MOBILE VERSUS INTERNET

MOBILE VERSUS INTERNET Dear Mr. President: There was a time when messaging via mobile and messaging via internet were two different options that were separate from each other. During that time, it was cheaper to send messages via mobile means, through the short messaging system (SMS) because we did not need an internet connection to use that option. However, our behavior changed when we were offered another option to avail of messaging via the internet, using personal computers, and using web applications such as Facebook Messenger. Eventually however, we were also offered the option to connect to the internet by using our mobile phones, using either WI-FI or a mobile data plan. Because of these two connectivity options, we were able to also use Facebook Messenger in our mobile phones, through what we thought was a mobile application, or a mobile app for short. Later, we were also offered other mobile apps for messaging, such as Viber, WhatsApp, Skype and Telegram. But why am I writing about these obvious realities that are already very clear to almost everyone? I am doing that, Mr. President, as a “wake up call” to all National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) that are seemingly not using the full potential of both web apps and mobile apps that are now known as “multichannel apps”, for lack of a better term. Either that, or they have not discovered it at all. Not too long ago, it was cheaper for most Filipinos to use SMS for messaging, instead of Facebook Messenger. Everything changed however, when Facebook was offered to use for free in mobile phones, and of course, Facebook Messenger became free also. Because of that, Mr. President, we now have an ironic situation wherein most of our NGAs and LGUs are not accessible in Facebook Messenger, and even if they are, only their chatbots are sending automated replies. Meanwhile, most NGAs and LGUs are still publishing their landline numbers even if most Filipinos do not have landlines anymore. Technically speaking, Mr. President, a web app is not the same as a mobile app because the former requires a browser, while the latter is “native” to the device, hence it does not need a browser anymore. There was a time when the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) in using browsers for mobile phones was not good, but that is no longer the case now. Right now, the difference between a web app and a mobile app has been blurred, and the age of multichannel apps has arrived. Mr. President, can you imagine what will happen if all our NGAs and LGUs will decide to use Messenger and all the other multichannel apps properly and aggressively? I believe that would immediately improve the government’s Customer Relations Management (CRM) systems, such that the satisfaction ratings of these government entities will go higher. I think Mr. President, most Filipinos will be very happy to know that they could communicate with the government, in the same way that they could communicate with their friends and relatives. And the good news Mr. President, is that these multichannel apps are free to use, meaning that the government does not have to buy anything, therefore it is not subject to the complicated procurement rules that are prone to corruption. The other advantage, Sir, is that government transactions could become more transparent, there will be “ease of doing business” and therefore there will be lesser corruption, at least hopefully. IKE SENERES/09-30-24

USING PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

USING PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE Dear Mr. President: By definition, a project should have a beginning and an end. If it has no beginning, then it is not a project at all. That is like saying that a problem should have a solution, otherwise, it is not a problem. In other words, it could not be a problem if it could not be solved, at least mathematically. Continuing with this comparison, a project should have defined problem that has to be solved through a solution. Once that problem is solved, then that would mean that the project should already end. The conventional wisdom in governance is that everything should start with a policy, in other words a policy framework. To implement the policy frameworks, there should be program plans that are derived from these policies. In theory, all project proposals should be derived from official policies that are derived from program plans. What that means is that there should be no projects that are not rooted in official policies. Official policies could either be based on national laws, department orders, provincial board resolutions or municipal ordinances. It goes without saying that these policy statements should have corresponding provisions for funding mechanisms, otherwise, no program plans could be prepared, and no project proposals could be considered. A policy basis is needed for all projects, even if it does not involve costs on the part of the government, such as Public and Private Partnership (PPP) programs. There are many Projects Management (PM) software that are available in the market, some are for free, while the others are not. Among those that are free are the PM software of ERP Next and Odoo. Among those that are not for free are the PM software of Microsoft and Teamwork. ERP Next and Odoo both belong to the “Free and Open-Source Software” (FOSS) category. However, it is only the software license that are free in the FOSS category, but there are optional costs such as customization and integration with the client’s existing systems. In my many years of managing computerization projects, I have met many professionals who would rather use Microsoft Excel to create Gantt charts for the purpose of monitoring the progress. At best however, using Microsoft Excel might be good enough, but the best option is to really use real PM software such as MS Projects, Teamwork, ERP Next or Odoo, including the other options such as www.monday.com, Click Up and Wrike. Regardless of what brand is used, the point that I am trying to make is that all managers of all projects in the government should be using PM software, not only because it makes project management more efficient, but also it makes project management more transparent, and thus are lesser prone to corruption. Add to that the fact that the data in the PM software are easily understood by most “laymen”, even if they have no technical background. Mr. President, for those National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) that would prefer to use FOSS because of budget constraints, I am willing to help them. Their only expense if ever, would be some consulting fees that they would pay to some Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals that are generally affordable. Hopefully, by using PM software, the NGAs and LGUs will no longer have projects that are not finished on time or are not finished at all, because of one reason or another. IKE SENERES/09-29-2024

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FOR EVERYONE

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FOR EVERYONE Dear Mr. President: I wish that as soon as possible, every Filipino will be able to sell online, regardless of what product he or she is selling, regardless of how big or small his or her business is. That is happening now, because many Filipinos are already selling online, via Lazada, Shopee and many other online platforms or marketplaces, as they are also called. However, I have also noticed that there are still many small-scale merchants who are unable to sell online, for some reason or another. I think that some of these reasons are the lack of connectivity, the lack of knowledge about electronic commerce, the lack of product development, and the lack of connections to logistics and payment partners. While these might seem to be major obstacles, I thank that with a little help from National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), it could be done. Based on my own observation, every Filipino should have a business, on top of, and aside from having a job, to get out of poverty, and if possible, to achieve some level of prosperity in their standard of living. In this regard, I would categorically say that anyone who owns a business, big or small should engage in electronic commerce, otherwise it would seem that they are not serious about being in business at all. It is widely known that in China, even street vendors are using mobile apps that would enable them to accept electronic payments wherein the money goes directly into their load wallets, just like GCash and Maya in the Philippines. Over there, the popular brands are WeChat Pay and Alipay. Over here, there are also other emerging brands such as GoTyme Bank, www.pouch.ph, www.coins.ph, Squid Pay and Dragon Pay. Right now, I would not be surprised if some street vendors are already accepting online payments, using only their mobile phones. For as long as merchants could accept mobile payments, they could already go into e-commerce, selling any product or service that they have. As a matter of fact, those who would rather not go into the other e-commerce platforms are now getting their feet wet by using Facebook Marketplace, even if there are no “add to cart” features there, just like the marketplaces of Viber and WhatsApp. While it may not cost anything to join the popular e-commerce platforms, they are not exactly user friendly, because there are many requirements to get in, and the commissions charged by them are too high, such that the profit margins of the merchants are much reduced. Either that, or the forced markups would make the prices too high, such that the goods and services are no longer price competitive. Mr. President, I believe that with your help, it would be possible to create a new e-commerce platform that would make it possible for every Filipino to have an online business. For that to happen, all NGAs and LGUs would have to work together in solving operational and administrative problems related to their businesses, such as production, distribution, packaging, financing and logistics, among others. IKE SENERES/09-28-24

