How to climb a tree . . .

Pinoy ingenuity . . .
A brilliant idea indeed!

Post by haberinbizden.com.

How to help?

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Cost-benefit analysis . . .

Setting limited doable priorities . . .

For the world, the recommendation is to focus on the following . . .

1. Reduce malnutrition. When children get better food, they develop their brains, stay in school longer and end up becoming far more productive members of society. Every dollar spent to alleviate malnutrition brings $59 of benefits.

2. Tackle malaria and tuberculosis. These two diseases debilitate huge populations in poor countries, but they are largely preventable and curable. In the most harshly affected countries, two people often do one person's work because one of them is sick. Benefit to cost ratio: 35 to 1.

3. Boost preprimary education, which costs little and has lifelong benefits by getting children started on learning. 30 to 1.

4. Provide universal access to sexual and reproductive health, which would save the lives of mothers and infants while enabling women to be more economically productive. It would also lower birthrates (when fewer children die, people have fewer children). Benefits could be as high as 150.

5. Expand free trade. This isn't considered sexy in the development industry, and it may seem remote from humanitarian issues, but free trade often delivers phenomenal improvements to the welfare of the poor in surprisingly quick time, as the example of China has demonstrated in recent years. One of the discoveries of the Copenhagen Consensus process is that incremental goals such as expanding free trade are often better than supposedly "transformational" goals. A successful Doha Round of the World Trade Organization could deliver annual benefits of $3 trillion for the developing world by 2020, rising to $100 trillion by the end of the century.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Government Jobs

Photo credit:  Philippine Star

It seemed the general low level of quality of the workers in the public sector is due to emphasis on quantity (to repay political debts?) rather than on quality.

Another is the low pay which not surprisingly cannot attract enough quality people.  As the saying goes "If you pay peanuts, you get peanuts".

Poverty Alleviation

No to socialism, Yes to positive social values . . .

Photo credit:  http://events.gsapp.org/

5 Essential Principles of Poverty-Alleviation

Posted by Ismael Hernandez

When I entered into the life of inner city ministry I moved into an environment that soaked me in a vision of the world that informed our activities. The ministry was called African Caribbean American Catholic Center and it operated in the inner city areas of Southwest Florida. Belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Venice, it was a great place to serve.

There, a call to action was consistent and it was based on wonderful ideas such as “solidarity” and the “care of the poor.” For the most part, activity controlled our life of ministry. Conversation and even an occasional debate occurred but we never arrived at a challenge of our most basic assumptions about the poor and about our activities. I entered the ministry as youth director and I was constantly on the move. Our intentions were good and we thought that they were consistent with loving the poor, as we are commanded. It was as if the power of the will was at the helm and the call of reason was only instrumental.

To read the full article, click here.

KISS: the Philippine Coast Guard

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They should merge the Philippine Coast Guard with the PNP so that the PCG will serve as the maritime law enforcement arm of the police force.

Let us call it PNPCG (Philippine National Police Coast Guard).

That way maritime law enforcement command and control will be unified, streamlined and become more efficient.  In addition, the government can save money by eliminating overlapping functions.

Make sense isn't it?

Related post >> Applying KISS to DPWH and DOTC

Strong Regions = Strong Nation

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The key to understanding and developing the Philippines is in its localities. Because while its national identity is artificial, its regional identities are real . . . the common languages, culture and geography. 

 Unity in diversity . . . a strong Philippines through strong regions.

Council–manager government: The way forward for Philippine Local Governance?

Yes I believe so . . .

Casinos, Retirement Villages and Related Facilities

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

Photo credit:  http://nextcity.org/

Since the government is allowing the controversial casinos to operate and giving so much incentives for foreign retirees to stay in the country;

And since we have around 10 poorest provinces that badly need assistance;

Why don’t we locate such casinos and retirement villages in those impoverished provinces?

In case of war against China, can we win?

This article was originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

In view of the possibility of war with China, the thought most common in the minds among many Filipinos now is can we win?

For me the answer is yes and no.

If it is conventional war, the answer is no.

If it is unconventional war, the answer is yes.

Conventional war is the usual face to face battle that we know.  In this kind of fighting, my guesstimate is that China will conquer the whole Philippines in a month’s time.

There is no point therefore in engaging China in a head-on collision due to its huge number of manpower, equipments and better military technology.

Just like what Vietnam did in the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979, it is better to apply unconventional tactics.  The most common unconventional fighting is guerilla warfare. The Vietnamese hit and run, again and again just like mosquitoes . . . until China’s nose, butt and ears got swollen.  It reached a point where the giant cannot stand anymore the irritations, and decided to withdraw.  You can watch below video for better understanding . . .

Since our only chance against a possible invader like China is unconventional war, the question is are we ready and prepared for this kind of fighting?  I don’t know what is the military doctrine adopted by the Philippine armed forces but I suspect it may need an overhaul.

