SSS of the burden of administering P6-12 billion. His response is not unreasonable since providing unemployment benefits does not feature in Republic Act 8282 which determines the legitimate range of SSS activity.
In the light of this situation, we believe that Judy Ann Miranda, secretary- general of the Partido ng Manggagawa is rather harsh when she says `SSS stands for cruelty and cold-heartedness’
· Extradition
The Department of Justice is currently seeking the extradition of former Senior Supt Michael Ray Aquino who is accused of involvement in the murder of ‘Bubby’ Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000. The extradition hearing is being held in the US District Court, Newark, New Jersey; Judge Esther Salas presiding.
· Finance Secretary Margarito Teves attended the World Bank-International Monetary Fund Meeting in Washington DC. At the sidelines of this meeting, he met officials of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). His purpose was to convince the MCC to approve the country’s compact proposal by the end of this year.
· Chi Tsao branded the Philippines as ‘a nation of servants.’
· President’s Birthday (5 April) à ON UNITY
Unity, the recognition that we should join forces with each other to achieve common goals, was the theme of the President’s birthday wish (5 April).
The Reality
One of the Millennium goals set in 2000 was to reduce poverty by 50% by 2015. We are already two- thirds of the way through this 15 year period and unless we are able to bring about an extraordinary change in income distribution during the next six years, we shall fail, by a large margin, to achieve the poverty-related Millennium goal.
Much is made, absolutely correctly, about the relationship between corruption and disunity. All corruption is founded on ascendancy- that a person, at his own behest, can provide or withhold a benefit to another. This, of course, is repugnant and the fact that our society has become, during this decade, one of the most corrupt countries in the world (141st out of 172 countries surveyed by Transparency International) is reflected by our disunity.
The World Bank has recently spoken of corruption as `zero-sum’ – that the powerful gain by as much as the weak lose. If this interpretation of the World Bank view is correct, then we believe the Bank is mistaken.
In a corrupt society such as ours, the weak (which means nearly all of us) collectively lose more than the powerful gain. Hence, all corrupt societies are poor. The converse also applies, that all poor societies are corrupt.
We can, therefore, reduce our disunity by successfully fighting corruption. The Ombudsman, the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Securities and Exchange Commission all have corruption prevention as an important part of their designated functions. As events in recent weeks have shown, all these entities have spectacularly failed to effectively address corruption within their spheres of responsibility.
What is particularly galling is that it often takes an external agency to explain the problems of corruption in the Philippines. The World Bank’s Bert Hofman is owed a debt of gratitude by us all for diplomatically explaining aspects that should have been addressed long ago by the otiose Ombudsman (OO) and DPWH.
There needs to be a radical reallocation of funding for corruption prevention activities. The existence of the OO is enshrined in the Constitution but the inadequate apparatus for which OO is responsible is not. Therefore, to reduce its budget by P1billion would not have a significant impact on the effectiveness of its corruption prevention activities (since it is ineffective anyway).
Lest you think I am being too hard at the Ombudsman’s efforts, its ineffectiveness is not always due to its own inadequacy. Pelagio Apostol, who leads the Ombudsman’s work in the Visayas, had completed an analysis of the cost of illuminating some streets in Cebu. Allegations of overprice were being made. The irreverent ones even made the outrageous suggestion that P355, 000 is a tad high for a lamppost. Presumably, Mr Apostol’s work was underpinned by some brave, unsung heroes who provided important data.
But Mr Apostol’s good work seems to have come to a screeching halt and his definitive conclusions have been sidelined.
The issue of alleged overprice of the contract has not been properly addressed.
We are all dissatisfied.
Disunity prevails!
People are dissatisfied. Disunity prevails.
MAY 2009
· Ombudsman’s Department in Cebu assembled case against a number of local officials and regional DPWH executives on the alleged overpricing on 1,800 lampposts installed in Mandaue, Cebu and Lapu-Lapu cities for the 12th ASEAN Summit in January 2007. These lampposts cost P365 million of public funds. [approximately P200,000 per lamppost]
NB:
1. The MCC is a US government organization established to work with developing countries to push good governance as a way of promoting sustainable growth. A compact is a multi-year agreement between MCC and a qualified country to fund specific programs aimed at reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth.
