Teki Abary Repalda

Corona’s “Midnight” Appointment: Legal or not?

Teki — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:19:38 +0000

Note: This blog is composed of 3 pages for easier reading.

These days as the local news media is rife with stories of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, people often hear the sentiment and impassioned opinion of a lot of our countrymen that the midnight appointment of SC Chief Justice Renato Corona was unconstitutional.

In my previous blog entry, i shared the view that Filipinos mostly allow themselves to be dictated upon by political and institutional forces. There is no harm in believing in these institutions. So long as the Filipino arrives at a fully informed choice, where he weighs pros and cons, listens to both approving and dissenting voices and opinions, and from there decide on his own. We have to go against this cultural mentality that being mediocre is enough, that run-of-the-mill thinking is a “happier” (and less stressful) alternative than pursuing knowledge. We have to raise the bar of our collective consciousness as a nation.

What Does The Constitution Say?

Article VII, Section 15: No Midnight Appointments

The argument made by people that Corona’s appointment as Chief Justice was unconstitutional makes reference to Article VII, Section 15 of the Constitution. It must be noted that Article VII of the Constitution touches on the roles, responsibilities and duties of the Executive branch of the government, headed by the President. Sections 14, 15 and 16 cover rules governing how the President makes appointments. To quote from the 1987 Constitution:

Section 14. Appointments extended by an Acting President shall remain effective, unless revoked by the elected President, within ninety days from his assumption or reassumption of office.

Section 15. Two months immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a President or Acting President shall not make appointments, except temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or endanger public safety.

Section 16. The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.

Article VIII : The Judiciary

Note that what triggered Renato Corona’s appointment to Chief Justice was because of the retirement of then Chief Justice Reynato Puno scheduled on May 17, 2010. The vacancy of the highest position in Supreme Court provided then-President Arroyo the opportunity to fill that vacancy.

Article VIII of the Philippine Constitution lays down the responsibilities and duties entrusted upon the Judicial branch of government. Section 4. (1) mandates the composition of the Supreme court and the prescriptive period when a vacancy should be filled.

Section 4. (1) The Supreme Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and fourteen Associate Justices. It may sit en banc or in its discretion, in division of three, five, or seven Members. Any vacancy shall be filled within ninety days from the occurrence thereof.

Also, Section 8.(5) and 9 of Article VIII defines the functions of the Judicial Bar and Council. One of JBC’s functions is to present to the President a list of nominees for any vacancy within the judiciary for appointment consideration. To quote:

Section 8.(5) The Council shall have the principal function of recommending appointees to the Judiciary. It may exercise such other functions and duties as the Supreme Court may assign to it.

Section 9. The Members of the Supreme Court and judges of the lower courts shall be appointed by the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy. Such appointments need no confirmation.

Constitutional Dilemma?

Seemingly, the Executive appointment rules on Article VII are incongruent with that of the specified sections in Article VIII. Now, several questions arise when you read the above proscriptions of the Constitution.

Was the appointment of the Chief Justice within the scope of Article VII, Section 15?
Was it constitutional for the JBC to present a recommended list of nominees in advance, considering the vacancy had yet to happen and that Puno had not yet retired?
Is the position of Chief Justice subject to the confirmation of the Commission of Appointments as stated in Section 16? Or is there no need for confirmation as specified in Section 9 of Article VIII?
In exercising a new President’s power to revoke an appointment made by a former President, does it apply to the Judiciary?
Did the appointment of Chief Justice Renato Corona by former President GMA run the risk of the judiciary’s subservience to her?
Was the appointment of of Chief Justice Renato Corona constitutional?

Through research, let us try to answer the above questions. Despite my lack of legal education, it must be noted that this blog entry caters towards my plea for Filipinos. That even without resorting to credentialism, one must take the initiative to objectively know the facts in order to arrive at a position. The conclusions arrived in this blog, though, takes on a personal insight. (After all, it is my blog.)

In the next page, allow me to discuss the different views of legal and political personalities of the period prior to Corona’s appointment.

Filed under: Government, Personal Musings, Philippines, Politics Tagged: Franklin Drilon, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Midnight Appointment, Philippine Constitution, Renato Corona, Reynato Puno, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, Supreme Court

The Case of the World Bank Loan and Corona

Teki — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:17:40 +0000

There are many nuances in celebrating the “more fun in the Philippines” meme. There is the obvious tourism-friendly advertising and there’s the comedic but darker side to the reality of the Philippines, most especially in its societal and political landscape.

Sometimes i am saddened, if not at times disappointed, at the lack of initiative Filipinos seem to have on acquiring objective information. People here are glued to the political news. Most times, they are mere sound bites that cater towards a national conversation. But the Filipino has always been an emotional viewer and listener. And it takes a great deal of education, resourcefulness and self-control to restrain oneself from getting swayed hook, line and sinker by the local media. People perhaps do not have the time to research as much, that they rely on journalists and politicians to present trustworthy news. Alas, this dependence has also made the ordinary Filipino gullible to manipulations of information, gullible to his own emotional inclinations, making his views blatantly one-sided and biased.

An example of this is a recent story in a series of headlines by major news outlets in the lead up to the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona: the alleged misuse of the World Bank Loan by the Philippine Supreme Court. However, most Filipinos fail to grasp the history of the WB loan and when it was initially approved. Filipinos also fail to know the scope and standing of the WB audit report, and that the loan covered the tenure of three other former Supreme Court Chief Justices: Hilario Davide, Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno.

A Background on the World Bank Loan

The Philippine Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) was a developmental initiative funded, in part, through the World Bank in the form of a loan. The project was formally approved in 19 August 2003 during the time of then SC Justice Hilario Davide. From the project description stated in the WB operations portal, the objectives were as follows:

The development objective of the Judicial Reform Support Project is to support an accessible judicial system, that would foster public trust, and confidence.

Within this context, the project components will:

1) improve case adjudication and access to justice, through the implementation of modern case management techniques, planning and tools, and the upgrading of information and communication systems. Case management reform will include electronically integrating court processes, enabling analysis of cases, and case management performance of the courts;

2) enhance institutional integrity, by a) strengthening the Code of Ethics for justices, judges, lawyers and court personnel; (b) strengthening the monitoring of the conduct, operations and performance of judges, lawyers and court personnel; (c) implementing the computerized Judicial Performance Management System, within the pilot model courts, and higher courts of the judiciary; and, (d) implementing a gender-sensitive Human Resources and Development Master Plan for non-judicial personnel, strengthening the overall capacities of the Philippine Judicial Academy as well;

3) strengthen institutional capacity through the implementation of a decentralized administration model for the judiciary; installing comprehensive computer-based financial, and administrative systems; developing model integrated court facilities; and strengthening policy, research, and development capabilities, including the establishment of an electronic judicial library; and, 4) assist in strengthening support for the reform process, ensuring that judges, and other stakeholders are able to participate in the development, and implementation of key reform activities.

What Triggered The Review?

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in a story filed Sunday 15 January 2012, a financial review and audit was conducted from 24 Oct to 11 Nov 2011 by the World Bank. According to PDI, such a review was triggered due to applications for increased disbursements in the latter part of 2011. Now, this may seem to PDI readers that the disbursements were already done and approved. Thus, triggering the audit. However as standard disbursement applications processes go, a request or an application must be first submitted. It then becomes pending for approval and release until the review has been done. When you read the PDI article, it seems that the disbursements were already done and approved, and then it triggered a review, which simply goes against lending practices and protocols of the WB or even any corporate lending and disbursement process.

Plus, when you read the cover letter of the aide-memoire nowhere in it does it state the triggering circumstances for the review. Such that one cannot find the words “triggered by several withdrawal applications” as indicated in the PDI report.

Citing an aide memoire allegedly published by the World Bank, the review findings were said to be “unsatisfactory” or “at high risk.” Now let’s hold our horses for a moment and review certain terminology and standard practices.

The PDI article, as well as the articles on other news agencies in the country, may be a bit misleading. Standard to any audit, the scope of the review in terms of time coverage must be seriously considered. But it was not even mentioned in the papers. Was the fiduciary review covering all financial disbursements and expenditures from 2003 onwards? Or was it only specific to a period in time of the loan? Somehow, it is quite unlikely that the review is narrowed only to a specific time considering the magnitude of the sub-projects involved and its dependencies on each other.

What is an aide-memoire?

In the parlance of international trade and negotiations, an aide-memoire is usually a non-binding proposal. It is presented as an unofficial message. Why is it not official? Normally aide-memoires are not official because they pose no standing to the negotiations such that the party that wrote the document does not impose a commitment to the recipients. The defining word here is the word proposed.

Also the alleged WB cover letter already gives reference to why such documents are still deemed unofficial (emphasis mine):

Given the deliberative nature of information, some of which is still to be confirmed, the attached Aide Memoire is classified as Official Use Only for the purpose of project monitoring and management, and will not be disclosed to the public.

Basically the aide-memoire is a pro-forma at best, and a still unsubstantiated document at worst. So, the question is: if the alleged document truly came from the World Bank, then one does have to question why it was leaked and subsequently peddled as verified information by the media.

Another matter that needs to be said is the listing of issues in the cover letter. Normally, in reviews of great import, and in general good business correspondence, the order by which the issues are highlighted are jotted from most important to the least important. Upon reading the cover letter of the aide-memoire, issues with regard to ineligible expenditures are ranked number 4 out of the 8 numbered points in the letter. In reading the covering letter, one gets the impression that the actions suggested for closure is not so much of a major non-compliance but more as an observation.

Refunding of Ineligible Expenditures

Also, the refunding of ineligible expenditures seems a matter of course and process. As a simple example in the corporate world, we are prone to the same process mistakes. Such that Finance would tell the Operations Department not to post the expenditures under the Executive budget but post it against one’s departmental jurisdiction. It does not automatically connote malice on the part of the Operations Department to use funds against someone else’s domain. Sometimes, if not often, it is not malice or corruption that triggers the mistake, but the lack of understanding of what expenditure items are considered eligible and ineligible. The refunding request as stated in number 5 of the aide memoire cover letter optimistically mentions that the refunding is already an ongoing activity initiated by the Project Management Office (PMO).

The World Bank Makes An Official Statement

Despite the media frenzy over the WB loan and the Senate investigation it has triggered, the World Bank has (finally) officially made a statement disowning the JRSP review and aide-memoire. However, at the time this blog is being written, only Manila Bulletin has covered the story and no other newspaper or TV news agency has featured World Bank’s reaction.

The World Bank even stated in its interview with Manila Bulletin this:

Erika Leann Lacson-Esguerra, World Bank program assistant for external relations, said Monday the bank did not release to the media a supposed memo regarding the “unsatisfactory” progress of the high court’s loan.

“This email message did not come from the World Bank. Any official statement from the World Bank will be posted online (www.worldbank.org.ph),” Lacson-Esguerra said.

Manila Bulletin also revealed the following:

Data from the World Bank’s website revealed that the pace of implementation has picked up under Corona’s leadership, saying more than $1.3 million was disbursed in the first half of 2011 alone.

The bank attributed the delays to implementation and coordination issues in the Supreme Court, lengthy procurement processes as well as changes in the judiciary leadership.

The World Bank also cited the severe Typhoon “Ondoy” in 2009 as a setback because of the damage it brought to courts and records.

Alas, the Filipino is duped into a misinformation rollercoaster once more. Forces are out there capitalizing on his inability to research and think for himself. And the politically-charged media and personalities continually are pandering to his very weakness.

Yes, the first rule is still to know.

Filed under: Government, Personal Musings, Philippines, Politics Tagged: Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Supreme Court, Renato Corona, Supreme Court, World Bank

New Year, Same Old Hunger

Teki — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:27:48 +0000

Can you imagine that? It’s 2012. Two weeks and a day into this new year.

Back when i was kid, the mere thought of the year 2000 was mysterious to me. Like it was hard to imagine reaching it. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how the new millennium would be like. Well, scratch that statement. I did attempt at imagining what the future would be like. Strangely enough, i thought that we would have readily available flying cars at this time. Or be in some space-age kind of world like Buck Rogers in the 21st century (instead of the 25th). I guess, humanity just wasn’t fast enough.

There are still poor people all over the world. After more than 25 years since Band Aid’s Feed The World or USA for Africa’s We are the World, there is still raging famine in that continent, especially in places like Somalia and Kenya. Despite the many technological breakthroughs we have had over the years, mankind is still plagued with problems of sustenance. Tragically, some of the most basic kind: food, water, shelter…

Perhaps our high-tech journey into the future has been tempered by extremes within this spectrum of the human condition. Some of us probably know the answers why. Some of us know perhaps what has led us towards this path. But it also seems to me that in the daily meanderings of our busy lives, it’s become too much of a luxury to look at the plight of humankind outside of your front door. For some people, it’s too complex. For some, the indifference insulates them from having to invest time in things that are beyond their individual control. It’s sad that we can wage wars of liberation in Libya, impose sanctions in Iran, mull over the politics of our countries and yet a whole continent where arguably the first Eve was found can’t be rescued from famine. Maybe because famine isn’t profitable. Or it’s not something you can shoot at like a terrorist. You can’t bomb famine.

Here in the Philippines, hunger is still prevalent in the poorest sectors of the society. The poorest sectors by industry are from fishermen and farmers, accounting to a poverty incidence of 50 percent and 40 percent respectively. These people despite working to grow food for a living still experience a dismal lack of it on their own dining table. Food production processes and consumption in the Philippines aren’t particularly efficient such that we have aggregate loses of 822,000 metric tons a year. A simple breakdown can be seen in the chart below.