My idea is to modify the existing “National Service Law” wherein high school students are made to render a certain kind of service in lieu of the former Citizen’s Army Training.  It should be changed into something really effective similar to Israel’s and Singapore’s systems.

I am not a military expert but roughly, my proposal would be to require all youths to serve in the military reserve for 1 week every year, from the age of 21 until 25.  The training would be more on guerilla warfare such as marksmanship, jungle survival, mountaineering, ambush tactics, reconnaissance, etc.

This training would be useful also in civilian life for these young people who are just joining the labor force.  The values of self-reliance, resourcefulness, discipline, etc. would be useful as they enter adult life.

This idea could be expanded on by those who have more knowledge of military matters.

Also watch video below . . .

Deng Xiaoping The Father of Reformation in China

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

Report: RP very weak in governance, fight vs corruption

This article was originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated May 05, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (161) 

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines was rated “very weak” in terms of governance and corruption in the 2010 Global Integrity Report released yesterday.

The overall Philippine classification in 2010 was 57 or “very weak,” a downgrade from the 2008 overall score of 71 or “moderate.”

The country was rated “weak” (64) in the category “Anti-Corruption Legal Framework, Judicial Impartiality and Law Enforcement Professionalism” and the “Rule of Law.” This included the sub-categories “Anti-Corruption Law” (89 or strong); “Anti-Corruption Agency or Equivalent Mechanisms” (53 or very weak); “Judicial Independence, Fairness, and Citizen Access to Justice” (62 or weak); “Law Enforcement: Conflicts of Interest Safeguards and Professionalism” (52 or very weak).

The country scored 53 (very weak) in the category “Government conflicts of interest safeguard and checks and balances” (53 or very weak) but rated 71 or “moderate” on “Budget Process Oversight and Transparency.”

Based in Washington D.C., Global Integrity is a leading international non-profit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends around the world.

“While anti-corruption legislation is very strong, the anti-corruption agency does not have the ability to effectively deliver on its remit,” the group said.

The latest Global Integrity Report also showed that the Philippines is “very weak” in providing the public access to government information, scoring only 42 on a scale of 0 to 100.

The Philippines obtained a rating of 57 (very weak) in the category “Government Oversight and Controls.” It included the following subcategories: “National Ombudsman” (45 or very weak); “Supreme Audit Institution” (57 or very weak); “Taxes and Customs: Fairness and Capacity” (50 or very weak); “Oversight of State-Owned Enterprises” (78 or Moderate); and “Business Licensing and Regulation” (54 or very weak).

The country scored high in “Public Administration and Professionalism,” 71 or “moderate,” but received a very weak score of 58 on the sub-category “Civil Service: Conflicts of Interest Safeguards and Political Independence.”

It scored 67 (weak) on “Whistle-blowing Protections;” 95 (very strong) on “Government Procurement: Transparency, Fairness, and Conflicts of Interest Safeguards;” 63 (weak) on “Privatization of Public Administrative Functions: Transparency, Fairness, and Conflicts of Interest Safeguards.”

“The testimonies of recent whistle-blowers reveal that there is a culture of omerta within the supreme audit institution, with whistle-blowers risking ostracism or physical harm,” the report said.

Omerta is defined as an written rule that prohibits speaking or divulging information about certain activities, especially the activities of a criminal organization.

The Philippines received a rating of 46 (very weak) on the “Elections” category. This included the subcategories “Voting and Party Formation” (61 or weak); “Election Integrity” (59 or very weak); and “Political Financing Transparency” (16 or very weak).

“Political financing is an area of weakness and the disclosure of political finance records is a particular concern,” the report said.

The overall score of the Philippines has improved, driven by a narrowing implementation gap.

The Philippines earned high scores in freedom of speech and media. The country has very solid procurement regulations, which seem to be implemented effectively.

Even though the country’s supreme audit institution is adequately resourced, citizens cannot access its reports, which brings to question its transparency and accountability function.

Political interference is rampant in the country’s insufficiently funded law enforcement agency.

The Global Integrity Report is the product of months of on-the-ground reporting and data gathering by a team of more than 150 in-country journalists and researchers who prepared close to a million words of text and more than 10,000 data points for their respective countries.

Global Integrity is a leading international non-profit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends around the world.

Applying KISS to DPWH and DOTC

This articles was originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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Another agency which I observed to be redundant now is the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).  My reason for its abolishment is not so much due to its notoriety for corruption, but more because many of its functions overlap with other government units.  If you will dismantle DPWH now, you can actually distribute its different arms to other government national and local agencies.  Everything will still function after the streamlining.