2. Last December, MCC CEO John Danilovich stated that the MCC’s Board of Directors had deferred the approval of the Philippines’ compact proposal until it meets the MCC’s criteria on corruption
3. Instead of being prickly and defensive about corruption, it is pleasing that Sec Teves recognizes that we still have to address the problem. This is the attitude from which progress may be made. The stakes are high. Sec Teves has said that the government has proposed to the MCC several development projects which are estimated to cost at least $700m [P34b]. The thrusts of these projects are to improve rural infrastructure and secondary national roads. The employment-generation and multiplier effect consequences of these projects are obvious and substantial.
· AIG, AIA, Philamlife
o AIGs Bankruptcy
American taxpayer has spent over $1 trillion ($180 billion to AIG alone) to bail out various financial institutions.
o Ramifications on the Philippines
§ Philamlife is now ‘folded into’ AIA, the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of AIG. Also as a result of AIG’s demise as a private sector enterprise, was the decision to try to sell Philamlife. This did not eventuate. à The bid from the Sys’ Generali and others did not meet AIG/AIA’s expectations. ‘We are not selling Philamlife at fire-sale prices’ said Mark Wilson, AIA’s CEO.
How much Philamlife is actually worth?
“I wouldn’t offer P1 billion let alone $1 billion (AIG’s original asking price for Philamlife in September 2008),” Winston Garcia.
· On Corruption
According to Transparency International, the Philippines is ranked 141st in the corruption league table whereas Hong Kong (a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China) is 18th. This means that there is deemed to be 122 countries around the planet which are dirtier than Hong Kong but cleaner than the Philippines. Why? à Partly. The ICAC’s powers have a substantial deterrent effect so that the culture of impunity that we have here does not prevail there.
· TAXATION
The perennial problem for the Finance Department is to obtain sufficient revenue to meet expenditures. This problem is particularly acute in an election year when legislators, many of whom are seeking re-election, are reluctant to introduce tax legislation which increases voters’ tax burdens. This year is no exception.
The Finance Department has endorsed to Congress several bills. These include:-
(1) The restructuring of excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco [predicted yield:P20b]
(2) The rationalization of fiscal incentives[Predicted savings:P10b]
(3) A simplified net income taxation scheme[Predicted yield:P12b]
These bills are not likely to be approved by Congress without modifications which will reduce yields.
In addition, we have lower collections due to the economic downturn and foregone revenues arising from tax relief laws. Economic conditions, particularly easing inflation (9.3% in 2008, 2.5%-4.5% in 2009, according to BSP), also challenge revenue acquisition.
BIR reports that only VAT collections are growing relative to 2008. Other collections from income and excise taxes are contracting. To summarize: In the first quarter 0f 2009, BIR collected P154.8b. This is P10.5b short of its target and P11.8b less than the first quarter of 2008.
· OIL SMUGGLING
Value-added and excise taxes together with customs duties are levied on imported oil products. Since 1997, there has been a steady decline of the volume of oil imports on which taxes are paid. In 1997, the official imports were 303,000 barrels per day (bpd), declining to 264,900 bpd in 2008.
In reality, of course, the sum of official and unofficial oil imports is rising due to our growth [economist suggest that a 1% growth in GDP, under current conditions, means a 1.5% increase in oil consumption]. Hence the amount of unofficial oil imports is increasing dramatically.
According to Sally C Monteiro, executive director of the Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP), over the past three years, the government failed to collect P93.3b in revenues (P28.7b in 2006, P32b in 2007 and P32.6b in 2008) due to oil imports that were not officially accounted for.
In response to observations about oil smuggling, the Bureau of Customs complains that a lack of resources results in its inability to prevent smuggling and associated nefariousness such as non-filing of entry documents, and misdeclaring/undervaluing oil importation.
Little wonder, therefore, that we are a highly taxed nation, yet our infrastructure and implementation of the government programs is so inadequate.
· FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS (FDI)
As soon as the President sallies forth beyond what Pagasa endearingly calls the ‘Philippine area of responsibility,’ Press Secretary Cerge Remonde uses all communication channels to claim that multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects are coming our way as a result of the President’s initiatives when meeting dignitaries of foreign lands - particularly the Middle East.
We wish these investments eventuate, but visits to foreign lands often result in mutual exchanges of honeyed words but no subsequent action.
In fact, FDI fell by 82% in February 2009 compared to the year before [$90m in 2008, $16m in 2009].
Although the BSP is, at least in public, optimistic regarding future investments, the lack of FDI is one of the critical factors affecting our growth.
· POLITICAL PARTIES
Never has our political party environment been so fragmented. The Toadies relentlessly and boringly talk about a Kampi/Lickass merger being a ‘done deal.’ To this cynical bystander, a done deal is when the President and Joe de Venecia, hand-in-hand at EDSA, proclaim such as arrangement. A grateful nation rejoices. ‘Thank you, Ma’am. Thank you, Sir. The stability and security of our country is assured.’
Hardly. Politicians, normally nature’s pragmatists, seem not to have forgotten or forgiven the President’s shabby treatment of de Venecia last year.
From Christmas night 1997, when GMA, seemingly as a supplicant, visited J de V’s home, seeking to be his Vice-Presidential running mate, we have seen a continuous volley of slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, from the bizarre but generally unhappy events which do so much to engender chronic political instability. There must be many who believe that a helpful Constitutional change would be, as the Americans do, to elect the President and Vice-President as a package.
But if the existing political parties wither, new ones will form. We are seeing this. Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party and Mar Roxas’ Liberal Party are but two examples. Other political groupings will coalesce around other Presidential candidates.
JUNE 2009
· Devanadera named Justice head and his inheritance
o Possible Reasons
§ Cerge tried to keep it simple by saying it was only a matter of Anno Domini taking its toll on Raul.
§ Others wondered whether I was annoyed that PNP/NBI/DOJ, between them, couldn’t have kept Failon the hook for longer.
§ Lacson had some convoluted theory that Raul’s transfer was to do with the Dacer-Corbito case.
o Drug related
§ See to it that there are no blockages in the Alabang Boys case
§ Eleuterio Salabas case in 2003. Verzosa claims that his men have been victimized by the creative affidavit of Cecille ‘Giant” Brillantes. A substantial number of senior police officers were forced to become fugitives (or be jailed) as a result of Brillantes’ brilliant affidavit.
o PDIC
§ Punters are claiming that they’ve lost P14b due to Legacy Group shenanigans. Even if half the claims are bogus, that still means PDIC may need to pay up to P7b – which it doesn’t have.
§ So far, PDIC has been raising the bar in terms of what depositorshave to do in order to establish a valid claim.
NB:
1. Note that we have increased the amount depositors are insured by PDIC from P250, 000 to P500, 000;
2. Based on PDIC’s charter, deposit insurance claims must meet two basic requirements to be proven valid: the deposits should be recorded in the bank’s records and there should be evidence of cash flow.
But, falsifying documents was Legacy Group’s stock-in-trade. Legitimate depositors could unknowingly be pouring money into accounts which, despite appearances to the contrary, were never part of Legacy Group’s records.
· Balikatan Mess hits the Fan
In December 2006 Judge Pozon had, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, found Smith guilty of raping Nicole. Then, in a piece of grotesque theater, at Pozon’s investigation, but contrary to the Visiting Forces Agreement, Smith was carted off to Makati jail. It required all of Romulo’s and Kenney’s diplomatic skills (transfer of Smith to US Embassy and Balikatan 2007 to take place, albeit in an abbreviated form) to establish any kind of normal RP/US relations.
Last month Lt. Gen Victor Ibrado, AFP Chief, expressed dismay saying that Gadian ‘blown out of proportion’ an alleged anomaly in the media.
15 May, Brawner explained that the P46 million did not come from the United States Government.
Then United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates comes and gives our counterpart Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro a hard time ‘You’re gonna get to the bottom of this.’
