NUMBERING OF PLASTIC PACKAGING

NUMBERING OF PLASTIC PACKAGING Out of the seven plastic categories, the first two, namely Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) are the easiest to recycle, and therefore these are the most in demand in the recyclable market. Never mind the five others, because those are the most difficult to recycle if ever, and therefore those would have the least problem in the recyclable market. The problem is, most of the people in the supply chain from the manufacturing side, to the consumer side, to the disposal side to the recycling side are not familiar with the system of numbering plastic packaging. That problem is compounded by the fact that generally speaking, the majority of plastic packaging that goes out into the market do not even contain the numbers as they should. I think that in theory, many responsible consumers would not even want to buy consumer products that are packaged in plastics that are neither numbered as 1 or 2. Of course that would be premised on the assumption that with proper public education, most consumers would make environmentally correct consumer decisions. As it is supposed to be, recycling should start by start by segregating wastes into plastic, metal, glass, paper and organic. Understandably, all the plastics of all numbers will be lumped together in the same bags. Even if that is the case, that should not be a problem because once the bags are brought to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), the plastic wastes are supposed to be segregated further into the seven plastic types. As we all know however, many LGUs do not have operational MRFs, and that is why most of the wastes that are collected by the garbage trucks would go directly to the dumpsites. That is so because many of the LGUs do not have the proper sanitary landfills either. Now we know the reason why the dumpsites are overloaded, and why garbage flows over to our rivers. IKE SENERES/09-01-2024

WE NEED SEA AMBULANCES

WE NEED SEA AMBULANCES Considering the number of island barangays in our country, I have no doubt in my mind that we should already introduce a system of sea ambulances all over the country, wherever these are needed. I am saying that it should be a "system", because these sea ambulances would be practically useless, not unless it will be supported by an emergency dispatching system, and an "army" of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). I will never subscribe to the argument that some LGUs do not have ambulances because they have no money to buy these. I think that is a rotten reasoning, and it is just proof to show that the LGU officials who say that do not have their priorities in order. I understand that the LGUs may have other priorities, but who can say that saving lives is not a priority? When I was a Director at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), I was happy to be part of the Board of Directors that approved the request of LGUs for ambulance units. I was however surprised to find out that many LGUs are waiting in line to get their ambulance units donated to them, instead of buying these themselves. I eventually realized that the problem is not money. The problem is how they prioritize their expenses, because in reality, they could even acquire ambulance units on a lease-to-own basis. The other thing that I noticed at that time was that many LGUs that received the ambulance units from PCSO did not have the necessary EMTs who were needed to provide the necessary emergency services. Sad to some LGU officials even used their units for personal purposes, such as using these as transport purposes that have nothing to do with medical emergencies. Ideally, all LGUs should have 911 call centers that could immediately dispatch not only the ambulance units but also police cars, fire trucks and also rescue vehicles. I have built a similar call center before, and I would be willing to help any LGU that would need any assistance for that purpose. I could also help with EMT training and certification. IKE SENERES/08-31-2024

FIBER OPTIC CABLES ALONG THE RAILWAYS

FIBER OPTIC CABLES ALONG THE RAILWAYS When I was in Japan many years ago as a guest of the Japanese government to observe their advanced Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), I learned that over there, all railroad operators including Japan Railways (JR) were required to lay down fiber optic cables along all of their railroads. What that means is that all over Japan, there are always fiber optic networks where there are railroad networks. When I was in the United States as a Press Attaché in the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC and as a Consular Assistant at the Philippine Consulate General in New York, I also observed that all railroad operators over there were also required to lay down fiber optic cables along all of their railroads. Aside from that, new telecom players were allowed to install their own fiber optic cables anywhere, anytime. Aside from the fact that there are no right of way (ROW) problems if the fiber optic cables are laid down along the railways, it is also cheaper to do that, instead of digging new underground systems where there are no railways. Because of the cheaper costs, it would be safe to assume that the costs of the internet and mobile services would become cheaper also. In theory, the internet and mobile signals could also become faster. At the risk of stating the obvious, ROW issues are really big problems in infrastructure development. Not unless the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be required to submit a list of ROW problems that are affecting road building projects, we will never know the numbers. If we include the ROW problems of the PPP projects, the list could go longer. In the days when the transportation and the communications functions were still rolled into one in the defunct Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), it would have been easier to coordinate the building of railroads with the laying down of fiber cables. But for now, it is not too late for the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to talk to each other. IKE SENERES/08-30-2024

RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION

RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION I could not understand why the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems are failing in our Metro Manila tollway systems. The RFID system is not rocket science, and it is already a very stable technology. At the risk of oversimplifying it, all it really takes to operate an RFID system are four elements namely tags or chips, antennas, readers and backend software. In theory, the RFID system is more expensive and more sophisticated than Quick Response (QR) codes, but their functions are very much similar. As I see it, the probable reason why an RFID system could fail is if one of the elements could fail. For example, the tags or chips could get eroded, the antennas could be broken, the readers could malfunction, and the backend software could be affected by viruses or malware. But considering that the RFID systems that were deployed were supposedly high end, it is unlikely that these would easily fail. Pardon me for saying so, but sometimes I think that the reason why our local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems are failing, is because many of our good ICT practitioners have gone abroad, because of the brain drain. I am saying that, because even the most advanced ICT systems are only as good as the ICT people who are managing them. In other words, the systems could fail, because the people running them could fail. Aside from RFID chips and QR codes, Near Field Communications (NFC) is another technology that our tollway operators could use for entry and payment purposes. Although NFC could do most of the functions that RFID and QR could do, it is somehow limited in the sense that device-to-device transactions could only work within a range of 4 centimeters or 1. 6 meters. Generally speaking, QR and NFC are used in Point of Sale (POS) transactions. Since slow traffic is already a big problem in Metro Manila, our tollway operators should do their part in making sure that their payment systems in their toll gates will not cause any more slow downs in their own areas. Good providers of RFID, QR and NFC systems are a dime a dozen now, and they are everywhere now. But if the tollway operators still need help in locating them, I could help by introducing them. IKE SENERES/08-29-2024

