MUNICIPAL MADNESS

BANTAY GOBYERNO SERIES 2010031
By Ike Señeres August 27, 2010


MUNICIPAL MADNESS

The hostage incident in Manila was a police matter indeed, but it was really a municipal matter too. Mayor Alfredo Lim had the right to be there because he was the local chief executive, but was he right in giving orders to arrest the brother of the hostage taker?
The PNP is supposed to be a civilian organization, but many of its officers are still graduates of the military academy. The search and destroy mentality is apparently difficult to forget. As they say in the vernacular, “Utak pulbura”.
Why are PNP officers still using military ranks even if they are supposed to be civilian officers? Military ranks and military insignias are part of an old culture that they should already forget, because their job now is to maintain peace and order, not to fight foreign aggressors. Those among them who think like soldiers should be sent to battle against insurgents.
Hong Kong is a city but as a Special Administrative Region (SAR), it has the functionality of a province. That being the case, it is more correct protocol for MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino to deal with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. For all intents and purposes, MMDA has the functionality of a province.
The Senate and the House are having a heyday investigating the incident. Of course the Congress has the right to investigate whatever they want in aid of legislation, but is it not also right for the Manila City Council to have their own investigation, this being a municipal matter?
Former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza may have a chance to get back to his old post, after the COMELEC allowed him to pursue his election protest. The issue in this case is not whether there was cheating or not, nationally or locally. The issue is whether the PCOS machines used in Manila were defective or not.
Members of the media are being blamed for some fiascos in connection with the hostage taking incident. Why not blame the police instead? Media people are just ordinary civilians who would obey what the police would tell them. If the government does not want media people to make certain actions, they should just tell them what to do and what not to do in crisis situations.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo reported that the PNP still has a remaining budget for the modernization of their equipment for crisis situations. Well, what are they waiting for? Are they waiting for a crisis before they would spend it? That fund, whatever it is, is not like the calamity fund that has to wait for a disaster before it could be spent.
Some DEPED employees want Secretary Armin Luistro out. Is it not too soon for them to make such a demand? What is the matter with them? Is Bro. Armin making it difficult for them to go about their old evil ways? Too bad for them, he is presumed to be working on good faith, while the corrupt ones are perceived to be on the negative side.
DOT Secretary Bertie Lim is off to a bad start; after it came out that many Hong Kong residents canceled their flights and their hotel bookings. It is too soon to judge him too, because he too is presumed to be working on good faith. He is a manager, and he should know what to do.
Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez seems to be off to a good start, after the BOC confiscated a large shipment of illegal drugs. He should do more however, to erase the perception that he is working on bad faith, after it was discovered that he cheated on his golf scores.
Many are blaming Venus Raj for not winning the Miss Universe crown, but what would they have done if they were in her situation? We should stop while we are ahead, and we should be happy with what we get in a transparent contest where there is no corruption. What did we want her to do? Did we want her to cheat on her answers?
Some countries are funding government agencies or private foundations to discover and groom their candidates for international beauty contests. We are not doing that, in the same way that we are ignoring the local soccer teams who could possibly carry our flag to the World Cup.
What is the real score in the DOTC? Without the communications functions, should we now call it the DOT? That will be confusing, since the Department of Tourism has the same initials. Is the government pushing through with plans to create a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)?
It may be a good idea to merge LTO with LTFRB. That might look good, but it might not look good to see another department created while another bureau is supposedly abolished for streamlining purposes. The government should really put its act together in a logical plan of action.

Watch KA IKING LIVE! Saturdays 8 pm to 9 pm in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings. Visit www.senseneres.blogspot.com

WATCHING THE WATCH DOGS

NO HOLDS BARRED (083) August 22, 2010
By Ike Señeres

WATCHING THE WATCH DOGS

A new form of activism is emerging. Tired perhaps of taking to the streets or going up the mountains, activists are now getting involved in government coordinating councils as a way of getting directly involved in governance.

Our Barangay, Inc. (OBI) is now calling on their members nationwide to join the Regional Development Councils (RDCs), Provincial Development Councils (PDCs), Municipal Development Councils (MDCs) and Barangay Development Councils (BDCs).

It’s good timing that the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) is now reviving these councils, as instructed by President Noynoy Aquino. OBI Chairman Ms. Elsa Bayani herself is ready to be appointed to the RDC of Region VI.

I wonder why these councils became inactive in the first place. According to the law, the representatives of accredited Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are supposed to be invited to become members of the councils. As active members, they in effect become the watchdogs of the officials who are supposed to be watching over the utilization of the Internal Revenue Allocations (IRAs).

La Salle, Ateneo at Lahat Na (LAAL) is also calling on its members nationwide to join the Regional Management Coordinating Committees (RMCC) of the Department of Interior & Local Government (DILG). These committees are composed of the DILG Regional Directors, and the Regional Directors of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management & Penology (BJMP).