POROUS BORDERS

POROUS BORDERS Dear Mr. President: During the series of Senate hearings about how dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Gou was able to leave the country, one of the resource persons said that one of the reasons is that we have “porous borders”. I think that there is nothing new with that, because that is a reality that we could not avoid, considering that we are an archipelagic country. However, what could be a cause for concern, is that if that porousness could enable fugitives to get out, it could also enable terrorists and even hostile foreign agents to come in. Because our borders are naturally porous, there is probably no way to fully prevent the exit of fugitives, and the entry of terrorists. However, it would be realistic to assume that we could do the next best thing and that is to minimize both the exits and the entries. And how could we do that? I do not have a ready design yet, but I believe that we could do that through a mix of manual and digital systems. If there is a will, there is a way. I believe that no matter how difficult it is, there are always ways to make our borders “less porous”, so to speak. Of course, some investments would have to be made, but what is the price of our national security and our sovereignty. Besides, we may already have the budgets for that allocated in our police and military agencies, and all it takes perhaps is proper planning and execution. As a matter of fact, we may already have the necessary equipment inside our government agencies, and all that is needed is systems integration. Believe it or not, we may already have an army (or an air force) of drones that are owned by private companies and individual hobbyists, and many of them might be willing to deploy their assets to become our “eyes in the skies” at no cost to the government. We have already seen this noble behavior among the boat and yacht owners who volunteer the use of their assets and join the auxiliary navy or coast guard. As far as I know, there are so many Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems that could be used to enhance border monitoring, such as Internet of Things (IOT) sensors, Doppler radars, Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR) equipment and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) equipment. Aside from that, there are many official and commercial sources of satellite data, among which is www.planet.com. As a matter of fact, some of these data and equipment may already with our own government agencies, such as NAMRIA, PHIVOLCS and PHILSPACE. Mr. President, even without newly allocated budgets, I believe that the government could already work with what they have, to start a project that could begin with plain and simple systems integration. I also believe that the DFA could be very instrumental in acquiring equipment from foreign agencies and organizations such as UNDP, UNIDO, NASA, JICA and ICAO. I personally know several scientists from DOST and NAST who would be willing to help with this project, and I am willing to help the government in putting this together if they want me to. IKE SENERES/09-27-2024

PATHWAYS TO PROFESSIONS

PATHWAYS TO PROFESSIONS Dear Mr. President: Perhaps the problem of the so-called “mismatch” in the job market has already come to your attention? According to the statistics, every year, there are thousands of college graduates who could not find jobs, while there are supposedly thousands of jobs that could not be filled, because the qualifications of the job applicants supposedly do not meet the requirements of the prospective employers. I know that there could be many possible solutions to the said problem, but may I present to you one solution that could possibly work? For lack of a better term, I am temporarily calling it “Pathways to Professions” (P2P). This is not a new idea, because as far as I know, there are already some countries that are already doing it. What is new however, is that very recently, artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to match the profiles of the prospective employees with the “wish lists” of the prospective employees, hence removing or avoiding the mismatch problem. Again, for lack of a better term, it could be said that the prospective hires are already “spoken for” by the prospective employers, as if they are already “betrothed”, to liken it to a wedding engagement. In a manner of speaking, the “betrothed” person is already technically an employee of the company because of the “engagement”, like the way that a cadet of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) is already technically an officer of the armed forces even if he or she is still studying. From an overall perspective, it is cheaper for the employers to adopt this approach, because it will save them money from the high costs of recruitment. Aside from that, it will save them money from the high costs of attrition, due to high employee turnovers caused by too many new hires that are not the perfect fits for the job openings. In these cases, it is not only the employers who suffer, but also the employees, because they must look for new jobs again, once they resign or if they are fired from their jobs. Based on my own experience, it is a good practice to invite graduating students to genuine “On the Job” (OJT) training programs. What I mean by “genuine” is that it really must be a real OJT program where the student gains by gaining new knowledge. What I mean by “fake” are those haphazard assignments where students are just asked to make coffee and make photocopies. I have supervised many OJT programs myself, that is why I know what I am talking about. What happens in a genuine OJT program is the employers will get a chance to discover who the good candidates are, and they will also be able to measure and validate their skills. On the other hand, the students will also be able to get an inside view of who the better employers are. This could be a two-way street, because it could become a “seller’s market” if the prospective employee is a prized catch. Mr. President, with your help, you could convince the employers in both the private sector and the government to implement this idea of using AI to solve the problem of job mismatch. For this idea to really work, they should provide an allowance to the OJT participants, at least to cover their transportation and meal expenses. Sad to say, there are some companies that are not giving anything to their OJT participants, and some companies are even charging the students, for them to be accepted into the OJT programs. IKE SENERES/09-26-2024

RECYCLING ELECTRONIC WASTE

RECYCLING ELECTRONIC WASTE Dear Mr. President: It appears that there is no existing government program right now that addresses the problem of collecting and electronic waste. Electronic waste includes not only personal computers, workstations, servers and mobile phones, but all machines and devices that have processors, keyboards, keypads and memory units. The problem is many of these wastes contain toxic materials that are toxic to the environment. In the private companies, it is very easy to get rid of these wastes because they could auction these off easily. That is not the end of the problem however, because no one knows what they do with the toxic remains after they extract the valuable materials such as metals, such as gold even. Probably, they could end up in the dumpsites or landfills. It could still be a problem if the toxic wastes would end up in the landfills, because of leaching. In the government side however, it would be more difficult to get rid of the electronic wastes, because the properties would have to be declared first as “unserviceable”. That is a vague terminology, because some of these properties are still repairable so to speak. So, the remaining alternative is to auction them off, a process that could take a long time. The more logical choice, however, is to donate these to the Local Government Units (LGUs) that may have the budgets to repair them. Among the LGUs, it is obvious that the first class and second class LGUs could afford to buy their own computers, but it is a big challenge for the third class, fourth class and fifth class LGUs to do that. In general, however, most of these lower class LGUs would have the budgets to repair the “unserviceable” computers. If not, they could probably get donors to raise the money to pay for the repairs. Another idea is to donate these “unserviceable” computers to TESDA, so that the vocational schools could use them for actual computer repair. There is no better alternative to learning computer repair through actual hands-on exercises. I have seen that happen in my entire career, from the time I was the ICT manager of DFA, to the time that I was the ICT manager of PCSO. Personally, I find much enjoyment in bringing back dead computers to life. If not TESDA, I know of some NGOs that are very good at repairing “unserviceable” computers. I could vouch for these NGOs, because I have already tried their repair services. As a matter of fact, they not only repair these “broken” units, but they could also upgrade them, so that they could become faster and better. In theory, most of these “broken” units could be repaired. The only concern is that as a rule, the costs of repair should not be more than half the value of new units. Mr. President, there are only two choices when it comes to LGU computerization. Either they are given money to procure new units, or they are given money to repair the old units. Without working usable computer units, they could not computerize. Without computerization, they could not move forward to digitalization. If you would want it Sir, we could try this out with a few “unserviceable” units from any National Government Agency (NGA), so that we could enable a lower-class LGU to computerize and digitalize. IKE SENERES/09-25-2024

