A NEW HOPE FOR INDIGENOUS TRIBAL PEOPLES

A NEW HOPE FOR INDIGENOUS TRIBAL PEOPLES Dear Mr. President: I do not know whose idea it was to transfer the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) from the DSWD to the Office of the President (OP), but I think that it was a very good decision on your part. Firstly, placing the NCIP under the DSWD implies that it is a “charity case”, which obviously it is not. Secondly, the NCIP did not have the “bureaucratic clout” when it was simply “attached” to a line department, unlike now that it is directly “under” the OP. As I see it, the NCIP should really transform into a “development” agency, from what it was before, when it was generally regarded as a “welfare” agency. I am sure Sir, that you have already been briefed about the problems besetting the NCIP but allow me to bring out some of these two you. I am sorry if I could not present to you any actual proof of these problems that I will bring to you, but I am sure that you could validate these through your own sources. The first problem Sir is that many of the Indigenous Tribal Peoples (ITPs) still have not acquired their Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs), after all those years since the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) law was passed in 1997. As far as I know, the problem could be the lack of money, or the lack of lawyers. However, that is not even supposed to happen, because the NCIP is supposed to have the money and the personnel for that purpose. The second problem Sir is that some LGUs are not recognizing the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMRs) who are supposed to represent the local tribes in the local municipal councils, city councils and provincial boards. As it is supposed to be, the tribes are supposed to select their own IPMRs, but in many cases, the local mayors and governors would insist on making their own choices, thus defeating the purpose of democratic representation. The third problem Sir is that many of the tribal communities are so far away from the urban areas, such that they are often deprived of access to basic services such as health and education. It would be good if the government could bring these services closer to where they are, but that is not always the case. There is also supposed to be an Indigenous People’s Education (IPED) program that aims to provide culturally responsive education to the ITPs, but the implementation seems to be behind its targets. The fourth problem Sir is the lack of support not only from the NCIP itself, but also from other National Government Agencies (NGAs), for purposes of supporting the livelihoods of these ITPs. Among others, this support should come in the form of training, financing and marketing. Since many of these ITPs have large tracks of lands, they could prospectively go into large- scale plantations, or even large-scale poultry and livestock production. Now that the NCIP is directly under your office, I believe that it would be very easy for you to mobilize all the NGAs that are needed to provide support to all the tribal communities, regardless of whether they already have CADTS or not. These NGAs could include DOJ for legal support in applying for the CADTs, DOST to identify the technologies that they need, DA to provide them with the training, supplies and equipment, DOF for financing and DTI for marketing. IKE SENERES/11-01-24

INCENTIVES FOR AFFORESTATION

INCENTIVES FOR AFFORESTATION Dear Mr. President: In the aftermath of the typhoons and landslides that happened in our country, we have been reminded again, as we have been reminded before, that we must plant trees, not just a few seedlings here and there, but millions of it, as much as we could. It has become clear that trees could not only prevent water from trickling very fast to the lowlands, but they also prevent landslides. What has already become clear to most of us Filipinos is that one of the major causes of floods is the loss of forest cover, meaning that our mountains have become denuded, because the trees that used to thrive there were totally cut and were not replanted. Replanting or reforestation is one side of the equation Mr. President, because there is another side to the equation, which is afforestation. According to Microsoft Copilot, “afforestation is the process of planting trees in an area that has not previously forested, to create a new forest. This is different from reforestation, which involves replanting trees in areas where forests have been depleted”. Copilot adds that just like reforestation, “afforestation could help deter climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide, preventing soil erosion, and enhancing biodiversity”. Realistically speaking Mr. President, is afforestation too much to ask from a people who were not able to do reforestation, as simple as it is? Is it too much to ask from the DENR, the government that is apparently failing to implement the National Greening Program (NGP)? I believe Sir, that my answer to these two questions is yes. I say that because I believe that these two questions are political in nature and are not technical in nature. My answer is yes, because I believe that with the right political will, it could be done, but with the right political leadership of course. Realistically speaking Sir, I think that it is difficult to tell which areas in our country were previously forested, and which areas were not. Some areas that were previously forested could be 100% devoid of trees now, such that there is no longer a hint at all that a forest used to thrive there. Perhaps in the lowlands, the planting of new trees could no longer stop the floods and the landslides, but at least, new trees could still absorb carbon dioxide, and even feed fresh water to the aquafers. Mr. President, since the implementation of the NGP is apparently still ongoing, perhaps you could investigate it to be able to what its progress is. I suggest however Sir, that NGP should have clear targets about how many square kilometers should be planted, and which mountains should be planted. I also suggest Sir, that the progress of the planting and the new growth should be monitored both by drones and by satellite images, for comparison purposes. May I also request Sir, that the DENR be instructed to plant only native species? For that matter, I think that it would be wise to cut down and remove the invasive tree species, while the native tree species are being planted. In addition to that Sir, may I also request that you also include the planting of mangrove forests in the NGP? I know for a fact that some LGUs and NGOs are planting mangrove propagules in some places, but no one seems to be planning to grow new mangrove forests, except perhaps Yolanda survivor Gary Dabansol who planted 10,000 mangrove trees all by himself in his village in Matalom, Leyte, knowing that it could provide additional protection against storm surges. IKE SENERES/10-31-2024

WHAT DO WE DO WITH WATER HYACINTHS?

WHAT DO WE DO WITH WATER HYACINTHS? Dear Mr. President: In the series of floods that have hit our country, many have blamed the indiscriminate throwing of garbage as one of its causes. Although it could be a minor factor in the overall equation, it could not be denied that both Water Hyacinths (Eichhornia Crassipes) and Pink Water Lilies (Nymphaea pubescens) are also part of the flooding problem. Aside from that, these two take up a lot of space that hinders navigation, and fish culture through fish cages. Although these two species are often confused with each other, they are very much different. Fortunately, only one of them, which is the Water Hyacinth, is more pervasive and more destructive because it not only forms dense mats on the water surface, but it also blocks sunlight and depletes oxygen levels, a dual problem that harms marine life. Although the Pink Water Lilies are also present in Laguna Lake, these are not as pervasive as the Water Hyacinths, the former is not as fast growing and not as pervasive as the latter. Although both species are edible, it is not safe to eat them if they are harvested from polluted waters, because both are rather good in absorbing pollutants. Of course, both could also be processed into animal feeds, but that is also not advisable, because the pollutants could also be ingested by the poultry or livestock. The only alternative is to process them into fertilizers or into native handicrafts. As a matter of fact, with the right technology, both species could be processed into fabrics that could be used in producing textiles for clothing, for household use and for industrial use. Apparently, these fabrics could also be blended with other fabrics that are produced from pineapples, bananas, abaca and maguey. Perhaps Mr. President, you could task both the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) under the DOST and the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) under the DA to work on this together. Although these two agencies might appear to have overlapping functions, the function of PTRI focuses on research and development to support the textile industry, including the creation and innovation of textiles and related products. PhilFIDA on the other hand is the agency responsible for promoting the growth and development of fiber industry in the Philippines. It is focused on research and development, production support, extension services, education and training, fiber processing and utilization, standards implementation and trade regulation. In other words, Mr. President, it appears that the abundance of these two species in our rivers and lakes could become an opportunity, instead of being a problem. In the meantime, our people could earn their livelihood from producing fertilizers, handicrafts, fabrics and textiles, but they could prospectively produce human food and animal feeds once the pollution in the water is removed. And for sure Sir, more fish could be produced once the water is cleaner. IKE SENERES/10-30-2024

ERADICATING INVASIVE FISH SPECIES

ERADICATING INVASIVE FISH SPECIES Dear Mr. President: There are about seven invasive fish species in the Philippines, namely Clown Knifefish, Eastern Mosquitofish, Thai Catfish (Clarias batrachus), African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus), Rice Paddy Eel, Janitor Fish and various species of Tilapia. The Thai Catfish and the African Catfish should not be confused with our native Hito Catfish (Clarias Macrocephalus), also known as Bighead Catfish. All species of Tilapia found in the Philippines are invasive, but they have been around for so long, that most people think that they are native. According to Microsoft Copilot, “an invasive species is one that is introduced to an ecosystem where it is not native, and it starts to cause harm to the environment, economy and human health. These species can disrupt local ecosystems by preying on native species, competing for resources, spreading diseases and altering habitats”. The most layman explanation is that they eat the young of the native species, thus displacing them. Copilot also says that “invasive fish often thrive because they lack natural predators in their new environment, leading to a rapid population growth and significant ecological impact. They can affect biodiversity and the balance of aquatic ecosystems”. The sad part about this is that the invasive fish becomes the new predators, thus eliminating the weaker fish around them. Mr. President, what is the government doing about these invasive fish species? As I understand it, there is supposed to be a National Invasive Species Strategy and Action Plan (NISSAP) that was formulated by the DENR, but so far, it has been difficult information online about what they are doing or what they have done. Again, quoting Copilot, NISSAP was developed “as part of the United Nations Environment Programme-Global Environment Facility (UNEP-GEF) project, aims to manage and control invasive species in production and protection forests”. The efforts of NISSAP include risk assessments of introduced species in key lakes, screening non-native species for invasiveness, and recommending management strategies and control measures. Also quoting Copilot, the goal of NISSAP “is to protect native aquatic species and restore ecological balance in the country’s water bodies”. It seems however Sir, that the scope of NISSAP is limited to the lakes, therefore there might be a need for a separate program that will investigate our rivers. It would appear Mr. President that NISSAP is one of the functions of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMD) under the DENR. If that is so, then it is possible that the function of eradicating invasive species could be implemented by the same bureau that is also working for the protection and preservation of native species, not just for fish, but for all of flora and fauna. On this subject, it is worthwhile to note Sir, that many countries have already been successful in bringing back near extinct species to “endangered status” at the very least. Perhaps Mr. President, you could organize a think tank that will study the econometrics of either eradicating or propagating Tilapia in the Philippines? Although Tilapia has become a major source of livelihood for those who are raising them, it is also known to affect the livelihood of those who are raising Milkfish in our lakes. What are the pros and cons? Which one is contributing more to the economy? Is it Tilapia or Milkfish? And if we decide to eradicate Tilapia, how do we do that? Luckily Mr. President, the Clown Knifefish is edible, and so therefore there should be no problem about eating them “out of existence”. The Janitor Fish however is not edible, or at least, it is not palatable, therefore we must look for more creative ways to remove them from our lakes and rivers. Perhaps, aside from BMB and BFAR, you could also task both DOST and DTI to develop new products that could eventually remove them from our waterways? Perhaps as cat food or as organic fertilizers? IKE SENERES/10-29-2024