Not all of us can go to Africa. Not all of us can have the means to adopt a Filipino family and take them away from hunger. I don’t know the perfect answers either.

But once in a while, i do know that aid is not just a buzzword. It’s not just a statement. It is a moral imperative. A human imperative. Like equality and love. I also know that we can create a difference in our own small way by simply not wasting food.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization may also give us something to ponder on statistics of food loss and waste:

—-> Didn’t you know that a third of world food production for human consumption is lost or wasted? An equivalent of 1.3 billion tonnes of food thrown away each year.

—–> In industrialized countries, consumers have wasted food at a total to date of 222 billlion tonnes nearly equal to Sub-Saharan Africa’s net food production at 230 billion tonnes.

—–> There are 918 million undernourished people together with nearly 7 million who died of hunger in 2011 alone.

—–> In the US , nearly 50% of food is wasted : nearly 123 million tonnes of food in a day. Contrast that against only 25,555 tonnes of global aid in food daily.

—-> There are over 1.5 billion people who are overweight in the world while there are 515 million people obese. However, more than 28,000 people still die daily of hunger.

—-> In the US in 2011 alone, nearly 440 million USD is spent on obesity-related diseases, 110 million USD is the amount of food purchased and thrown away by households and consumers. However, only 5 million USD is spent on global food aid. The total needed amount to feed the hungry today is only 35 million USD.

And so this is my plea to all of us here, in the next 349 days of 2012, how will you help in staving off world hunger?

For a look at the creative ways you can help stave off world hunger, you can make a difference by visiting Stop Hunger Now

Filed under: Food, Government, Personal Musings, Philippines, Politics, Society Tagged: Africa, Food, Food and Agriculture Organization, Hunger, Malnutrition, Poverty

Why I Am Starting To Blog Again

Teki — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:04:29 +0000

Truth be told, i am a lazy blogger. For the past years, there are so many distractions for me that my writing usually consists of personal emails to friends in other countries or a special blog entry in Shoe, where i blog more frequently for a niche group of friends. Nevertheless, i am a lazy blogger.

It’s not that i don’t have anything to say. Actually i have a lot of things to say. But between reading and writing, i tend to read more than write. My imagination gets captured by someone else’s written words and it gets me glued. Plus, i find it harder to write — the increasingly frequent bouts of migraine zap out whatever writing urges i may have.

It might be funny to note that while i am writing this an ice pack is over my head. It’s true. There’s this localized headache that’s been bothering me for a few hours. It won’t even let me sleep. I googled and some people say that an ice pack helps numb the nerve endings of the soft spot in one’s head when you’re having a migraine. It’s relieving me a bit, but not a whole lot. The last time i had a tender spot on my head, it was followed by a huge headache, followed by fever for a week. Let’s hope that no fever descends upon me this week. Because it is also a big week for me, considering the job interviews i am having, the preparations for an upcoming Six Sigma class and my general happiness meter.

So why am i starting to blog again? No special reason really. I’ve been thinking about it since the New Year started and thought to myself that i should resume writing. Furthermore, some people tell me that it’s good therapy for lazy days when i am not really doing anything except read, cook, eat, sleep, listen to my music collection, edit pictures… There are days when i do not even hear the sound of my own voice. So maybe the written word is my voice too.

Maybe i should join those Post-A-Week challenges here on WP. Nah. Thing is i have no trouble about generating writing ideas. What i have trouble is beginning to write them. I get distracted a lot. So yes, i need the focus some disciplined regular blog writers seem to have a lot of. But i also want writing to be spontaneous, not scheduled. Plus despite some people saying that blogging is really performance writing, well, some times it is possible to write for oneself. Also, my handwriting is beginning to look like i never went to high school. My penmanship resembles an old Benguiat Frisky font on hallucinogens. Maybe it’s because holding a pen and using it for writing for long hours is becoming more and more obsolete for laptop-driven people like me? Or maybe it’s just my sense of grip? I’d rather the latter because pen utility is, i can imagine, a sad state of affairs. Something that my English composition teacher back in high school will severely frown upon.

And so yes, i will blog again. Perhaps not as often as other people blog. And perhaps this is something that will be temporary given how my life is. But it’s 2012. And for the doomsday cult fanatics, i am doing you a favor by writing what may be a great year in the life of humankind.

Filed under: Humor, Personal Musings

Paralyzed by Our Need To Know

Teki — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:13:43 +0000

Often i have wondered what motivates us human beings to strive to know even the most trivial things in life.

Of course, speculation is a trigger that launches scientific experiments and discoveries. However, i am not talking about objective speculation in that sense. I am talking about the trivial speculation of wanting to know every detail without any tangible benefit to us, except that which we know.

In the case of Osama Bin Laden’s death, people in news commentaries demand the release of photographs about his corpse. And i asked myself: Why would people want to see it? Are we so distrustful of our institutions and of each other that we are now incapable of seeing the larger truth? That our senses need to be satisfied in order to believe? To satisfy our morbid curiosity? So that we can rejoice more in the comfort that he is dead? Really?

Understandably, people have learned to be distrustful of governments who keep secrets from its citizenry. But my question is: how do we separate what we need to know versus what we should know? My parents didn’t have to tell me everything – of how they fight to come up with decisions, of how it took them to put up money… In as much as i do not need to know every single thing my girlfriend does when we’re apart. Because demanding that you need to know sows more distrust than having someone disclose it to you in the right time.

PARALYSIS BY ANALYSIS

It’s like working for a big department that focuses on the applied effectiveness of decision science measurements. One always has to grapple with execution issues. Most times, analysts are so paralyzed by the numbers that they can’t make recommendations. Often, i have to remind the younger managers that the ability to execute is a far greater task than to be encumbered by the trivial nuances of the statistical methods. The trivial nuances would be a joy to discuss, study and ponder if we were still all in the academe, where the pursuit of knowledge is an end in itself. But in a business environment, our decision science analytics would not result into anything tangible and beneficial to our customers and stakeholders.

Often we call it, Paralysis by Analysis. And often we counter it by asking: What is the Big Picture?

SYNTHESIS MATTERS

There is a reason why Synthesis sits on the higher learning step on Bloom’s learning taxonomy.

It is not enough that you know, understand, apply or analyze. Higher learning posits that you appreciate Synthesis by looking at the larger truth. It is only then that you are able to fully evaluate. But it seems that we skip the synthesis part altogether sometimes that it misleads us to judge things out of context.

I wrote a preview of this entry as a Facebook note the other day. One of my peers reminded me with a comment saying that “But isn’t your first rule TO KNOW?”

In my old lectures, i have often used the phrase: “The First Rule is To Know” as an initial requisite to objective evaluation. Yes, the first rule is to know. However, there are limits to what can be known. Knowing should lead to information and not just an amassing of data. Information that is useful and beneficial. I think sometimes people confuse their right to information with a totalitarian right of access.

In the case of Bin Laden’s death, the information demand need not be a clamor for photographs but other corroborative, objective evidence such as the DNA results, primary witness identification, or the confirmation by the Al Qaeda. Perhaps what Starky said was true. The clamoring for the photo as evidence of OBL’s death stems from morbid curiosity and emotion. In it of itself, that morbid desire is suspect and may go against the true pursuit of rational fact-finding. That’s why i understand when people say that even if the photos were disclosed, conspiracy theorists and advocates would not believe it anyway. A case of cognitive dissonance.

FOURIER ANALYSIS

In some decision science lectures, i mentioned the Fourier Theory is helpful in looking at a bigger picture. In photography, the more pixels there are, the clearer the picture becomes. The trick is not to get stuck at the pixels though even if not all of the original pixels to start with were made available. Using Fourier analysis, the original pixels are decomposed further to create constituent pixels . The Fourier Transform will then multiply these pixels. Through the use of filters, the jagged edges of the pixels will be “smoothened.” Finally, through Fourier transform, the pixels will be made to synthesize which results in a clearer picture. The absence of one pixel at the start will not diminish the value of the image.

Our brains work like that too as it tries to fill the gap in understanding, say, shortened text messages such as: ”f u dnt gt dis by nw, u shd gt ur eyes chckd.”

Sometimes, there are approximations of reality. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, depends on personal perspective and experience. Being so absolutist and exacting of every little thing is like a heart attack waiting to happen. There is so much more to life than proofs.

Filed under: Mathematics, Personal Musings, Politics, Science Tagged: Al-Qaeda, Bloom's Taxonomy, Fourier Analysis, Information, Osama BinLaden, Paralysis by Analysis, Terrorism

The Issue of Population

Teki — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:59:41 +0000

World of People (image courtesy of Corbis)

I have been out of the blogging scene for quite some time now. Life has a way of happening that we are made to prioritize certain things over others.

The RH Bill updated from its HB 96 version to its 2011 consolidated version has a new title: The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011. For those of you, who have yet to read the consolidated version, click here to view the PDF. (Note that the content was taken and converted accordingly from Likhaan.org to a more readable format.)

In discussing Reproductive Health, people get into the natural progression of linking it with population development mechanisms. Talking about population can be controversial because it rides along issues involving women, families, religious beliefs, environment, economic income… the list goes on. But do we really understand what population indicators mean? Since i am involved with research and statistics on a daily basis, allow me to to demystify some of the population metrics employed when discussing about the RH Bill.

GROWTH RATES & NUMBERS

Certain groups and sectors of the society often cite that we are not having a population problem. Others say that world population growth rates are decreasing which may threaten future human development and replacement. It is a fact that worldwide population growth rates are decreasing. You will get to see this from a number of veritable worldwide bureaus including the US Census Bureau and even from the United Nations Population Division. However, they are not as simple as it seems, despite first looks. Decreasing population growth rates do not mean that we’re not going to experience bigger populations. Also, declining rates do not wholly predict that we will have a dying population either.

Look at Indicator Relationships, Not Just at Independent Data Sets

In employing the use of statistics, it is always wise to inter-relate data with other indicators. This form of validation provides a clearer picture and a more substantial interpretation. Population growth rates and fertility rates, as with any other data sets, should not just be looked at independently. More importantly, they should be looked at for its inter-relationships and correlations. To gain better insight of population indicators like growth rates and fertility rates, analysis should be taken in the context of total population numbers, population densities, birth rates, mortality rates, age-distribution, sex distribution, etc. Furthermore, because the world is not infinite, resources get scarce. Population indicators, when interpreted correctly are necessary tools in managing the economic and environmental carrying capacities and overall sustainability.

Allow me to illustrate.

Look at the graph below. In reading declining population growth rates, you might tend to assume that we humans might be nearing the brink of extinction by 2050. Such is a knee-jerk interpretation based only on a single indicator.

Now, take a look at the graph below and consolidate it with the one above. Your interpretation will change when you put growth rates in the context of world population in numbers. At this point, you will perhaps realize this initial fact: that despite declining growth rates, the world still faces a massive human population in terms of real number projections.

You will see the same phenomenon if you use the US Census Bureau estimates. What seems as an inverse relationship between population numbers and growth rates is not a mathematical fluke. It warrants a conjoined interpretation. So what does it mean? It shows that despite declining rates of population growth, the decrease in rates does not necessarily follow a decrease in population numbers.

Rate is really about speed, not size. It only means population growth is slow. But not slow enough to affect a decline in total world population.

Our population numbers continue to look massive towards 2050. If we reach our 9 billion mark in 2045, our population will have doubled from 1980 numbers. (1)

POPULATION GROWTH RATES

Now, let’s take a look at Philippine numbers.

Despite declining growth rates, the Philippine population will grow by 57% in 2050 from 1990 levels, equivalent to roughly 146 million people in 2050 compared to 62 million Filipinos in 1990. The US Census Bureau projects a higher population in 2050: 171 million Filipinos as opposed to 65 million Filipinos in 1990. [Note that the US Census uses mid-year population census numbers.]

Using 2010 numbers, the Philippines is estimated at 94 million people according to the National Statistics Office (2). This is close to census numbers by the UN placing the Philippines at 93.6 million while the US Census Bureau estimates that we are at roughly 99 million today . Our current population is almost a third of 1990 levels. The USCB and the UNPD ranks the Philippines as the 12th most populated country in the world (3). In UNPD’s report, the Top 12 most populous countries comprise 62.2% share of the world’s population. By 2050, the Philippines will move up to the 11th rank of the world most populated countries. (4)

In context, the slow population growth rate is not enough to plateau our population in the next 40 years.

FERTILITY RATES

Some people these days talk about TFR or the Total Fertility Rate. Currently our TFR, according to the WPP portal of the UNPD stands at 3.11 children per Filipina. In 1950, the average TFR was 7.29 children per woman. The position paper published by some students, alumni and faculty members from UP correctly pointed to a decrease of more than 50% in fertility rates in the last 50 years (5). To be more precise, the decrease is 57% in the last 60 years, going by the UN ESA WPP data.

However, as i have explained above, indicators such as the TFR must be taken into context with replacement level . But let’s first explain what it means.

TFR: What Is It?

Total Fertility Rate is the average number of children that would be born to a woman in her lifetime, “if she were to pass through her childbearing years experiencing the age-specific fertility rates for that period” and given that the woman was not “subject to mortality.” (6) This definition does not simply connote a straight accounting of the number of children per woman in the population.

Actually, TFR is not an accounting of real women at all. It is hypothetical at best. We use imaginary counts of women due to data gathering practicality. Researchers won’t be able to wait for women to go through their entire lifetimes to account for the number of children they actually had.