DATA MIRRORING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

DATA MIRRORING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS During my term as Director General of the National Computer Center (NCC), our agency became one of the biggest providers of transactional software applications to the Local Government Units (LGUs), simply because we were giving away the software for free. That was the good news, but the bad news is that many of the LGUs installed the software applications on stand-alone personal computers (PCs), and not on data servers. As a result, many of the PCs crashed, and the stored data was lost. As a matter of fact, some LGUs blamed me when their systems crashed, even if it was clearly their fault. Supposedly, those LGUs should have stored their data in high-capacity servers, and not in small capacity stand-alone PCs. Of course, the better alternative even at that time was to build local data centers in their own premises, but most of the LGUs could not afford to build data centers even at that time. As far as I know, many LGUs are only using PCs that are configured to function as servers, but of course these are not as good as the real thing. In my opinion, the most practical way for all cities and municipalities their data is for all of them to consolidate their data into one centralized data center that would be hosted or managed by the provincial governments. Needless to say, that should also include the data of all the barangays under the provinces. At that level of coordination, it would now be affordable for all provinces to operate their own data centers. In reality, it is very difficult for barangays, municipalities and cities to operate their own data centers. That is so because aside from not having the sufficient budgets to spend for these data centers, they also find it difficult to recruit the right technical staff to run these data centers. Even if they are able to recruit them, it still difficult to keep them employed, because their salaries are very high, at times even higher than the salaries of the local officials. My best recommendation however is for all barangays, municipalities and cities to host their data in the cloud, instead of hosting it in their own data centers. On its own, all provinces could their data in the cloud, even without including the data of the barangays, municipalities and cities. For good measure, they should also have data recovery and data mirroring sites in the cloud. That would be the best combination. IKE SENERES/08-28-2024

ONLINE MEDICAL CONSULTATION

ONLINE MEDICAL CONSULTATION It's good to notice that more and more private doctors are now going into the practice of online medical consultation, also known as telemedicine or telehealth. Some Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are also starting to use the technology, but it seems that many National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) are still unable to adopt it. I say unable because I am just giving them the benefit of the doubt, but it could also be that they are even unwilling to use it for some reason or the other. It is also possible that some of them would not know how to adopt the technology, and are not even attempting to use it. Perhaps the problem could be money, but is it not that public health is supposed to be a top priority of government? It is a known fact that most Barangay Health Units (BHUs) do not have medical doctors on duty. That is really a big problem, because how could sick people get proper medical attention if there are no medical doctors on duty? Of course, that is not a problem for private clinics where there are always doctors on duty, but what about the poor people who have no choice but to go to the BHUs? Actually, not having access to medical doctors is a measure of poverty. What that means is the more people will not have access to poverty, the higher the poverty rate will be. But that is just one side of the equation. The other side is the higher the poverty rate, the more poor people who would go to the BHUs were there will be no doctors who would attend to them, especially in the remote and far flung areas. Thanks to telemedicine, any sick person could now have remote access to a medical doctor, no matter where the sick person is, regardless of where or she is, and regardless of whether he or she is poor. The technology could use any means of internet connectivity, such as mobile data and satellite dishes. Once connected, the patient could talk to a doctor via voice of video. IKE SENERES/08-27-2024

REDEFINING BLENDED LEARNING

REDEFINING BLENDED LEARNING Every time that there is a disaster or a national emergency, classes in the public schools supposedly shifts to the "modular" method. I have always wondered about that, because in my understanding, the term "modular" refers to the learning "modules" that were printed during the Covid pandemic and were manually distributed to the students as an alternative to "face-to-face" instructions. Somehow, the term "modular" stuck, and it is still being used today to refer to "offline learning" or "learning at home". As it is already happening now, our public schools are implementing what is now being referred to a "blended learning", meaning to say that it is a blend of "offline learning" (meaning face-to-face) and "online learning" (meaning via the internet). As I understand it, some school districts may still distribute printed modules to those who have no internet access. What I am proposing now is to define "modular" as any form of learning content that could be delivered using either "online" or "offline" solutions. The "online" solutions could deliver the modular content using the internet through website applications (web apps), or it could also use the "Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) to send text messages otherwise known as "Short Messaging Service" (SMS). The "offline" solutions could deliver the modular content using the classrooms as the physical venues, meaning via "face-to-face", or via any form of physical printed materials. Now that we have defined it this way, we could already say that the term "online" should now mean the use of digital (electronic) solutions, and the term "offline" should now mean the use of manual (physical) solutions. Having said that, I am also proposing that we now define "blended" as a method that uses both "online" and "offline" solutions to deliver the modules, depending on what is available at any given time. If we can accept this proposed "redefinition" of blended learning, it would become easier for our public schools to shift to whatever option is needed, every time there is a disaster or a national emergency. IKE SENERES/08-26-2024

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES I think that so far, It is only the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that is successfully operating a purely online electronic commerce platform in the Philippines to "sell" a physical product in the form of paper documents. Right now, anyone can order birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and Certificates of No Marriage Records (CENOMAR) from the PSA, without the need for a personal appearance. Perhaps wanting to provide the next best thing, DFA, PNP and LTO are offering online applications, but they would still require personal appearances. Apparently, some Local Government Units (LGUs) are offering the purely online issuance of products in the form of paper documents, but it is difficult to find out which of them are doing so, and there appears to be no national standards that govern the conduct of these processes. Ideally, any citizen of any LGU should be able to "order" a physical product that could come in paper form, usually in the form of a document. For example, these could be business permits, health certificates and police clearances. When PBBM issued the instructions to "digitalize" the government, I think what he meant was to make government services available online, meaning over the internet, and not over the Local Area Networks (LANs) of the National Government Agencies (NGAs) and LGUs. I think what he meant was to transfer all government transactions online, and make them "digital", without any more need for manual transactions, meaning also that there will be no more need for face-to-face transactions or physical appearances. For all intents and purposes, facial recognition, voice recognition and corneal recognition technologies could already take the place of physical appearances. And if is not too much to ask, those NGAs and LGUs that are still skeptical could even require gait recognition. But even without using advanced biometric and algorithmic solutions, those who are still doubting could ask multiple security questions and several means of multifactor authentication. "Ease of doing business" is a law that we should not ignore. Whether we see the direct correlation between the law and the use of digital technologies, the end goal is the same, and that is to make it easier for our citizens to do business with our NGAs and LGUs. Believe it or not, electronic commerce could not only save money for our citizens, it could also save them the efforts of commuting just to make the unnecessary personal appearances. IKE SENERES/08-25-2024

HOLD DEPARTURE ORDERS

HOLD DEPARTURE ORDERS According to the law, only a judge could issue a "Hold Departure Order" (HDO), but first, a case must be filed in court, before an HDO could be issued. What that means is that not even the Senate could issue an HDO, even if it has the power to issue a warrant of arrest. That said, who is to blame for the alleged departure of Alice Gou from the Philippines? If in reality, the Senate has issued a warrant, then it could not be blamed. Moreover, the court system could neither be blamed for not issuing an HDO, because apparently, not a single case has been filed against Gou, at least not yet, as far as I know. Despite all the time and efforts that have been spent on the hearings surrounding POGOs in general and Gou in particular, we are now reminded that the Senate is not a court of law, therefore it could not sentence anyone to go to jail, and neither could it issue HDOs. Of course, the Senate could detain anyone for contempt, but that is not the same as sending people to jail. But assuming that an HDO was issued, that is only supposedly the trigger, because the bigger challenge is to quickly transmit the order to all exit points in the Philippines, using the fastest possible means. As far as I know however, there is apparently no analog or digital communications system that could possibly make that happen. First of all, I doubt if there is really a complete directory of these exit points. If I am to build such a complete communications system, I will make sure that I will include landline calls, mobile calls, satellite phones, UHF/VHF radios, email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, and even Morse Code if I could. Of course, even letters and parcels could be used, but these could be extra means only if there is no real emergency. In many countries, they have a "Be on the Look Out" (BOLO) system that enables local and national law enforcement agencies to keep track of people on the run. According to www.cleverism.com, a BOLO is used to "officers in other parts of a city or country to be on the lookout for a fugitive, criminal or law offender that is on the run". Bottom line, what we need is a BOLO system that could be used to quickly transmit HDOs. IKE SENERES/08-24-2024