IS FLOOD CONTROL TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

IS FLOOD CONTROL TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE? Dear Mr. President: I beg to disagree with those who have already said that there is no solution to the problem of flooding and that the government could no longer do anything about it. I believe in the saying that for every problem, there is always a solution. Otherwise, mathematically speaking, it is not even a problem if it could not be solved. While it could be said that no country could claim that they have completely solved the problem of flooding, there are four countries that could rightfully claim that they have controlled flooding to a manageable level, which is good enough, I think. To be fair, Mr. President, our people are not really expecting the government to end flooding once and for all. As it is written in our laws and in our budget appropriations, our objective is simply to control the floods, hence the so-called “flood control” projects. I think that in terms of public opinion, the public does not really mind seeing a few inches of flood water every now and then, if it does not stay too long and as long as it does not become too deep. That I think, is the layman interpretation of “flood control”. In the case of the Netherlands, they are renowned for their advanced flood management systems. They have implemented an extensive network of dikes, levees and storm surge barriers. These measures have greatly reduced the risk of flooding in that country, according to Microsoft Copilot. Most of these measures were built in Amsterdam, their capital city. In the case of Japan, they have invested heavily in flood control infrastructure and early warning systems. They have constructed numerous dams, reservoirs and river embankments to manage flood waters. According to Copilot, they also have sophisticated meteorological technology that “helps provide early warning” to their citizens. I think that Japan is primarily afraid of earthquakes, but they know that floods could also happen along with earthquakes. In the case of Singapore, they have adopted a comprehensive approach to flood management, through infrastructure systems that include drainage canals, storm water collection ponds and pumping stations. Aside from that, they also have advanced technologies to monitor and predict flood risks. If I am not mistaken, they are probably using sensors for data gathering along with data analytics. In the case of South Korea, they have implemented flood management technologies such as the construction of reservoirs (like Japan has done) and flood control dams (also like Japan has done). They also focused on urban planning and green infrastructure to reduce the impact of floods. Most likely, their reservoirs could be connected to their dams. In all the four countries that I named, the availability of efficient garbage collection was not mentioned, because I think that is a given, meaning that it is not a problem for them, as it is ours. The availability of sewerage systems was also not mentioned, because I also think that is not a problem for them, as it is to us. Both told, we have two more problems that the four countries do not have. Mr. President, I still have faith that whatever these four countries have done to solve the problem of flooding in their cities, we could also do. For sure, we do not lack the good engineers that we need to build the infrastructure that we need. We could not discount the possibility that some of these projects could still fall victim to corruption, but perhaps, public vigilance plus your direct supervision could minimize it. And if you will need computer science to solve the problem of flooding, our group of volunteers is ready to help. IKE SENERES/10-28-2024

THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE REACHED

THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE REACHED Dear Mr. President: Perhaps it has already come to your attention, but based on my own actual experience, it is very difficult to contact the government by phone, via email, via Facebook, and via any other social media. Although it is already widely known that most people do not have landlines anymore, I wonder why many government agencies would only publish landlines in their brochures, posters and websites, and nothing else, not even their email addresses and Viber numbers. When I see that, I am tempted to think that perhaps, they do not want to be contacted at all. As it happens, when anyone calls their landline numbers, it either always busy, or no one really answers after many rings. And if someone even answers, it is either the wrong person, or the right person is not available. When that happens, the caller is either told to call again, or the caller is just told to come to the office in person. The problem here, Mr. President, is that it is very expensive to call a landline from a mobile phone, and that is why it is costing a lot of money for our citizens just to call the government. The good news is, Facebook is now free in mobile phones, and so is Facebook Messenger (FBM). And that is the reason why our netizens are now using Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages less and less and are using FBM more and more. In a similar manner, our netizens are using Global System for Messaging (GSM) voice calls less and less and are using FBM calls more and more. The bad news however Mr. President, is that many if not most of the National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) do not answer their FBMs. Well, they do answer via auto reply that they will “get back to me” as soon as possible, but they never do. The other good news is that other mobile apps such Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram are also free on the mobile phones, and you could use these for both chat messages and voice calls. The bad news however, Mr. President, is that very few NGAs and LGUs publish their Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram numbers in their brochures, posters and websites. I can understand Mr. President why some NGAs and LGUs are struggling to obey your orders to implement digitalization because of budget reasons, but I could not understand why they could not use these mobile apps that are available for free. I would like to take this opportunity Mr. President, to commend your Presidential Management Staff (PMS), because they have been diligently answering my emails, and have been faithfully referring these to the NGAs concerned, for them to act. Your team assigned to answer your FBMs has been laggard, because I have not received an answer from them after messaging you for almost a year now. Same goes for your team assigned to answer your Twitter and Instagram accounts. As a former Director General of the National Computer Center (NCC) Mr. President, I fully support your calls for digitalization, but I am saddened by the fact that the people who are running our NGAs and LGUs could not even answer their email accounts and their social media accounts. What is the use of being the texting capital of the world Sir, if our people could not even message their own government? IKE SENERES/10-27-24

WHAT IS A SMART CITY?

WHAT IS A SMART CITY? Dear Mr. President: So far, no city in the Philippines has claimed to be a “smart city”, not even Manila, the capital city. But what does it take to be a “smart city”, and which city in the Philippines will be the first to claim it? And how could we tell whether the first claimant would pass the criteria? According to Microsoft Copilot, there are already three “smart cities” in Asia, namely Singapore, Beijing and Songdo in South Korea. I know that there are several criteria for judging whether a city is already “smart” or not. But as far as I am concerned, the first hurdle should be the automation of all business processes in the city halls, starting with what is commonly known as “Management Information Systems” (MIS). Before MIS, these systems were commonly known as “Electronic Data Processing (EDP) systems. Nowadays however, the “Enterprise Resource Planning” (ERP) approach has become more popular, whether it is hosted on premise, on the cloud, or a combination of both. In a manner of speaking, the city hall building, and all its surroundings could be considered as a “campus”, and that is why I say that “smart cities”, no matter how big they become, should start with what could be called “smart campuses”. In that context, it would be fair to say that a city would have no basis to call itself a “smart city”, if its city hall campus, which is supposed to be its “nerve center” is “dumb”, so to speak. It would also be fair to say that all technologies that could eventually be deployed in the entire city should first be tested and tested in the “smart campus”, such as, but not limited to EDP, MIS, ERP, Building Management Systems (BMS), Internet of Things (IoT), big data, data analytics, artificial intelligence, robotics and other innovative solutions. It goes without saying that most if not all authentication technologies will be used, such as bar codes, Quick Response (QR) codes, Near Field Communications (NFC) codes, facial recognition, voice recognition, gait recognition, retinal recognition, thumbprints and the vein pattern recognition recently introduced by FinGo. As far as I am concerned, a city could not be considered a “smart city” if it is not also a safe city, and a clean city. Aside from that, it should also be a city where the transportation system is affordable and always available. Of course, it should also be a city where the crime rate is low, and the poverty rate is low. Add to that the goal that joblessness should be low, and homelessness should also be low. Not to forget that there should be affordable water, power and internet for all. Again, according to Copilot, a “smart city” uses “advanced technologies and data analytics to enhance the quality of life of its residents, improve sustainability, and streamline city operations”. Copilot also says that the existing “smart cities” have “implemented various smart technologies to improve urban living, sustainability and efficiency”. In other words, Mr. President, the technologies were only used as tools to improve the human condition in those cities. Technologies were only the inputs that were used to produce the outcomes of having the “good life” because of good governance. IKE SENERES/10-26-2024