Why do we have to waste so much of our limited resources?  DPWH has a big fleet of heavy equipments that are rotting.  Billions of pesos worth of assets are improperly managed.  It can help if they give some of these equipments to the local governments like cities and municipalities.  They can be better deployed for public infrastructure building and maintenance by the latter.

Construction of roads and highways are better served if contracted out to the private sector.  There will be more output with lesser corruption.

The best function that DPWH can do is planning.  However, this can be handled by other government agencies.  Road planning can be done by the Department of Transportation and Telecommunications (DOTC), flood control can be handled by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), local governments, etc.

Since the bulk of projects being carried out by DPWH is related to roads and bridges, if abolished,  most of its functions should be taken over by the DOTC.

But DOTC is already the biggest national government agency.  If it absorbs most of DPWH, better to spin off its Telecommunications function into a new agency.  The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on the other hand should be transferred to the Philippine National Police (PNP).  Why do the PNP have to create a maritime command when they can take PCG from the DOTC?  Its a win win situation.  PNP streamlines itself and at the same time helps DOTC streamline also.

P.S.
Whenever there are reorganizations like this, a great deal should be done to transfer the affected government employees to other agencies where their skills are needed.

More topics on good governance coming . . .

Agrarian Reform: Good intentions but bad results?

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

Photo credit:  http://landwatchasia.files.wordpress.com/

Another way to improve governance is to abolish the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Though the intent of the Agrarian Reform program is very good, this is not the best way to help alleviate the lives of our farmers.  For many years the money spent on Agrarian Reform piled up but there is little to show in terms of its impact towards the improvement in the economic situation in the countryside.  On the contrary, this contributed to the stagnation instead of better productivity of our farms.  Is this is a case of a road to hell paved with good intentions?  

When land ownership is transferred to the farmers, suddenly they (the farmers) need to become entrepreneurial.  The government then give more assistance so they can transform themselves from an “employee mentality” to a “manager mentality”.  But sad to say, most of them cannot do it.  Entrepreneurship after all is something that comes from within, not something that can be imposed.  The government in the end caused the difficulties.  Aside from the lack of business know-how, these farmers possess small parcels of land which is not conducive to modern farming methods.  In modern farming, like those in advanced countries, a big tract of land can be managed by a few people.  In our land reform, it is a case of many farmers, each possessing a small plot of land.  The productivity or output per person in the latter case is so small, allowing only subsistence livelihood.

One factor that contributes to the Philippines having many overseas workers is that those from the  countryside want change in their lives.  They want to have a better standard of living.  With the substantial budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform, the government can put this money to better use if they instead send the sons and daughters of these farmers to colleges.  When these children become professionals, they can lead better lives rather than inherit such existence from their parents.

We don’t need to worry if the population of our farmers will go down.  We will just transfer them to the service sector where they can make a better living.  Our farmers comprise around 40% of our population.  If this percentage will go down, there will be no negative impact in our economy.  After all, even a huge country such as the United States is being fed by farmers comprising only 2% of their population.

The idea of abolishing the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is not originally mine.  I have read it somewhere, sometime ago.  It happened to be correct as far as I observed from what is happening around that I felt obliged to say something about such nonsense.  Many reasoning though are mine, digging from what little I know about organizational management, economics, business, and sociology.

P.S.
Whenever there are reorganizations like this, a great deal should be done to transfer the affected government employees to other agencies where their skills are needed.

Philippine National Language? Why not KISS?

This article was originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com

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Okay, okay. I am a bit inspired to write now regarding good governance.

This topic I am going to touch now may seem controversial but this could be a step that can contribute towards a better social system for a better Philippines.

This is the abolition of Filipino as our national language. Or simply put, we really don’t need a national language.
I can bet that 99% of Filipino readers are saying at this point a very big “WHAT”?

Let me ask you . . . do we really have a language called “Filipino”? None, isn’t it? The so-called Filipino language is basically Tagalog. Despite of the efforts of our linguists they have not come up with a working distinct national language until now. Why do we have to put so much salad dressings . . . why not just simply declare Tagalog as our national language? We are just complicating matters by doing what we are doing now.

But then, do we really need a national language? If Tagalog is the national language do we really need it? For the Tagalogs this maybe difficult to comprehend. But for non-Tagalogs who comprise at least 70% of Filipinos, it is so inconvenient to have a national language that they do not even speak every day.

If we abolish Tagalog (Filipino) as national language, it means we stop using this language as a medium of instruction in our schools. This would be a big improvement in our educational system as this would ease the unnecessary burdens on our students. A good educational system can lead to a good social system.