TFR, therefore, is a kind of number that asks this: if we were to fast forward the entire childbearing lifetime of women of specific age-groups given they are alive till they are 50 years old, how many children per woman would there be using this year’s birth numbers and female population per age group?

Calculating Total Fertility Rates

TFR is the sum of all age-specific fertility rates (ASFR) in grouped periods of 5-years. In calculating TFR, age-specific groups between 15-49 are used as a standard as these represent childbearing ages. To calculate age-specific fertility rates, you need

(a) number of births for a specified year per age-group and

(b) total number of females per age-group for that specified year

The ratio between a and b is multiplied by 1000. You then have the ASFR. When you total all the ASFRs for that year and multiply it by 5 years for projection, you will get the TFR.

The excel illustration you see is a general example of how TSR is calculated. More appropriately, TFR is a standardized measure to hypothetically estimate the average number of children per woman. It is an average because some women can have more children than the general average while some will have less.

Understanding Replacement Fertility Level

TFR is used to determine if we are going to meet ideal replacement levels. When the earlier UP position paper called for alarm about our declining fertility rates, some of my friends were shocked. They were even saying that there is now empirical evidence against the passing of the RH Bill. Again, knee-jerk reactions. The position paper might be correct regarding declining TFRs but it has succumbed to assumption bias when they said: ”Our TFR is expected to reach the replacement level of 2.1 in 2025 without massive government intervention like the passing of a population control or RH bill. The passing of an RH bill will only accelerate this.” (5)

Would reaching the replacement fertility rate enough to solve our population crisis? Before we answer that, what is replacement fertility level in the first place?

In simple terms, replacement fertility level is the “level of fertility required to ensure that a population replaces itself in size.” (7)

A replacement level is a normative level that has since been adopted by the UN and population demographers. It is the ideal number of children per woman who can replace her and her husband (if they are married) – therefore 2. The .1 is used as a buffer to give allowance to early mortality and sex ratios at birth. The ideal 2.1 replacement level is normally set for developed countries.

According to UN World Population Prospects (WPP) report, the Philippines will reach the 2.1 replacement level sometime after 2040, not by 2025 as said by the UP position paper. (See TFR graph up above for context.) However, for most developing countries, the replacement level adopted is at 2.33 instead of 2.1 because of higher child mortality rates. If we use 2.33, we will reach our ideal replacement level shortly after 2030.

Managing TFR within Reasonable Limits

The use of 2.1 children per woman may be the current replacement goal. However, that goal has remained static for quite sometime now and deserves to be reviewed in light of the increasing population in the next 40 years. If we run below it – is it still a good thing? How low should it be? The UNPD WPP report states that a good majority of countries will converge towards a 1.98 RFL by 2050. Southeast Asia as a region has reached its RFL sometime before 2015. The world taken collectively will be near its RFL by the end of 2035. The Philippines will reach hers by 2040.

It is within the interest of the Philippines to reach replacement levels and even go slightly below to adjust population towards stability. Note in the graph below that the number of births will continue to rise, even if the birth rate continues to slacken. The decline in births is forecasted to begin in 2020 through 2050 but not dramatically so.

Evidently, it is not a steep decline. Furthermore, infant mortality rates continue to decrease since the 1950′s, from 13% to the current 2%. The net difference between births and infant mortality lends towards longer life expectancies. Attaining replacement levels, in my view. promotes population stability for our future generations.

Would it not be better to live longer, stronger, wealthier but fewer – enabling us to have distributed options for all and not just for the few?

The Filipino woman and her choices for the future

Despite this country being founded on matriarchal practices, the irony is that 11.6 million Filipino women are poor. Women in the Philippines are the second poorest sector of the society, next to children (8). Why are we then heading towards decreasing fertility rates in the midst of growing numbers? The answers may well be derived from the following NDHS survey data conducted in 2008 by the NSO and USAID collected for 14,000 women (9) :

Fertility Postponement. In the past 25 years prior to the survey, the median age for the first childbirth among women between 15-49 was 22. In the survey, the median age is 24. Also, according to the report, “better educated, wealthier women marry later than other women. Women in urban areas marry two years later than their rural counterparts (23 versus 21 years old respectively). Women who completed high school marry later than women with no education (21.2 versus 18.4 years old respectively). Among women aged 30-34, the median age at first marriage is under 20 years old for lower economic quartile, while the median age for the higher economic quartile is +25 years old.”

Now people would perhaps says that furthering the education and economic participation of women in the society should be blamed for the decline in fertility. The reality is education and economic mobility allow for greater access to a better life. Education assists women to get out of poverty and allows us to generate more revenue for the national economy as more educated women participate in the workforce.

Desire for Children. In the table below, 57% of Philippine women with 2 living children prefer not to have any more kids. That preference percentage increases as the number of living children increases.

Ideal Number of Children. In the table below, women in the survey preferred having a mean of 2.8 children. In 1998, women preferred an ideal mean of 3.2

It is within the interest of the Philippines to reach the ideal replacement levels and perhaps even below it. Attainment promotes responsible human development. It promotes the education of women, the ability of women to choose their future and become more empowered to be an economic contributor to the society. More importantly, the “light of the household” becomes a more informed and paramount contributor to future health and welfare of family. It is centered on quality, not just mere existence.

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Some anti-RH Bill advocates claim that if we pursue a further lowering of our TFRs, that we will be like Japan, which is currently burdened by an aging population. The thing is the age distribution in Japan is not comparable to those of the Philippines. This is because when you graph the age-sex distribution of Japan versus the Philippines, Japan would have an inverted pyramid while the Philippines will still have a larger base of people within working age to sustain the economy. See the following graphs below. They are self-explanatory.

POPULATION DENSITY

In essence, those alarm bells that hail that we need to be worried about the impact of decreasing fertility does not have any solid empirical evidence to support their allegations. The Population Research Institute (PRI), a religion-based organization purporting to use science, is quite misguided about their use of population density. PRI stated in one of their videos entitled “Overpopulation is a Myth” that we would all fit within the state of Texas. They derived this by dividing the number of people in a country by their total land mass. The calculation is simplistic and does not recognize the complex nature of urbanization and human migration.

PRI’s reasoning is faulty as it does not consider human nature and the social science that goes along with it. People do not wish to just be in one land. Humans are an adventurous lot and this diaspora has enabled us to expand our horizons and progress. PRI’s argument is devoid of the reality at hand. Overpopulation does not connote just a mere number of people in a specified space, nor is it simply about overcrowding. The impact of unmanaged populations goes towards sustainability – consumption of resources versus the ability of those resources to replenish and replace themselves must be considered also. In my opinion, i do think it is hubris that man will forever be granted the best entitlement by nature. We are only co-travellers in this journey with all other sentient beings.

In closing, my hope is that we pursue a more objective analysis and synthesis of population indicators and how it affects us and our future. Einstein once said that it is okay to be simple, but not too simplistic. Fourier analysis should also teach us that the picture is clearer if we have more pixels. The RH Bill, is not a perfect bill, however at its core resides an empirical and social justification of informed choice, women empowerment and the quality of life of our future generations.

And who in their right mind wouldn’t want that?

____________________________________

Data Sources:

Most of the statistical information used in this post is derived from the World Population Prospects (WPP) 2008 data portal of United Nations Population Division (UNPD) and the International Data Base (IDB) of the US Census Bureau. The UNPD forms part of the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

World Population Prospects, The 2008 Revision. United Nations Population Division. Accessed from online database: http://esa.un.org/unpp/

US Census Bureau. International Data Base. Accessed from: http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopinfo.php

References:

(1) USCB Graph description to World Population 1950 – 2050 Chart.

(2) National Statistical Coordination Board. Accessed here.

(3) USCB Country Rankings. Accessed here.

(4) Table A3. Countries Accounting for 75 percent of World Population by Size. World Population Prospects, The 2008 Revision. UNPD. p. 41 of Highlights report.

(5) A Position Paper on the RH Bill by Individual Faculty, Students and Alumni of the University of the Philippines. Accessed here.

(It must be said though that this position paper does not connote that the entire UP System is against the RH Bill. In fact, selected faculty from the UP School of Economics wrote a discussion paper about their support of the RH Bill while being objective about some of its minor flaws. Distinguished Professor Solita Monsod contributed to the paper.)

A joint statement from select faculty members of the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo De Manila University was crafted in support of the consolidated RH Bill.

(6) TFR Definition adapted from United Nations Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (UN-DPCSD).

(7) Steve Smallwood & Jessica Chamberlain. Replacement Fertility: What Has It Been and What Does It Mean? Population and Demography Division, Office for National Statistics. Population Trends Journal. 2005. Accessed in Population Trends 119

(8) National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). Magnitude of Poor Among Basic Sectors, 2006.

(9) National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 2008.

Filed under: Philippines, Religion / Faith, Science Tagged: Birth rate, Population, RH Bill, Total Fertility Rate, UP Position Paper

HB 96 : The RH Bill | Part 2

Teki — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 17:07:16 +0000

Before i continue with the series on HB 96, allow me to clarify a few things. I was born and raised Catholic. And to a degree, i hope i still am and i do strive to be more Christ-like. The previous article is not to be considered an attack on the Church nor on the personhood of Fr. Arellano.

If you will re-read the previous entry, the article remains objective such that it provides supporting facts. Fundamentally, i am advocating the use of reason and informed choice. Unlike Carlos Celdran’s stunt, it is not in me to disrespect the Church or any religious institution especially when it is within its right to faith, or while people are in celebration of the Holy Mass.

The Dual Liberating Aspect of Faith and Reason

The one thing i learned from being educated in Salesian schools is that Don Bosco, who by espousing the Preventive System advocated three principles: Reason, Religion and Loving-Kindness. Such that Reason is not indistinct with understanding Religion or vice versa. And that regardless of our opinions, that we should treat people with respect and loving-kindness. One value of education is grounded on people having an informed choice. I have always believed that Faith is enriched by Reason. It is both a right and a gift. But blind belief is something else. Wasn’t it Jesus Christ himself who said: ”Give to God what is due to God. And give to Caesar, what is due to Caesar.”?

I believe that despite the stand of Church leaders on the issue of the RH Bill, there needs to be a respect for man’s ability to reach an informed choice. I am only hoping that as we promote informed choice, that we also base them not with misleading statements but with reason. Some of you might say that that is why it is easy for children to reach heaven because of their innocence. Yes, it is because they have no sense of malice. Innocence does not mean blind faith. It means the absence of malice. That’s why we make it a point to send children to school. The value of education is to harness inquisitive minds and exercise a kind of reasoning that minimizes myths and bias, if not to completely removing it. True reasoning is not tantamount to malice. True reasoning allows for alleviating misguided fears by knowing opposing views, thereby being able to make a choice. The exercise of true reasoning produces an enlightened mind and a freer soul, and a more enriched Faith.

The Definition of Reproductive Health

Reproductive health is so much more than merely sexual health. In my opinion, i think a lot of us forget this. We only seem to focus sometimes on the sex part and the underlying activities associated with sex than the true coverage and range of reproductive health. But what is it, really?

In 1994. the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was held in Cairo, Egypt. One of the highlights of the conference was the creation of a reproductive health framework towards sustainable global human development. This framework was called the Programme of Action, by which 179 countries participated. The Philippines participated in this conference. (The Philippine President at that time was Pres. Fidel V. Ramos.) The ICPD definition of reproductive health is part of the global M illennium Development Goals (MDG) as framed in Target 5.2 of the UN MDG. [1]

In Section 7.2 of the ICPD Programme of Action . Reproductive Health is defined as (emphasis mine):

Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition are the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, as well as other methods of their choice for regulation of fertility which are not against the law, and the right of access to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant. In line with the above definition of reproductive health, reproductive health care is defined as the constellation of methods, techniques and services that contribute to reproductive health and well-being by preventing and solving reproductive health problems. It also includes sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement of life and personal relations, and not merely counselling and care related to reproduction and sexually transmitted diseases. [2]

What i like about this definition is that it primarily underlines three things:

self-determination and freedom of choice
right to access methods, techniques and services
accords the sovereign right of countries to regulate fertility so long as it is lawful and legal for their countries to do so.

Is Reproductive Health a “code” for Legalizing Abortion?

Atty Jo Imbong, CBCP’s Legal Office Secretary was once interviewed in the ABS-CBN news discussion program Strictly Politics with Pia Hontiveros in connection to a discussion of the Reproductive Health Bill when it was still filed as HB 5024 during the 2008 Congress. She stated plainly that the position of the CBCP regarding the filing of the RH Bill was (and still is): “That legislators have no authority to pass immoral laws.” Furthermore when asked if the RH Bill promotes abortion, she stated that in the ICPD Programme of Action “wherein in paragraph 7.6, abortion is really included in the terminology of Reproductive Health.” [3]

Now let’s go back to the ICPD Programme of Action and allow me to quote the full contents of Section 7.6.