FASTER AND CHEAPER INTERNET

FASTER AND CHEAPER INTERNET Dear Mr. President: Our present system of producing and distributing electric power may not be the best, but it serves our purposes right now. Our present system is composed of three parts, namely production, transmission and distribution. For the most part, the National Power Corporation (NPC) does the production, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) does the transmission, and Meralco does the last mile distribution in some areas while the electric cooperatives do the last mile distribution in the other areas. In the case of the internet, there is really no “production” so to speak, but the “transmission” if we can call it that, is done by the telecommunications companies such as Globe, PLDT and Converge. In the old days, the common practice was for the telcos to stay away from the “last mile”, business, being supposedly content to make money as “Value Added Networks” (VANs). In those days, the “last mile” business was somehow “conceded” to the “Value Added Service” (VAS) providers such as the “Internet Service Providers” (ISPs). As it is done now however, most telcos go into both the VAN/VAS businesses, practically preventing the smaller ISPs from doing any business. Ideally, Mr. President, the VAN component should be the “production and transmission” side of the business, while the VAS component should be the “last mile” side of the business. The reason why I am bringing this up Mr. President, is to bring forward my suggestion that the government should invest more in the VAN component, so that the internet could become cheaper and faster. In technical terms Sir, the VAN component could be considered as the “backbone” of the internet infrastructure, and the “last mile” are those that are “attached” to it. Figuratively speaking Mr. President, the internet “backbone” is like a superhighway, and the service roads are like the “last mile”. The more lanes there are in the superhighways, the faster the traffic could flow, because the more vehicles could travel through it. Unlike the superhighways where the land area is finite therefore the number of lanes that could be added are finite, the bandwidth that could be added to the internet “backbone” is infinite. Although some people might disagree with me, Mr. President, I will take the risk of suggesting to you that the telcos should be allowed to use the government owned internet “backbone” for free, in the same way that private bus companies are allowed to use our public highways for free. But perhaps as a trade-off, the telcos could agree to give more “space” to smaller ISPs on the “last mile” side of the business? If it is not too much to ask Sir, could you also consider the possibility of providing incentives to cooperatives, so that they could also go into the ISP business, just like the electric coops? Since the ISP business is a good business, that idea would make many cooperatives grow in size, and along with that, their members could also make more money, perhaps enough for them to get out of poverty? IKE SENERES/10-25-2024

ONLINE MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS

ONLINE MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS Dear Mr. President: Perhaps it started during the Covid 19 epidemic, but online medical consultation is now available in our country, at least to those who could afford it. As I see it, this goes against our national goal of providing universal access to healthcare to everyone, rich and poor. Apparently, there are two reasons why this anomaly occurs. The first reason is that our public hospitals and clinics are not equipped to provide online consultation services, or they are simply not allowing it, for one reason or another. The other reason is that PHILHEALTH still does not allow the refund of online consultations, again for one reason or another. Personally Mr. President, I do not blame PHILHEALTH for not yet allowing the reimbursement of online consultations, because it has fallen victim to some scams before, such as the cataract reimbursement scam. While it appears that we have not run out of scammers in this country, which is the bad news, the good news is that there are now several information and communications technology (ICT) products and services that could frustrate or prevent the malicious attempts of scammers and even hackers. The key to solving this problem, Mr. President, is to verify or validate the identity of either the patient or the doctor or both. To be able to do that, there are many available technologies such as multifactor authentication such as biometric data, one-time passwords (OTPs), thumbmarks and secret questions. Biometric data can be in the form of facial recognition, voice recognition, retinal recognition and even gait recognition. Lesser forms of authentication that could also be used are quick response (QR) codes, bar codes and near field communications (NFC) signals. As the saying goes Sir, for every problem, there is a solution. Mathematically speaking, it is not even a problem if it could not be solved. Technically speaking, there is no data security problem that could not be solved. As it is the practice in the industry now, the entry level is two-factor authentication, but the multifactor authentication could be two or more, depending on the level of data security that the client wants to install. Weighting the pros and cons, I believe Mr. President that since the database of PHILHEALTH could already be protected by multifactor authentication, there are already sufficient reasons for you to instruct DICT, DOH, PHILHEALTH, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) to work together and to plan what course of action to take. If and when necessary, Sir, perhaps you could issue an Executive Order to settle this matter once and for all? In the event Sir, that the five agencies mentioned here would need some technical assistance, I would be very much willing to mobilize the private sector to help the government, just as I have done before to implement the National Crime Information System (NCIS) and the Citizen’s Complaint Center (Project 8888). As of now, I already have a team of ICT experts that are willing to help the government with this project, if you would allow them. IKE SENERES/10-24-2024

USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR AGRICULTURE

USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR AGRICULTURE Dear Mr. President: There are at least eight government agencies that should be involved in using technology for agriculture, but as of now, they are seemingly not coordinating with each other. These agencies are DICT, DA, DAR, DENR, CHED, TESDA, NAMRIA and PhilSpace. The roles of DICT and DA are obvious, because they are the two major players in the challenge of using information technology for agriculture. The role of DAR comes into play, because agriculture development is the next step after agrarian reform and land distribution. DENR should also be involved, because there are overlaps in planting trees and other crops in mountains and other public lands. CHED should also be involved, because there are many SUCs that have developed new information technologies that have yet to be commercialized. And lastly, TESDA should be involved, because they should already be teaching information and communications technology (ICT) skills to vocational and technical students. NAMRIA is in possession of a lot of geographical data, not only for agriculture. PhilSpace is our very own space agency, Mr. President, it could no longer be denied that modern agriculture must already use ICT technology today, if it is to succeed at all. Without using ICT technology, it would be very difficult for agriculture, not only in production, but also in processing, packaging, financing, logistics and marketing. And just like any other industry, agriculture needs ICT resources namely hardware, software, connectivity and manpower. Many years ago, there was a lot of discussion about the so-called “knowledge economy”, meaning the economy that utilizes ICT resources, among its many definitions. At that time, the conversations focused on the idea that in the “knowledge economy”, everyone must be a “knowledge worker”, meaning that everyone should have computer skills of one level or another. I was one of those who provided technical support to the senators who passed the e-commerce law, and at that time, I remember that the conversations focused on the prediction that in the future, if companies will not adopt e-commerce, it would be as if they would not be doing any commerce at all. Clearly, that has become a reality now. Based on that, it would not be far fetched to say that soon, if farmers will not adopt ICT technologies, they will not be doing any agriculture at all. Obviously, farmers would also need e-commerce to sell their goods, but that is not all that they would need. On the production side, they would need a lot of data inputs to be able to know what to plant, when to plant and where to plant. And for the new crops, they would also need information about how to plant them. Among the ICT resources that could be used for agriculture are satellites, drones, low orbit balloons, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Aside from data collection, low orbit balloons could also be used for internet connectivity, the same as satellites. IoT devices are mostly sensors that could detect and measure heat, coldness and motion, among others. IoT devices can use non-commercial forms of connectivity, such as Long Range (LoRa) and TV white space (TVWS). LoRa is a type of long-range, low power wireless data communications technology. It uses a modulation technique called Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS). TVWS are the unused frequencies between the VHF and UHF spectra. Mr. President, perhaps the lack of coordination between these eight agencies could be made possible if you could create a new task force, or perhaps you could issue a new Executive Order to give this effort a stronger executive authority. Such an initiative could also greatly contribute to our food security. IKE SENERES/10-23-2024

WATERSHEDS AND RAINFORESTS

WATERSHEDS AND RAINFORESTS Dear Mr. President: It is good to know that many groups are implementing tree planting projects everywhere, including the DENR that is undertaking the National Greening Program (NGP). Despite all these projects however, there appears to be no overall goal or general direction that is guiding or integrating all these worthwhile initiatives. That is the reason why Mr. President, that with your approval, let us adopt the common goal of reviving our watersheds and rainforests, all over the country. I know that it is a long story to tell Sir, about how illegal loggers cut down the trees in our forests, and how that has resulted in devastating floods because we have lost the trees that retain the water in the mountain, therefore also depleting our watersheds in the lowlands. Sadly Sir, that is all lost in the past, but fortunately, we still have something to look forward to in the future, and that is the revival of our watersheds and our rainforests. What is the difference between an ordinary forest and a rainforest? While a few trees might be enough to form a forest, it takes much more and much longer to from a rainforest. According to Microsoft Copilot, “a rainforest is a specific type of forest that receives a high amount of annual rainfall--typically more than 2000mm (80 inches). Rainforests are knownfor their dense, lush vegetation and incredible biodiversity”. So there you go Sir, it is the amount of annual rainfall that makes the difference between an ordinary forest and a rainforest, and that rainfall is exactly what we need to restore our watersheds. Realistically however, it takes hundreds, if not thousands of years to form a real rainforest. But what is going to stop us from starting it now? It did not take is a hundred years to destroy our forests, so perhaps it will not take us a hundred years to grow at least a dense forest in all our mountains, perhaps just enough to hold water in the roots to reduce floods, and to feed water into our watersheds. To be able to implement this massive project Sir, we must do better than what the DENR did in the NGP. We cannot plant just plant any tree anywhere at any time. That is so because certain trees are best planted in certain soil types, and certain trees grow best when rainfall is most available at certain times. As a rule, we should no longer plant invasive species like mahogany and gmelina, even if we think that these already endemic. As a rule, therefore, we should only plant native tree species. According to some reports, gmelina has the reverse effect in water retention, because it absorbs all the water around it, thus depriving water from the other trees. Mr. President, may I respectfully suggest that you investigate what happened to the NGP? It appears that a lot of money has been spent for it, with nothing much to show. There are reports that many of the seedlings were overpriced, and deliveries were often “recycled” if you know what I mean. The good news is there are some NGOs that are working on the propagation of native tree species, and one of them is the Philippine Native Tree Enthusiasts (PNTE). IKE SENERES/10-22-2024