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS WITH THE GOVERNMENT

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS WITH THE GOVERNMENT Dear Mr. President: What does “ease of doing business” mean? That is a very easy question to answer in relation to the private sector, but what does it really mean in relation to doing business with the government? Short of conducting a survey, I think that the general sentiment now is that it is very difficult to do business with the government, because most of the government services are still on a “face to face” basis and are therefore not online. It is very easy to do business with the private sector, because most of the private companies have already perfected their Customer Relations Management (CRM) software and systems. As a matter of fact, it could be said that CRM is the life of every private company, because without good CRM, those companies could lose their customers, and therefore lose their market shares. Among other “telltale” signs, one clear indicator that a government agency has very poor CRM is the fact that only their landlines in their websites or posters. That means no email addresses, no mobile numbers, and not even social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And even if they publish their mobile numbers, they do not even have Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram. What a disappointment that is, because these mobile apps are for free, therefore there are not procurement issues. We are often proud to claim that the Philippines is the texting capital of the world. Assuming that that is true, why is it that we could not even text our own government, in the same way that we could text our own government, in the same way that we could text our family and our friends? What is even sadder is that the government agencies that publish their mobile numbers do not even bother to reply. I know that for a fact, because I send text messages to many government agencies all the time. Mr. President, for so many months now, I have been sending letters to several government agencies via email and Facebook Messenger, but most of the time, I only get auto replies. Most of the time, the chatbots say that they will get back to me, but they never do. I am happy to inform you that your own Presidential Management Staff (PMS) has been very diligent in answering my emails to you, by referring these to the agencies concerned. However, I have never received a reply from your staff that is assigned to manage your Facebook Messenger account. How I wish Mr. President that the time will come when any Filipino citizen could contact our government using any means such as via text, email, voice calls and social media. By the way Sir, I am one of those who designed and implemented the 8888 Citizen’s Complaint Center during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte. If you wish to upgrade that system, I could help again by mobilizing the private sector to work with the government, as I have done before. The bottom line is, we should improve and upgrade the CRM infrastructure of the government. To that effect, you can even use the mobile apps that are already available for free in the market. IKE SENERES/09-24-2024

CAN COCONUT MILK REPLACE COW’S MILK?

CAN COCONUT MILK REPLACE COW’S MILK? Dear Mr. President: I am writing you about the problem of malnutrition among children in our country, a problem that has been identified to be the cause of stunting among them. In that connection, I have come across studies that have established the fact that one of the solutions to the problem of stunting is to feed our children with cow’s milk. However, it turned out that that is not a practical solution, because we are not producing enough cow’s milk locally, and as a matter of fact, the data shows that our country is importing most of our milk supplies. Meanwhile, perhaps due to globalization, our local market is now swamped with non-dairy milk substitutes such as almond milk, cashew milk and soybean milk. As I understand it, we are not producing enough almonds, cashews and soybeans to be able to produce milk out of those, so that is out of the question, there is however one source of non-dairy milk that we seem to have overlooked, even if we have an abundant supply of it. I am referring Mr. President to coconut milk beverage (CMB). No, I am not talking about evaporated filled milk (EFM) that is only supposedly used for baking and cooking. I am actually talking about CMB for drinking as a non-dairy milk substitute, not only as a beverage, but also as a coffee creamer, just like the way almond milks, cashew milks and soybean milks are consumed. By the way, Mr. President, there are some countries that have banned EFM for human consumption, but to be clear, CMB is not the same product as EFM. Despite the bans imposed in some countries, there is still a global market for EFM, as it is still used for baking and cooking. The good news, however, is that there is a growing market for CMB, and the even better news is that it could also be used for baking and cooking. According to Microsoft Copilot, the global market for CMB has grown to about 6.3 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to about 21.7 billion in 2033, with a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2%. Although there is a lot of money to be made if we could just capture a small share of that projected global CMB market, I am more interested in the potential of CMB to solve the triple problems of hunger, malnutrition and stunting in our local population. Can you imagine what will happen if not only the children but everyone in our country could drink milk that is just as good as cow’s milk but cheaper? And can you imagine how that will make our coconut farmers rich? Mr. President, I believe that to be able to fully tap the potential of CMB, there should be a task force or a joint committee to make the DA, the DOST, the DTI, the DOH and the DFA to work together. That should include the FNRI for product development, the DCP for packaging design, the FAD for product testing. Somehow, someway you could also include the CHED, so that it could mobilize the SUCs. Who knows? Together with the other coconut-based products, CMB could bring the Philippines out of poverty? IKE SENERES/09-23-24

FROM ENROLLMENT TO EMPLOYMENT

FROM ENROLLMENT TO EMPLOYMENT Dear Mr. President: I am writing you about the long journey that Filipino students must make from enrollment to employment, and how difficult it is for them to arrive at their destination, and that is a stable job, while having a good career or profession. As it is now, that journey is fragmented, and they are bound to encounter problems in every fragment, and there is no one to help them with those problems, more often than not. According to human resources expert Ms. Deanne Hernandez, it is possible to plan the entire journey of students from the time that they are enrolled in the schools, to the time that they are assigned to temporary engagements as part of “on the job” (OJT) programs. Ms. Hernandez was quick to clarify that these should be real OJT programs with actual work to do, and not the bogus “programs” where the students are just assigned to make coffee and to photocopy documents. When I was the Department Manager of the Information Technology Systems Department (ITSD) of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), we implemented honest-to-goodness OJT programs for graduating Information and Communications (ICT) students. As a result, they were able to learn new skills that they were not able to acquire in school, such as software programming, systems analysis, database management, hardware repair and website development. According to Hernandez, what is important is to place these students as OJT program participants in the right prospective employers. Once they are working in these companies even as temporary “employees”, it is already up to them to show their bosses what they are capable of doing. It is up to them to impress upon them that they are really worth hiring. In this connection, I have heard of many actual cases wherein the students are immediately hired by the companies after graduation, even skipping the interview processes already. With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) software, it is now possible to design parameters for algorithms that would make it very easy to choose possible employers for graduating students and vice versa, to make it very easy for the possible employers to choose the right applicants. As a matter of fact, if we can get actual data about what skills and characteristics that the prospective employers are looking for, then it is possible to customize the training and the preparation of these students so that they would have better chances of getting hired. I am very sure that all prospective employers would want this organized OJT programs, because it would be very cost-efficient for them, considering that they will be able to save a lot of money that they usually spend for help wanted ads. Add to that the high cost of attrition, as they are forced to fire employees who fail to pass their standards after their temporary employment periods. Mr. President, it is often said that it is up to the graduating students to look for their own jobs after they get out of school. While that may be true, there are many ways that the government could help, especially with your intervention. With the right instructions coming from you, all the prospective employers will rally behind you to make it easy for graduating students to get matched to the right jobs, as soon as possible. IKE SENERES/09-22-2024

PATRONIZING FREE MOBILE APPS

PATRONIZING FREE MOBILE APPS Dear Mr. President: I am writing you about the fact that many National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) have been unable to comply with your orders to digitalize the delivery of their public services, in line with your administration’s goal of achieving the so called “ease of doing business”. I think that the problem is two-pronged. Either the NGAs and LGUs do not have enough budgets for digitalization, or they are burdened by the complexities of public bidding rules, which could take months or even years to process. In the meantime, the public is suffering from the travails brought about by the “difficulties of doing business” with the government. I found the courage to write you directly, because I believe that I have found the solution to the two-pronged problem. Firstly, the solution is very cheap and very affordable, and therefore solves the problem of not having enough budgets. Secondly, the cost of the solution is way below one million pesos, which means that a public bidding is no longer required to procure it. And since the solution does not require the procurement of goods, it may not even require the canvassing process at all. Mr. President, I am referring to several offerings of free mobile apps that are already available for the use of the NGAs and LGUs, should you accept the offers of the developers behind them. I have been coordinating with these developers, such that I know who they are, and how to contact them. When necessary, these developers are also willing to conduct the training for their actual users at the national and local levels on a batch-by-batch basis to make it more affordable and economical. The educational content of these training modules is proprietary, which is the reason why these are exempted from the usual procurement rules. Mr. President, I also heard you say several times that you would like the online services of the NGAs and LGUs to be fully interoperable, aside from being digitalized, based on my many years of experience as a manager of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems and projects, that would be very difficult to do if the backend systems are written in incompatible codes. Of course, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) could be used, but the compatibility is always a challenge. Often, inexact data conversion would affect data conversion. One advantage of mobile apps is that the codes are written in the same “environment” such that APIs are not needed. What is important is that the data at the backend or the back office is readable by any browser. This is not very difficult to do, because most data files are now browser-friendly, and if they are not, data conversion technologies are now very reliable. The most common format for this is Comma-Separated Values (CSVs). Mr. President, technically, these developers are offering web apps and not mobile apps, but the differences between these two have practically disappeared. The web apps that are being offered could run on any device, using any browser, meaning that they are already 100% mobile friendly. The main difference between the two is that mobile apps are “native” to the device (meaning installed on the phone), and web apps are not. That is a disadvantage, because it takes up too much of the phone’s space and memory. By the way Mr. President, there are many other ICT practitioners who are willing to help the government improve its public services via internet and mobile solutions. We are just waiting for your call. IKE SENERES/09-21-2024