All countries should strive to make accessible through the primary health-care system, reproductive health to all individuals of appropriate ages as soon as possible and no later than the year 2015. Reproductive health care in the context of primary health care should, inter alia, include: family-planning counselling, information, education, communication and services; education and services for prenatal care, safe delivery and post-natal care, especially breast-feeding and infant and women’s health care; prevention and appropriate treatment of infertility; abortion as specified in paragraph 8.25, including prevention of abortion and the management of the consequences of abortion; treatment of reproductive tract infections; sexually transmitted diseases and other reproductive health conditions; and information, education and counselling, as appropriate, on human sexuality, reproductive health and responsible parenthood. Referral for family-planning services and further diagnosis and treatment for complications of pregnancy, delivery and abortion, infertility, reproductive tract infections, breast cancer and cancers of the reproductive system, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS should always be available, as required. Active discouragement of harmfulpractices, such as female genital mutilation, should also be an integral component of primary health care, including reproductive health-care programmes. [2]

It must be said, though. that the context of the inclusion of abortion in Section 7.6 is further defined in Section 8.25 of the Programme of Action. So, it does not condone abortion but places the context of abortion in very strict parameters. Section 8.25 is a defining remark on ICPD’s global and unequivocal stand against abortion. To quote the section, it states:

In no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning. All Governments and relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are urged to strengthen their commitment to women’s health, to deal with the health impact of unsafe abortion as a major public health concern and to reduce the recourse to abortion through expanded and improved family-planning services. Prevention of unwanted pregnancies must always be given the highest priority and every attempt should be made to eliminate the need for abortion. Women who have unwanted pregnancies should have ready access to reliable information and compassionate counselling. Any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level according to the national legislative process. In circumstances where abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be safe. In all cases, women should have access to quality services for the management of complications arising from abortion. Post-abortion counselling, education and family-planning services should be offered promptly, which will also help to avoid repeat abortions. [2]

In taking sections 7.6 and 8.25, it can be surmised that abortion is recognized as either considered legal in some countries and illegal in some countries. The inclusion of abortion in section 7.6 is also in recognizing that some countries do have legalized abortion. However, since some countries consider abortion punishable within their own Constitutions, ICPD makes an encompassing recognition to the sovereign rights of the countries that do have abortion laws. In the case of the Philippines, abortion is a crime as stipulated in Articles 255 to 259 of the Revised Penal Code. Therefore, the inclusion of the word abortion in 7.6, (as referenced from section 8.25) is not a wholesale promotion of abortion within UN member countries as it continues to recognize the sovereign right of these members to exercise their own Constitutional mandates.

The Benefits of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals

A lot of people tend to make unhealthy speculation about the merits of the RH Bill by saying that “foreign countries are pushing the RH Bill to control the population.” [4] It was in a recent article on Philippine Star that i read this remark by Atty. Jose Sison. These speculations,riddled with conspiratorial angles are, at times, destructive such that it is prone to misinformation and exaggeration. (I was quite disappointed too that Atty Sison chose to believe that overpopulation is a myth.) The primary reason for our legislators in pushing for the RH Bill is because we are a member of the United Nations and sought, like all member-countries, to have a sustainable human development framework for the world. I replied to Atty Sison in this regard which i shall re-post here in full:

We already have an Anti-Abortion Law (which is stipulated in Act no. 3815). Instead of introducing HB 13, why not redefine what constitute abortion and effectively determine contraception and conception from there? HB 96, on the other hand, has its merits in the granting of universal access of health care to all women and children, even those who may suffer from the complications of abortion.

A decrease in the rate of population in the country does not mean we should be complacent about it. The inequality of distribution of wealth and resources is not just a matter of the richer having more or the poorer having less. The inequality of distribution is fundamentally because resources are scarce. (Therefore, economics.) They are not abundant as we all think they are. Population, i believe, still has linkages to poverty and access to universal health care. In a study conducted by the PIDS and ADB in 2005, it was indicated that family size is a contributor of household poverty. Life is not about existence. Isn’t it also about quality?

Also, as part of the UN, we did sign off on our Millennium Development Goals – is this saying that other countries are controlling our sovereignty? I don’t think so. However, we do live in a global village wherein the standards of poverty and access must be equal wherever you go in the world. I think we should rise behind our Philippine-silo mentality and embrace that we are part of the world and should strive to live a life that is world-standard.

Atty. Sison, don’t get me wrong. This is all in the name of healthy discourse.

Unlike the previous commentors of the article who had been fortunate to get a response from the good lawyer, Atty Jose Sison stopped commenting when i made my input. No color there. But i had only wish he had. Because i wanted to read his response too. Sadly, i didn’t get any.

I know that in my previous blog entry, i had said that this entry will focus on linkages between population, poverty and corruption. However, i am getting dull and boring if i continue all of that within this article. So i might as well get a part 3 going as a next entry. So, my apologies. At any rate, i would like to leave you with a news analysis by one of the most admired minds of this country. Professor Winnie Monsod explains how far we are in meeting our Millennium Development Goals.

‘Til next time….Have a safe weekend and i hope the Philippines can come out of the coming typhoon “Juan” (international name: Megi) prepared and with zero casualties. Stay safe. God Bless the Philippines.

Reference Sources:

[1] Millennium Development Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health Care. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Accessed from: http://www.undp.org/mdg/goal5.shtml

[2] Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD). September 1994 : Cairo, Egypt. Accessed from: http://www.un.org/popin/icpd/conference/offeng/poa.html

[3] Taken from excerpt videos of statements of Atty. Imbong during July 2008 airing of Strictly Politics by Pia Hontiveros on the discussion on Reproductive Health. Accessed from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPfvTFFVPQc

[4] Sison JC. Better Bill To Swallow. 08 October 2010: Philippine Star. Accessed from: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=619024&publicationSubCategoryId=64

Filed under: Government, Personal Musings, Philippines, Politics, Religion / Faith Tagged: HB 96, ICPD, Prof. Winnie Monsod, Reproductive Health Bill

HB 96: The RH Bill | part 1

Teki — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:15:19 +0000

People in the Philippines these days have a renewed interest in talking about the Reproductive Health Bill or House Bill 96. But with all the talk going around, i wonder if people have actually read the bill before giving an opinion. I would strongly advocate reading the proposed bill as filed by Representative Edcel Lagman prior to succumbing to knee-jerk reactions. Here’s a pdf copy: http://bit.ly/a2hYKI

Image by © FRANCIS R. MALASIG/epa/Corbis

Many people have expressed their opinions about the bill, most times without even knowing what it truly states or without understanding the social realities by which it is conditioned upon. After reading the bill, i have come to a conclusion that i support its fundamental premise and a majority of its precepts, although i have a few reservations on some minor areas. In this blog entry, supporting literature is provided in order for the reader to draw his own insights about the meaning of the bill.

(I will refer the RH Bill as HB 96, the congressional nomenclature as we go along, so as not to confuse it with other RH Bill’s proposed in the past)

Misinformation and Myths about HB 96

One of the things that i am saddened about us Filipinos is our emotional and uninformed reaction to controversial issues that are carried by the bill. The Catholic Church, as an example, have also contributed to bringing more misinformation about the bill.

Sadly, a priest who my family personally knows, may have erred in his research about the bill such that he may have introduced erroneous facts to the faithful. One example is this video below.

In the video posted by AHF International on YouTube, Fr. Edgardo Arrellano mispostulates the following as facts:

That the bill promotes a 2-child policy. The use of the word “policy” is misleading in this regard. Nowhere in the bill does the government enforce a policy on family size. It does, however, recommend an ideal family size of two children. To quote Sec 17 of the bill:

The State shall assist couples, parents and individuals to achieve their desired family size within the context of responsible parenthood for sustainable development and encourage them to have two children as the ideal family size. Attaining the ideal family size is neither mandatory nor compulsory. No punitive action shall be imposed on parents having more than two children. (1)

That for Filipinos, the ideal family is having 5-7 children. This statistic is completely misrepresented by Fr. Arellano. In a survey conducted by NSO in cooperation with USAID, the 2008 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) shows that 42% women-respondents answered that having 2 children is the ideal family size. 28% preferred having 3 children, 14% preferred 4 children. Only 8% said they preferred 5 or more. It must be noted that 12, 469 households participated in the survey where also 13,594 women between the ages of 15-45 interviewed for this survey nationwide. (To see the complete 2008 NDHS Report, click here.) (2)

The NDHS was used by Lagman to in determining the suggested family size in Sec 17 of the bill.

That the bill proposes sex education at Grade 2. Another grossly erroneous reading of HB 96. In Sec. 13 of the proposed HB 96, the mandated age-appropriate sex education begins at 5th grade up to 4th year high school.

That children will be taught pornography by teachers. The use of the word “pornography” by Fr. Arellano is accusatory and stated with bias. Nowhere in the bill does it even allude that sex education makes use of pornographic material. The statement also undermines the capacity of teachers and educators to exercise academic and educative maturity in teaching sex education. Sex education is not pornography. The exact wording of Sec 13 of HB 96 is as follows (emphasis mine):

Age-appropriate Reproductive Health and Sexuality Education shall be taught by adequately trained teachers in formal and non-formal educational system starting from Grade Five up to Fourth Year High School using life-skills and other approaches. Reproductive Health and Sexuality Education shall commence at the start of the school year immediately following one year from the effectivity of this Act to allow the training of concerned teachers. The Department of Education (DEPED), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), TESDA, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Health (DOH) shall formulate the RH and Sexuality Education curriculum. Such curriculum shall be common to both public and private schools, out of school youth, and enrollees in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) based on, but not limited to, the following contents: psycho-social wellbeing, legal aspects of RH, demography and RH and physical wellbeing.

Age-appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education shall be integrated in all relevant subjects and shall include, but not limited to, the following topics:

a. Values formation;
b. Knowledge and skills in self protection against discrimination, sexual violence and abuse, and teen pregnancy;
c. Physical, social and emotional changes in adolescents;
d. Children’s and women’s rights;
e. Fertility awareness;
f. STI, HIV and AIDS;
g. Population and development;
h. Responsible relationship;
i. Family planning methods;
j. Proscription and hazards of abortion;
k. Gender and development; and
l. Responsible parenthood.

The DepEd, CHED, DSWD, TESDA, and DOH shall provide concerned parents with adequate and relevant scientific materials on the age-appropriate topics and manner of teaching reproductive health education to their children.

Philippines as the moral conscience of the region and allusions to the Holocaust. Father Arellano cites that the “Philippines being the only Catholic nation in Asia, wherein two-thirds of the population dwell, is the conscience of this region.” This statement is laden with Catholic hubris. Asians do comprise approximately two-thirds of the world’s current human population (more accurately 66% of people in the world are Asians). But to say that Filipino Catholics is the conscience of the region is alienating all other major religions in Asia: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. The statement is highly non-ecumenical and it disrespects other beliefs which also espouses moral consciences. Fr. Arellano goes on further by stating that if we “remove the moral conscience of this region, then Holocaust can be worse than Hitler’s 6 million.” Now, that’s a leap. The bill does not promote genocide. It is not aimed at reducing a race so that a dominant race can hold power. The analogy is misleading and flawed, if not exaggerated for effect.

The Philippines is the only Catholic Constitution in the whole world. This is utterly flagrant and completely wrong. History tells us that the Philippine Constitution was very much a replica of the US Constitution, whose framers were very secular such that the separation of church and state was one of its abiding principles. The meaning of the separation of Church and State underlines that there should be no State-sponsored religion. So how come, Fr. Arellano asserts that ours is a Catholic Constitution? (For one, i was taught in the schools run by the order Fr. Arellano belongs to and this was a lesson i learned from them.) Furthermore, this statement also alienates our Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao.

That the bill is anti-constitution because it goes against the Abortion Law. Nowhere written in the bill does it advocate the use of abortion. The word “abortion” appears 8 times in the bill within the context of either upholding the abortion law or decreasing the incidence of it. The bill however extends medical health care to those women who suffer complications due to abortions, such that their treatment is made without prejudice and bias to their act. Allow me to quote the use of the word “abortion” in the different sections of the bill:

Page 1| Found in the explanatory notes section: Precise and regular use of contraceptives can decrease abortion rates by as much as 85% (Allan Guttmacher Institute)

Page 2 | Found in explanatory notes section: Having the ability to plan and space children will afford women more employment and educational opportunities and will significantly lower abortion rates. The bill will also prevent infant and child deaths.

Page 2| Found in explanatory notes, 5th primary objective of the bill : The RH bill will most definitely help lower the incidence of abortion by preventing unplanned, mistimed and unwanted pregnancies which are the ones usually terminated.

Page 5| Found in Section 3.i : While nothing in this Act changes the law against abortion, the government shall ensure that all women needing care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner.

Page 7| Found in Definition of Terms Reproductive Health 19.c : proscription of abortion and management of abortion complications. (Author’s note: please note that the use of the word PROSCRIPTION means “decree prohibiting something”).

Page 10| Found in Sec 13.j discussing sex education to include : Proscription and hazards of abortion

Also it must be said that the format of most of our laws consist of a separability clause (in HB 96 it is in Sec. 26). The separability clause states: If any part or provision of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in force and effect.

That the bill is anti-labor. Fr. Arellano misleadingly states that the Philippines’ number 1 export is its laborers. Actually, semiconductors and electronic products are still the number one export commodities, according to the CIA World Factbook. There is also his flawed notion that laborers can be exported. Chino Fernandez of Anti-Pinoy.com said it well. This is tantamount to slave manufacture. Also, our overseas labor employment comprise only of nearly 3% of the entire Filipino labor force including approximations of undocumented OFWs. (3) (4)

That the bill is anti-Church. To look at this argument, we have to take it in its inverse. Should the bill and all other laws be pro-Church? Apart from separation of Church and State principles, and also our own Bill of Rights, there is no objective reason why the Church should advocate that this bill be pro-Church. Laws are made for its universality and not for narrowed special interests. It protects the rights of everyone, even those of non-believers. The right of self-determination is within State’s interests, such that the health and population growth of its constituents affect the economy and development of the State. The moral choice to use or not to use contraceptives within HB 96 is still an individual prerogative. It is not an imposition.