PRODUCING BIOGAS FROM SEWAGE

PRODUCING BIOGAS FROM SEWAGE Can our engineers and inventors design a system that can convert sewage to biogas? Or is there a system already and all we have to do is to find it? The following information is provided by Co-Pilot, the AI engine of Microsoft (Quoted verbatim as follows with attribution): Let’s explore the fascinating process of converting sewage to biogas. It’s like turning waste into a renewable superhero—green, efficient, and ready to power our world! The Sewage Saga Begins: Imagine a bustling wastewater treatment plant—the backstage of our cities. Here’s where sewage sludge (the leftover gunk) accumulates. But wait! We’re about to give this sludge a makeover. The Pretreatment Twist: Our heroes—the researchers at Washington State University—introduced a new player: pretreatment technology. This extra step involves using oxygen-containing high-pressure steam to break down sewage sludge. Think of it as a spa day for waste. The Biogas Transformation: The magic happens during anaerobic digestion (no oxygen, please). Microbes feast on the organic material in the sludge. Result? Biogas! It’s mostly methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Biogas can: Produce Electricity: Spin those turbines! Upgrade to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG): Feed it into the natural gas grid. Reduce Fossil Fuel Use: Hello, circular economy! The Circular Economy Dance: Imagine wastewater treatment plants generating their own electricity or even contributing to the natural gas grid. It’s like turning waste into wealth—closing loops, reducing costs, and benefiting the environment. The Bottom Line: This isn’t high-tech wizardry; it’s practical and scalable. Even small communities can join the biogas party. So, next time you flush, remember: You’re part of the grand sewage opera, starring microbes, pipes, and a dash of steam. AGAIN, THANKS TO MICROSOFT CO-PILOT FOR THIS VERY USEFUL INFORMATION/IKE SENERES/08-23-2024

LOCAL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

LOCAL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS In theory, any LGU can enter into any joint venture project with any company, as long as the agreement does not violate any national law, and as long as the city, municipal and provincial councils officially approve the project with an official resolution. If and when appropriate or required, the approvals should be backed up with citizen surveys or public referendums or both. I am mentioning this subject in relation to the fact that Public and Private Partnership (PPP) projects are already prevalent in the national level. Since this subject matter is very new to me, I could not be very sure yet about what are allowed and what are not. And I will not even try to make an impression that I am an expert in this subject matter, because I am not. As a matter of fact, I am hoping that there could be experts about PPP and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects out there who will contact me and teach me what to do. I have decided to explore the PPP and BOT options for LGUs, because I know for a fact that many LGUs are not earning enough from their own revenues, and they could hardly afford to undertake big ticket projects, even if their budgets are supplemented by their shares of the Internal Revenue Allocations (IRAs). As a matter of fact, the budgets could still be lacking even if some sympathetic congressmen will share their Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAFs). At the national level, we are fortunate that there are some major conglomerates led by Ramon S. Ang (RSA) and Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) who have the resources needed to build big ticket projects using the PPP and BOT approaches. It could be a long shot, but what if some local businesses would be equally motivated to go into similar projects in partnership with LGUs? To build infrastructure like farm-to-market roads and power generation plants for example? It appears that some provincial governments have already coordinated with the Public-Private Partnership Center (visit https://ppp.gov.ph/) in order to conduct their own projects. I would therefore encourage all the other LGUs to do the same. And if they need to consult with other government agencies or private sector experts, I would be willing to help them. IKE SENERES/08-22-24

IMPROVING EMERGENCY SERVICES

IMPROVING EMERGENCY SERVICES It is welcome news that the DILG has announced their new 911 emergency system, together with the PNP. I wonder however whether they have already solved the integration and compatibility issues with other local emergency short code numbers such such as 168 and 117. Despite the fact that PRRD issued an Executive Order (EO) requiring all LGUs to integrate with the national 911 system, some LGUs stood their ground and stuck to their local numbers. In my desire to implement a nationally integrated 911 number, I had suggested a simple technical solution that could have solved the integration issues, but my suggestion had fallen into deaf ears. I wish the DILG and the PNP all the luck in implementing their new 911 system, but if they run into integration issues, they are still welcome to revisit my technical solution. My solution does not really require rocket science. All it requires is a basic knowledge of telephony, something that any engineer could easily do, if he is worth his salt. I am simply talking about call forwarding and allow me to tell you how it works. If anyone will call 911 from anywhere, there is no need for call forwarding. But if anyone will call 168 or 117 or any other local emergency number, the call will automatically be forwarded to 911. That way, it will not conflict with some LGU's wishes to keep their own local numbers. I do not know yet how the new 911 system will work, but I wish that it is already able to address the interoperability issues that burdened the old system before. What I mean by that is that anyone should be able to contact the 911 call center regardless of whether they are dialing from a cell phone or a landline. And if they are dialing from a cellphone, they should be able to contact the 911 call center regardless of their cellular provider. I also wish that anyone dialing the 911 call center from anywhere should not be required anymore to dial an area code, and the call should be toll-free, regardless of where the call is coming from. Technically, the 911 call center is simply just a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service provider, and there are many Filipino companies that are very good with providing BPO services. If any LGU needs help with the 911 system, just let me know. IKE SENERES/8-21-24

BEYOND LOCAL BUSINESS PERMITS

BEYOND LOCAL BUSINESS PERMITS I am now developing a web application that will enable owners of business enterprises to apply for their business permits and licenses online, without the need to go to the municipal hall or city hall to do it in person. By the way, if you know of a Local Government Unit (LGU) that is already doing this, please let me know because I might be able to learn from their experience. To be clear however, I am looking for Business Permit and Licensing System (BPLS) software that are 100% deployed in the cloud, and not in the Local Area Networks (LANs) of the LGUs. Pardon me for saying so, but it seems that the prevalent culture in many LGUs now is to give business permit applicants "a hard time", as if they are going through a gauntlet just to get their permits and licenses. Instead of a customer service orientation, some LGU officials behave as if they are giving favors to the applicants, when in fact it is their duty to serve the applicants. Somehow, the culture of genuine public service is lost in some LGUs. Is there any way that we could change this rotten culture? Is there any way that we could treat the taxpayer as king, similar to the treatment of customers as kings, after all, a taxpayer is also customer, also a citizen, and is also a voter? Is it not enough multiple roles for the taxpayer to get royal treatment? I am now designing my new BPLS mobile app to be of use to the taxpayer not only for the original purposes of getting permits and licenses, but also for the purpose of enabling the taxpayers to get other services such as training, financing, packaging and the marketing of his or her products and services. We should all realize that aside from paying new taxes, these taxpayers are also creating new jobs that are good for the economy. New business means new livelihood and that should actually contribute to both poverty alleviation and poverty reduction in the community. Of course, the app will also enable the business owners to sell their goods and services online. IKE SENERES/08-20-2024