INTER-OPERABILITY OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

INTER-OPERABILITY OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES Dear Mr. President: Since the time that you have been calling for the digitalization of government processes, I have observed that both National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) have been very slow in responding to your instructions. Why has it been difficult for these government units to obey your orders? Is it because the heads of these units do not know what to do? Or is it because they do not have the right people who could implement Information and Communications Technology (ICT) projects? If that is so, why don’t they hire contractors or consultants to do it for them? As a former Director General of the National Computer Center (NCC is the precursor of the Department of Information and Communications Technology), I think that I might know some of the answers to those questions. But to be able to answer those questions, I must go back to the fact that even before the arrival of digital information and communications technologies, most NGAs and LGUs have not been actively coordinating and cooperating with each other. In other words, they really do not have a history of being “inter-operable”. From an internal point of view (meaning within the government), NGAs and LGUs must be able to access each other’s ICT systems and networks, for them to be able to claim that they are “inter-operable”. No, I do not mean being able to exchange messages with each other. I mean being able to read each other’s secure databases, but with the proper security access protocols of course. And if the protocols and policies will allow it, they should be able to input data to each other’s databases (meaning be able to write texts and numbers into these). And that means they must be able to sign in or log in to each other’s databases. From an external point of view (meaning from the perspective of the public), the people should be able to access these government databases via a single sign in or single log in protocol, instead of having to sign in or log in each time that they need to transact with any government agency. That is my definition of being “inter-operable”, and I welcome everyone else to send to me their own definition. Nowadays, a “single sign on” (SSO) protocol could just simply mean one having one ID that will be honored by all government databases, either internally or externally. But of course, the technology for the ID could vary, such as using Quick Response (QR) codes, Universal Product Codes (UPC codes, or commonly known as barcodes) and Near Field Communications (NFC), among others. Any of these could also be supplemented by biometric technologies such as facial recognition, voice recognition, gait recognition and even eye recognition (Iris method). Mr. President, depending on the level of technology needed, the government database could use two or more means of authentication, often could two-factor authentication or triple-factor authentication for example. The simplest method that is known to most people is the one-time password (OTP) sent via text or email. For as long as the government could implement any SSO method, then their goals of “inter-operability” could happen as they have been trying to make it happen. IKE SENERES/09-20-2024

DIGITAL GOVERNMENT FORMS

DIGITAL GOVERNMENT FORMS Dear Mr. President: As a former Director General of the National Computer Center, the precursor of the Department of Information and Communications (DICT), I know how difficult it is for National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) to comply with your instructions to digitalize their ICT systems to make it user friendly, in line with the goal of the government to promote the “ease of doing business”. I know of many ways to comply with your instructions, but for now, for the purpose of this letter, I will only mention two suggestions, just to get the ball rolling. My first suggestion is to start by digitizing all government forms, and my second suggestion is to avail of low-cost, subscription only software products and services, to avoid the long and tedious procurement processes. There are many online forms service providers now, some are for free, while others are for pay but they only charge affordable subscription plans. Google Forms is one such service, and the basic plan is for free. And why am I recommending the use of online forms? The answer is very simple. Once the forms are filled-up, we can already forward those to the concerned agencies for processing. That saves the trouble of applicants travelling and going to government agencies to do the same thing, to fill-up forms. Accepting forms that are already filled-up is the best thing that the government agencies could do, because right now, they are unable to process the services online anyway. According to the procurement law, all tenders with costs that are above one million should go through public bidding. Based on my own experience, that is a long and tedious process that could even take many months, and maybe even a few years. An the higher the procurement budgets become, the more it becomes more prone to corruption. The other problem is failed biddings could cause more delays because the process must start all over again. Buying subscriptions only is already a stable and accepted practice for personal and corporate use, including the use for government agencies. For example, my accounts for Zoom, Netflix, LinkedIn and Microsoft are all annual subscriptions that were purchased online with no hassle at all. Under the procurement law, proprietary software could not be subjected to public bidding, because in theory, they would have no competitors because they have unique Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). Couple that with the fact that since their annual subscription rates are below one million, then they are really exempted from bidding. Mr. President, as of now, I know of several software products and services for the use of NGAs and LGUs that are already available on a subscription basis. Among these are the usual systems for accounting, human resources, property management and inventory control, but there are also software options that are available for more advanced needs such as disaster management, telemedicine and electronic commerce. Let me know if you are looking. IKE SENERES/09-19-24

THE HOSPITAL ON WHEELS AND THE MOTORCYCLE CHARIOT AMBULANCES Dear Mr. President: The "Hospital on Wheels" (HOW) and the "Motorcycle Chariot Ambulances" (MCA) projects are indeed groundbreaking and highly impactful in addressing healthcare accessibility challenges. In essence, HOW brings healthcare services directly to the people, eliminating the need for individuals to travel to the hospitals. Their mission includes providing medical, surgical, dental, and optical services. They specifically target communities where healthcare services are inadequate and are greatly needed. During each HOW mission, they serve an average of 1,000 to 1,500 patients per day, with the following breakdown: - Medical cases: 400 per day - Surgical cases: 100 to 120 per day - Dental cases: 300 per day - Vision screening (including the provision of free reading glasses): 400 per day - Basic Life Support Training: 10–20 barangay staff/volunteers. HOW highlights its tremendous potential in providing essential medical services to underserved communities. By offering medical, surgical, dental, and optical care directly to those who need it most, HOW eliminates many of the traditional barriers to healthcare. The surgical component is especially impressive, as it addresses a critical need in municipalities where surgical services are unavailable. Performing major surgeries safely without the need for general anesthesia and allowing patients to go home on the same day, is a cost-effective and innovative approach. The inclusion of medical, dental, and vision services, along with life support training, enhances the comprehensive nature of these missions. These types of mobile medical units are a game-changer for public health, particularly in remote or underserved regions. Combining this with the MCA for rapid emergency response in congested areas or rough terrains further demonstrates the holistic thinking behind these projects. Together, they represent a powerful step towards equitable healthcare access in the country. Since its launch on September 17, 2007, in Quezon City, the HOW has conducted 411 missions across the country, mostly in Luzon, and has operated on more than 40,000 indigent patients with various surgical conditions. They conduct these missions on the weekends, 1 to 3 times a month, with an average of 2 missions per month. I personally know Dr. Jim Sanchez, the founder of both HOW and MCA. I have personally gone inside their “hospital bus”, which I think is an incredible invention in itself. Sanchez raises most of the funding himself, soliciting these from his friends and classmates from here and abroad. I believe that his wish is to have more of these wonderful buses and motorcycles, complete with the equipment inside of course, so that they could go to more places and help more patients. Mr. President, the good doctor said that they have already conducted missions in Visayas and Mindanao, because the buses can be loaded on RORO vessels. If there are companies out there that are looking for an automatic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, I recommend they they donate their money to HOW. Find them in Facebook. IKE SENERES/09-18-24