CONSULAR RANKS FOR OVERSEAS LABOR OFFICERS

CONSULAR RANKS FOR OVERSEAS LABOR OFFICERS Mr. President: Under the rules of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Labor Attaches could only be assigned to embassies and not to consulates. That is the reason why it is a violation of the rules if a Labor Attache uses that designation in a consulate, or in a labor office abroad of any kind. Before the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), there were Philippine Overseas Labor Officers (POLOs) assigned in the Philippine Consulates General (PCG) abroad. I understand that when the DMW was created, their designation was changed to Migrant Workers Officers (MWOs). Upon checking with the MWO website however, I found out that these MWOs are now using the title of “Labor Attache”, even if they are only assigned to a PCG. This is being done for example in Hong Kong, Macau, Osaka and in many other PCGs. In a classic violation of another set of rules, the MWO in Taipei is using the title of “Labor Attache”, even if the Manila Economic Cooperation Office (MECO) is neither an embassy nor a consulate. As a former Press Attache and a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) myself, I can understand why the MWOs assigned in the PCGs would want to use the title “Labor Attache”, even if it is not technically correct. The reason why they are doing that, is they want to have the proper personality or stature in performing their duties. However, to avoid violating the Vienna Convention for Diplomatic Relations and avoid embarrassment among the local diplomatic communities, I suggest that they be given the title of “Vice Consul” instead. Mr. President, as far as I know, these MWOs do not have diplomatic immunity, even though they are doing difficult tasks that could border on the dangerous side. They do not have diplomatic immunity, because they do not have diplomatic ranks. With the simple move of giving them the rank of “Vice Consul” that problem would be solved. I really wonder Sir why that faux pas in using a diplomatic rank in Taipei ever happened. Perhaps the head of the MECO and the head of the MWO are not talking to each other? Perhaps that could be a minor incident, but should it not be prudent on our part to be careful about adding fire to our present tensions with China? As I recall Mr. President, we are still pursuing the legal fiction that we could not yet recognize Taiwan as a country, that is why we opted to open an “economic cooperation office” there, instead of an embassy. While we are on this subject Sir, would you consider a simple idea that I have in mind? Would you kindly think about opening “Vice Consulates” in places where there are no PCGs, and yet there are large populations of Filipinos? To do that Mr. President, there is no need to construct or rent an entire building. The “Vice Consul” could just rent a virtual office and just have one staff member who could be a consular assistant. I pilot tested such an office when I was at the DFA, consisting of a computer, a printer, a fax machine, a copier, a telephone and a filing cabinet. IKE SENERES/10-21-2024

LIVELIHOOD FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

LIVELIHOOD FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES Dear Mr. President: Despite many efforts of previous administrations to improve the quality of life of our Indigenous Tribal Peoples (ITPs), most of them are still living in poverty, and they do not have access to healthcare, education and many other public services. Seeing that you have appointed a new management team at the National Council for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), there is optimism that under your term, there will be a better life for our tribal brothers and sisters. After many years of looking for ways and means of helping these ITPs, I have concluded that the most strategic way of helping them is to provide them with livelihood assistance. I say that it is strategic, because through livelihood assistance, they can generate income to pay for most of their needs, including of course food, clothing and shelter. There is no question in my mind Sir, that all government agencies are willing to take your lead in helping the ITP sector. However, I have observed that it is not the willingness to take action that is missing. What is missing or lacking I think is the coordination between these National Government Agencies (NGAs) on one hand, and between the NGAs and the Local Government Units (LGUs) where the ITPs are present. Of course, Sir, I understand that the NCIP is there to take the lead, but it may not have enough “clout” to deal on an equal basis with the other NGAs, possibly because it is not a cabinet level agency. Aside from that, I have heard some reports that there are some mayors that are ignoring the representations of some local NCIP officials, thinking perhaps that they have “higher” authority than these “lowly” officials. One manifestation of this is when mayors or governors would not honor the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) into the municipal councils and provincial boards. Mr. President, I have also heard some reports that some mayors and governors are refusing to honor the validity of the Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) that have already been awarded to these ITPs. May I ask what can be done about this Sir? It would seem that our tribal brothers and sisters could not do anything to assert their rights, especially if they are threatened by private armies in some places. Perhaps you can task the DILG to help them? Or the PNP? Going back to my basic premise about livelihood, I have observed that there are many NGAs that could help the ITPs, among them the DOST for product development, DTI for product packaging, DA for agribusiness and DENR for forestry projects. Among other options, agribusiness stands out as the best choice that would match their existing skills. Since many of the CADTs have large tracks of land to make use of, it would be good for them to go into tree farming. That is not only good for them but also good for the planet, and they could even earn carbon credits for that. They could also go into poultry and livestock, and even fisheries when there are bodies of water nearby. I know for a fact Mr. President, that there are many Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and State Colleges and Universities (SCUs) that are willing to help them. There are also many individuals who are willing to help. IKE SENERES/10-20-2024

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING Dear Mr. President: It is ironic that the Philippines is known to be the “BPO capital of the world” (or the call center capital of the world), and yet the Philippine government is not doing enough to support and patronize the local BPO industry. One of the fastest growing and best performing segments in the local BPO industry is the Customer Relations Management (CRM) field, more popularly known as the call center industry. Perhaps we could only count with a few fingers how many government agencies have engaged the services of call centers. According to Microsoft Copilot, “as of 2022, there are more than 700 contact centers (formerly known as call centers) operating in the Philippines”. Copilot added that “these centers employ approximately 1.4 million individuals and generate significant revenue”. Copilot also concluded that that is the reason why the Philippines has achieved the status of being the “Call Center Capital of the World”. Some management experts have said that the best way to mature an export product is to grow it first in the country of origin. There are many reasons for doing done. The first reason is to achieve the economies of scale. The second reason is to deal with all bugs and defects locally before bringing out the product internationally. The third reason is to have a proof concept that the product is viable. The fourth reason is to prove that the product is sustainable, in terms of materials, logistics and manpower. In the case of the BPO industry however, their services “bloomed” in the global market before these were even able to “grow” in the Philippines, and even without government support, and even without government patronage. It is not too late however, it is not too late for the Philippine government to start discovering and patronizing the BPO industry, even if it would only take baby steps by starting the companies that are offering CRM services. In the Accenture model for example, that company provides Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services by “embedding” their own ICT staff within the premises of their clients, as if these staff members are employed by the clients. And since these staff members would bring their own computers, the clients also save on the costs of hardware. That is not the only approach, because the other alternative is for the staff to work off premise, sometimes doing their work at home. Mr. President, I strongly believe that this “work at home” (WAH) phenomenon holds the promise of replacing the “OFW phenomenon”. By comparison, the WAH phenomenon would be better for our country because our workers need not go abroad, and therefore we need not break up our families. And yet, we can still earn revenues from the remittances of the foreign employers. This is already happening now, Mr. President, not only through the WAH workers who are connected with the BPO companies that have their own clients, but with individual workers that are directly hired by their foreign employers. I think the opportunity Mr. President to train more of these workers, so that they could be more equipped to do better in their jobs. I think that this opportunity is so important Mr. President, such that it would be advisable for you to form a task force to work on this, perhaps with DOLE, DMW, DFA, CHED, TESDA and DTI as members. IKE SENERES/10-19-2024

AUTOMATED VOTING MACHINES

AUTOMATED VOTING MACHINES Dear Mr. President: It could just be a matter of semantics, but as far as I know, an Automated Counting Machine (ACM) is not the same as an Automated Voting Machine (AVM). And as far as I can recall, the law requires the us of an AVM, and not an ACM. This is already water under the bridge now, because COMELEC has already purchased the ACMs, and there is no point anymore in making an issue out of it. However, I am writing about it now, in the hope that in the future, when COMELEC buys the next batch of machines, they will do it right already. The difference between an ACM and an AVM is simple. One is for counting; one is for direct voting. In some countries, AVMs are also called Direct Recording Machines (DRM). Both AVMs and DRMs are acceptable, but the latter is more acceptable as a technical term. The reason why DRM is more acceptable is that it “calls a spade a spade” meaning that it describes the act of recording directly into a machine. An ACM however does not record directly into a machine. An ACM enables a voter to cast her or her vote into an Optical Mark Reader (OMR). The OMR is the device that captures the data, but strictly speaking, the OMR does not really “count” the votes. Just to be clear, it is the “consolidator” that eventually counts the votes. Again Mr. President, the law requires the “digitalization” of the voting process, but for as long as paper forms are used, the digitalization is only partial, and in a manner of speaking, it could still be considered as “manual” and not as “electronic”. I am saying that because, the ballot that will be used is still a paper form. As a matter of fact, the physical appearance of the ballot is like a lotto bet slip, and that is so because the lotto bet slip is also an OMR paper form. Mr. President, I do realize that there is nothing perfect when it comes to automation. However, I also believe that if we want to improve the provision of good governance in our country, we must do everything right as much as possible. What that means is that if we are serious about going paperless, we must do everything that we can, to do away with paper forms. And that is the reason why I say that in the future, in the next procurement of voting machines, we should already shift to DRMs, so that we are fully compliant to the letter of the law. After spending so much for the old PCOS and ACMs, it is such as waste that the COMELEC is just storing them in warehouses somewhere, with no productive use at all. I suggest Mr. President that the government should use these old machines to conduct surveys and to conduct school exams. Right now, I do not know yet which government agency should be the principal user of these machines. I do know Sir, that these could be used for any purpose that requires the use of OMR technology. IKE SENERES/10-18-2024