ONLINE REAL PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTS

ONLINE REAL PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTS Does anyone know of any Local Government Unit (LGU) that is already offering their citizens the service of being able to pay their real property taxes online without going to the municipal hall of the city hall? I ask this question because I have been involved in providing Real Property Tax Systems (RPTS) for LGUs for more than three decades and up to now, I have not heard of any LGU that has successfully deployed an RPTS online and I mean fully at 100%, and not just partially. I was one of the consultants to the senators who sponsored the E-Commerce Act (ECA) in the year 2000, and that is why I am somehow familiar with the law. As I recall, something went wrong when the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) were issued, because most LGUs at that time interpreted the term "online" to mean being deployed in a Local Area Network (LAN). I have been managing LANs for about three decades now, and I know for a fact that "online" means being deployed on the cloud, and not in a LAN. Right now, I am planning a fully online RPTS for an LGU client, and our plan of course is to make it 100% online, such that the real property owner does not have to go to the municipal hall to pay his or her real property taxes. As a matter of fact, he or she does not have to be physically present to pay those taxes, because he or she could even be abroad, for that matter. Admittedly, the computation of the tax dues still has to be done manually, but everything already becomes online as soon as the computations are done. In layman terms, I would describe the system to be cloud based and browser based, meaning that the property owner could use any computing device, any operating system and any web browser to be able to transact with the municipal hall. Technically speaking, I think that being 100% online is the correct interpretation of "digitalization" as defined by PBBM. It is not enough to "digitalize" a system if it is only accessible via a LAN. In fairness to those who are not used to transacting online, they could still go to the municipal hall to transact over the counter, using a computer that will be operated by a teller. IKE SENERES/08-19-2024

IMPROVING FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES

IMPROVING FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES What is the required response rate of fire departments in the Philippines? There appears to be none. An international organization, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has set a global standard of nine minutes, but our own Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has apparently not set a standard at all. Because of that, there is no way of measuring the standards of fire departments in the Philippines at all. In reality, there are really no fire departments in the Philippines, in the true sense of the word. What we have instead are local detachments of the BFP, and not the fire departments that are supposedly under the Local Government Units (LGUs). Because of the fact that they are not functionally under the mayors, there is no way that we could blame them for their lack of performance. Neither could we measure their performance if we really want to, because there are not standards as far as I know. It is sad to know that there are still hundreds of LGUs in the Philippines that do not have ambulance units. It is a good thing that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has been donating ambulance units to LGUs for so many years now, but even without the assistance of the PCSO, the LGUs should be able to provide for their own ambulance units already. If they could afford their service vehicles, why can't they afford ambulance units? However, it is not enough to simply buy ambulance units without providing for trained technical staff to operate them. What that means is that they should have real Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) on board these ambulance units. Now comes my question. Where should these be put under? Should they be under the BFP fire detachments also, or should they be under the LGUs? In my opinion, the LGUs should put up a separate rescue department, and put the ambulance units under this new department. Since emergencies and disasters have become so prevalent now, it is about time to put up this new department to rescue people from floods, earthquakes and chemical spills. As a matter of fact, they should also budget for med-evac helicopters, speed boats and satellite phones. IKE SENERES/08-18-2024

REPLY TO THE MATH OF SUPPLYING WATER

REPLY TO THE MATH OF SUPPLYING WATER Hereunder is the reply of DPWH National Building Code Development Office OIC-Executive Director Atty. John Alexander S. Belderol dated August 8, 2024 as regards the concern: "This has reference to the letter received by this Office on July 08, 2024 relative to the electronic mail sent by Mr. Ramon Ike V. Seneres dated July 07, 2024 regarding his article entitled "The Mathematics of Supplying Water". The document proposes a method addressing the challenges in meeting the rising demand for potable water in the Philippines and outlines various methods for water collection and filtration systems. Given the nature and scope of the topics discussed, the National Building Code Development Office (NBCDO), which specializes in building standards regulation, is not in a position to provide a detailed feedback on the issues presented, if any. Moreover, the aforementioned letter did not specify the intended purpose or objectives clearly, which are essential in fully understanding the context and implications of the letter as well as in formulating an informed response. The sender has not stated an action to be taken. Due to lack of a request for specific action, it would appear that the submission is intended only to provide information and/or suggestion. For these reasons, we are unable to determine what action is immediately required and forward the matter to a specific office for disposition of the concern. Relative thereto, we respectfully return the endorsement of the abovementioned letter without action other than to acknowledge receipt of the same, until such time that further details are submitted showing clearly that this office may take cognizance thereof. IKE SENERES/08-17-2024

HONESTY ABOUT POVERTY

HONESTY ABOUT POVERTY Ibon Foundation, a local think tank is questioning the data presented by PBBM in his SONA last July 22, 2024. PBBM in that SONA reported that the poverty incidence in our country fell from 18.1 percent in 2021 before he assumed office, to 15. 5 percent in 2023, implying that it went down because of his executive actions. However, the foundation appears to be questioning the basis for the President's report, seemingly hinting that it was dishonest. Eventually, the foundation somehow explained that they have no reason to doubt the poverty numbers that were submitted to PBBM by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), but they clarified what they really meant, by saying that what the PSA data really says is that "the number of Filipinos reported as poor has fallen". They then added that their statement is not the same as saying that "there are now fewer poor Filipinos". If you could not fathom the complexity of that explanation, imagine how the rest of the population could understand it. When I was younger, I heard the story about Juan who got mad at his friend Pedro, because according to Juan, his friend said that he looked like a monkey. In order to appease Juan, his friend Pedro explained that he did not really mean to say that Juan looked like a monkey. Pedro explained that what he really meant to say is that the monkey looked like Juan. With that explanation, Juan was no longer mad at Pedro. In his Inquirer article that touched on this subject, content research writer Kurt De La Pena wrote that "as the think tank said, the government's poverty threshold is too low, stressing that the monthly poverty threshold for a household with five members is lower than the national median self-rated threshold stated by respondents in the SWS poll on poverty. I do not know how this debate will end, but what I want to know is what method was used by the PSA to measure the poverty incidence. Was it the traditional method of counting the number of households who could not afford to purchase what is in the "imaginary basket of goods"? Or was it the newer method of the "Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) that was developed by the United Nations to measure depravity of basic goods and services? Whatever that method was, it should have been mentioned in the SONA. IKE SENERES/08-16-2024