FULLY EQUIPPED BARANGAY HEALTH CENTERS

FULLY EQUIPPED BARANGAY HEALTH CENTERS Dear Mr. President: If you go to your nearest Barangay Health Center (BHC), you will be lucky to find one that is fully equipped, meaning that it is complete with doctors, nurses, medical equipment, medicines, consumables and other supplies. That is really a sad reality, because our low-income citizens really have no choice but to go centers, because they could not afford to go to the private clinics. According to the concept of “universal access to healthcare”, every citizen should be able to avail of health services either through public hospitals and clinics, or through their private counterparts. What is obvious however is that since going to private hospitals and clinics are too costly for our low-income citizens, they have no choice but to go to the public options. Obviously, the bottom line here is money, or the availability of funds, because that is always the reason given by the government. If that is the problem, then why not properly appropriate for these needs in the General Appropriations Act (GAA)? I understand that the defense and education budgets are also top priorities? However they may try to come up with a balanced budget, they should remember that there are global standards as to how much percentage of the budget should be allocated to healthcare. The introduction of “Malasakit Centers” (MC) is a good idea, but would it not be a better idea if everyone could apply for MC assistance from any BHC? I am saying that because right now, patients and their families could only apply in government hospitals that are mostly located in Metro Manila. As it is now, it appears that most of the people in the provinces have no access to MC benefits. Aside from the appropriated GAA budgets, all Local Government Units (LGUs) are entitled to their share of the Internal Revenue Allocations (IRAs). Since it is up to the LGUs what to do with these funds, I really wish that they would prioritize the budgets for the BHCs. Other than that, the LGUs could also appropriate funds from their local revenues, such as those coming from real property taxes. As far as I know, there are already some private companies that are offering Pay-Per-Use (PPU) and Rent-To-Own plans for acquiring medical equipment, as an alternative to actual procurement. This alternative is very practical, because it would enable the LGUs to fully equip their BHCs, without going through the long and tedious process of public bidding. It is an alternative, because the LGUs could not even go into public bidding if they do not have the funds available. Mr. President, one such company, Philippine Medical Depot (PMD), would even provide the technical staff that could operate the machines and medical devices, if the hospitals or clinics do not have the staff needed for that purpose, or they would find it difficult to recruit and hire them. As part of their packages, PMD could also offer repair services. In other words, if there is a will, there is a way to fully equip all the BHCs nationwide. IKE SENERES/09-17-2024

LOCAL DATABASES OF SENIOR CITIZENS

LOCAL DATABASES OF SENIOR CITIZENS Dear Mr. President: If I may ask, how can the barangay councils effectively provide services to their senior residents if they do not know who they are and where they live? How can these councils make it easy for these seniors to do business with their councils? And how could the seniors avail of local service providers, specially those who are honoring the laws granting senior citizen discounts? These are good questions to ask, and I believe that I have the answers to them. Together with my technology partners, I am now developing a website application that has six functions at the barangay level, namely (1) To serve as a local database of senior citizens, (2) To serve as a directory of senior oriented products and services, (3) To serve as a marketplace for these products and services, (4) To serve as a load wallet that could receive cash assistance from Local Government Units (LGUs), (5) To serve as a communications device so that senior citizens could easily contact their LGUs and (6) To serve as a backup senior citizen ID card. For the convenience of all senior citizens, the website application could also function as a mobile application, because it is designed to be mobile-friendly, meaning that it will work in any mobile phone, using any browser. And of course, it will work anywhere if there is an available internet connection such as WIFI or mobile data. Strictly speaking, the mobile app could already function by itself as an ID card using QR codes, but if they want the senior citizen members could still avail themselves of a plastic ID card for their convenience if they want it. Since it already has a built-in load wallet, either the plastic ID card or the electronic ID card could also function like a cash card, a debit card or a remittance card, depending on the preferences of senior citizen members. For good measure, the product will be fully compliant with all the requirements of the Central Bank, the National Privacy Commission and the DTI. As far as I know, there are still many gaps in the distribution of benefits and assistance from the LGUs to the senior citizens in their jurisdictions. I am a witness to that, because I have not received anything from my LGU ever since I became a senior citizen. As usual, the LGUs would want the senior citizens to personally apply for the benefits every time it is being offered, but that is very inconvenient for senior people, they should automate that so that they could immediately get what they deserve, as easily as possible. Mr. President, the present system of using printed senior ID cards and paper booklets is also obsolete, and it needs to be automated also. As I see it, it is making the flow of customers slower in the checkout counters, and it is very tiring for senior citizens to wait longer. It is probably costing the merchants too in the form of having to hire more workers. IKE SENERES/09-16-2024

PRIVATE ROOMS IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS

PRIVATE ROOMS IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS In theory, all services in all public hospitals should be 100% for free, meaning that patients need not pay, not even a single centavo. But that is only in theory as of now, because we are still very far from that becoming a reality. Also in theory, the Congress is supposed to appropriate 100% of the budget requirements of all public hospitals, but that is also very far from becoming a reality. Truth to tell, having private rooms in public hospitals is an oxymoron, but that is the sad reality that we are facing now. Hospital administrators of public hospitals are quick to explain that they are forced to go into the practice of offering private rooms because they earn additional revenues to augment the limited budgets that they are getting from the Congress. Putting two and two together, is it not that the simple solution is for the Congress to fully fund them? The practice of charging for private rooms in public hospitals is not the only problem. As almost everyone knows, patients of public hospitals almost always must pay for their medicine supplies and for their laboratory and diagnostics services, again for the same reason as budget shortages of public hospitals. Quite sadly, what almost always happens is that the recovery of patients is delayed, because the families of the patients must look for money to buy what they need. And in the case of surgery and other similar operations, some public hospitals are apparently forced to charge professional fees to the doctors, because the public hospitals also do not have the budgets to pay them for their professional fees. The sad news is that issuers of Guarantee Letters (GLs) such as PCSO are also not willing to pay for these professional fees (PFs). There is some good news in the horizon, because House Speaker Martin Romualdez has reportedly convinced the PCSO to pay for the PFs, perhaps not all of it, but even so, that is already a big help. PCSO General Mel Robles has also welcomed the idea, and that is good news for those who are applying for PCSO assistance. When I was a Director of the PCSO, I always took pity on the families of patients who were very happy about getting financial assistance from the PCSO through the GLs but were nonetheless very sad that they still must worry about paying for the PFs. I do not know what led Speaker Romualdez to make such a move, but I pray that God will bless him for what he has done. I also pray that the Lord will enlighten Romualdez some more, so that he will take the lead of revamping the budget appropriations process, so that all public hospitals will be able to give free medical services to all our citizens, most specially our indigent compatriots. I also pray that the Senators and Congressmen who are kind enough to allocate their discretionary funds to issue their own GLs will find it in their hearts to also decide to pay for the PFs as well. That will certainly make a lot of people happy. IKE SENERES/9-15-24

CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY

CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY I have always joked about the fact that the Philippines could not be a Christian country, because countries do not go to heaven, only the souls of people do. But seriously speaking, I could not agree that the Philippines is a Christian country, because many of the people here who identify themselves as Christians are not really practicing their faith, as they are supposed to. In other words, they would fall into the category of “cultural Christians” only. In a manner of speaking, the process of living out the Christian life is like planting a fruit tree. After planting the tree, it must be nourished so that it will grow and eventually bear fruit. Even if it grows tall but it does not bear fruit, it is no good as a tree, and it should even be cut down for being useless. We could also liken this analogy to the “gifts of the spirit” that are given to us, but these gifts would be useless if they do not bear fruit, meaning the “fruits of the spirit”. Since I live near a Catholic church, I often hear about the loud voices of parishioners who argue and fight for parking spaces right after they go out of the church. I even suspect that they might have just gone to confession or might have taken communion, but their rowdy behavior and bouts of anger. If I did not know any better, I would have suspected that they are either atheists or primitives. Same thing with road rage and driving behavior. Since about ninety percent of our population are supposedly Christians, it would not be too far fetched that those who engage in road rage could probably be Christians, even if in name only. Same thing with traffic rules. I would say that slow traffic is partly caused by those who do not obey the traffic rules, and again these could be the people who identify themselves as Christians. According to Galatians 5: 22-23, the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you come across someone who is exhibiting these behavioral traits, it would be safe to assume that he or she is a Christian. On the other hand, if he or she is exhibiting the opposite of these traits, then he or she is probably not a Christian, even if he or she identifies himself to be such. The essence of Christianity is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Anybody who does not believe that is not a Christian. As part of that personal relationship, all Christians are supposed to pray to Jesus Christ and are supposed to obey His words. Anyone who does not do that is also not a Christian. Therefore, it is not enough for us to identify ourselves as Christians. The word of God must bear fruit in us, and we must show that in the way that we have changed our lives. IKE SENERES/09-14-2024

LOCAL AREA NETWORKS

LOCAL AREA NETWORKS I have been managing Local Area Networks (LANs) since my days as a director of Management Information Systems (MIS) at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), as part of my duties as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO). Although LANs was just a new and emerging technology at that time, the division that I managed was able to build a LAN that covered the entire building using twisted pair cables, somewhat an amazing feat at that time. Since we had no budget for a true server at that time, we were able to configure a relatively high-powered personal computer (PC) to function as a “server”, at least good enough to function as a file server and an email server. Also, because we did not have a budget for a true server, I was able to get a subscription to ATT Mail, and that is how the DFA was able to send and receive worldwide for the first time at that time. When I became the Director General of the National Computer Center (NCC), true servers were already commonplace, and LANs were already more advanced, at that time already using fiber optic cables. It was during that time that I had the opportunity to serve as a consultant to the senators who sponsored the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, namely Senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. and Senator Vicente Sotto III. I think these two senators did a good job in crafting the e-commerce law, but then, something went wrong in the interpretation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). Although the IRR itself was also well done, it was interpreted wrongly by many people, when it was generally understood that having a LAN and making information available through it is already considered as being “online”. Although that notion might be partially true, it is not entirely correct, because being “online” should only mean being available globally using the internet, and not being available only locally using a LAN. Perhaps because of that misinterpretation, most of the software applications of the Local Government Units (LGUs) are available only via their own internal LANs. What that means is that only their own employees or tellers could use these software applications, and not the general public. That is also the reason why the public could not transact with the LGUs online, and that is why they are forced to go to the city halls and municipal halls to be able to transact face-to-face. As I see it, it is not too late to properly interpret to mean only being “online” via the internet, and not via a LAN. That is the reason why I am developing software applications that will work “online”, meaning that these are browser based and are hosted in the cloud. Ideally, there should be a choice between website applications and mobile applications, but most software applications are now dual mode, meaning that website applications are now readable in mobile devices, using any browser. The common denominator of course is the internet, because it is the internet that makes everything “online”. IKE SENERES/09-13-2024

BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT

BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT Customer Relations Management (CRM) is one of the best practices of corporate governance that has been perfected by the private sector. To make it easy for the private companies to implement these practices, many brands are available in the market that are very easy to install and use. Unfortunately, most of the government agencies have not discovered the advantages of CRM software, and that could partly explain why the quality of customer service in the government has not improved. As a private citizen, I have been communicating with the Executive and Legislative branches of the government, but I seldom get a reply from them. I am using many forms of communications such as texts, emails, Viber, Messenger and WhatsApp, but almost all the time, I only get automatic replies that “promise” that they will get back to me, but they never do. Of all the senators, it is only Senator Risa Hontiveros who bothers to reply in person, and not via an automated reply or robot. I wonder why most of the congressmen, senators, cabinet members and bureau chiefs who have received my messages are not replying to me at all, despite the millions of pesos that are available to them for communications. Are they simply just lazy? Or are they simply just snobbish and arrogant? Are they not all required by the law to reply within a certain number of hours or days? Is it not that these congressmen and senators are the ones who made the law that requires them to respond quickly to the public? And why is it that many government agencies do not even care to publish their mobile numbers in their websites? Don’t they know that the Philippines is the texting capital of the world, and that most Filipinos have at least one mobile phone that they could use to send and receive text messages to and from the government? If we could text anyone at any time, why can’t we text the government in the same way that we text our relatives and friends? And why is it that many government agencies publish only their landlines in their websites? Don’t they know that many people have already cut off their landlines? Don’t they know that it is very expensive to call a landline from a cell phone? And don’t they know that it is easier to call from Viber to Viber or WhatsApp to WhatsApp because there are no long-distance charges? Is that not the meaning of “ease of doing business”? The failure on the part of National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) to improve their CRM implementation is an indication that these government agencies are not at all serious to comply with national programs for computerization and digitalization. If they are serious about improving their methods of delivering public services, they should implement CRM projects as soon as possible. IKE SENERES/09-12-2024

DANGER ZONES AND HAZARD MAPS

DANGER ZONES AND HAZARD MAPS In the aftermath of the recent landslide tragedy in Antipolo City, a local official said that they have been offering alternative safe housing to the residents of the danger zone, but they did not take the offer, and they just stayed where they were. I think that it is only in the Philippines where people in authority would stand down in an impasse like that, even if it is already clear that the uncooperative residents were already facing certain death. The Antipolo City official said that they actually had housing units that were ready for the residents to transfer to, but they nevertheless refused to move. I do not doubt what that official said, but I am very much curious to know the reason why those people refused to move. Was the housing offered not to their liking? Was it substandard? What was wrong with it? More often than not, the prospective transferees would refuse because the housing offered does not have power and water or does not have opportunities for livelihood. Putting it the other way around, they would not want to leave their means of livelihood where they are now. Whatever the reasons are, I think that forced evacuations are already in order if the LGU could really prove beyond reasonable doubt that the location in question is really a danger zone, as determined by reliable scientific research, and as shown in official hazard maps. Otherwise, it is the duty of the LGU to convince, if not force the said residents to move to move, under threat of some penalties. In a manner of speaking, that would not be too much different from forcing residents around active volcanoes to leave the perimeter zones. In fairness however to the prospective refugees, the government also has to do its part in ensuring that they would be well provided with the resources that are either equal to, or greater than what they have left behind. Truth to tell, the government is not famous in providing not only the basic necessities but also the other needs such as access to transportation and of course, mobile and internet signals. As we already know it, the danger zones are not just the sites near the mountains where landslides could happen. As a matter of fact, flashfloods could also happen in those areas. Just to make everyone safe, let us not forget the coastal and island areas where tsunamis and storm surges could still happen, as well as rising sea levels that could swallow entire villages. By the way, who is really in charge of making the hazard maps? Is it the LGUs? The DILG? The NAMRIA? The DENR? The DILG? We should know who is in charge, so that we will know who is responsible. IKE SENERES/09-11-2024