RECYCLING IS FAILING

RECYCLING IS FAILING Dear Mr. President: Perhaps it has already come to your attention Sir, that the recycling of paper, plastic, metals and glass is failing in the Philippines. As it is supposed to be, recycling should be done at both the residential and commercial levels, but that does not seem to be happening. I am now recycling in my own residence but sadly, I observed that the garbage collectors do nothing but dump all the bags into the trucks, thus defeating the purpose of recycling. I have also observed in several commercial establishments that they just mix all the segregated recyclables into one bigger bag, again defeating the purpose of recycling. Despite the many years that the government has been trying to convince to the private residences to segregate, and the commercial establishments too, our recycling programs are still failing, and that is why there are still lots of garbage that are brought to both landfills and dumpsites. As the saying goes, Mr. President, the definition of stupidity “is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. Having said that, is it not about time Sir, that we try a new approach? The approach I have in mind Sir, is not actually new. It is an old method that we could just revive. I am referring Sir, to the practice of households collecting and selling old newspapers and empty bottles to itinerant buyers. I am recommending the revival of that practice but with a slight modification. In the new method, we should buy everything by the kilo, and not by the “inch” as we used to sell old newspapers, and not by the piece, as we used to sell used bottles. Since newspapers are no longer popular nowadays, it is more practical to sell scrap paper by the kilo, because they now come in many forms and sizes. The same thing with plastic, selling these by the kilo is the only way to do it, because these also come in many forms and sizes. That also applies to used glass bottles, because they now come in many forms and sizes. Before the advent of globalization, the two-way glass bottles in the market were easy to sell back, but that is no longer the case now, because there are many imported one-way glass bottles now. Strictly speaking, “recyclables” are not “garbage”, because they have commercial value. That of course depends on whether they are collected or not. When they are not collected, they become “garbage”. However, there is still a “second chance” for these “garbage” to become “recyclable” again, if they could be recovered within a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Unfortunately, Mr. President, very few barangays have implemented the laws requiring them to operate MRFs, and that is possibly one problem that you could solve, by issuing a new Executive Order to that effect. Although recycling is technically the function of the DENR, I believe that the DILG is in a better position to enforce the laws pertaining to recycling, including the operation of MRFs. An exception could be the National Capital Region, where the MMDA could be the more appropriate implementing agency. In closing Mr. President, perhaps you might want to investigate ways and means to improve the business of the so-called “junk shops”? These lowly small businesses could become very important players in the overall ecosystem of waste management, but they are now generally undercapitalized, and they could easily become the victims of extortions from some corrupt government officials. IKE SENERES/10-17-2024

REVERSE VENDING MACHINES

REVERSE VENDING MACHINES Dear Mr. President: Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs), an old technology in many countries, has finally arrived in the Philippines. Leading the way in its implementation is Mandaluyong City, that has already purchased a few units for a test run. That is the good news. The bad news is, the cost of the machines is too high, such that the business of installing it requires some “creative financing” to make it viable. Otherwise, the return on investment (ROI) will take too long to achieve, an obstacle that might tend to discourage investors. According to a manufacturer’s representative from China that I talked to, the solution to the problem is to have a local government or a private company sponsor a redemption system that could also be a rewards system. I surmised that what she meant by that is that the sponsor must put up the working capital so that the RVM could “bring out” the coins or give the electronic credits every time that that someone inserts a can, carton or bottle into the machine. That is the reason why it is called “reverse vending”, because it gives money to the user, instead of the user putting money in. According to that representative, the sponsor should be able to recover their investment one way or the other. She said that one way to recover costs is to sell the can, cartons or bottles, considering that these would have some economic value. She said however that that is not enough to recover the startup costs, therefore there is a need for other sources such as advertising or goodwill coming from corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. She explained that advertising is a doable option, because they can put display screens in front of the screens that could be used to show promotional videos. I also surmised from her Mr. President that since the RVM could read either bar codes or Quick Response (QR) codes, the cash amounts that are due to the user could easily be credited to his or her load wallet or to his or her ATM card. The cash credits could be the only rewards, but to add more incentives to the users, the operators or sponsors of the RVMs could also include promo offers to include prizes, just like winning raffle or sweepstakes contests. I would tend to believe Mr. President that if our enforcement of recycling laws would become stricter, or if our people would become more diligent in voluntary recycling, we would not even need expensive machines such as these RVMs. Considering how massive our garbage collection problem is; however, I think Mr. President that it will do no harm if we try all possible ways to solve the problem. On that note Sir, perhaps you could instruct the DENR to revisit our existing recycling programs? It seems that very few households are recycling in their own homes. Perhaps it would be best to reward people for their recycling efforts? Just like in the old days when households could sell recyclable newspapers and bottles to street vendors? In addition to the DENR, perhaps you could also instruct the DILG to help? Or the DTI for the commercial side? IKE SENERES/10-16-2024

INCREASED TOURIST ARRIVALS

INCREASED TOURIST ARRIVALS Dear Mr. President: The Department of Tourism (DOT) has set a target of increasing our tourist arrivals from 4.8 million in 2023 to 7.7 million in 2024. Looking back, the DOT reported that tourist arrivals increased from 2.6 million in 2022 to 3.8 million in 2023, representing an increase of 1.2 million arrivals. That is remarkable, because that represents an increase of 46.15%. looking ahead, if the 2024 target is achieved, that will represent an increase of 2.9 million arrivals, or an increase of 60.41 percent from the 2023 data. And if the numbers are correct, the DOT will be able to increase tourist arrivals from 2.6 million in 2022 to 7.7 million in 2024, representing a comparative increase of 5.1 million arrivals in just a matter of two years. Sir, I have no reason to doubt the numbers that are being reported by the DOT, but how I wish that there will be a third party that will check their data, for purposes of accuracy and transparency. Perhaps that third party could either be the PSA or the DICT. Looking at this on the bright side however, this trend that the DOT is reporting is very encouraging, because it would now seem that our country is progressing towards the ideal goal of achieving double digit tourist arrivals. Based on the 2022 data presented by Microsoft Copilot, there are three ASEAN countries that have already achieved double digit tourist arrivals. These are Indonesia with 16.8 million, Thailand with 11.4 million and Malaysia with 10.2 million. In the same data set presented, Vietnam ranked fifth with 9.5 million and the Philippines ranked sixth with 6.4 million. I do not know why the data presented by the DOT is lower than the data presented by Copilot, but perhaps the DOT was just being conservative. All told, it seems that the DOT is on track to reaching double digit tourism in the near future, perhaps before the end of your term, Mr. President. For purposes of data accuracy and data purity however, it would be best if the headcount should not include the arrivals of Filipino citizens, particularly the OFWs. I think in the past, the data about arrivals might have been eschewed by the headcount of Filipino citizens who are technically not “tourists”. Still on the subject of tourism Mr. President, perhaps you could instruct the DOT to also do more in promoting ecotourism, medical tourism, educational tourism and sports tourism? In fairness to the DOT, the ecologic, medical, educational and sports functions belong to other agencies, and that is why interagency coordination might be different. Towards that end Sir, it may be necessary to put of new task forces or interagency committees, and it may even be necessary to issue and EO for that purpose. In theory Mr. President, the tourist arrivals will go up, if the crime rate will go down. That is another incentive for all of us to work towards lowering the crime rate, because the more tourists arrive, the better the economy will be, and that includes more jobs for more people. Additionally, more tourists will come if they could drive safely everywhere. That may be a challenge, but there is always hope that with the right orders from the top, that could possibly happen. IKE SENERES/10-15-2024

DATABASES FOR DISEASE CONTROL

DATABASES FOR DISEASE CONTROL Dear Mr. President: I recently attended a lecture by Dr. Nelia P. Salazar about “Environment and Disease”, sponsored by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), where I learned from her that up to now, the Philippines does not have a fully integrated database for disease control. She said that there are pockets of databases here and there, but there is no data integration between them. As I listened to her presentation, I also learned that through her research works, and the works of many other Filipino scientists like her, we already know what the carriers are, where they are, and how they could be stopped. That is the good news Mr. President, but the bad news is, there appears to be no concerted effort on the part of the government to stop these in advance as a preventive measure. When I asked Dr. Salazar whether the Philippines already has an equivalent of the American Center for Disease Control (CDC), she answered in the negative. When I asked her whether the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) could be the equivalent of CDC, she also answered in the negative, explaining that RITM is more into training and research, and is not specifically into disease control. However, she clarified that there is already an Office for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control under the DOH, but the scope is lesser than that of the CDC. To me Sir, that is a very alarming realization, because we now know that we do not only lack an integrated database, we also do not have a government agency that is dedicated to disease control, like the CDC. Looking at this from my perspective, Mr. President, I think that our best action is to pass a new law that would create that local agency for disease control. Once that agency is created, it could take over the ownership and management of the database for disease control. In the meantime, Mr. President, I suggest that the database creation and buildup could be placed under the DOH, specifically under their Management Information Services (MIS) Department. Although I believe that we have the local expertise that we could use to build the local databases for disease control, I think that it would be more advisable to request the U.S. government for assistance from the American CDC, specifically for redesigning and adopting their existing database software to our local needs. As the saying goes, Mr. President, “there is no need to re-invent the wheel”. If they have a database system that already works there, why not use it here already with some modifications? If I may suggest Sir, perhaps you could instruct the DFA to contact the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC to in turn contact the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), who will in turn contact the CDC. As a shortcut, the Office of the President (OP) could directly contact the local USAID office here, through the US Embassy in Manila. However it is done Sir, I really think that this must be done as soon as possible, because we do not really know when another epidemic or pandemic will come. Mr. President, I do not know much about setting up a new government agency like the CDC, but I can assure you that I could help in setting up the database, since that has been my job as the MIS Manager of DFA, NCC, NCIS and PCSO. Aside from myself Sir, I am in touch with many other Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals who would gladly volunteer to build these databases for disease control. IKE SENERES/10-14-2024