DEFINING UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

DEFINING UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE According to Microsoft Co-Pilot, "Universal Health Coverage (UHC) means that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship". In case you have not noticed, the more popular term in the Philippines is "Universal Healthcare", and not "Universal Health Coverage". What is the difference between the two? As for me, I like UHC better because it is more measurable and countable. What I mean is that it is easier to count who are covered, and who are not. In theory, everyone in the Philippines is covered by health insurance, because of a law requiring PHILHEALTH to provide that service. In reality however, not everyone is actually covered yet, because everyone has to enroll first before they could be covered, and apparently, not everyone has enrolled yet. PHILHEALTH is actually the equalizing factor in this equation, because it provides coverage to everyone else who could not afford private health insurance companies. Generally speaking, all public clinics and hospitals in the Philippines should provide free medical products and services to everyone, including medicines and diagnostics. As it happens however, most patients of public clinics and hospitals here have to pay for medicines and diagnostics on their own, because of budget constraints on the part of the government. In some cases, PHILHEALTH could pay for the medicines and diagnostics of patients if it is part of their hospital bills, but understandably, PHILHEALTH could also not pay for everything, because of their own budget constraints. As it stands now, UHC is more of a theory rather than a reality. It is more of a dream, rather than an actuality. As for me however, it is not an impossible dream, if only the government could put UHC on the top of its budget allocations, and if only the government could reduce or remove the massive corruption that is responsible for draining our tax monies. In the meantime, the government could look into some alternative solutions such as promoting the use of high-quality generic medicines that could pass national standards just like the branded medicines. The government could also look into the outsourcing of some services to private sector providers who are more efficient in providing pay-per-use or rent-to-own machines and equipment. IKE SENERES/08-15-2024

THE ECONOMICS OF MILK PRODUCTION

THE ECONOMICS OF MILK PRODUCTION According to reliable sources, the Philippines imports about 99% of its dairy requirements. At first, I found that hard to believe, fully knowing that we are an agricultural country with plenty of sources for silage and other feed stocks for cows, carabaos and goats. What is happening to our country? Or to put it another way, what is not happening to our dairy industry that should actually happen? When I was working for San Miguel Corporation (SMC)about five decades ago, doing advertising and promotions support for the Magnolia line of dairy products, I remember that SMC at that time had its own dairy farm in Tagaytay. Even at that time, SMC might have been importing some of its dairy needs, but it surely had its own source of milk for its own requirements. What happened? Did SMC give up 100% of its own milk production in favor of 100% milk importation? After passing the Foreign Service Officer (FSO) qualifying examinations many years ago, I was required to take economic diplomacy courses at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). It was at the FSI where I learned about the difference between "comparative advantage" and "competitive advantage" from my former boss and mentor, Dr. Federico "Poch" Macaranas, who at that time was the DFA Undersecretary for International Economic Cooperation. In short, comparative advantage is the way to understand how a country could benefit by selecting one product to promote over another, due to lower opportunity costs. Competitive advantage on the other hand helps a country to select what product to support in such a way that that product could have a distinct advantage over other countries that are also offering the same product. Given these definitions, it appears that the Philippines may have given up on milk production, because it did not have the comparative advantage due to high opportunity costs. In retrospect, the Philippines might have chosen another product over milk, because we did not, or could not have a distinct competitive advantage had we chosen milk instead of another product. Perhaps our economic planners in the past found it easier to give up on milk so easily, because it is not a "political product" unlike rice that is highly politically driven. For now, it is surely out of the question to export rice, simply because we neither have the comparative advantage nor the competitive advantage. In short, it was an easy economic decision to keep importing rice right now, until perhaps we could have a surplus production that could already make it advantageous for us to export. But what about milk production? Should the government not make a decision to produce more milk, in order to be able to reduce our importation to say 49% only? I think the government should do that if only for the purpose of food security and the nutrition of children. Dr. Arnel Del Barrio, a scientist has proven that enabling young children to drink milk could surely free them from malnutrition, and it could even increase their weight. IKE SENERES/08-14-2024

FASTER INTERNET

FASTER INTERNET I will never forget the late Louie Casambre. He was one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. Before he died, he was one of my successors at the now defunct National Computer Center (NCC). Louie was Undersecretary of the now also defunct Information and Communications Office (ICTO). I was formerly Undersecretary of NCC. Both NCC and ICTO were the forerunners of what is now the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). Shortly before he died, I got to talk to Louie at one of the board meetings of the Philippine Information and Communications Technology Organization (PICTO). PICTO is the trade association of the ICT industry, and both of us where board members at that time. During our conversation, I asked Louie what he thought about the problem of slow internet. I was surprised at what he said, and I could never forget what he said. He said that in truth, fast internet is available in the Philippines, except that it is very expensive. Analyzing what he said, probably what he really meant is that most people believe that internet in the Philippines is slow, because they could only afford to pay for internet services that are very slow. In other words, the problem in this country is not slow internet. The problem here is how to make fast internet more available to more people. The question now is how to make that happen. I have four solutions to the problem, and I am happy to note that some of these solutions are already being implemented. The first solution is to bring in other sources of bandwidth, and to not just rely on copper cables and fiber optics. To some extent, that is being done now by satellite providers such as Starlink, but I have not yet about other bandwidth sources such as microwaves, spread spectrum, low orbit balloons and TV white space. The second solution is to build more internet exchanges where all internet service providers (ISPs) could pass through and share bandwidths for the benefit of everyone. The third solution is to have more local caches where cookies that are commonly used could be banked instead of fetching these same cookies separately, over and over again from the same sources abroad. The second solution is to combine at least two or more bandwidth sources into one synchronous flow, such that their combined speeds could become at least double. I understand that the privately owned ISPs may not easily agree to work together to implement these solutions in order to make internet speeds faster at more affordable prices. But since these solutions could possibly make the bandwidth providers save money on connectivity costs, it may enable them to pass on some savings to their customers thus lowering the prices. IKE SENERES/8-13-24

CHEAPER MEDICINES FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

CHEAPER MEDICINES FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE I do not know what other writers have to say, but I think that cheaper medicines have a direct correlation to universal healthcare. What I mean to say actually is that not unless medicines will become cheaper, universal healthcare will never happen. At the risk of stating the obvious, without medicines, there could hardly be a cure, not unless we count diet and exercise. In reality, cheaper medicines are already available, but in the form of generic or unbranded options. Ironically, most of these generic or unbranded options would have the same or mostly the same ingredients as the branded options, except that the latter are better known or are better trusted, so to speak. It is but normal that since people are afraid of getting sick or not getting well, they are willing to spend more, even if much more. In theory, people would be buying more of the generic or unbranded options if only they could learn to trust these products more, but that is still a long way to go perhaps. One factor is that many doctors would not want to risk their reputations by recommending the generic or unbranded options, and that is also understandable. thankfully, there are "generic" medicines that are already "branded", such as TGP, RiteMed and Rhea. Other than buying the "branded generics" that are still relatively pricey, there are still other ways of lowering the costs of branded medicines, such as bulk buying by coops for their own members, shifting to refillable plastic containers. Another idea is to stop using aluminum and plastic as packaging, because these two materials are not only expensive, they are also non-biodegradable as such, they o much damage to the health of planet earth. In fact they cause pollution that can cause sickness. IKE SENERES/08-12-2023

