Philippine Politics
And The Lights All Went Out . . .
Monday, April 21st, 2008At exactly 6 AM Sunday, the world stopped for our part of the city, with no electric power for the next 12 hours. This fortuitous event coming without benefit of any prior notice or warning. As is typical I am told, it just happens.While 6AM may not …
The Neri-Lozada Teleseries
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008Who says there’s no drama in Philippine politics? In the national broadband network (NBN) controversy, the Romulo Neri-Rodolfo Lozada Jr. saga can be considered stranger than fiction.
Neri and Lozada are friends, and both admit they are. That friendship obviously extends to the professional level, with Neri, when he was still director of the National Economic [...]
Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr.
Thursday, February 14th, 2008The former president of the Philippine Forest Corp. is now living in a safe house. And, no pun intended, he has become a household name—at least for a segment of our population who eat politics for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. Thanks to extensive coverage by the media of the Senate inquiry on [...]
Coup vs. JDV
Monday, February 4th, 2008Speaker Jose de Venecia, I think, already saw this coming. When his son Joey de Venecia III testified against top Malacañang officials and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo on the scuttled National Broadband Network deal, JDV, veteran politician that he is, surely expected the backlash. It’s just that the Arroyo faction in the House of Representatives took time to [...]
Marcos and GMA: No Comparison
Saturday, December 15th, 2007I thank Alvin Dizon for straying into this blog and for posting a comment to my reaction to the recent Pulse Asia survey where respondents considered Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her administration as the most corrupt. The result of that survey got the nod of Alvin and other critics of the present dispensation.
Alvin is younger [...]
ADB: Clean water shortage by 2025
Monday, December 3rd, 2007An alarming news published in Philippine Daily Inquirer based on a research by Asian Development Bank should make us rethink of conserving water.
The Philippines’ water resources are fast deteriorating with rapid urbanization, with only about 33 percent of river systems still suitable as a supply source and up to 58 percent of groundwater now contaminated. Water availability in the Philippines could be “unsatisfactory” in eight of its 19 major river basins and in most major cities before 2025.
Urbanization has been pointed out as the major cause of this arising problem. Poor environmental management, extensive forest denudation, poor maintenance of sanitary landfills, crowding in urban areas, etc, are few of the effects of urbanization that have subsequently affected the availability of clean water in the Philippines, especially in large cities Cebu and Metro Manila.
The study also pointed out the following:
* 16 rivers are now considered biologically dead during dry months;
* 48 percent of water pollutants arise from domestic waste, 37 percent from agricultural waste, and 15 percent from industrial waste;
* Solid waste generation in Metro Manila, now estimated at 5,345 tons per day, is expected to double by 2010. But, only 65-75 percent of the waste generated is collected, with only 13 percent of that recycled, and the remainder just thrown anywhere, particularly into creeks, threatening health and increasing flooding;
* Some 700 industrial establishments in the Philippines generate about 273,000 tons of hazardous waste annually, but at present there is no integrated treatment facility in the country to deal with it, although there are some 95 small to medium-scale hazardous waste treatment facilities; and
* Approximately 50,000 tons of hazardous waste are stored on or off-site due to lack of proper treatment and landfill facilities.
The study also pointed the insufficient enforcement of existing legislation, and the weak legal and regulatory framework for environmental impact assessments, monitoring and coordination.
Photo source: Bhopal.net
Tags:Consumer Health Watch, Health, Philippine Controversies, Philippine Politics, Philippines, Research
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The Better Side of the Philippines
Thursday, November 15th, 2007THE BETTER SIDE OF THE PHILIPPINES
The following was written by INTEL General Manager Robin Martin about the Philippines :
Filipinos (including the press, business people and myself) tend to dwell too much on the negative side, and this affects the perception of foreigners, even the ones who have lived here for a while. The negative perception of the Philippines is way disproportionate to reality when compared to countries like Columbia , Egypt , Middle East, Africa , etc.
Let us all help our country by balancing the negative with the positive especially when we talk to foreigners, whether based here or abroad. Looking back and comparing the Philippines today and 1995 (the year I came back), I was struck by how much our country has progressed physically.