Underlying Principles of HB 96

The background of HB 96 comes from over 10 years of population management and development concerns, alleviation of poverty, advocating women’s reproductive health and upholding children’s welfare. The explanatory note of the HB 96′s gives an abstract of where the bill is coming from. The bill centers on the premise that “reproductive health has long been considered a basic universal human right“. It speaks about the “right to health and sustainable human development.” (1)

The explanatory notes further states its stand. It is necessary that we quote the paragraph in full (emphasis is mine):

The proposed bill is pro-poor, pro-women and pro-life. Its principal beneficiaries will be the poorest of the poor and the marginalized. Reproductive health and family planning significantly improves maternal health and lowers maternal morbidity. Having the ability to plan and space children will afford women more employment and educational opportunities and will significantly lower abortion rates. The bill will also prevent infant and child deaths. Family planning will likewise mean larger investments in children’s health and education and better health outcomes for children. With resultant lower maternal and infant deaths and capacity for more investments in health and education, RH is definitely pro-life.

The HB 96 has its owns flaws, and like all laws are not drafted perfect. However, spreading and making falsified claims on what it is versus what is really written is manipulative, if not naive. In the next entry about HB 96, i will discuss linkages between population and poverty and how it impacts the Philippines and its growth.

——————–

Reference Sources:

(1) Lagman, EC. Proposed House Bill No. 96. ”The Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2010” 15th Congress. First Regular Session. House of Representatives. Republic of the Philippines. Copy as filed on 01 July 2010. Accessed from: http://www.pngoc.org/Download%20Section/HB%2096%20as%20filed.pdf

(2) National Statistics Office (NSO) [Philippines], and ICF Macro. 2009. National Demographic and Health Survey 2008. Calverton, Maryland: National Statistics Office and ICF Macro. Accessed from: http://philippines.usaid.gov/resources/key_documents/NDHS_2008.pdf

(3) Rivera E. Redefining the Labor Force Network: Some Inputs from the Philippine Experience. International Labour Office. December 2008 : Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed from: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—integration/—stat/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_100704.pdf

(4) Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) [Philippines]. 2009 Overseas Employment Statistics. Accessed from: http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/2009_OFW%20Statistics.pdf

Blog Sources:

(5). Fernandez C. Catholic Arguments against RH Bill are Spiritually Backward and Misinformed. March 2010. Available from the Anti-Pinoy website. Accessed from: http://antipinoy.com/catholic-arguments-against-rh-bill/

(6) “RH Bill: A Moral Evil: Fail” by Discreet Infidel. October 2009. From the blog site: http://discreetinfidel.blogspot.com/2009/10/rh-bill-moral-evil-fail.html

Filed under: Government, Personal Musings, Philippines, Religion / Faith Tagged: Catholic Church, HB 96, Reproductive Health Bill

“I Am Owed This” and False Claims of Fairness

Teki — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:23:44 +0000

There are a lot of things we learn from parents and grandparents. The things that we learn from them are not just brought about by what they say, but how they teach by example. You will forget words. But somehow the things that stick with you when you grow old are those things that are unspoken: their actions.

One of the enduring things we can learn from them is the sense of industry. That there is a sense of dignity that is inherent in working and earning your keep. And that as much as possible, you rise in accordance to your own merits and your actual performance.

A Legacy of Hard Work and Industry
Remedios Habacon finished only 5th grade. Despite several personal setbacks of being widowed twice, in 1936 and in 1943, the horrific experiences of the WWII and being bestowed a rank of private within the guerilla, she took to raising her only daughter almost singlehandedly. This was done by slowly building an RTW clothing store that enabled her daughter to graduate college. Remedios, who was also called Meding by most people, started off by selling meat products in the public market, and by going to mountainous towns to entice customers to buy meat on small-scale credit. She soon had enough money to put up a humble clothing store that would span 40 years, several small lands and houses and a bakery. Meding didn’t stop working until a complication arising from diabetes claimed her. She was admitted to the hospital sometime after Christmas 1993. She died a few weeks later. She lived a full life. She was in her early 80′s when God said that she needed to rest. Remedios Habacon was my grandmother.

Similarly, my Mom has yet to stop teaching. Countless times we have urged her to retire but she is still as energetic as if she were only 40 years old. (My mom still walks faster than me. In a five-minute walk, i’d be panting after the first minute. She, on the other hand is is still vibrant, unfazed and strangely fresh-looking.) Teaching is a vocation and comes with a sense of dedication. My Dad worked in between semesters in Mapua to support his college education. When my parents produced 8 eight children, it was more of a blessing that my Dad continued to get promoted. He really only stopped working when he retired. My parents, after having produced eight children, have never wavered in their objective that we learn to live honest lives, that we continue to pursue work and to always have a sense of dignity in being able to contribute to society even in small yet honorable ways.

But alas, we are forgetful of the lessons our forebears often teach us. I am of a progressive mind. However, there are things that remain timeless and that we should always be cognizant of the values of certain traditions.

False Sense of Entitlement
We, Filipinos are a forgetful lot. It is seems that we are growing into a culture of freeloaders: the “libre” mentality, our fascination for shows like Wowowee that harbor a culture of dole-outs. We put on pretense that we are poor when what we really mean is we want to get ahead without working for it. The notion of “sipag at tiyaga” is now obscure to us, especially to the younger generation. Instead, we seem to have misplaced our priorities: our underdog mentality has spawned into a warped attitude of righteous indignation over things that should be rightfully earned. Our “victim complex” should not even be remotely laudable. There is no honor in constantly saying “woe is me” when you are not doing anything to alleviate yourself out of the quagmire of your situation. The “paawa” effect has become a mechanism for us to wallow in self-pity, to generate wanted sympathies without taking matters in our hands or by working hard for our progress.

Erroneous Claims in the Name of Social Justice : Our Notion of Poverty and Real Poverty
Take the example of the squatter problem in the country. Our laws when it comes to the squatter problem is actually generous when you consider that these people actually broke the law by illegally building a shanty on land that is not theirs. The relocation program for illegal tenants allows people to start over despite that. The people are against the relocation because they do not like the place they are being transferred to. How can beggars be choosers? They violated the law in the first place. Otherwise, the government is providing them a house to renew their lives. Still, they are unappeased because they feel that the relocation inhibits their preferred livelihood options. What i am saying is that: c’mon people, that is the consequence you take for breaking the law. This is not about poverty and social justice anymore. How about the landowners who may have honestly worked for the land? What justice do they get for their hard work?

A large of majority of truly poor Filipinos are not from urban areas. 80% of poor families come from rural provinces (1). Six out of the top ten poorest provinces in the country come from Mindanao (2). The poorest comes from agriculture sector at 52.48%, according to a 2006 FIES report (3) Fisherman and farmers are the poorest in the country with 49.9% share and a 44% share respectively. (4) This means that the poorest people in the country work. This is true poverty. They do not bum around asking for dole-outs. They till the land despite the decreasing levels of agricultural productivity. They are the ones needing more social justice than urban informal settlers who have every opportunity to get a job at the services sector, only if they work hard towards it. That’s why supporting poverty alleviation programs for indigenous fishermen and farmers should be fiercely advocated. Continuous agricultural labor force upskilling and cross-skilling are necessary. A PEP research study recommended that “human capital development program(s) must be instituted as simulation results (of the study) point out that education and skill are the best ally against poverty.” (5)

A Collective Problem and A Collective Responsibility
Some of us take the message of proper entitlement with a slight indifference. That it is their problem, not ours. I once replied to a family member when he alluded that other people not contributing to paying taxes should not be my problem. I had to disagree. It is the same attitude of indifference that we Filipinos take. Our silo mentality brings about underlying selfishness and it means we are not willing to take initiative to be part of a larger team.

Paying taxes is a socialized program similar to Social Security. Thus, the progressive tax table. It also ensures that (apart from contributing your keep based on income) that the entire system does not collapse even if others are not paying taxes. In essence, taxpayers bear the burden of paying for those not paying or contributing to equalize collection. So as a taxpayer, carrying that burden for others becomes our collective problem. I have no beef really with some people who are unable to pay taxes if the reasons are fundamentally valid. However, it’s unfair, if not outright abusive, how people can demand return for not contributing. As much as it is naive to think that it is not collective responsibility.

An article from the website “Theory of The State” implies the nature of taxation as discriminatory to people who earn more and work hard for their keep. (6)

Taxation is not an isolated social phenomenon – it is actually inseparable from a much more profound and influential social phenomenon – the State. What determines the entire nature of taxation is that taxation represents a major, if not a single, source of state revenues in modern society. Taxation is not very pleasant as it is, but its main problem and deficiency is characterized by an associated generation of certain negative and even disastrous societal consequences, every one of which worth special separate consideration. Additional problem with taxation is that not only it stimulates all those negative consequences, but also that all those consequences in their turn are further on promoting higher taxation. We are actually trapped by an endless circle of negative cause-and-effect relationships such as:

1. Expropriation of income and property, which is the most uncivilized angle of taxation.

2. State domination in society – when more taxes means more State, more state involvement and more state dictate in society up to a dangerous point on the edge of democracy and dictatorship

3. Social parasitism or living on unearned income owing to a forcible expropriation of income and property.

4. Social idealism or inadequate and false apprehension of social realities, which is based upon a variety of societal factors, high taxation being only one of them.

5. Exchange of private investments for the state consumption

6. Tax discrimination coming from progressive taxation, when those who work harder and more – also pay heavily, while those who work less or do not work at all are receiving money from the State.

“The Dangers of A Sense of Entitlement”
I once read an article that made painful sense to our false human notion of entitlement. It was quite straightforward such that it is necessary to quote Dr. Beverly Smallwood’s advice (7):

Don’t go to pity parties or get bitter every time you don’t get what you think you deserve. That’s a recipe for misery.

Stay out of the endless pursuit of “justice”. Don’t destroy yourself by an obsession with evening the score.

Get out of the victim role!
“Chronic victims” are a pain to others and themselves. I’m not talking about people who have been legitimately victimized, yet they work hard to deal with it and move on. Chronic victims are chronic blamers and complainers.

When you hear yourself bemoaning your life, habitually blaming others for your troubles, it’s time to do a “response-ability” check. In what ways do YOU have the ability to improve the situation by responding differently?

The world doesn’t owe you. You owe the world!
“The world owes me” is a false premise. We have so many life-giving, life-enhancing resources and opportunities at our disposal. These are gifts. They deserve our gratitude, not our indifference.

What better way to show our gratitude than to give back? I believe that we are each called and personally equipped to make a difference in this world.

Rather than complaining, let’s live the words of Mohandas Gandhi: “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”

——————————-

Reference Sources:

1. Rural Poverty in the Philippines. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Available from IFAD’s Rural Poverty Portal : http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/web/guest/country/home/tags/philippines

2. Ten Poorest Provinces in 2000, 2003 and 2006. National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB). Available from NSCB’s Philippine Poverty Statistics : http://www.nscb.gov.ph/poverty/2006_05mar08/table_14.asp

3. Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints and Opportunities. Asian Development Bank, 2009. Accessed from: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Poverty-Philippines-Causes-Constraints-Opportunities/Poverty-Philippines-Causes-Constraints-Opportunities.pdf

4. Poverty Incidence Among Basic Sectors in 2000, 2003 and 2006. National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB). Available from NSCB’s Philippine Poverty Statistics : http://www.nscb.gov.ph/poverty/2006pov_asof%2025jun09/Final%20-%20presentation%20on%20the%202006%20basic%20sectors,%2025jun09.pdf (see slide 17)

5. Corong EL, Cororaton CB. Agricultural Sector Policies and Poverty In The Philippines: A CGE Analysis. Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network. June 2005. Available from: http://www.pep-net.org/fileadmin/medias/pdf/files_events/4th_colombo/corong-2-pa.pdf

6. A Few Words On The Nature of Taxation. Theory of the State website. Accessed from the internet: http://state.110mb.com/taxation.htm

7. Smallwood B. The Dangers of a Sense of Entitlement. Accessed from the internet: http://www.hodu.com/entitlement.shtml

Filed under: Personal Musings, Philippines Tagged: False Sense of Entitlement, Philippines, Poverty, Squatter Problem, Taxation

Being Reclusive

Teki — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:05:38 +0000

I'm putting my feet up

Not a lot of people know this. But i seldom go out of the house. People will probably try to pathologize or offer a quasi-clinical diagnosis for this. But i simply want peace and quiet most times. And as simple as it is, people sometimes have a hard time believing it.

I can be categorized as a functional extrovert. But i am a real recluse personally. Ahmie tells me to go out frequently and is happy that at times my sister prods me to go grocery shopping or to buy something. I think she is worried about my well-being as i am always just reading, listening to music or researching about something. Recently though, i have taken to playing the guitar again.

Still these are all private pursuits. Not that i am depressed or anything. I get sad sometimes though, which i think normal when you miss someone. But really – i just want to be in the house. It’s been quite sometime since i ventured to accept invitations for get-togethers, parties, and those other things. I just don’t feel like it. I think it’s largely because past work has made me so tired both physically and emotionally that i simply decided to just kick back and allow myself to do things i really want to do.