CHEAPER RICE FOR SALE

CHEAPER RICE FOR SALE Although it is still a long shot from the campaign promise of PBBM that he will make rice available at 20 pesos per kilo, the present offer of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) to sell at 29 pesos per kilo is already remarkable, even if the NIA rice is only available in a few Kadiwa outlets. Clearly, NIA Administrator Mr. Eduardo "Eddie" G. Guillen knows what he is doing, and the government should support him more, so that he could bring rice prices even lower. It appears that Mr. Guillen is a rare breed. He started as a a practicing engineer until he turned to politics, being elected as municipal mayor of Piddig, Ilocos Norte. In 2022, Piddig won an award as one of the top ten performing LGUs in the Philippines. Now away from politics but still a public servant, Guillen managed to perform the "miracle" of lowering the price of rice at practically half the prevailing price. What is interesting is that despite the fact that NIA's mandate is only irrigation, Guillen has seemingly extended his attention to post harvest activities, hence the lower rice prices. Talking about higher palay production and lower rice prices, whatever happened to Masagana 99? To those could not remember what that was, Masagana 99 was a palay production of the late PFEM circa 1973, wherein the goal was to produce 99 cavans of palay per hectare per cropping. Because of that, the Philippines even became a net exporter of rice, until the program fizzled out about seven years later. Very recently, I listened to a DA official being interviewed by a seemingly astute news anchor on a popular radio station. The anchor asked the official how many cavans the Filipino farmers are harvesting now, in relation to the Masagana 99 benchmark. The official tried to save face by saying that it was a surprise question, and he tried to calculate the numbers, as much as he could. Unable to answer the question, a more adept co-anchor butted in the theorize that it was an unfair question to ask, because the official was an agriculturist and not a mathematician. It appears that the DA does not really have a clear target of how many cavans per hectare they would want Filipino farmers to produce, given the supports that they could provide. The only clear target given to the DA by PBBM is to be able to sell rice at 20 pesos per kilo. Although I am just a writer and not a mathematician, I could roughly estimate that about one and a half kilos of palay are needed to produce one kilo of rice. In order to produce more kilos of rice per kilo of palay, the DA must work harder to improve the processes of harvesting, drying, milling and packaging. IKE SENERES/08-11-2024

BANNING DISPOSABLE BALLPENS AND SIGN PENS

BANNING DISPOSABLE BALLPENS AND SIGN PENS It is ironic that despite being one of the smallest countries in the world, we are the biggest contributor of plastic wastes to the world's oceans. Why is it that we are at the bottom of positive rankings, and we are at the top of negative rankings? When it comes to plastic wastes in the oceans, Filipino scientist Dr. Hernando Bacosa of Mindanao State University (MSU) explains that the reason why we contribute the most, is that we are unable to collect the wastes before it goes into the oceans. What he means is that the bigger countries are actually producing more plastic wastes than we are, but they are able to collect most of it, thus preventing their ending up in the oceans. Most probably, they are able to recycle the plastic wastes, at least most of it, and that reduces the volume of what goes into the oceans. Dr. Bacosa's scientific findings should teach us two lessons. One, we should collect more of our plastic wastes, to lessen the volume of what goes into the oceans. Two, we should recycle the plastic wastes, so that the volume of what goes into the oceans will even be lesser. Adding to what Bacosa said, my own idea of reducing plastic wastes is to prevent the entry of disposable plastic products in the first place. I have many examples of this type of plastic products, but let us start with a few small examples that could help us understand what big impacts they could eventually have on ocean pollution, of course, including land pollution as well. Long before disposable sign pens were invented, the whole world survived by simply using refillable ink pens. According to records, the "Quink" inks for the refillable sign pens were invented by Francisco Quisumbing, a Filipino chemist. Perhaps it could be said that there was nothing wrong with that invention, except perhaps that it was messy, dirty or inconvenient, depending on your own perspective. Fast forward to today, our land surfaces and our oceans are now messy and dirty, because of the volume of disposable sign pens that we are throwing away. Disposable ballpens are of course another issue. Despite the fact that refillable ballpens are already available in the market, many government agencies and private companies are still using the disposables, rather than the refillable types. Perhaps the government could lead by example by banning the use of disposable ballpens by way of an Executive Order. Later on, the Congress could take the cue by passing a law that could already mandate the private sector. Meanwhile, the private sector could make it part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to stop buying disposable ballpens and sign pens. IKE SENERES/08-10-2024

DATABASE OF PROSPECTIVE OLYMPIANS

DATABASE OF PROSPECTIVE OLYMPIANS Two-time Paris Olympics gold medalist Carlos Yulo was discovered by Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya who took him to Japan and trained him in gymnastics. What that means is that it took a foreigner to discover him and to invest in him. What that also means is that aside from his own father and a Filipino named Lope Lim, no one else cared to help him, not even the government. However, it is now coming out that a successful businesswoman, Cynthia Carrion has been helping Yulo ever since, providing for his needs so that he could pursue his dreams of becoming a top athlete. Thanks to Kugimiya, Lim and Carrion, Yulo is where he is now, practically a national hero who is being showered with gifts and rewards by so many new supporters. Among so many others, Yulo now has Andrew Tan and Manny Pangilinan as his new patrons. While I am very happy that Yulo never has to worry about funding, perhaps for his future Olympic ambitions, I feel sad that his success is more of an "accident", instead of being an outcome of a well organized sports development program that will ensure more prospective Olympians. As a matter of fact, I am even sadder that there could be hundreds of gifted Olympic material out there, who missed their chances to become Olympians, because they did not get the support that they needed. How and where was Yulo first discovered? Was he discovered by Lim at the gyms of the RIzal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC)? Or was it Lim who first brought him to RMSC? And how did Yulo end up competing in the Palarong Pambansa? Did he qualify because he trained well at the RMSC? And at what point did Carrion discover him? Even if we do not know the answers to these questions, we know for a fact that the Palarong Pambansa is like a magnet where many of the prospective Olympians could be discovered, but there does not seem to be a system to manage the whole process. As far as I can recall, there were no organized tryouts to choose the players for the Palarong Pambansa, at least during my time. I can also recall that no one from my own private high school was chosen or much less tested to play at the Palarong Pambansa. What that means is that many students from the private schools who might have been Olympic material are lost through the cracks. To add to that, there is also no system that could test and choose prospective athletes from among the out of school you. Who knows that an Aeta child might excel in archery? Or a Badjao child might exceed in swimming and diving? To go to my point, the government should create a database of prospective Olympians, not just including the medalists at the Palarong Pambansa, but also including those who could pass the tryouts that are open to the youth, regardless of whether they are at school or they are out of school. The database should not be too difficult, and any computer company could fund it or build it. I could help design and create it also. IKE SENERES/08-09-2024