LAAL leader Mr. Patrick Pantaleon is now trying to mobilize at least 85 of their members to become active in the 17 RMCCs all over the country, in the hope of assigning at least 5 members to each RMCC. Later on, they will go down to the level of the Provincial Management Coordinating Committees (PMCCs). At that level, they have to mobilize 400 of their members to send at least 5 representatives to the PMCCs of the 80 provinces. This is democracy in action, ordinary people getting involved in governance.
The Citizens Foundation for the Prevention of Crime and Injustice (CFPCI) is also mobilizing to recruit and train paralegals who will volunteer to work with the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) all over the country. PAO is mandated to assign lawyers to more than 3,000 courthouses all over the country, but they only have less than 1,000 lawyers. Newly appointed CFPCI President Atty. JG Grapilon is coordinating this project with PAO Chief Atty. Persida Acosta, CFPCI Director Mr. Thomas W. Lee and the Sigma Rho Foundation (SRF).

CFPCI, a 30 year old foundation now chaired by Col. Octavio Alvarez is now also looking into the possibility of developing a software application that will put order into the system of assigning pro bono lawyers to serve the needs of indigent clients, using a random raffle system that is similar to the system of selecting jury members in the United States.

Speaking of the jury system, the Worldwide Filipino Alliance (WFA) led by Atty. Cita Garcia and Atty. Toto Causing is now advocating for the adoption of this system in the Philippines. I am supporting this advocacy, because it seems to be the only way to cure the corruption in the judiciary, now infested by some judges who engage in “justice for sale”. I researched on the jury system and I found out that serving in the judiciary as a member of the jury is a democratic right that is similar to the right to vote. It is a duty, but it is also a privilege to serve. Again, this is a case of ordinary citizens getting involved in governance.

It was Mr. Pantaleon who offered the services of LAAL, COMPACT, 1VOTE and 1Ganap Guardians to DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo, as a way of getting involved in the fight against corruption. These groups are now looking into ways of using cell phone cameras and video recorders to gather evidence against corrupt officials.

Governance is supposed to be a two-way process that involves the government on one hand and the citizens on the other hand, I would like this column to be a medium for reporting what is good and bad in governance, what is right and what is wrong. Send me your tips and comments, we can do this together!

Watch KA IKING LIVE! Saturdays 8 pm to 9 pm in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings. Visit www.senseneres.blogspot.com

DISTANCE EDUCATION

NO HOLDS BARRED (082) August 15, 2010
By Ike Señeres

DISTANCE EDUCATION

In my younger years when I was with the UP Mountaineers, I used to climb mountains “Because it’s there”. This is now the same reason why I am using technology to deliver on-air and online education to all levels, to all locations in the Philippines. I want anyone to learn anything from anywhere, using any available means. Why? Because it’s there!

In earlier columns, I talked about Mr. Harry Tambuatco who is helping us deliver on-air education via cable and satellite. I also wrote about Mr. Bycon Bulatao who is helping us deliver online education via the internet, through the technology of video streaming to computers. This is actually internet protocol (IP) technology that we are using.

With cable, satellite and internet working together, we have now actually achieved triple play capability to education programming. Soon however, we will be able to deliver online education via the cellular phone network, through the technology of video streaming to cell phones that have 3G access. With this move, we will be able to have quadruple play capability. Students may not want to watch lessons on a small screen, but what if that is the only means available to them? Why am I using this relatively unused means of delivery? Because it’s there!

If he is alive today, Dr. Jose Rizal would be scandalized by the fact that there are about 9 to 16 million children who are classified as Out of School Youth (OSY). By any measure, this is absolutely unacceptable, and we as a nation should be ashamed that we have allowed this to happen.

Since we are a member of the United Nations, we should realize that this very high figure is indicative of the fact that we are too far away from the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of achieving universal education. This is the reality that we must face, and there is no excuse to that we could think of to exonerate our guilt, considering that the technologies that are needed to solve this problem are already available and are affordable.

Online education is of course the more desirable, because the internet is more interactive, and the graphic effects are more powerful. Given a choice between on-air education and online education, I would go for the latter, but practical reasons, we should make use of any form of connectivity that is available and is more affordable.

The truth is, we have not even fully tapped the potential of cable television even if it is already available almost everywhere. Through the wide coverage of Destiny Cable in Metro Manila, we will soon be able to deliver on-air education via cable television to most parts of the metropolis, complemented by satellite television in areas that could not be reached by cable.

Because of the Social Education Network (SEN), it is now possible to meet the MDG target of universal education before the set deadline on 2015, assuming that all the players in this exercise will cooperate and move fast. After Metro Manila, we are going to extend the reach of the SEN project to the other cable areas in the provinces.