OFW MONITORING SYSTEM

OFW MONITORING SYSTEM Dear Mr. President: Despite the diligent efforts of the DFA and the DMW to frequently monitor the status of our OFWs abroad, there are still many cases of them not being found or contacted in times of emergency. There are also some cases wherein our OFWs get into some troubles abroad, without our knowing about it until they are jailed or executed. What is needed to solve this problem is to build a database of all OFWs abroad regardless of who they are, and where they are. That is a goal that has not been done before, and it is about time that the government does it. Fortunately, Sir, a Filipino software developer has come up with such a database, and I am happy to inform you that it will not cause the Philippine government a single centavo to implement it. Mr. Ferdenand Ibraheem Lawag Sabado, a Microsoft certified programmer together with an all-Filipino development team. Although I am not a programmer myself, I was able to help the team in terms of its product development and marketing planning. Here is how the database will work: All recruitment agencies will be required to register their departing clients with the database administrators. Upon arrival in their host countries, they will again be required to again register with the nearest embassy or consulate, through the local Labor Attache or the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) representative. Upon completing the registration process, the OFW will be given a free account in a mobile app that will have a “hot button” that he or she could press in the event of an emergency. As soon as he or she presses the “hot button”, an alarm will ring in the cellphones of designated persons at the recruitment agencies, at the embassies and consulates, and at the central office of the DMW. Any of these three designated persons can call or text the OFW right away, to find out what his or her problem is. Although the software is already capable of this feature, it is up to the government to finalize the rules. To offer this database for free to the government, Mr. Sabado plans to cover his costs and raise revenues by way of monthly subscriptions and some other ancillary sources of income such as advertising and promotions. This mode of doing business is very common now among web based and cloud based such as Zoom and Netflix, among others. Since my days as the Management Information Services (MIS) Director of the DFA, I have always wanted to build this type of interactive OFW database for the government. However, at that time, it was very expensive to do it, and no budgets were available at that time. Fast forward to today Mr. President, the budget is no longer a problem, because the database is already being offered for free, at no cost to the government. For your information Sir, Mr. Sabado is only one of many other programmers and developers who want to help the government by developing mobile apps and interactive databases for free. Please let me know if you want to contact them. IKE SENERES/10-13-2024

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT? Dear Mr. President: According to Microsoft Copilot, “a virtual assistant is a remote worker who provides administrative, technical and creative support to clients”. The operative word here is “remote”, and that is what makes the worker “virtual”, meaning that he or she is not physically present. I do not have the numbers right now, but I do know that there are already thousands of Filipino men and women who are already doing some kind of virtual work or another, mostly working out of their homes. As I understand it, Mr. President, the term “client” as used in this context could be liberally interpreted to also mean a patient, a customer or a student. In many cases however, a “client” could be a “permanent” boss in the same manner that an executive assistant could have an actual or physical “boss” in a real office. Take note that the “worker” in this example is not simply a low paid “secretary” but a highly paid executive assistant. Again Sir, I do not have the numbers right now, but I personally believe that this trend or phenomenon if I can call it that, is so huge that it could even replace or take over the OFW phenomenon. The difference between the two however, is that in the “work at home” (WAH) phenomenon, the worker does not have to leave the country, unlike the OFW phenomenon. I could only imagine what impact that could mean for our country in the long run, in terms of not having families separated because of OFW departures, and in terms of parents leaving behind their children to work abroad. My question now, Mr. President, is how will the Philippines take advantage of this this huge opportunity? How will the government ride this “bull” by its horns? How will it tame this “bull” to be able to ride it? It seems to me Sir, that this challenge is beyond the capabilities of either DOLE or DMW. I think that this task must be broken down into several components, probably “production”, “financing”, “packaging”, “financing” and “marketing”. Perhaps the “production” side could be jointly handled by DEPED, CHED and TESDA. Perhaps the “financing” side could be handled by the Congress and by DBM. Perhaps the “packaging” side can be jointly handled by PCO and PTV4. And last but not the least, perhaps the “marketing” side can be jointly handled by DFA, DTI, DOLE and DMW. By the grace of God, Sir, Filipinos are so intelligent, creative and hard working and those are some of the reasons why our foreign “clients” are so happy about being serviced by our “providers”. In my own family circle alone, I have about six relatives who are teaching English to students who are abroad. They are earning well, and they continue to live with their families. I could just imagine how many other Filipinos are in this happy situation. I believe however Mr. President that the DICT must do much more, so that our internet signals all over the country will become not only faster, but also faster. Without this better internet infrastructure, it would be difficult to make this WAH phenomenon grow. Sir, this WAH phenomenon could be one and the same as the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, if and when these WAH practitioners would work under a local employer or agency. IKE SENERES/10-12-2024

ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS

ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS Dear Mr. President: Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are needed by doctors so that they could correctly diagnose a patient’s ailment. Without complete and accurate medical records, a doctor will never know what ails a patient, and without the right diagnosis, the doctor will not be able to prescribe any procedures or medicines. The problem is, most of the medical records today are in paper forms, and are kept by doctors in their own file folders stashed away in their own filing cabinets. In theory, the owners of the medical records are either the doctors and/or the clinics where the doctors work. There could be a duality there, because many doctors own their own clinics, and so they own their own records. While there could be no problem with that on a “one to one” basis (one doctor to one patient), there is a problem if it is already on a “one to many” (one patient to many doctors). That is so because often, a doctor would not share his or her patient’s medical records (meaning the data) with another doctor, not unless they know each other, perhaps. The other problem with that is that whenever there are at least two doctors, not one of them actually “sees the forest”, because both or all of them are “looking at the tree”. In other words, there is no single “conductor” for the entire “orchestra”. That could be a problem, because duplications or overlaps of medicines could happen, or much worst than that, conflicts or counter reactions between one or two medicines could happen. In this scenario, the “family doctor” or any “general practitioner” could become the “conductor” or the “coordinator, but that also rarely happens. I would imagine that most of the middle class and upper-class people would have their own “family doctors” who are probably “general practitioners” in most cases. However, I would not hesitate to say that most if not all the lower-class people do not have their own “family doctors”, so to speak. As a matter of fact, some of them may not be able to see a doctor at all in their entire lifetimes. Their only chance of seeing a doctor perhaps, when they visit a public hospital or clinic. Mr. President, the problem is, in most cases perhaps, and almost always, there are no doctors that are available at the Barangay Health Centers (BHCs) who could check on the health condition of the patients. The other problem Sir is that it appears that there are no medical records of the patients that are kept at the BHCs, neither in paper form nor in digital form. What that means Sir is that most patients who go to the BHCs could not be diagnosed properly, which in a way is a violation of their rights to universal healthcare. Mr. President, there are already many EMR software options that are available in the market today, some of these are on a subscription basis only, such that there is no more need for a complicated procurement process. I believe Sir that requiring the use of EMR in public hospitals and clinics is part of your digitalization advocacy, but perhaps the DOH and the DILG has not realized that yet. I think that one way or the other, the DILG should also be responsible for upgrading the services of public hospitals and clinics within their localities. IKE SENERES/10-11-2024

COSTS OF DOING BUSINESSS

COSTS OF DOING BUSINESSS Dear Mr. President: Thank you for your efforts to make “ease of doing business” possible, but could you please also look at the other angle of what we could call the “costs of doing business”? It appears however that both are two sides of the same coin, meaning that they are closely related to each other. It seems possible that the cause of that is corruption at the local government level, made possible by local officials that add on too many requirements for local business permits. The more requirements are added, the more costs are imposed upon startup businesses, and because of that, there is lesser “ease”, and there are more “costs”. Perhaps it is not reported in the news, but the rumor mill is full of stories about some corrupt people who supposedly harass new business applicants or small business owners, reportedly representing the BIR, the PNP, the BFP, and the DOH, among others. That does not include LGU units such as the local sanitation office and even the garbage collectors. Because of that, it becomes more difficult for startups to open their new businesses, and they must spend a lot of money before they could get a business permit. I also would like to thank you, Mr. President, for spearheading the campaign towards the automation of both the National Government Agencies (NGAs) and the Local Government Units (LGUs). I say that, because I believe that automation is the solution to corruption. I say that, because the more automation there is, the less discretion there is. As everyone knows, discretion is one cause of corruption. As the saying goes, “do not tempt the mortals”. In line with that, I also say that the more automation is in place, the lesser temptation there is. I do understand, Mr. President that local officials do not have jurisdiction over NGA officials who are assigned to the LGU levels. However, I believe Sir that with the proper instructions from you, these NGA officials and the LGU officials could work together in joint committees or task forces to realize the two goals of “ease of doing business” and lesser “costs of doing business”. Would it be possible Sir, for you to issue an executive order to that effect? In addition to the mobile apps that were launched by the DICT to support the goal of “ease of doing business”, there are also several apps that were developed by private companies that LGUs could also use. These apps are being offered for free by the private companies. As usual, they generate their incomes and recover their costs from advertising, training, logistics and payment services. The good news Mr. President is that both the NGAs and the LGUs could now automate their services without spending so much money. Perhaps it is just a difference in culture, but in many other countries, their governments would go out of their way to make it easy for anyone to start a new business. Some countries even make it possible to get a business permit in one day, without any problems. Here in our country Sir, the opposite seems to be happening, because those who want to start a business here are seemingly required to go through an obstacle course. Can you do something about that Sir? IKE SENERES/10-10-2024

HOW ABOUT BLOOD DONATION BUSES?