DRINKING WATER FROM THE FLOODS

DRINKING WATER FROM THE FLOODS Perhaps you have heard the quotation "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink?" According to Copilot, "the phrase originates from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In this poem, a sailor recounts his experiences during a sea voyage. The line reflects the irony of being surrounded by water (in the vast ocean) but unable to benefit from it due to its undrinkable nature. It’s a powerful reminder of how abundance doesn’t always lead to fulfillment". I think that we could all sympathize with that ancient mariner every time that there is a flood, because we are surrounded by water, and yet we could not even drink a drop of it. That really sounds ironic, but how much more ironic could it be, if we are hit by droughts, and yet we are surrounded by sea water, being in an archipelago? Could it be that an abundance of flood water and sea water could actually be the solution to our water shortages? In reality, flood water could actually be an asset or an opportunity if only we could collect it and convert it into clean water. Of course, having a better drainage system could help in bringing the flood waters to the lakes, rivers and the seas, but what is even better is to bring those waters to ponds and reservoirs where they could be converted info safe drinking water. In theory, floods should not even happen if only the water volume from the rainfall could go to their natural destinations such as the lakes, rivers and the seas, but the lack of a proper drainage system has prevented that, a problem that has been compounded by the fact that the drainage systems were blocked by the accumulation of two much garbage. These are two problems that do not really require rocket science to solve. The solution is to expand the drainage systems, and to prevent the accumulation of garbage. Simple as those problems might be, perhaps it is about time that the government bring in the scientists and inventors who might be able to work with the technocrats who might be having a hard time in bringing in the solutions. I know for a fact that satellite data and drone data could be used to find out where the water flows, and where they could be directed. IKE SENERES/08-08-2024

LIMIT UNLIMITED SERVICE WATER

LIMIT UNLIMITED SERVICE WATER Just as it is hard to believe that very strong floods could be caused by a strong typhoon with heavy rainfall like Carina, you may find it hard to believe that the lack of rainfall could cause droughts and water shortages that could result in a natural disaster. Since we could no longer freely pump ground water and since it is still very costly to convert sea water into fresh water by way of desalination, the government should really become more strict in enforcing water conservation measures, and we can start that by limiting the delivery of service water to restaurant costumers. I understand that it is customary for restaurants to their customers, but why serve them water if they are not even asking for it? For that matter, why serve all the customers water when only one of them is asking for it? You might say that this is a trivial matter that is not even worth writing about, but what if I tell you that the threat of a water shortage in Metro Manila is really very real because our sources of fresh drinkable water is not as inexhaustible as it used to? What if I tell you that many metropolitan areas all over the world are already experiencing water shortages, even without droughts? Of course water conservation is only one of the solutions that could prevent a water shortage. But the truth is, every little drop counts when there is already a water shortage, so why not make every little drop counts when we are still conserving water to prevent a shortage? Admittedly, water conservation is only an artificial means of saving water, but should we not employ all artificial means since we have no way of controlling the natural means of having more water? Finally, here is my message to the government: after allowing our technocrats and engineers to find solutions to our problem of water shortages. why not allow our scientists and inventors to find other solutions. This is a serious problem that requires not only science driven solutions but also innovation driven solutions. If the government does not know who these scientists and inventors are, I can bring them quicker than a flashflood. IKE SENERES/08-07-2024

FLOOD CONTROL AND LAND USE PLANNING

FLOOD CONTROL AND LAND USE PLANNING How is the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) prepared? Is it a national plan that is a combination of municipal, provincial plans? If derived from a combination of local plans, then it would be a product of a "bottom to top" planning process. However, if it follows the "top to bottom" planning process, then the LGUs would be obligated to prepare their own local development plans by basing it on the MTPDP. But what if the local plans are based on neither of the two approaches? What if the local plans have nothing to do with the national plans and vice versa? As it is supposed to be, the Barangay Development Councils (BDCs) are supposed to prepare their own Barangay Development Plans (BDPs), and they are supposed to submit these plans to thier own Municipal Development Councils (MDCs) , for integration into the Municipal Development Plans (MDPs). As it goes up the staircase, the MDCs are supposed to submit their MDPs to the Provincial Development Councils (PDCs), for integration into the Provincial Development Plans (PDPs). Eventually, all the PDPs are supposed to be integrated by the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) into their own Regional Development Plans (RDPs). But are all of these BDPs, MDPs, PDPs and RDPs really prepared and implemented as they are supposed to be? The answer to that question will depend on whether or not the BDCs, MDCs, PDCs and RDCs are really meeting and functioning as they are supposed to be, but it seems that some of them are not really operating, and some of them might go to the extent of fabricating their minutes of meetings, to make it appear that they are meeting and are doing what they are supposed to do. Under the rules of the Executive Order (EO) mandating "Freedom of Information" (FOI), local citizens could request for copies of these minutes, and I would encourage them to do so. As it is supposed to be, all LGUs are supposed to prepare their own Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs). The problem is, many of the LGUs are not using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to prepare their CLUPs, and many are still using paper based land maps or manual topographic maps. If only these LGUs would use GIS software to prepare their CLUPs, then they could easily manipulate their GIS software to create their own hazard maps, which could of course include their own GIS based master plans for flood control. Not that I am trying to make it sound too easy, but it is really easy to prepare a master plan for flood control, if the LGUs would use GIS software to create their own CLUPs. Simply put, they should start their planning processes with data gathering. They could easily gather that data through tax mapping, which they could also implement by using the same GIS software that is already available to them. What is important however is to include flood control and land use planning in the agendas of the BDCs, MDCs, PDCs and RDCs, in the process also creating their hazard maps. IKE SENERES/08-06-2024