I’m thinking to just go into consulting and facilitate short-courses to enable me to have something to do outside of the house. At least it is my time and my terms. The thing about all this though is that i am enjoying it well enough not to be bothered. Like it is something bordering on a personal quest. Other people travel to know themselves. Me? I think the art of keeping still is travelling inwards like learning to cook, reading complicated guitar tabs, reading college textbooks, doing calculus and all those things. It is not esoteric. And i do not claim that i am being yogish. I just want to reclaim my own personal space.

Sometimes there are simple reasons for being quiet. This is one of them.

Although i can’t wait for September 17 to arrive. :p

Filed under: Personal Musings Tagged: Privacy, Reclusive

And Here’s A Cookie and a Critique

Teki — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:13:05 +0000

Cookie Calmness

There is something really simple about cookies. I don’t know what it is – but i have always associated cookies with a wholesome homey feeling. Sometimes when you’re going through what initially seems to be a rough patch in the day, one trick is to heat some pieces of Nantucket Crispy Cookies. It always calms me down.

I read a lot these days. These days i tend to read comments more online. Whether they are YouTube comments, news article comments, blog comments or Facebook discussion posts. Most of them sadden me. People these days tend to resort to a lot of name-calling and mudslinging online. Perhaps it comes with the fact that most of us hide behind our online personas while lambasting people we don’t even know. It’s quite rare that you find criticisms online that are written and done objectively and with professional courtesy. But i guess, people have a tendency to become emotional about a lot of things. With all the effort we put into educating ourselves all over the world and the premium we put towards a good education, it is quite strange how we human beings still resort to the most inane and low comments towards our fellowmen. There is much cruelty among commentors online these days. Generalizations abound when it comes to race and religion, still. That i sometimes tend to question: where are these people drawing their thoughts from? Some bordering with cruel racist remarks that sometimes do not help the issue at hand.

Villagers fight for bags of flour during relief distribution in Muzaffargarh on Friday, August 20. (Getty Images)

Just the other day i was reading about an online CNN article about aid needed to be given to Pakistan victims. Out of 113 posted comments on the article, almost 60% of the comments said we should not even give a damn about the Pakistanis who lost their homes in flood. Most would comment that these people are Taliban sympathizers and that if one donates to the Pakistanis, chances are you’ll be told of being pro-Al Qaeda or are helping to prolong the war. But the saddest part of the comments are comments like these (not edited for spelling):

“Pakistan will always remain an UNGREATFUL and AGGRESIVE BEGGAR.” – MANGOOSE

“The West should give them nothing. Let the Muslims and Allah help them, or not. Then they will learn more about their brothers, their god, and the priorities of their Islamic terrorist government.” – BARRY77

“YEAH, Thank less PAKI- SATAN (Beggars)” – MANPC

” “A recent Pew Survey found nearly six of 10 Pakistanis view the United States as an enemy.” Starve slowly you filthy Muslims, guess who willed it? GOD.” – CORRECTABLE

“Where are you now Taliban, Alquaida, and radical idiotic MULLAHS AND RADICAL MUSLIMS… YOU HAVE SO MUCH WEALTH…WHY BEG THE WORLD ? WHY CANT YOU SUPPORT YOUR OWN PEOPLE…” - GONZAGO

They are just few of the many negative sentiments out there that espouse more hate than help. It resounds with miseducation and racial bigotry. But people need help – why are we debating about if they need it or not? Regardless of whether they are Muslims or Christians or are harboring terrorists, many of these people need help. Objectively, what needs to be talked about is how the donation and aid given to the Pakistanis truly reach the intended victims while limiting avenues of corruption from Pakistani government. Or to help alleviate process inefficiencies in the delivery of aid and support. So what if the Pakistanis view the US as an enemy? Does that justify withholding aid?

In the recent Manila Bus Hostage taking at the Quirino Grandstand, similar comments by Filipinos and other Asians border on racial intolerance on both sides. As a Filipino, i am shamed and saddened at the massive mishandling of the hostage crisis.

Truly, the incident was indicative of our country’s social malaise: poor internal governance, ineffective crisis management and preparedness, a fundamental lack of foreign relations accessibility and international diplomatic sensibilities, media ethics and common sense humanism. But as negative comments fly through the roof, people give in to their emotions: they become defensive, they resort to non sequitur personality-hinged statements, make generalized pronouncements bordering on racial slurs, name-calling and bigoted responses hurled at one other.

Our (in)ability to “listen” and “read through” what our Chinese and Hongkong brothers and sisters clamor for should be simple: they want justice and accountability for what happened. Forget about the other insulting words: we need to be able to show that as a country we are capable of making CONCRETE steps to ensure that what happened will be avoided at all cost. In as much as we can call on prayer and emotional fervor, we need to be able to execute on our words – not just for the government and the present administration – but for all Filipinos in our individual everyday duties and tasks.

And there is constructive criticism and dialogue. However, there is a side to us Filipinos that seem to shun from discussing REAL issues. We tend to dwell on personalities rather than accountabilities.

Everyone including the President is accountable for ensuring that the hostage taking, which had international repercussions, was concluded well. But people seem to think that if we say something remotely negative about the President that we are personally attacking the President. Whether this President possesses good character or not, or has a light personality to show a smile in times of tragedy, is not the issue nor the answer. Because saying those things are still emotionally-driven responses.

I may not have voted for Noynoy Aquino and i may not like this President but i do respect the Presidency. This does not mean, however, that as much as i do not like his policies and the way he is managing the country, that it is license for me to call him names. I have every right, though, as a taxpaying citizen of this country, to point to him what he may have done differently to improve on the situation. It is not a mere pointing out of what he and his administration had done wrong. But what could have been done differently. It points out to recommendations and solutions. Now, that is constructive criticism.

Criticism is a two-way street: the direction by which it is dispensed and the manner by which it is received. There are some of us who dispense criticism constructively but there are those who receive them defensively. People have to allow themselves to be re-educated by other people. It is a kind of intellectual tolerance that enriches the mind and the spirit. Staunchly holding on to an opinion can have its disadvantages because it blinds you from everything else. Opinions are good. But insights are way better than mere opinions. Insights are for the wise while opinions are only limited to the verbose.

The Chinese dispense insight sometimes in the form of a cookie. It is how you receive it that counts, not so much how it is dispensed.

Insight Within A Fortune Cookie

Filed under: Food, Government, Personal Musings, Philippines Tagged: Comments, Cookies, Internet, Manila Bus Hostage Taking, Pakistan, President Benigno Aquino III

And It Gets Better…

Teki — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:03:01 +0000

When someone you love leaves, the first 24 hours becomes the hardest thing to get through. The first 30 minutes were excruciatingly painful that one could feel the emptiness in one’s arms and it was as if nothing else could brighten your spirits. And you try hard not to cry but you can’t help the tears from falling down. Inside your head you just want to hear that familiar voice. But nothing becomes a good substitute to the one who just left.

The very first time Ahmie left, the cab driver was kind enough to talk to me on the way home. He was talking to me about his life. He was trying his best to distract me and to keep me from being sad. After quite sometime of telling stories, the kind cabbie said to me in Tagalog: “Miss, wag ka na umiyak. Babalik din yun.” (Miss, don’t cry anymore. She’s going to come back again.) It was a nice gesture of kindness. Something you’d never expect from total strangers. The world is kind of surprising that way.

I got home and my sadness became an overwhelming emotion – it was like grief only much worse. There is a certain kind of acceptance when dealing with grief. What i felt was far from it – that it even scared me when i couldn’t stop crying. But people had been kind and my sister had been kinder. Such people allows one to get through without losing one’s sanity. After three days, i was getting better in handling emotions and got my bearings back. Being on Skype with Ahmie helped. But she worried for me a lot and tenderly said that seeing me cry was breaking her heart, too.

And so the days went on by, and somehow you cope. Ahmie has been so much better at this than me, and has always been the stronger one. She tells me stories about her day and we played a lot of Family Feud and Bejeweled online together. She makes it a point to make me laugh. And the day for us to see each other again came nearer.

Although Ahmie’s August visit was considerably shorter than the two weeks she spent with me in July – one cannot complain too much. She was here and made the effort to be here, for me – for us. Last July, we went to Boracay and we hotel-hopped while in Manila. This August, we went to Tagaytay, went on horseback to see Taal Volcano, had a family Sunday lunch with my parents at Josephine’s and missed a birthday party by 30 minutes at Barcino’s. We got there and a small party of young people drinking wine was the only table occupied. We missed the larger party. So Ahmie and i went to Makati instead, only to joke about the skanks at Cafe Havana and how bad the bartender mixed the drinks. We went home after an hour with me slightly irked about the heat at 1 o’clock in the morning.

When Ahmie left again for Guam on Monday night, (amidst reports of the hostage taking at the Qurino Grandstand and the rain pelting on in a huge downpour), i felt the same kind of sadness and emptiness as one would feel their heart bursting out and you having no control over it. This time, things were different. I lingered in the airport for a bit and watched at the ledges as Ahmie went through the Continental Airlines’ check-in counter. I lost her after when she was about to get into the immigrations check. All the while, we were texting and calling each other. Good thing how technology seems to bridge our physical gap. Still it is no substitute for the real thing. But one copes, i guess.

Archie, the driver, waited patiently in the van as i kept looking back at the mass of people lingering at the entrance of the airport at Terminal One. Ahmie called me once more and somehow i felt fine. As i alighted the van, i took a deep breath and said – well, there would be other days. I tried not to cry too much this time. Archie and i talked about the hostage crisis on the rainy drive back home. (It was shamefully mishandled through and through, in my opinion. Oh, Philippines.)

Back at home, i tried not to give in to tears. Somehow one learns from the other times and only because you’ve been in the situation before kind of helps you rein in your sadness. But still, no matter how many times we part, that certain kind of longing is never diminished and it never goes away. The only consolation you have is the thought that you will be together again. Hopefully, sooner than later.

There a lot of people who are very discouraging of long-distance relationships. The physical distance can play tricks on your mind. And so i was told that a majority of these types of relationships do not work. A lot of risks are involved – one that is bounded on both of you trusting and being completely honest with each other. I must admit, the distance scares me. But with our technologically connected generation, the success to this kind of relationship, i believe, goes beyond proximity. And it takes a certain kind of maturity to be able to sustain meaningful communications. To a degree, i am glad that Ahmie and i are beyond our teenage years and adult enough to weed through certain youthful nuances. We’re both in our 30′s and have gone through life experiences that enable us to decide and cope better. Ahmie and i do have our struggles – it’s not an ideal scenario for both of us – but because we love each other, we have reached an agreement that no matter what happens we will always be honest to each other.

At first, we were just chatting on MSN Live Messenger. Facebook helps too. And we would text and call each other everyday during our first four months. But when our telephone bills skyrocketed to more than 50% of our regular payments, we had to rely on Skype a lot. I feel at times that Ahmie and i are the greatest abusers of such free technology. We spend about 10 – 15 hours on Skype on good days (when she doesn’t have school or work) or a combined 8-hour accumulated Skype hours in a day. Although i worry at times when she drives to work and calls me on Skype using her iPhone, lately i tend to make sure that we’re talking hands-free while she drives to and from work or school. Because i have now decided to scale back with a plan to simply work at home and do consulting, it also allows Ahmie and me to sleep together virtually with our Skype cams on and that means we virtually wake up together too. Most times, she’s the one who wakes up earlier because of the 2-hour difference. (Guam is 2-hours early than Manila.) Ahmie usually says: “Good Morning, baby” with such a wonderful smile on her face. It continues to make me smile a lot despite the distance.

The Center for Study of Long Distance Relationships (LDRs) provides the following comparison with Proximal Relationships (PR) on the percentage of break-ups during particular time-buckets of the relationship:

·         30% PRs vs. 27% LDRs during the first month

·         21% PRs vs. 37% LDRs during the first 3 months

·         35% PRs vs. 42% LDRs during the first 6 months

·         23% PRs vs. 11% LDRs during the first 8 months

·         25% PRs vs. 8% LDRs during the first year

So i believe the trick is to get past the first 6 months…Still, there is no room for complacency in long-distance relationships. It still requires a lot of patience, flexibility, creativity and a whole lot of trust to make it through. Much more than in a proximal relationship.

Given the difference in lifestyles and the geographic distance Ahmie and i have, one of the things that we constantly have to talk about is schedule and time. She has a full time job as a Supervisor in a boutique hotel shop in Guam and is also finishing what is hopefully her last semester in college at UOG. While my time is more flexible than hers, the constant need to readjust expectations is crucial. One of my personal considerations is mainly her well-being and health at this time because i worry that she does not get enough rest while at the same time have to focus on ensuring she finishes college. So certain sacrifices are expected on my part. I try my best not to stress her out – but of course, sometimes (and very unfortunately) it can’t be helped because we’re both stubborn about certain things. Although she makes it a point to visit me at least once a month, not all plans are perfect and sometimes one just has to have patience. However, when you really love someone, there is no sacrifice too great. The last thing we ever really want is to break up. Because why do that when you knowingly are good for each other? Distance is a hurdle but it is not everything in a relationship.

More and more though, when a love as important and as rare as this comes to one’s life, one is driven to make decisions for the future. More and more i am thinking of putting my fears aside — and simply get on a plane and live a life of my choosing. It is a decision indeed that requires a little more planning — but ultimately it is something worth taking. No matter where it takes you.

So yes, it gets better as the days go by. Despite everything that can come in between — truly, love conquers all.