· Lakas - Kampi - CMD Merger
launched on Thursday 28 May in the Manila Hotel was underwhelming. The heavy hitters J de V (resigned) and Lakas founder and Chairman Emeritus FVR (quarantined) were conspicuously absent. So was Senator Richard Gordon.
Uninspirational Address of GMA
(a) the constitutionally mandated 2010 elections would take place.
(b) Lakas-Kampi-CMD would be a powerful political party.
(c) NGOs should not sleep with the NPA.
The next morning, 29 May, Joe de Venecia was interviewed by Anthony Taberna on ABS-CBN. Despite relentlessly discourteous telephonic interruptions from Gabriel Claudio, J de V managed to convey that he is forming a group which recognizes that the interrelated issues of poverty and corruption are at the top of the list of problems that must be solved.
· Winston Garcia, GSIS president and general manager stated that P30B in unpaid premiums from various government agencies and units are hampering the GSIS operations as well as its ability to pay out benefits
o This is an intolerable, untenable situation. But government employees, even in retirement, are steeped in a collegial tradition of not raising their voices, not rocking the boat, not making a fuss. So these people are cajoled, bullied, and exhorted to be patient, to be ‘team-player’- whatever that means in this context. They are cheated. And they are cheated with impunity. Where are the auditors? There comes a time when organizational sloth and administrative tardiness moves over the line into the murky world of estafa. Is there anything to stop abused employees from filing charges under Art 315 of the Revised Penal Code?
o For example, Winston Garcia, states that arrears in employers’ remittances stretch as far back as 10-15 years; that 30% of the country’s 8,000 local government units are behind in their payments.
o Quezon City has just paid P43M in payment arrears incurred from 1997 to 2007. According to City Hall, the amount represents P35M in employer’s share, P6M in employees’ share and P2M in employees’ compensation.
o Another disagreeable feature is the desire of an organization to put the employee nearing retirement age in a supplicant position. The PNP seems particularly guilty of this. Many police officers have to spend much, if not all, of their last year of service ‘working on their papers.’ This means that they have to prove their PNP service. This information is readily available at Camp Crame. So why treat a long-serving police officer in this unnecessarily cavalier manner? Do administrators really have a primordial need to be on top?
· Arroyo flies to Brazil to meet Lula
· Arroyo flies to Russia
NB:
1. Constitutionally, Putin had to step down from the Presidency but has stayed on as Prime Minister.
July 2009
· ELECTRICITY
electricity which we bought for P5.40 per KWH as recently as March has increased by 33% in the intervening three months so that by June it cost P7.20 per KWH à parlor which paid P13, 500 for a month’s supply of electricity in March, now pays P18, 000 à Some businesses will close, employees will be laid off, and the economy will contract
· FOOD SECURITY
Oxfam International predicts global warming will reduce rice yields in the Philippines (world’s biggest rice importer)
The foreign news agency, Reuters, scooped the local media by clandestinely obtaining pertinent documents and publishing, last Monday, details of the government’s deal with the government of Vietnam earlier this year to buy 1.5 million metric tons of rice for $825 million. Pablito Villegas an agricultural economic consultant with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization believes that price paid is too high and hinted darkly ‘There is more to this than meet the eye.’
Senators, notably Chiz Escudero and Loren Legarda cried foul, alleging an overprice of P13B but Agriculture Secretary Arthur C Yap who has much experience in damage control is defending the deal.
· EDUCATION
o On TESDA controversy
o ON ABADS PROPOSAL (Years Back)
DepEd Sec Florencio Abad (a Hyatt 10 attendee) proposed a ‘ladderized’ scheme whereby students who, after completing Grade 6 examinations, showing themselves to be not quite ready for high school, would attend a year’s program in an intermediate class which would, hopefully, prepare them more adequately for secondary level schooling. à President turned down Abad’s proposal à Abad resigns à replaced by Jesli Lapus who sells noodles at P220/kg
o Antonio Go Criticisms
Antonio Go, over the past twelve years, involving nine DepEd Secretaries, been critiquing English textbooks and draws attention to lamentable errors. à Director Socorro Pilor, of the DepEd- Instructional Material Council Secretariat adroitly evades responsibility by mentioning that it is an Ateneo de Manila University editorial board that passed the final evaluation of the error-filled textbooks
o Recommendations
1. DepEd’s curriculum design is poor. It needs inputs from a wider constituency. Greater transparency would lead to much improved curricula.