HOW ABOUT BLOOD DONATION BUSES? Dear Mr. President: I have observed that the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Philippine Blood Center (PBC) are both doing a good job in collecting blood from donors and providing these to those who need them in both public and private hospitals. Although PBC is lesser known compared to PRC, I know that it is not less reliable than PRC, because I have personally tried and tested them over the years whenever an indigent patient needs blood. Kudos to former PBC Director Dr. Bobong Tagayuna and incumbent PBC Director Dr. Dennis Dayao Ordona. Aside from PRC and PBC, Dugong Alay Dugtong Buhay (DADB) is also an efficient and reliable provider of blood to those who need them. DADB has a unique system of collecting them from donors and donating these to their participating hospitals who have their own blood banks. In other words, DADB may not have their own blood banks, but whenever anyone needs blood in any hospital, they could request the nearest participating hospital to provide the blood. DADB was founded by the late Napoleon Marilag, but the NGO is now run by his children, Camille, Christian Dane and Czarina. Kudos to DADB also! Mr. President, I have no doubt in my mind that most Filipinos would donate blood if it is more convenient for them to do so, meaning if they do not have to travel long distances to do it. That is the reason why I think that it would be a good idea to provide PRC, PBC and DADB with dedicated buses that they could use to go wherever they want, to collect donated blood anywhere. In order for that to work, these buses have to be equipped with the usual equipment that are needed to collect and preserve the collected blood. I believe Sir, that these buses could either be brand new, or these could be rebuilt and refurbished from old buses that are either confiscated by the LTFRB or repossessed by the banks. The rebuilding and refurbishing could either be done by TESDA students, or these could be subcontracted to SMEs that are in the business of automotive repair. If we do that, we could be providing livelihood to the employees of these small businesses. For example, many of these SMEs are doing business in Las Pinas City and Cavite Province. Since PBC is a government agency under the DOH, it would probably be easy to convince the Congress to appropriate a new line item, specifically for the PBC, for the purpose of procuring new buses for mobile blood connection. Based on my own experience as a former Director of PCSO, there is no hindrance for the government to donate to PRC, since it is practically a quasi-government agency, if we could call it that. Because of its track record and its credibility, I do not think that it would be difficult for the government to also donate old or new buses to DADB, even if it is a private NGO. In closing Mr. President, may I respectfully request you to investigate the present system of using the drivers’ licenses issued by LTO to allow license owners to donate their organs in the event of their death? I am making this request because there appears to be no system that could enable or operationalize it. IKE SENERES/10-09-2024

THE REAL DIGITAL DIVIDE

THE REAL DIGITAL DIVIDE Dear Mr. President: What is the digital divide? Perhaps you have been asked that question, and perhaps you have come up with many answers. To begin with, Wikipedia defines the digital divide as “unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and the internet”. Techtarget defines the digital divide as “the term that defines the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology (ICT) and those that don’t or have restricted access”. Techtarget also says that this technology can include “telephone, television, personal computers and internet connectivity”. The Internet society offers a definition that is similar to Techtarget, because they say that the digital divide is “the gap between those who have and do not have access to computers and the internet”. However, the society argues that the digital divide is multifaceted, because it includes many other factors such as availability, affordability, quality of service and relevance. On the other hand, Microsoft Copilot defines the digital divide as “the gap created by unequal access to modern telecommunications technology among different demographic groups and regions”. However, the AI tool also says that the digital divide encompasses many other dimensions, namely access, skills and affordability. Mr. President, I think that it could be argued that right now, access to internet connectivity may be available, but it is not affordable. Looking back, my friend, the late ICT expert Louie Casambre once told me that it is not true that internet in the Philippines is slow. He said that fast internet is available in the Philippines, but it is expensive. Extrapolating from what Louie said, it is clear that the solution is to make fast internet available to everybody. Setting aside the technical definitions, I believe Mr. President that the “social divide” is the real cause of the “digital divide”. In other words, most of our people could not afford the faster devices and the faster internet, because they are poor. Simply put, the poorer Filipinos will be able to cross the digital divide on their own if only the gap of the “social divide” could be bridged. In the meantime that we could not bridge that gap, I have some suggestions as to how we could make internet faster not only for the rich, but also for the poor. Firstly, we should broaden the participation of telcos in the Internet Exchange (IX), so that no provider of bandwidth would be excluded. Secondly, we should fully utilize that broadened IX by expanding our local cache of “cookies”, instead of our Internet Service Providers (ISPs) fetching these “cookies” all the time from the same servers abroad. Thirdly, we should promote more interconnectivity agreements between telcos, so that signals could seamlessly “pass through” between them. Fourthly, the DICT should shift its focus from providing “last mile” connectivity to building a broader “backbone” for internet connectivity. Ever since my time as the Director General of the National Computer Center, I have always said that there is nothing wrong with a national infrastructure that is built through a “patchwork” of all telco connections. I still believe in that, Mr. President, but looking into the future, I now believe that our new focus should be on a broader backbone that the government owns, a backbone that even the private ISPs could also use. IKE SENERES/10-08-2024

GREY AREAS IN GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS

GREY AREAS IN GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS Dear Mr. President: May I ask who is going to be the arbiter or referee whenever there are overlaps in functions between two or more government agencies? I imagine that there would be no problem if these agencies would just cooperate and collaborate with each other, but what if they are unable to settle their differences and they would just end up throwing blame at each other or finger pointing at each other? Allow me to cite some examples. Who is supposed to take the lead in waste to energy projects? Is it supposed to be the DENR that is supposed to handle waste? Or is it supposed to be the DOE that is supposed to handle energy generation? Or is it supposed to be the DILG since it is the one that could direct or influence the waste to energy projects of LGUs? Who is supposed to take the lead in producing and promoting the use of biofuels? Is it supposed to be the DA, since the production of biofuels is supposed to be all about planting biofuel sources? Or is it supposed to be the DOE since it is responsible for our energy security? Or is it supposed to be the DENR since many of the plants that are producing biofuels are within their jurisdictions? For example, the nipa palms that grow next to mangroves are found in many protected areas. Who is supposed to take the lead in controlling and regulating the use of plastics in consumer packaging? Is it supposed to be the DTI? Or is it supposed to be the DENR? For example, I see a lot of fast-food containers that are now using plastic instead of biodegradable containers. I think as a rule, the use of plastic containers should be banned for dine-in use, and biodegradable containers should be used instead. Who is supposed to take the lead in overall flood control programs? Is it supposed to be the DPWH? But since that same flood water could also be used for irrigation, is the NIA also supposed to have a role? And since that same flood water could also be used for drinking, is the NWRB also supposed to have a role? Is there a task force that could coordinate all these? Or could the Office of the President (OP) do it? Mr. President, since the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS) has been abolished, what office is now responsible for preparing the agenda for the cabinet meetings for purposes of coordination? Is it the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES)? Or is it the Presidential Management Staff (PMS)? I think that it should be the latter, because the PMS is not only a coordinating office, but also the think tank of the President. Perhaps the function of preparing the agenda items for the Cabinet meetings has been transferred to the PMS? Perhaps that includes the agenda item for the LEDAC also? IKE SENERES/10-07-2024

HOW ABOUT A DIALYSIS BUS?

HOW ABOUT A DIALYSIS BUS? Dear Mr. President: Going to private dialysis centers is not a problem for rich people because in most cases, they would probably have their own private vehicles. Either that, or the rich people could afford to take a taxi or use one of those ride hailing apps that could cost an arm or a leg. In other words, the poor people are forced to take public transportation, and depending on where they are coming from, they may have to take several rides before they could arrive at their chosen dialysis clinics. Since it is a well-known fact that many of these poor dialysis patients are already weak and old, and it is really a struggle for them to take the bus or take the jeepney, why don’t we think of other ways to make commuting easier for them? As I recall, when I was a director at the PCSO, our board approved many requests for the so-called “patient transport vehicles” or PTVs for short. Unlike ambulances, PTVs are only for non-emergency transport of patients, but they are often used as ambulances if there is nothing else available. Most of our public utility buses are not equipped to accommodate senior citizens and PWDs. In the meantime that we could not require those features, we should deploy as many PTVs as possible, hopefully at least one per barangay. Better still, we should issue national standards so that the required features will always be present, regardless of who procures them. For example, these could be equipped with handlebars and wheelchair ramps. Putting dialysis machines inside dedicated buses is not a new idea, because other countries are already doing it. As a matter of fact, I will not be surprised if a private company or an LGU is already doing it in the Philippines. I do not think that it requires rocket science to come up with our own local designs. Even if it does, I am sure that our local engineers will rise to the challenge. I think that the biggest design challenges will be the power supply and the water supply for the bus, but the engineers could handle that too. “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain”. That is the original expression, but in this case, the mountain could go to Mohammed if we can put dialysis machines into dedicated buses. I can imagine how difficult it is for patients in the cities to go to their dialysis centers, riding only in jeepneys and buses. However, I could also imagine that it would even be more difficult to do that in the rural areas, where the patients may have to cross seas or traverse mountains just to go to the dialysis centers. Mr. President, I think that this project, if you will support it, will need the participation of several National Government Agencies (NGAs) such as the DOTr, the LTFRB, the LTO, the DOST, the PHILMECH and of course the DOH. For funding purposes, perhaps PCSO, PAGCOR, DILG and DBM could be tapped. By the way Sir, there is an existing foundation that is already doing this kind of an approach. “Hospital on Wheels”, founded by Dr. Jim Sanchez has been going to remote areas, mostly in poor communities, to perform surgical, medical, dental and optical services for free. Perhaps you could just coordinate with Dr. Sanchez to implement this project? IKE SENERES/10-06-2024