So how does one Filipino ethnic group communicate with another ethnic group? This is a no brainer. We are already doing it but not using the Filipino/Tagalog national language. For example, in the Visayas and most parts of Mindanao and even some parts of Bicol, Cebuano is the common medium. In the north of the Philippines like Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and some parts of Central Luzon, Ilokano is the common dialect. Of course Tagalog is used when Kapampangans and some Bicolanos in the northern portion of Bicol speak to their neighbouring provinces. English is of course understood and spoken all over the country. It is our medium of instruction in our schools, aided by our respective dialects (majority not Tagalog).

We don’t need a national language though we can designate some as official languages like English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano and a few others.

Don’t you know that Switzerland does not have a national language? There is no such thing as a Swiss language. Since their ethnicity is a mixture of German, French, Italian and Romansh, they simply use their four respective languages as official. They did not invent a national language like we did. In case you don’t know, Switzerland is one of the most developed and advanced countries in the world. The lack of a “national language” has not been an impediment.

To summarize, what I am trying to point out is we don’t need to impose something that can complicate rather than simplify matters. One of the key words we have to take note in good governance is the word KISS. Keep it short and simple. This is the connection between this topic and good governance. The reason why I am advocating the abolishment of our present national language is because of KISS.More topics to come on good governance . . .

Ethno-linguistic Discrimination: Colonial Mentality or Simple Ignorance?

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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Good governance is a big wide topic and just thinking how to put your thoughts into words can be overwhelming. While waiting for that “inspiration” to write on that subject, please allow me to touch on other matters also. Like this one . . .

Many may not be aware that Philippine languages or dialects are syllabaric instead of phonetics.

In syllabaric languages, generally the pronounciation has no effect on the meaning of a word. In phonetic languages like English, the meaning of a certain word becomes different even with a slight change in pronounciation.

Example of syllabaric (Filipino):
Female can be pronounced in Tagalog as baba-e or baba-i. The sounds are different specifically on the stress on the last syllable. But regardless, the meaning is the same.

Example of phonetic (English):
On the other hand in English, the word see (si) and say (sey) have different pronounciations. And the meanings are different.

But many Filipinos discriminate against other ethnic Filipino groups due to language accent differences. An example is the Tagalogs discriminating against the Visayans. The latter when talking in Tagalog brings with them their accent. But no matter, when the Visayans speak in Tagalog, they can be clearly understood. The reason is Tagalog like the Visayan dialect is syllabaric. No matter which syllable in a certain word you put the stress, the meaning does not change.

The question now is what is the cause of this discrimination? Is it because the Tagalogs mistook their dialect as phonetic like English? Is it the reason why those who live particularly in urban areas (they think they are civilized) takes pronounciation carefully when speaking in Tagalog? By the way, are they not aware that some Tagalog groups (an example are those who live in some remote parts of Rizal province) when speaking in their own native Tagalog, pronounce words the same way as the Visayans?

Anyway, similar discriminations also happen within the same ethnic groups . The divide is simply whether one is from the city or from the rural areas.

An example is a City Cebuano discriminating against the Rural Cebuano. Like the City Tagalogs, the City Cebuano also takes pronounciations carefully when speaking in their dialect. Are they thinking also that Cebuano is a phonetic language? It is not difficult to imagine that the same happens between City Ilokanos against Rural Ilokanos . . . and so on.

This is only an observation. It is desirable to eliminate discriminations, but like ignorance, it cannot go away completely . . . even among the “civilized”.

Improving the Philippine Justice System

This article was originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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This idea may not be perfect. But to make our justice system fairer to poor people, what if we will do as follows:

1. Only the government should provide LITIGATION lawyers to both complainants and respondents. This way, rich or poor will have an even footing. The role of Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) will be revised then.

2. To minimize if not completely avoid abuses of this system, a minimum fixed service fee will be paid to the government (through PAO) not to the lawyers directly.

3. For the government to have a constant pool of litigation lawyers, all BAR passers must first be required to serve for at least 5 years in PAO before they can engage in private practice. The government will provide the salaries to these lawyers.

4. Private practicing lawyers should serve only as legal consultants. Corporate lawyers for example should be in advisory positions only. When it comes to litigation, the private lawyer’s involvement should be limited to advising. The litigation itself should be done only by PAO lawyers.

What do you think?

Abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan

This articles was originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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Please read the following references . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangguniang_Kabataan

Angara wants SK abolished

Weighing the future of the SK

Akbayan youth chides Aquino for ‘scrap SK’ plan

My view . . .

While there are some good and strong youth leaders, I agree and advocate the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan.

Aside from the reasons cited in the above articles, my simple reason is that there are already enough government institutions and programs that are directed towards the youth. Among them are the Department of Education and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Regarding the most possible compromise, the proposal of Angara to have a youth representative in the barangay council is the most sensible after the SK is abolished.

On increasing the age bracket of SK members to above 18 as an alternative, this is not necessary as anybody at age 18 is already eligible to run for a regular political office.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangguniang_Bayan
SK Training Ground- for Trapos Says Analyst