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