Filed under: Personal Musings Tagged: Long Distance Relationships, Love

First Words: An Insight on the President’s Inaugural Address

Teki — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:56:09 +0000

My personal insight about the President’s inaugural speech centers on two things: the lack of substantial inclusiveness and his seeming oscillation about his acceptance of the duties and roles of President.

Allow me to first draw on what i perceive is his hesitation towards the role as evidenced in the following statements:

Hindi ko inakala na darating tayo sa puntong ito, na ako’y manunumpa sa harap ninyo bilang inyong Pangulo. Hindi ko pinangarap maging tagapagtaguyod ng pag-asa at tagapagmana ng mga suliranin ng ating bayan. (I never expected that I will be here taking my oath of office before you, as your president. I never imagined that I would be tasked with continuing the mission of my parents. I never entertained the ambition to be the symbol of hope, and to inherit the problems of our nation.)

At first i was wondering, does he not feel ready yet? Some of us might think that this is self-deprecating for a President and may even be a show of humility. However, with a country hungry for progress and action, we look to the highest person in the land to be decisive or having the ability and power to determine the outcome of his endeavours. When he filed his candidacy, did he not have the courage to win? His last statement there felt like the nation was an unwelcome burden.

What comes next in the speech seems to characterize his priorities in life:

Ang layunin ko sa buhay ay simple lang: maging tapat sa aking mga magulang at sa bayan bilang isang marangal na anak, mabait na kuya, at mabuting mamamayan. (My goals in life are simple: to be true to my parents and to my country as an honorable son, a loving brother and a good citizen.)

The sequence of his priorities primarily rests on family first, with country a mere second. It speaks to the tendency to promote nepotism and political dynasties. I had hoped that he would’ve placed the country first in his speech more than his allegiance to his parents. I wonder why the President’s speechwriters did not find it important to prioritize love of country nor did they find odd that his speech might be perceived as a statement towards continuing a kind of modern feudalistic fealty.

It begs the question whether he possesses the needed burning fervor towards nationalism. Not a lot of people might see the following statement from Noynoy selfish, but in my opinion it was not in any way selfless either:

Sa iilang sandali na sarili ko lang ang aking inaalala, pati ako ay napag-isip din – talaga bang hindi na mababago ang pamamahala natin dito? Hindi kaya nasa ibang bansa ang katahimikang hinahanap ko? (In moments when I thought of only my own welfare, I also wondered—is it possible that I can find the peace and quiet that I crave in another country?)

He goes on to even display what seems a lack of courageous and upfront leadership by pointing out his suffering of bearing the cross to displacing his load on the people. To the average listener, it may at first look like he is carrying it with us, but i had personally perceived this as non-ownership of the massive duties of the presidency:

Hindi si Noynoy ang gumawa ng paraan, kayo ang dahilan kung bakit ngayon, magtatapos na ang pagtitiis ng sambayanan. Ito naman po ang umpisa ng kalbaryo ko, ngunit kung marami tayong magpapasan ng krus ay kakayanin natin ito, gaano man kabigat. (It is not Noynoy who found a way. You are the reason why the silent suffering of the nation is about to end. This is the beginning of my burden, but if many of us will bear the cross we will lift it, no matter how heavy it is.)

The lack of substantial inclusiveness in his speech comes evident. He talks about the need of the students by filling gaps in classroom facilities. But he forgets to mention the need for and of teachers who are the backbone of our educational system. He talks about infrastructure (like roads, bridges, tourism, trade, transportation) but does not mention technology. He mentions farming irrigation but fails to mention land reform. He mentions Bangsamoro as a people when it is actually a territory of our Muslim countrymen. It shows a lack of understanding of sensitive but fundamental nuances of how the nation should be defining Mindanao.

I understand that you cannot have everything included in an inaugural speech. However, the outline of his agenda to the nation is devoid of substantial focus. And even though the speech need not be thorough, it still requires substantive cogency (having a firm basis in reality such that it is important and delivered in persuasive relevance).

Given the length of his speech of 1,998 words and 50 paragraphs (excluding salutations), he devotes to speak aboutprogram-specific platforms only in the following instances:
1. Reviving Emergency Employment Program of President Cory Aquino
2. Improvement of PhilHealth services in three years
3. Setting up of Trade Centers for Farmers via cutting the middleman
4. The Davide Truth Commission

Everything else is composed of banal proclamations. Noteworthy though is that there are 5 paragraphs with direct linkages to his parents and family.

Some of you might say: Teki, the speech is not important (or any derivative of the statement for that matter). But like in other countries, the inaugural speech is not just an expression of words by presidents but a statement and empathic affirmation of the outlook of the presidency, the roadmap of his administration. It cannot be just so-so. It cannot be simplistic but it needs to be sound and monitored for execution. It must be a speech that caters towards national unity, devoid of divisiveness, but contained with a level of respect and a whole lot of actionable initiatives.

We should expect more and more from our leaders and more so from the highest position of the land. The first step and the first words of this President to me were weak. I do hope however that there is light somewhere in the next 100 days, if not tomorrow. Because we need it soon and fast.

Now people will also perhaps say: ”Why do you hate Noynoy so much?”

Truly, hate is a strong word. It is laden with emotion when one uses it and when one calls others by it. However, in my opinion, this is not even exercising misanthropy (because it would connote an all-encompassing and general distrust of mankind).

Being critical of the government through pointed discourse is not tantamount to hate. I love the Philippines and will continue to be critical of people and institutions that continue to propagate cultural ignorance by pandering and abusing the mind of the Filipino. I find the AntiPinoy.com writers laudable for presenting fearless insights into who we are and how we can become better.

It challenges us to think and not to be driven my mindless emotion. What some people read on the AntiPinoy site as negativity is an emotional response (which people are entitled to opine). However, if people who read the site fail to catch that AP’s style is more of an impassioned fervor exercised through ardent intelligent discourse, then they do not have the stomach for truthful confrontation such that they will cower in emotional responses: “you haters!”

A lot of pro-Noynoy advocates need get away from the cult-of-personality syndrome. They need to understand that the President is the utmost representation for us,Filipinos. I am saddened when i hear my countrymen say: “But please give Noynoy a chance first.” The running of this country is not framed on giving the President a chance. But to expect more and more and ever more from him as he carries who we are and what we can become as a nation. Telling people to give Noynoy a chance is a plea equal to saying that you are expecting less and less of the Philippines. He is the President and should act and epitomize all the traits that we need to keep starting the very second he casted his candidacy. It’s time we become real and demand more of our leaders. There is no giving chances to elected leaders (such that there is no more room for failure and waiting.)

The inauguration was not able to represent the best of what this nation can be. It promotes a culture of “showbiz” without real and specific focus. (Production numbers that did not bring forward a more cultural focus. The use of the predominant yellow thereby alienating other political parties in the democratic participation of the government. The Constitution actually stated that the oath should be done by 12 noon. However, because of an early start as evidenced by the lack of protocol knowledge of the organizers of the inauguration, a slew of production numbers – some unscheduled to even appear like that of Christian Bautista, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez and Noel Cabangon were inserted. It only made the inauguration look like an ABS-CBN noontime show. In my opinion, the singing of the National Anthem, a Filipino poem by a National Artist should be enough.)

If Noynoy had wanted to veer away from the excesses of GMA’s administration, the inauguration should have been the first example by being more succinct and centered on specific national initiatives.

Filed under: Government, Personal Musings, Philippines Tagged: Inaugural Address, President Benigno Aquino III

“We Got An App for that!”

Teki — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:59:48 +0000

The internet is one of the most amazing ideas we human beings have created. I was born in the 70′s and the greatest thing to me back then was a Game & Watch. But now we have a whole plethora of amazing things that were not made possible before. Surely we’ve come a long way from discovering fire and making pre-historic tools.

Without the internet, it will not be possible to make collaborative and instant connections with friends, loved ones and people who may be far away. Without the internet, communication and the gathering of information would not be as enriching as they are now – as the Web allows multiple avenues for insight, opinions, ideas and choices in a truly interconnected and global world.

These past few weeks i have been on the websurf mode most of my waking life. And in my own share of web app experimentations, allow me to showcase three really cool and amazing web applications: all of which are on top of my personal favorites these days.

PREZI: An alternative to powerpoint

Sometimes powerpoint can only do so much. And as an innovation of going beyond bulleted statements and presentations, Prezi introduces pan-zooming as a creative and fluid way of getting your point across. With Jack Dorsey (Twitter founder) as advisor and TED (a non-profit idea information organization) as investor, Prezi takes presentations into a whole new paradigm.

To illustrate how Prezi is used, here’s a thought-provoking message created by Alison Blank on teaching mathematics in a non-linear approach. It advocates for an imaginative exploration of how mathematics could be better appreciated by employing a more non-structural educational way. Perhaps, this can help eliminate what i call “math-block” especially for those kids who shun subjects that deal with numbers. (Click on the image below to see the Alison’s presentation on Prezi.com.)

Math is Not Linear - A Prezi message

Lino: A Free Sticky and Collaborative Canvas Service

Lino is a free sticky platform with an online ‘corkboard’ look and experience. Users can peel and unpeel post-it notes, attach photos, weblinks, audio and be reminded about tasks. Some users utilize Lino as a form of collaborative messaging and information-sharing. Educators and teachers on the site use their canvases in order for their students to post messages, questions and comments on subject topics or homework.

Lino, created by a Japanese company Infoteria Online Corporation, takes a rather unusual name for a sticky note application. There are many meanings and definitions associated with the word lino (and of course, it is not a Japanese word). It can mean any of these four things:

slang for a football linesman
slang for a chronic user of cocaine
any of the following political acronyms: Libertarian In Name Only, Liberal In Name Only or Labour In Name Only
short for the word linoleum

My guess is that the Japanese company adopted the name in reference to linocuts, a woodcut printing style variant using linoleum as a relief surface. Linocuts and/or lino prints, originally a German method in the late 1800s, were used as an emerging printing technique by modern painters like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Acclaimed urban painter and street artist from New York, Swoon and guerilla artist and activist Josh MacPhee are prominent contemporary users of lino prints too.

An example of a public lino canvas is My Daily Stickies: a collection of notes, photos, conversations, quotes and pictures of anything i find amusing or anything i simply want to pin or jot down into an online ‘corkboard.’ (Click on the image to go to my lino canvas)

My Daily Stickies on Lino

Animoto: Photo-videos done the MTV way!

This is perhaps one of the best (if not the best) and one of the most innovative web applications on the internet today.

Animoto is a trailblazing and intelligent webapp that will continue to wow you and your friends without having to go through long and cumbersome video editing processes. What you get is a distinctly professional video rendered in true entertainment quality.

Animoto boasts of a patent-pending technology called Cinematic Artificial Intelligence. The genius comes in an amazing algorithm that uses the rhythm and tempo of selected music to match the overall flow of the photo sequence. Thus, enabling an integrated sight and sound dynamic. It does not only take photo slideshows to a higher (and i mean way, way higher) level of sophistication, but it also promotes DRM-free music from emerging artists. The Animoto playlist of songs and music provides users with an eclectic array of choices. And they are not bad at all.

Here’s a Youtube version of a free 30-second Animoto video of my niece when she was still four-years old. I was totally amazed and impressed at the results! If you opt to view it directly within the Animoto site (mind you, it is best viewed on animoto!), click here.

Also, i made a greeting card-styled video of select photos from my parents’ recent golden wedding anniversary. Embedded below is the Youtube version. To watch the video in much better quality, click here.

There are other cool web applications that i am experimenting on, but i guess they require another blog entry all together because this one is getting lengthy. Oh and thanks to Ahmie for the radio talk show story for which today’s blog title entry is based on.

Have a nice websurfing day everyone!

Filed under: Internet, Technology Tagged: Animoto, Cool Web Apps, LinoIT, Prezi

Reminders and Ice History

Teki — Sun, 23 May 2010 16:29:25 +0000

Sometimes i need to be reminded to get out of the house. I am beginning to be a hikikomori. Ahmie is worried i do not get out more. She once reminded me that i need to socialize. But i’ve always really been a home buddy. I’d really rather do stuff in my own quiet pace than to have to go out. But i looked at the mirror and it hit me. My hair is so unkept that i somehow look like the Gothic-crazed Helena Bonham Carter in one of her Tim Burton movies. Scary.

Perhaps after i finish off Angel’s slide request, i am going to take an early morning trip to my parents’ house and have breakfast there.

HAVE AN ICE-BREAKER: THE HISTORY OF ICE

Ice

Allow me to digress. I love ice cubes. I really do. And now that i’m drinking my Sprite, i wonder if a lot of people know when man started using ice for relieving himself of the heat. According to history:

In 400 BC Iran, Persian engineers had already mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert. The ice was brought in during the winters from nearby mountains in bulk amounts, and stored in specially designed, naturally cooled refrigerators, called yakhchal (meaning ice storage). This was a large underground space (up to 5000 m³) that had thick walls (at least two meters at the base) made out of a special mortar called sārooj, composed of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair, and ash in specific proportions, and which was known to be resistant to heat transfer. This mixture was thought to be completely water impenetrable. The space often had access to aQanat, and often contained a system of windcatchers which could easily bring temperatures inside the space down to frigid levels on summer days. The ice was then used to chill treats for royalty on such occasions.

Until recently, the Hungarian Parliament building used ice harvested in the winter from Lake Balaton for air conditioning. Icehouses were used to store ice formed in the winter, to make ice available all year long, and early refrigeratorswere known as iceboxes, because they had a block of ice in them. In many cities, it was not unusual to have a regular ice delivery service during the summer.