With the infra component practically spoken for, we are now working on the content side for the DEPED Channel. As assured by Mr. Paul Soriano of the DEPED, many top teachers are now ready to produce the content needed by this project. Prof. Mel Garcia of De La Salle University (DLSU) is also taking steps to tap the entire DLSU manpower base into this project.

In a recent development, the Commission for Higher Education (CHED) has also shown an interest in creating a separate CHED Channel for all four year courses. CHED Executive Director Atty. Lito Vitriolo said that the legal basis for this already exists, through the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP).

The National Statistics Office (NSO) reports that our functional literacy rate is 84%, and that is generally interpreted to mean the percentage of people in the population who could read and write. That is good for bragging rights, but is no good for our people if they are not educated enough to get jobs. Newly appointed Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Joel Villanueva has hit the nail in aiming to increase the employable rate of TESDA graduates that is now 20%. To help TESDA, it may also be good to have a TESDA Channel.

Watch KA IKING LIVE! Saturdays 8 pm to 9 pm in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings. Visit www.senseneres.blogspot.com

NATION BUILDING

NO HOLDS BARRED (081) August 08, 2010
By Ike Señeres

NATION BUILDING

I am a broadcaster and a columnist. Perhaps it is because of this that I get to meet many people who love our country and who would like to do something for nation building, in whatever way possible. Tom Lee is one of these people, and because of this common bond, we agreed to organize what is now known as the Corinthian Coffee Club, or C3 for short.

C3 now meets every Friday from 3 to 6 pm at the Elks Club located at the 7th Floor of the Corinthian Plaza Building along Paseo De Roxas Avenue in Makati City. The purpose of C3 is to bring together people who love our country and who would like to do something for nation building, regardless of whether they are Filipinos or foreigners.

The format of the C3 meetings is very much informal. We sit around in a table and each one is free to talk about what he or she is doing for nation building, and what kind of help he or she needs if ever. Conversely, anyone could also talk about what he or she could do for nation building, as an individual or representing a company or an organization.

As an informal gathering, C3 does not intend to implement projects on its own. Our intention is to give the opportunity to project proponents to talk about what they are already doing, or what they are planning to do. Anyone in the gathering who wants to help any project proponent could do so on his own or on her own, as an individual or representing a company or an organization.

Many people talk about nation building, but they generally do not have the ways or means to implement what they are talking about. This is precisely the purpose of C3, to help the people who want to do something for nation building, so that they could do more than just talk. There is nothing wrong with talking, but nothing will happen to our country if we just keep on talking without doing anything.

Tom is one of the founders of C3. He is a Filipino of Chinese descent who left the Philippines when he was 15 years old, and came back when he was nearly a senior citizen. Tom was an early engineer in Silicon Valley. He invented the first Apple printer and became a business guru later on. Already an American citizen, Tom founded the University Consortium (UNICON) in the Philippines, which he patterned after the Apple Consortium in the United States. Quality education is the advocacy of UNICON. Its goal is to improve the quality of education by improving the technology and the connectivity of its member schools.

Dr. Virginia (Benji) Teodosio is also one of the founders of C3. She is a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP-SOLAIR). Her advocacy is nation building through the development of our social capital and our natural capital. Because of this advocacy, she has been very involved in expanding the economic opportunities of indigenous peoples and rebel returnees through the cooperative approach.

It was through the persistence of Benji that I met Mr. Paul Soriano who is the Executive Director of the Department of Education Adopt-A-School Program (DEPED-ASP). Paul is a professional manager from the private sector. Benji, Paul and I are now in the process of putting a DEPED Channel on the air, in cooperation with the Global News Network (GNN), through Mr. Harry Tambuatco.

It was also through the persistence of Benji that I pursued the idea of acquiring a dedicated channel from Global Satellite (GSAT) so that the DEPED Channel could be beamed down to any location in the Philippines where there is a cooperative, using a satellite dish provided by GSAT. Harry is also helping us with this, because GSAT is a sister company of GNN. The real passion of Benji is to educate the Out of School Youth (OSY) in this country who number about 9 to 16 million, according to Paul. Benji is now trying to convince the cooperatives in this country, numbering about 30,000 to acquire the satellite dishes, so that the OSY children of the members of the cooperative could go to school.

Inspired by the zeal of Benji, I am now requesting Harry to also open up a CHED Channel and a TESDA Channel. Meanwhile, we are now ready to stream the DEPED Education Channel via the internet, courtesy of my friend Mr. Bycon Bulatao of Inventiv, Inc. Technology works, but we have to make it work!

Watch KA IKING LIVE! Saturdays 8 pm to 9 pm in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings. Visit www.senseneres.blogspot.com