2. Too much rote learning is required. We need more emphasis on understanding rather than parrot-fashioned absorption and regurgitation of facts.
Syllabi need to be restructured to accommodate the importance of understanding compared to rote learning.
3. The current structure, whereby DepEd is the monolithic custodian of all matters educational, is the cause of many shortfalls in the process where our children become ‘educated.’
Assessment of student performance should be re-assigned to an independent body which could be named the Philippine Examinations Executive.
NB: Most developed and developing countries invest 5-6% of their GDP in education. Our allocation is, sadly, less than 3%.
· OVERSEAS TRIP OF GMA
o MILES FOR PROGRESS
In re: 51 trips in 102 months as President is too many à not mentions President’s visit to Hong Kong on 28, June was a meeting with Tony Kwok, former head of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption
According to Malacanang, the next step in the fight against corruption is for the private sector to start institutionalizing ‘corporate integrity managers.’ à That all is well in the public sector; that the corruption prevention and detection mechanisms are in place; that information supplied by whistleblowers will be acted upon promptly, and that any corrupt official can expect swift and decisive retribution; that those buying noodles at P11, 000 LKg or not making prompt remittances to GSIS can expect to spend Christmas 2009 as non-paying guests of Muntinlupa.
Pellagio Apostol says that we have a duty to report corruption if we encounter it
· In 2001, Dr Pat Tan of Negros Graftwatch reported to the Ombudsman about an apparent overprice of materials purchased. He implicated Lito Coscoluella.
· In 2005 he, Pat Tan, died. July 2009, the Ombudsman appears to be investigating the case. Why now? Why not before?
· The Balikatan 2007 case is more serious because it involves American taxpayers’ money. Gibo’s USec’s who have been given the responsibility of investigating the case should produce, with or without Gadian, a definitive report quickly. Gadian’s information, although useful, is probably not necessary.
· If Balikatan means what I think it means, and if there were hocus pocus, then American soldiers will be aware of and can provide information on, the fact that their Filipino counterparts did not receive the materiel that the P46M was meant to be used for. à malfeasance within AFP must be revealed.
CONCLUSION
Anodyne statements such as:-
‘Potential co-operation agreements with Russia’
‘Memorandum of understanding with Brazil’
‘Establishing a general framework for agriculture and fisheries cooperation.’
‘…to come up with a program for agriculture investment.’
are not the stuff of leadership. The above statements are for mid-level civil servants writing about inconsequential meetings. Heads of State should only appear when these motherhood messages have been converted into formal agreements which have provable benefits. We are not there yet.
INVESTMENTS
We are desperately short of foreign investments. Other countries, less corrupt than ours, are able to attract foreign funding which in turn generates more rapid growth.
Some, if not all, the investment projects proposed at civilized meetings with other heads of the state disappear when the reality of undertaking investment projects in the Philippines becomes apparent to the foreign entity.
The ad. boasted of many foreign investments as a result of GMA’s foreign trips. Not all these investments will eventuate.
· US$190 million benefits for Filipino war veterans
Obama’s response was to submit a US$787B ‘stimulus package’ to Congress which passed it. The components of the stimulus package included many pet projects from Democratic Congressmen and Senators whose views had largely been ignored during the 8-Year Republican Bush administration.
Amongst these projects was one submitted by Daniel Inouye, a democrat Senator for the State of Hawaii. It was he who was aware of the injustice perpetrated on Filipino war veterans. It was he who proposed the US$190M project. Malacanang had no substantive involvement whatsoever.
Credit – stealing, particularly when inappropriate, is unattractive and Malacanang should know better. Cerge Remonde who has compounded the offense by repeating this untruth should ‘back off.’