For the first half of the 19th century, ice harvesting had become big business in America. Frederic Tudor, who became known as the “Ice King” worked on developing better insulation products for the long distance shipment of ice, especially to the tropics. The advent of artificial refrigeration technology has since made delivery of ice obsolete.

The coolest idea to have ever been utilized by man is simply frozen water. Isn’t it so amazing?

WANT TO SEE MY LINO CANVAS?

Click on the picture to have a larger view of my daily stickies….

Teki's Daily Canvas

Filed under: History, Personal Musings Tagged: History of Ice, Sticky Notes

Me and Chinese Movies

Teki — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:10:41 +0000

One still has to get utterly bored to get out of the house. I would rather stay in, read a book or watch Blu-Ray movies. There is a kind of simple joy in being home alone without the hassle of being out in this humid weather.

As i finish through transitions and small things like appraisals for the team i’m about to leave behind, i am consumed by movies that i may have missed all this time. These days my pre-occupation for movies goes by historical themes.

The Message

THE MESSAGE

In a classic whodunnit caper, Feng Sheng (English title: The Message) is a spy thriller based on a 2007 novel written by Chinese author Jia Mai. Set within the backdrop of the Second World War in Japanese-invaded China, the movie revolves around an insurgent group led by the mysterious and elusive “Magnum” who infiltrates the intelligence bureau of Japanese-controlled government through a mole codenamed “Phantom.” A Japanese commander, a young upstart who seeks to redeem his honor, takes upon himself to root out the source of the leak by trapping suspects inside an ancient Chinese castle using ruthless torture and sordid mind-games. The twists and turns of the movie make it an enjoyable and intelligent film to watch. I recommend this for all “film noir” fanatics out there who, like me, may to take a breather from mainstream movies. Despite some weird acting inconsistencies and a seemingly detached quasi-lesbian undertone between the two female characters, the film is definitely worth watching for its core message: courage, sacrifice and heroism.

RED CLIFF

I was ecstatic when finally i got hold of Blu-Ray copies of John Woo‘s acclaimed two-part movie, Red Cliff (lit. Chi Bi in pinyin). It reminded me of the grandeur of colossal films like Lord of the Rings, however this film is a true jem of profound Asian military strategems like the Tortoise Formation. It is an exhilarating movie that is not rushed as most Western movies seem to feel. Tony Leung was splendid as he was in the film Hero. But what really enthralled me was Takeshi Kaneshiro‘s portrayal of Zhuge Liang. With a brilliant, Zen-like quality that lends to his character, Zhuge Liang’s subtle wit truly exemplified what it is to be truly smart despite the foreseen odds.

Red Cliff is a visual experience that is both enthralling and mesmerizing. The cinematography and the art direction are both laudable aspects of the film which tells the viewer of how enormously creative John Woo is. This is one Chinese movie that any Asian must not miss.

Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang

I have a whole stack of Asian movies and anime films that are up for watching. And somehow i am still not bored. But of course, baby – i miss you a lot even while watching all these films…

Filed under: Movies, Personal Musings Tagged: Red Cliff, The Message

And Life Is

Teki — Wed, 05 May 2010 08:20:58 +0000

I never fully learned how to bike. Probably because i have never owned one. Although i did bike when i was a kid, i was such a sorry kid that i kept falling off. I couldn’t keep my hands still on the handle bars. Plus i was and still am one short kid.

Girl Blowing Bubbles (Corbis)

Life is pretty much like attempting to get a handle on bikes, i guess. Perhaps it’s because it allows you to conquer fears. Once you’ve done it often enough, or one falls often enough, either you conquer that fear and hop on the bike to enjoy the moment. I told Ahmie in our early conversations that i haven’t really experienced riding a bike fully. A smile on my face came when she said that one of the first things she’d do when she comes over on her birthday would be to teach me how to ride one.

A kind of child-like excitement has crept into my soul. It’s like having to relive a series of firsts, only this time better especially when you know that a friend will catch you if you fall.

These past few years, someone else always drives for me. It gets me out of the hustle and bustle of having to endure public transport. But there is something so alluring about a simple bicycle ride with the wind on your face and the sun partially hidden behind the leaves of trees and partly cloudy skies. It feels free. It feels that you are made to feel one with everything around you. And made to feel that you are just but one small life in a grand cosmic rotation of the universe.

There is a certain kind of hubris sometimes when we think that we are conquerors of this world only because we are on top of the food chain. But life is not about simply moving faster and stronger and busier. I think Life is meant to be lived in cosmic synchronicity with all other living beings in the universe. However being attune to all others require great patience and listening. Sometimes a bike ride offers just that.

Polar Bear in Norway

Ah. Look at the polar bear – his concerns are simple. Unlike ours. All the polar bear thinks about is his continuity. In his patient unassuming sort of way.

Filed under: Music, Personal Musings Tagged: Bicycling, Depapepe, Simple Life

Nothing Else Matters Much Except the Important Things

Teki — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:23:00 +0000

Today marks an end to another chapter in my life. And i feel so free. Something else begins…

Ever since the announcement of the merger, i knew that today would come. I was actually anticipating it to be earlier but despite the delays, it has come at last. Some people would probably feel sad. But me, i can only smile and run and jump and say that as another door closes, another one begins.

When I fell in love with you, i realized that nothing else matters. And that the things that i thought were important, weren’t all that important at the end of the day. And because you taught me that life is really simple, and that despite everything else that people can afford to still laugh at just about anything and especially at themselves. People go through life as if stress is an objective sometimes. You go through life and take it for what it is and for what it is not. And you make the best out of it. Some people would think it childish and immature. But you have come to grow on me. And today, with all that you have shown me and said to me, i now fully understand what you mean. One measure of True Freedom is when we can walk away from things without the guilt. I remember what you said to me before – your objective in life is not to be economically rich. Your grandmother lived that life. And you go through the day doing what you like best. Family is important. Friendships are important. Love is. And music. And laughter. Yes, it is the simple things sometimes.

And today, we wake up together even though we’re miles apart. And i knew that it is something i want to have always. Nothing else matters. I love you. You love me. And we will grow together. Someday soon we will be together. And then for always. This i will not forget.

The world will turn and time will go on. No matter what our futures bring. This moment, all our moments, you and i, these things i will always cherish. And now, starting today, it is you and me and our lives together. Despite the distance, someday you and i will be together. I need to wait for July.

I love you baby.

———————————————-

There is a certain kind of music that always makes me calm and peaceful. I discovered Andre Gagnon through Watanabe Toshiyuki. The soundtrack of Yasashii Jikan (The Tender Time) where they both collaborated on the music garnered the TV-movie series an award for best musical arrangement.

Allow me to leave you with two of the most beautiful tracks in the TV drama. Andre Gagnon and Watanabe Toshiyuki’s music are true gems.

And here’s one with Ayaka Hirahira on vocals, Arigatou.

Filed under: Music, Personal Musings Tagged: Andre Gagnon, New Beginnings, Toshiyuki Watanabe, Yasashii Jikan

The Case of the Contagious Yawn

Teki — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 05:01:35 +0000

I yawn. And you yawn. You ask me why. Isn’t it funny? Yawning is like an infection.

You delegate a personal homework for me to find it out.

For all ours smarts and scientists have yet to crack the mysteries of the contagious yawn, there is a theory that postulates it might be part of the neural network involved in our ability to empathize. There is also the brain cooling theory. It states that it is a hardwired function of the brain to keep groups alert. According to scientists in the University of Albany, yawning is not an indicator of sleepiness but of “group vigilance” for the brain to stay awake. It introduces more air to the brain therefore allowing us to keep our alertness within ourselves and each other. This is what scientists call as emphatic mechanisms.

Perhaps it is said that yawning is a survival mechanism for a lot of species and that evolution favored those who yawn. Because true indicators of sleepiness and tiredness requires less “energetic” behaviors, then yawning just might be an evolutionary response to signal to other members of the species to stay out of danger and act. This therefore has become a herding behavior for the species to survive.

So now when you yawn, i will forgive you because it is not an indication of being tired. It is an indication that you want to stay awake for me. I am sorry baby if i misread it as me not being important to you… You put in so much effort to stay awake and be with me. But you need to sleep too, okay?

I love you, baby.

Filed under: Personal Musings, Science Tagged: Evolution, Sleep, Yawn Contagion

Timeless Music : Truly Our Own

Teki — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:51:56 +0000

Sometimes the best way of celebrating being a Filipino is through our songs.

MetroPop Logo (1978 - 1985)

A few months ago, as a treat for myself during my birthday, i made a compilation of my personal OPM favorites and titled it as Wagas, Ang Himig Natin. The impetus for the collection was from a simple desire to rekindle the MetroPop-era feeling that some of us have grown up with, long after the Festival has come and gone. People can say all they want about the Marcoses sometimes. And half of them are perhaps well-founded. But the MetroPop did produce a sense of cultural musical creativity that launched the careers of several of the finest musicians and performers in the land. The Metro Manila Popular Music Festival was advocated for by Marcos’ daughters, Imee and Irene, who were both music aficionados. And so was one of its chief proponents, Teddy Valencia.

Now, there is a telling purity to the songs included in the compilation. These are 50 personally selected tracks placed in a CD. The less cultured amongst us would probably discard these songs as old or baduy. At times i had felt disappointed at a growing generation of our countrymen who cannot seem to distinguish classic OPM compositions with ultra-pop and oft-times unjustified OPM remakes. Proudly our own music, the tracks are all definitive of the eclectic musical ranges of the Filipino artist, musician and kompositor. Although not all these songs figured in the MetroPop, they all evoke an appreciation to the spirit of the Festival and the enduring place of the creative Filipino in shaping national culture, identity and personality.

The artists in this sampler all possess an extraordinarily form of musical and emotional gravitas allowing the songs to transcend beyond generations, making them timeless and truly worth remembering.

As a way of featuring some of the artists included in the compilation, allow me to highlight some who are surely noteworthy…

Celeste Legaspi, for one, is a personal favorite of mine. Compared to singers these days who succumb to birit singing, Celeste Legaspi’s voice is a testament to vocal purity without the need for embellished vocal affectations. I’ve included an original Ryan Cayabyab composition – a tribute to Katy Dela Cruz song – that was originally sung by Mitch Valdez in the Pinoy musicale Katy that Celeste also produced. Celeste performs a reprised version of it in Ryan Cayabyab’s Silver Album. The track entitled Minsan Ang Minahal Ay Ako speaks about a twilight song of a once-idolized performer asking for lasting, fond remembrances. The English transliteration of the title is Once Loved Was I.

Like Celeste, no Filipino in the right mind would place Lea Salonga off of their list of the finest Filipino performers. I had an opportunity to listen to her live in her concert Songs From Home. And i am telling you, my heart swelled with pride. She once did a cover of a Smokey Mountain original. Paraiso is really about a street child’s plight on poverty, the environment and seeking respect from others. I think every Filipino should listen to Lea Salonga sing live at least once in their lifetime. The experience is definitely more than its worth.

Included also are three Grand Prize winning songs of the MetroPop: Ryan Cayabyab’s Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika (lit. How Beautiful, Our Music) as performed by Hajji Alejandro in the 1st MetroPop Festival in 1978. You will also get to listen to Isang Mundo, Isang Awit (lit. One World, One Song) sung by Leah Navarro as composed by Nonong Pedero in 1980′s run of the festival. Then there is Salamat, Salamat Musika (lit. Thank You, Music) as interpreted by Nanette Inventor. It was an original composition by Gary Granada and it won the Grand Prize at the 7th MetroPop Music Festival. (see playlist)

Not a lot of us would probably remember this song from Asin which was a Lolita Carbon composition. Himig ng Pag-ibig is a folksy mountain song – a sound that was once staple for folk rock bands of the late 70′s in the Philippines. This track infuses a little bit of woodwind orchestration that enables one to be hopeful. I’ve always liked this song.

An underrated MetroPop entry is really Eileen Espina‘s Memories. Composed by Paul Melendez, it figured as a finalist in the 6th MetroPop but even though it did not garner any of the major prizes, it remains as a personal favorite of mine. I am sad though that this song is such a rarity that one cannot find karaoke or minus one versions of it. I am always reminded of butterflies fluttering when i listen to this track. The soft woodwind flute brings about a sense of simple childhood mirth and it lends towards a kind of dreamy lullaby of sorts. It made me think of someone in Guam who says that the song is nice, emoticon following.

The depth of Filipino lyrics in the compilation, are at best, non-translatable to any other language. I attempted at it, but while doing so, noticeably English words could not capture the poetic essence and meaning of the original creation. I’ve created a MixPod playlist of the 50 songs as compiled. Should you want an audio CD copy of these songs together with lyrics and music credits, let me know so i can mail them to you.

Friends, my hope is that as you get to listen to these songs you can enjoy the magical quality of Original Pilipino Music enough to buy the ever increasingly rare CDs and albums out there – songs, music and words that we can all sing along with again and again, reminding us that something good comes out of being a Filipino wherever corner you are in the world.

Let me leave you a personal favorite. It is not a MetroPop entry but i’ve always thought that Agot Isidro is a class on her own. This song goes out to a special someone at the other side of the Pacific Ocean… Beginning Today.

The Complete Playlist for Teki: Wagas, Ang Himig Natin

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Filed under: Music, Personal Musings, Philippines Tagged: Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, MetroPop, OPM, Original Pilipino Music