COMPETING WITH SWISS CHOCOLATE

COMPETING WITH SWISS CHOCOLATE The land area of the Philippines is about seven times bigger than that of Switzerland. Cacao does not grow in Switzerland, but they are smart enough to import cacao from many other countries to process them into some of the finest chocolates in the world. Despite their small land area, they can sustain a dairy industry that supports their massive production of milk chocolates. In contrast, the Philippines grows some of the best cacaos in the world, some of which are probably exported to Switzerland in its raw form. Despite our large land area, we are unable to sustain a dairy industry even for our own domestic needs, so much so that we must import most of our milk supplies. Not just milk itself, but everything else that are made from milk products, such as cheeses and ice creams. So what is it that enables Switzerland to do what it is doing, and what is it that prevents the Philippines form doing what Switzerland is doing? Certainly, it is not the land, because we are already producing the cacao crops. Certainly, it is not the milk, because we are able to import that as an alternative to local production. Certainly, it is not the people, because many local entrepreneurs are already producing chocolate products even if it is only on a small scale. Could it therefore be the government? To say the least, the government is not famous for helping the local chocolate makers in getting more financing, getting better technology, increasing their production and expanding their markets. Perhaps some government agencies are doing their part here and there, but I could not see or feel the massive intensity that is needed to push forward a global product by gaining dominant market shares. The government may not see it as I am seeing it, but from this point on, the government should already be mobilizing all the agencies that should already be involved in the complete supply chain of supporting the chocolate industry, and that should include production, processing, packaging, marketing, advertising and financing, among others. The approach should be all inclusive and should be well coordinated. Who should be included in the complete supply chain? Offhand, the more obvious ones are the National Development Company, the Department of Agriculture, the DOST, the DENR, the DTI, the NEDA, the DBP and the DFA, among others. The delegation from the DTI should include the Design Center of the Philippines and the delegation from the DFA should include their economic diplomacy units. I understand that the government might not be so used to this type of intense cooperation, but is it not time that it does that to gain market dominance in certain priority products such as chocolates? IKE SENERES/09-10-2024

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEWAGE AND SEWERAGE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEWAGE AND SEWERAGE I think that many people do not know the difference between sewage and sewerage, so I decided to do some research about it. To make a long story short, sewage is the material that flows along a sewerage system, and the system is the infrastructure that enables sewage to flow. Having said that, I could now say that for the most part, very few LGUs have built their sewerage systems, and that could be partly the cause of flooding in some areas. Strictly speaking of course, the lack of sewerage systems is not the only cause of flooding. The bigger culprit I think is the lack of drainage systems. Not that I want to focus on semantics, but again strictly speaking, rain is not the cause of floods. The real cause of floods in my opinion is the lack of drainage systems, meaning that there are no systems to drain the rainwater into the rivers, lakes, streams and seas. Microsoft Co-Pilot defines sewage as “the actual waste water and solids that flow through the underground pipes. It’s the murky mix of human waste, industrial effluents, and whatever else we flush down the drain”. In other words, sewage is not just plain water that needs to be drained into the waterways. The final destination of sewage should not be the waterways, but rather the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) that the LGUs should have. In many parts of the country, some LGUs have built open canals in lieu of piped underground drainage systems. That could be good enough, for as long as the water flows to the waterways, but if not, these LGUs should be held accountable for both negligence and endangering human lives. I say that because flooding causes death as we already know it. What do we do with the LGU officials who are responsible for not building the proper drainage systems and sewage systems? Are there appropriate laws that could punish them? As I have pointed out here, these officials keep on blaming the rains as the cause of the floods, but now we know that the real cause of the floods is their failure to build the proper drainage systems. As I recall, there is another law that requires LGUs to build water catchment ponds, as a preparation for El Nino. As far as I know, very few LGUs have complied with this requirement either. What is the use of passing these laws if they are not implemented? And who among the National Government Agencies (NGAs) could be responsible for not enforcing them? Could it be the DPWH? The DILG? The DENR? The NDRRMC? Perhaps it is about time that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. should create a cabinet cluster composed of all agencies that are directly involved with the supply chain of sewerage, drainage and flooding. IKE SENERES/09-09-2024

COMMUNITY BIOGAS SYSTEMS

COMMUNITY BIOGAS SYSTEMS Very few people would remember the old Manila Gas Corporation (MGC), a Government Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC) that was abolished in 2014 during the term of President Benigno Aquino III. Along with five other GOCCs, it was deemed to be “non-performing” and “unnecessary”, and that is why it was abolished. MGC was in the business of distributing Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) in underground piping systems. As a result of that decision to abolish, most of the LPG supplies are now distributed in cannisters, except for commercial and industrial customers that are getting their supplies via piped systems. In contrast however, many cities abroad have maintained their underground LPG systems, and are still piping it into residential, commercial and industrial accounts. Although there could be accidental gas explosions here and there, no decisions were made to abolish these systems. On May 31, 2013, there was an explosion at Two Serendra Condominium in Taguig City, were three people died and five others were injured. The explosion was caused by an LPG gas leak that was ignited by a light switch. Because of that, the Ayala Corporation made a decision to remove the piped in LPG system, and that probably caused the end of the practice of distributing LPG to residential customers in the Philippines for good, or at least, for now. I understand that there are efforts to deliver Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to residential households, so let us wait and see what happens to that. As an alternative to both LPG and LNG, I think that it would be possible and practical to build small community based piped-in biogas distribution systems. By saying “small”, I would probably mean about a dozen or more adjacent households that could combine their organic waste into one common biogas digester and one pipeline distribution system. Of course, the biogas could be used for cooking and heating, but if the community members are still afraid of gas explosions, they could just use it for street lighting systems. I do not know which government agency is thinking about it, but one of the reasons why Filipinos are so poor, is because of the costs of their basic utilities such as water and fuel in individual bottles. Water of course is now piped in, but many customers are still buying bottled water, because they do not trust tap water. If only LPG could be distributed via piped systems, it would be cheaper. As to the question of trusting that it would not explained, I think that precautions could be made, just like in the other countries. IKE SENERES/09-08-2024

INACCESSIBILITY AND DEPRIVATION

INACCESSIBILITY AND DEPRIVATION In the conventional method, poverty is measured in terms of the inability of households to be able to afford the “imaginary basket of goods”. That basket of goods is supposed the necessities that a household needs, among which are food items, basic utilities and housing costs. Theoretically, if a household could not afford the basket, then it is considered as poor, because it falls under the so-called poverty line. In a relatively newer method, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) measures a household’s lack of access to certain goods and services. If a household does not have access to these, then it is interpreted to mean that they are “deprived”, and as a result, they are considered as “poor”. Since the MPI method was developed by the United Nations, it is up to member states to adopt it or not. The problem with the conventional method is that it is up to the individual countries what to add or subtract from the imaginary basket, and more often than not, the method is prone to manipulation by some dishonest governments that would want to present a rosy picture of having a poverty rate that is lower than the reality. For example, these governments would not care to include the costs of mobile communications, even if these have already become basic necessities, sometimes second only to food. As a matter of fact, I have heard of the tendency of some Filipino households to forego the purchase of some food items, so that they could save some money to buy their cell phone loads for texting and internet surfing. That might sound ridiculous to some people, but in all probability, they might actually be using their devices to earn money via some means of livelihood. It might actually be a damn if you do, damn if you don’t situation, because if they could not communicate, they also might not be able to buy food at all. Depending on which method is used to measure poverty, the final poverty rate that will be reported will be either high or low, sometimes depending on how honest the reporting authority is. One thing to watch out for is the reported unemployment rate, because if the unemployment rate is high, then the poverty rate should also be high. We should also watch out for the mandatory minimum wage, because if it is high, then the poverty rate should be low. In other words, the reported rates should reconcile. IKE SENERES/09-07-24

DEFINING WHAT IS "FOOD POOR"

