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