FLOOD CONTROL MASTER PLAN

FLOOD CONTROL MASTER PLAN In so many words, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan effectively said that the government does not have a flood control master plan yet, but they are already planning to make such a plan, by way of some feasibility studies. I think that we have to credit Secretary Bonoan for being honest about the truth, but it is really disturbing to know that after being an independent country for more than a hundred years, we still have not developed the infrastructure to control floods. While I am very sure that the DPWH might have all the bright engineers who could design and build the infra to control the perennial floods in Metro Manila and elsewhere, I believe that the best way to start the planning process is to manage the data, by way of data collection, data analytics and data integration among others. All that data should eventually be subjected to other processes such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, again among others. Going back in history, I know for a fact that the United States Geological Service (USGS) still have copies of the old maps that they made of the Philippines during the American occupation. Those old maps could actually show where all kinds of waterways where located at that time, including all the bays, rivers, lakes and even the creeks and the canals. If we compare these old maps with the newer satellite images, we will realize which waterways have been covered up or lessened in size. While it is very easy to blame the accumulation of garbage and the lack of drainage as the possible cause of the floods, we should realize that the more serious cause is the disappearance of the waterways because they either have been used as dumpsites, or they were illegally covered up and taken over by private persons or companies who are clearly violating the easement laws. If the government is really serious about creating a master plan for flood control, it should collect and integrate all the flood related data that it could collect from USGS, NASA, JICA, NAMRIA, PAGASA, PHIVOLCS and MMDA, among others. Aside from the engineers of DPWH, the government should also tap the scientists from DOST, ASTI and PHILSPACE. Aside from that, the government should also include the data of private sector sources such as Google and www.planet.com. IKE SENERES/08-05-2024

MANDATORY REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

MANDATORY REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES According to the law, indigenous peoples (IPs) who reside in ancestral domains (ADs) deserve the right to be represented in local legislative councils at the provincial, municipal and barangay levels through an appointed Indigenous People's Mandatory Representative (IPMR). As I understand it, the IPMR has to be appointed by the Governor, Mayor or Barangay Chairman, as the case may be. That is the reason why these appointments would always appear to be politically motivated. In theory, IPs who reside in the ADs would not have solid claims to their land ownerships not unless they are already awarded their Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs). I think that that is the crux of the problem why everything becomes politically motivated, because without having CADTs, IPs do not the security of tenure where they are presently residing. That could possibly become merely a play of words, because many IPs are still victimized even if they have CADTs. As it actually happens, the actual creation of policies are decided by the majority of the legislative council members, but at least with the presence of IPMR members among their ranks, their positions on all issues could already be heard. Without getting the majority votes however, these IPMRs could not get anything passed in these councils, not unless they agenda items are politically aligned with the heads of the LGUs. Conversely, I could also be said that if there is nothing good coming out of these local policy councils is because the LGU heads are not doing anything, or are not doing enough. While these councils could talk about anything they like, the bottom line is the long term economic development of these CADTs, in such a way that the IPs could graduate from poverty in the long run, and gain access to social services in the short run. Before any economic activity is allowed in any CADT, the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) must first be acquired from the majority of the IP residents. Although the issuance of the FPIC is strictly the decision of the IP residents, it should become the objective of these policy councils to work with their IPMRs so that the legal and political rights of these IP communities. The worst thing that could happen is for their rights to be violated without their consent. IKE SENERES/08-04-2024

MORE AFFORDABLE SOCIAL HOUSING

MORE AFFORDABLE SOCIAL HOUSING My former boss and mentor, former Vice President and former housing czar Jejomar "Jojo" C. Binay (JCB) once told me in a meeting that housing is a financing problem, and not a technical problem. I recall that he gave an example, that in theory, anyone could buy a Mercedes-Benz, for as long as the car buyer can be given a long term payment plan. I also recall that he also gave the examples of long term house installment plans in Hong Kong and Singapore, wherein the children and grandchildren of the original home buyers could even take over or assume the balance of the housing loans of their parents and grandparents. In that sense, those could be called "trans-generational financing" (TGF) terms. I also recall that my other boss and mentor, the late Jose "Jolly" Conrado Benitez (also JCB) who was the housing czar at that time as the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, told me that the housing units offered by the Ministry of Human Settlements (MHS) at that time were also sold on a "lease to own" basis. However good those plans were, they were obviously not sold under TGF terms. I was so honored by the fact that Jolly invited me to dinner, jus the two of us, shortly before he passed away. In that dinner, he told me that he was reading my columns, and that he wanted me to build an inter-island railway system, and to plant all "bald" mountains with trees. I always knew that he was known to always think big, but I had now way of knowing why I could act on those big ideas. Thanks to whoever invented the Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT), it is now possible to own a condo unit, of course without owning the land upon which the condo was built on. The CCT is simply an instrument that allows the property owner to sell his or her property, just like a Certificate of Registration (CR) that is needed in order to sell a vehicle. In reference to our particular topic, the CCT is the instrument that could be used to offer TGF terms. And just in case there are no more descendants that could take over the long term lease, the TCT can be sold to whoever qualifies. Since the real estate industry is already existing, and there is already an existing market for condos, perhaps what is only lacking now is a law that will the housing developers to offer their products under TGF terms? As a matter of fact, why not sell "bare" condos just like selling "stock" cars? That way, the buyer could just accessorize the condo how he or she wants it, and when he or she wants it, meaning when he or she could already afford to improve it, because he or she has all the time to do it. Who could possibly sponsor this law? IKE SENERES/08-03-2024

TOWARDS BUILDING MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS

TOWARDS BUILDING MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS Many scientists have concluded that mangrove forests could become strong buffers to counter storm surges and rising sea levels, but with a caveat that what should be planted are not just small patches of mangrove trees here and there, but large, very large hectarages of mangrove forests that are here, there and everywhere. I do not mean to split hairs with the DENR, but I think that there are two reasons why the National Greening Program (NGP) failed. Firstly, they were simply "planting" the trees but were not "caring" for them. And secondly, they were not planting enough of the trees to make a largely significant impact. While it is true that mangrove forests could grow in size on its own, it could of course grow faster if more planting is done as part of long term ecosystem development planning. Yes, the entire mangrove forests along with its surroundings should be managed like an ecosystem, and not simply as a cluster of trees here and there. As a matter of fact, there are many species of flora that are considered as natural "companions" of mangroves, such as nipa palms. Where mangroves are found, we could always find nipa palms. Accretion around mangrove forests actually does happen, and I have seen this happen with my own eyes. In the mangrove forest started by my departed Sigma Rho Fraternity brothers Fulgencio Factoran and Allen Quimpo in Kalibo, Aklan, the number of mangrove trees actually grew, as the land area also grew over the years. In a manner of speaking, accretion is actually a form of land reclamation that is friendlier to the environment because it is not invasive. In that same mangrove forest, I also saw that the local residents were able to earn their livelihoods by growing fish in fishponds, by making charcoal from fallen mangrove branches, and by preserving "Tamilok", a delicacy made from wood worms that thrive in decaying mangrove tree trunks. That is where I got the idea that if the local residents could produce more products that could be sold to outside customers, they could already support an ecosystem that would not only be good for them, but also for the environment. In theory, I think it would be possible for people to purposely buy products from these mangrove ecosystems, as a way of helping the people who live there, but also helping the environment in such a way that it would also help in fighting storm surges and rising sea levels. I know that burn out could happen if we just rely on donations, but people could be willing to buy items that they could also use, as their way of helping. As another way of looking at it, they could be helping themselves, as well as being able to help the planet. IKE SENERES/08-02-2024