DEFINING WHAT IS "FOOD POOR" Does anyone know what the term "food poor" means? As far as I know, a person is considered poor if he or she is part of a household whose income falls below the poverty line. And if he or she is considered poor, then he is most likely to have money to buy food, meaning that he or she is most likely to experience hunger. Not just him or her, but his or her entire household. In reality, the government measures only the "poverty rate", and not the "hunger rate", because there is really no such thing as a "hunger rate". Perhaps the closest data that is closest data sets that are closest to the concept of a "hunger rate" are the results of a "perceived hunger" survey, a survey that does not really collect statistical data about who actually experience hunger, but instead, it measures who believe that they have experienced hunger within a given period. In a manner of speaking, I am familiar with quantitative measures about a who are considered being "poor" in general, but not about being "food poor" in particular. At best, I think that measures about "perceived hunger" are qualitative in nature, and are therefore not indicative of the true statistical "picture" of actual poverty. The science of measuring hunger and poverty might have changed since I graduated from the University of the Philippines, but as far as I understand it, if a person falls below the "poverty line", he or she is probably unable to buy food, because food as a commodity is part of the "imaginary basket of goods" that determines whether a person is above or below the "poverty line". Perhaps someday, when I will meet someone who has more Economics units than I have, I will understand what the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) meant when they said that if a household of five could spend about 320 pesos per day, they could not be considered as "food poor". Does that mean however that they are already above the "poverty line"? That they also could not be considered as "income poor"? IKE SENERES/09-06-2024

MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITIES

MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITIES It may sound like an unusual suggestion, but what if we pass a law that will require LGUs to haul garbage directly to Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and not to sanitary landfills? Others might say that this suggestion is impractical, because many LGUs do not even have MRFs, and many of them do not have sanitary landfills either. But what logic are we pursuing here? Are we saying that we should not run after the LGUs simply because they do not have MRFs? And that they do not have sanitary landfills? Is that not like saying that we should no longer run after criminals simply because our jails are already full? Or that we do not have enough policemen to run after them? Sad to say, some of our LGU officials have not even thought of building their own MRFs, otherwise all of them would have it by now. In much they same way, they may not have thought of building sanitary landfills, assuming they would know what that means. It appears however that there are actually three points of failure here, namely the point of segregation at home, the point of bringing the recyclables to the MRF, and the point of bringing the non-recyclables to the sanitary landfills. Perhaps I might be asking for the impossible, but what if we the taxpaying public will demand that the government should lead the way in segregation and MRF implementation? There are more than enough military camps and school campuses where the government could lead by example in implementing the proper ways of waste management via recycling. Understandably, It is much easier for the government to make the laws and it is harder for them to implement them. However, who else but the LGUs and the National Government Agencies (NGAs) should lead the whole country in implementing these laws? Doing so is better than the government becoming the law breaker in contrast to their being the law maker. IKE SENERES/09-05-2024

YES TO SEA AMBULANCES

YES TO SEA AMBULANCES I have received a lot of good feedback about my essay promoting sea ambulances. Among them is Dr. Bernardo Gochoco, a senior manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). As everyone knows, PCSO is one of the biggest donors of ambulance units in the Philippines, giving those to Local Government Units (LGUs) nationwide. Dr. Gochoco wrote to say that it says so in Republic Act 10121 that LGUs can use 5% of their Internal Revenue Allocations (IRAs) for the preemptive purchases of necessary goods and equipment. He also said that if these allocations are unused after a certain period these would revert to the LGU "Social Fund". I think that there could be a "conflict of interest" here because by simply not using their IRA allocations for necessary goods and equipment, they would have a ready source for their other projects which may have nothing to do with ambulances and other emergency equipment. Since this appears to be a classic case of a law that encourages the LGUs to shoot itself in the foot, the House of Representatives and the Senate should amend the law so that it will become very clear that the funds intended only for disaster response and emergency response are used only for those purposes, and not for some unrelated "social purposes". The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) was created by the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 (RA 10121). Citing this law, Dr. Gochoco said that except for 5th Class municipalities, most LGUs would actually have the funds to buy ambulances, even if they buy one every year, because their IRAs are released every year. Just to be clear, I am urging all LGUs to purchase sea ambulances to be distributed to their island barangays, as well as their coastal barangays and their riverside barangays. I think that is not too much to ask, considering that they have the budget allocation for that anyway. As one of my readers wrote, these LGU officials should think about the safety of their own people first, and not what goes into their pockets. IKE SENERES/09-04-2024

NEW TEXTILES FROM BANANA STALKS

NEW TEXTILES FROM BANANA STALKS I always get excited whenever I "discover" a new product that could be produced out of waste, in turn creating new sources for our poor people, especially our marginalized farmers. That is the feeling I had when I "discovered" that Bananatex, a new product that was using banana stalks. . I have been exchanging emails with Mr. Hannes Schoenegger, the Chairman and President of the company that makes it. Wikipedia describes Bananatex as "a natural cellulosic biodegradable "technical" canvas fabric made of Abacá banana plant fibres (also known as Manila hemp). The plants are grown in the Philippines as part of a sustainable forestry project in Catanduanes. Bananatex was developed and is distributed by the Swiss canvas goods company QWSTION and is used in the company's own products as well as in other companies' manufactured goods. Bananatex was developed to have better wear characteristics than cotton while being more sustainable. It is less durable than synthetics like Cordura, and can biodegrade. Bananatex is sold in a range of colours and is available with or without a natural beeswax waterproof coating". However, according to ChatGPT, "bananas and abaca are not the same species, though they are closely related. Both belong to the genus Musa, but they are different species within that genus. Bananas (Musa spp.) are primarily cultivated for their fruit. They are often divided into two main types: dessert bananas and plantains, which are used for cooking. Abaca (Musa textilis) is also known as Manila hemp. It is grown primarily for its fiber, which is used in making rope, textiles, and other products. The fiber from abaca is known for its strength and durability. So, while they share the same genus, their primary uses and specific characteristics are quite different". My conclusion is that either way, Bananatex could be made out of both bananas and abaca, and it does not really matter which is which. What is important is that the QWSTION company is now fully committed to helping the Philippines to develop the product, so that it could help more Filipino farmers. According to Mr. Schoenegger, their goal is "to engage with many thousand communities and smallholder farmers for future fibre production. The program is called fibre for future and has the goal to include 5,000 farmers in Mindanao. We want to give those people a good and stable income. It takes time, as we have to work with many industries from fashion to footwear to automotive, who are used to work with for example polyester materials, which are much cheaper". Since the QWSTION company has already started the ball rolling, my wish now is that the Philippine government will now come forward to help Mr. Schoenegger. In line with that, I will start reaching out to the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). IKE SENERES/09-03-2024

WHAT IS A FOOD POOR PERSON?

WHAT IS A FOOD POOR PERSON? Pardon me if I make some mistakes in my analysis here, because I graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in political science, and not economics. As a matter of fact, I only have six units of economics. Because of that, I have to get out of my way to make additional research, before I touch on economic topics in my essays. As far as I can recall, the conventional method of measuring poverty was whether or not a person would fall below the poverty line or not, based on his or her ability to afford the so-called "imaginary basket of goods", meaning all the contents of that "imaginary basket". As I understand it, that "basket" includes not only food, but many other non-food items, including housing costs. Very recently, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) issued a statement that "spending only P64 on food per day does not classify one as food poor". If multiplied by an index of five, that would amount to P320 per day. That statement somehow confused me, because I am familiar with "poor" as generally understood, but not with "food poor". I got confused because I am familiar with separating hunger data and poverty data, and not combining the two data sets into one. There could be other ways of doing it, but I am only familiar with surveys that measure "perceived hunger", wherein respondents are asked whether they have "experienced" hunger within a given period. Perhaps in that case, "experience" probably means not having anything to eat during that given period. As I understand it, a person who falls below the so-called "poverty line" is bound to go hungry, because he or she could not afford to buy the contents of the "imaginary basket", contents that includes food items. What I am saying is that a poor person should be expected to also become a hungry person. So what does the PSA mean by "food poor"? IKE SENERES/09-02-2024