LOCAL EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER SYSTEM

LOCAL EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER SYSTEM Dear Mr. President: It is widely known that as of now, there is no integrated national system that would allow our citizens to ask for help wherever they are, using only their mobile phones. As it is supposed to be, anyone should be able to dial 911 from either a landline or a cellphone from anywhere, but that does not seem to be the case. As it is now, no one could call 911 from anywhere at any time, because depending on what city or municipality you are calling from, you may have to dial another emergency number, such as 168 or 117. And as it is now, depending on where you are, you could not directly dial the three-digit emergency 911 number, because you might have to dial a local area code, which defeats the purpose of a short number that is easy to remember. Mr. President, given all these limitations, I believe that it is necessary to try another approach, and that is why I decided to work with a team of Filipino developers to come up with a homegrown local mobile app that could be a supplement to the existing 911 system. The Local Emergency Assistance and Disaster System (LEADS) is designed to receive mobile alerts from pre-registered users predominantly composed of private sector membership group of first responders. They serve to provide necessary assist to disaster management team of the LGU. At the onset of getting the first alarm report the emergency ID issued as a service ticket by the system. Copies of these ticket alerts will be issued by a local Command Center (COMCEN) managed by an artificial intelligence (AI) software that will be dispatched to each service group that is directly under the mayor. These could be the PNP, BFP, and the EMT units. The incident ticket information will then appear on the cellphone of the pre-registered member. Mr. President, once all categories are filled up, the mobile app issues an alarm ticket as a reference for all service departments of the LGU. The geo-location of the original report is determined by the nearest cell site so that there will be no scammers or pranksters since all forensics info of the report are determined as the reports are completed and submitted. These actions are managed by the ground commander. All traces of actions taken by all the departments needed to completely respond to the threat appears as incident management updates. Only the ground commander on duty can go over the air to troubleshoot issues that may arise. So, whether it is fire, rescue, ambulance or police related, only one is responsible. It is the ground commander on duty who makes the reports, debriefs the mayor or talks to the press. As I mentioned earlier Mr. President, this is a much simpler supplement to the 911 system, and yet it could become more efficient in comparison. It is simple because all that are needed are mobile phones which everybody has anyway. Of course, the system would need pro-active mayors which you could easily mobilize, working perhaps with the DILG Secretary. Admittedly, Mr. President, this system will only work if the cell sites are not down, and if the internet signals are not down. That is the reason Sir, why we need to back up this system not only with VHF/UHF radios, but also with satellite phones, preferably the heavy duty, military grade ruggedized which the private sector first responder group can readily afford. While some might argue that these are expensive pieces of equipment, I will also argue that there is no price to the many human lives that could be saved by an efficient emergency assistance and emergency services support system. IKE SENERES/10-05-2024

MAKING TRAFFIC FLOW FASTER

MAKING TRAFFIC FLOW FASTER Dear Mr. President: I think that it is wrong to ask if there is “traffic” or not, because there is always a “traffic flow” whenever there is at least one vehicle on the road. Perhaps it is our wrong understanding of the term “traffic” is one of the reasons why we have not solved the problem after all these years. In other words, the problem is not the “traffic” itself because it is always there. The problem or the challenge is how to make it flow faster. Internationally, the flow of traffic is always measured in terms of travel time from point to point. For example, it could be measured in terms of hour many kilometers per hour is covered when driving from Alabang to Monumento. Or in other words, how many minutes it takes to travel the same distance. And to measure whether there is an improvement or not, the data from one point in time should be compared against another point in time. So how can we make the flow of traffic go faster? The obvious answer to that is to either widen the streets or to lessen the vehicles that are using the streets. I think that some Local Government Units (LGUs) have already widened the streets where it is possible, but if that is not possible in some places, they could also try clearing the streets of many obstructions, including vehicles that are illegally parked temporarily, but sometimes permanently. How do we lessen the vehicles that are using the streets? I think that the more the public transport system will become better, the more people will give up their cars, or at least they will reduce their rate of usage. But my favorite solution to the problem is stricter enforcement of traffic related laws, such as emissions standards and safety standards. I think that the more the government will strictly enforce emissions standards, the more vehicles could be banned from the streets. It might sound unrelated, but the more the government become stricter in issuing driver’s licenses, the lesser bad drivers will be banned from driving, for whatever reason. The problem is, there is still a lot of corruption in the issuance of driver’s licenses. And I think that the Insurance Commission (IC) could also help by building a database of moving violators, so that they could increase the premiums of those drivers that have terrible driving records. Mr. President, as far as I know, the government is not yet fully utilizing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools in traffic planning and management systems. For that matter, the government is also not yet using ICT tools in creating and scheduling the departure and arrival of buses, aside from not being able to designate and build good quality bus stops that are safe to use. Ideally, the public would find it easy to plan their bus trips if they could know when a bus will arrive and stop in a certain bus stop. There could be a long list of data sources that could be used for traffic planning, among them are data sets from satellite and drone providers. IKE SENERES/10-04-24

INCOMPLETE PUBLIC HOSPITALS AND CLINICS

INCOMPLETE PUBLIC HOSPITALS AND CLINICS Dear Mr. President: It is a well-known fact that most if not all our public hospitals and clinics are lacking in beds, medical equipment and other devices that are necessary in treating patients and saving lives. Every year, the two houses of Congress allocate new funding for the Department of Health (DOH), through the General Appropriations Act (GAA). And yet, year in and year out, the problem of lacking beds, equipment and devices always remain unsolved. Why is that so? Do the members of our Congress not know that healthcare is one of our top priorities? Or do the members of our Congress not know how to prioritize their appropriations? Or could it be that there really is not enough money to go around, such that the appropriations are almost always never enough? Or could it be that the officials of the DOH do not know how to manage their funds wisely? Or perhaps these DOH officials are the ones who do not know how to prioritize their expenses? Or perhaps the DOH also falls victim to corruption, such that the funds that are intended for beds, equipment and devices are practically stolen? Of course, I can understand that misappropriation and corruption could happen, but how long will that continue, and when will it ever end? Meanwhile, only God knows how many people have already died over the years, because of the lack of these resources. Does the DOH ever gather that data at all? Does the DOH ever tell our Congress about how many patients die because of these lacking or missing resources. I think that if these facts are presented to our Congress, their change of priorities would somehow change. In theory, the government is bigger and richer than all the private hospitals combined. What that means is that in theory, the government could make all our public hospitals bigger and richer than any private hospital, or any group of private hospitals. By comparison, it is easier for our public hospitals raise funds by way of appropriations, compared to the private hospitals who would find it harder to raise funds by way of new investments. Mr. President, I am aware that the goal of making public hospitals and clinics 100% complete could not happen overnight. To be fair, you may not be able to solve this problem within your remaining term. I believe however that it is within your power to start the ball rolling. I believe that you can make a roadmap that could be completed by your successors in due time. In fairness to the DOH however, this problem could only be solved by several agencies working together. Offhand, I think that you should mobilize not only the DOH, but also the DOST, the DICT, the DAP, the PMS and the DBM. The DOST and the DICT should be included, because I believe that we could design some of our own equipment and devices, instead of importing them. The DAP and PMS should be included because they are our two top government think tanks. The DBM should be included, not only because of their budget function, because of their management role. IKE SENERES/10-03-2024

HOW ABOUT USING DRONES?

HOW ABOUT USING DRONES? Dear Mr. President: In layman terms, a drone could be defined simply as a flying robot, because that is what it is. As a matter of fact, even grade school students are now capable of making makeshift robots, using microcomputers or mini motherboards such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. These robots could do basic tasks such as walking, jumping and fighting. With some more programming, these robots could already be made to fly, hence they become drones. Contrary to popular knowledge, drones could not only fly, but they could also walk or crawl on land, and dive or swim underwater. If their bodies or casings could be made to be waterproof, they could dive or swim. I am not qualified to talk about using drones for combat purposes, but in response to requests from some of my readers, I decided to write about building drones for whatever purpose, but not necessarily for war purposes. However, I will not hesitate to say that all drones that are designed for civilian use could easily be configured for military use. The possibilities for using drones for peacetime purposes are endless. Among the possible uses are for agriculture, for environmental protection, for traffic management, for urban planning, for disaster rescue and relief and for police surveillance. But even if we will not run out of ideas about how we put drones to good use, we could certainly run out of money if we will keep on importing these drones from foreign countries. And that is my main point Mr. President, that we should come out with a national policy that would require all National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) to buy only drones that are made only in the Philippines, because I am very sure that we could make these 100% locally. And what is my proof that we could make 100% of our drones locally? My answer to that is very simple. The key to good drone design is good engineering, backed up by good programming. Mr. President, it is a well-known fact that we have some of the best engineers and programmers in the world, and they are so good that foreign companies are pirating them from right under our eyes. For example, we are so amazed at what Engineer Dado Banatao has done, but how many more like him are just waiting to be discovered and put to good use? Even if I am not a programmer myself, I have worked with so many of them, enough for me to confidently say that they are among the best in the world. It does not matter what programming language is required, because they could learn it quickly, even if they don’t know it yet. Name it, and they know it. From the old programming languages like COBOL and Assembler to the newer ones like Java and Phyton, it’s all chicken feed to them. Perhaps in the past, Mr. President, our country might have missed out in the business of making computers, but now we have the chance of making our own drones. Not only for our own use, but perhaps even for export also. IKE SENERES/10-02-2024