Consider the following:
1. The great telecom infrastructure that we have now did not exist in 1995. 1995 was the year the telecom industry was deregulated. Since then billions of dollars have been invested in both fixed line and cellular networks producing a system with over 5,000 kms of fiber optic backbone at a world competitive cost. From a fixed line capacity of about 900,000 in 1995 we now have over 7 million. Cellular phones practically did not exist in 1995; now we have over 11 million line capacity.
2. The MRT, many of the EDSA flyovers (including the Ayala Avenue flyover), the SKYWAY, Rockwell and Glorietta 4, the Fort, NAIA terminal 2 and most of the new skyscrapers were not yet built in 1995.
3. If you drive to the provinces, you will notice that national roads are now of good quality (international quality asphalt roads). I just went to Iba, Zambales last week and I was impressed that even a not so frequently traveled road was of very good quality.
4. Philippine exports have increased by 600% over the past eight years. There are many, many more examples of progress over the last eight years. Philippine mangoes are now exported to the US and Europe .
Additional tidbits to make our people prouder:
1. INTEL has been in the Philippines for 28 years. The Philippines plant is where Intel’s most advanced products are launched, including the Pentium IV. By the end of 2002, Philippine operations became Intel’s biggest assembly and testing operations worldwide.
2. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS has been operating in Baguio for over 20 years. The Baguio plant is the largest producer of DSP chips in the world. DSP chips are the brains behind cellphones. TI’s Baguio plant produces the chip that powers 100% of all NOKIA cellphones and 80% of Ericsson cellphones in the world.
3. TOSHIBA laptops are produced in Santa Rosa , Laguna.
4. If you drive a BENZ, BMW, or a VOLVO, there is a good chance that the ABS system in your car was made in the Philippines .
5. TREND-MICRO, makers of one of the top anti virus software PC-Cillin (I may have misspelled this) develops it “cures” for viruses right here in Eastwood Libis, Quezon City . When a virus breaks in any computer system in the world, they try to find a solution within 45 minutes of finding the virus.
6 . Today a majority of the top ten U.S. Call Center firms in the U.S. have set up operations in the Philippines. This is one area in which I believe we are the best in the world in terms of value for money.
7. America Online (AOL) has 1,000 people in Clark answering 90% of AOL’s global e-mail inquiries.
8. PROCTOR & GAMBLE has over 400 people right here in Makati (average age 23 years) doing back-up office work to their Asian operations including finance, accounting, Human Resources and payments processing.
9. Among many other things it does for its regional operations network in the Asia-Pacific region here in Manila, CITIBANK also does its global ATM programming locally.
10. This is the first year ever that the Philippines will be exporting cars in quantity courtesy of FORD Philippines. (I have an idea this article was written between 2001 - 2002, so this operation should have been on-going for the last 3 years or so. CYN)
11. The government is shedding off graft and corruption slowly but surely. This is the first time in our history that a former president is in jail and facing charges of plunder. Despite all odds, we are still pursuing the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos now enjoyed by his unrepentant heirs.
Next time you travel abroad and meet business associates tell them the good news. A big part of our problem is perception and one of the biggest battles can be won simply by believing and by making others believe. This message is shared by good citizens of the Philippines who persevere to hope and work for our country.
56,000,000 Filipinos speak, read and write in English even if we have our own national language. Speaking a second language takes a certain kind of unique intelligence.
Tags:Current Events, Philippine Politics, Philippines, Politics
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Atenean Romulo L. Neri – In The Spotlight
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007Some disjointed, and hopefully not totally rambling, thoughts on the above subject. Read at your own risk and nothing is written and/or claimed as “gospel truth”. And this early, here is my personal disclaimer/representation as to where exactly I …
Ban text spam for good!
Friday, August 10th, 2007
The National Telecommunications had imposed a law about penalizing giant cellphone companies for sending unsolicited text messages composed mainly of advertisements and promotions. Smart Telecom was penalized a total of P20,800 and Globe of P12,200 for unwanted messages.
But the penalty imposed has not prevented these companies from sending spam text messages. I am a SMART subscriber and spam messages about the company’s latest promotions and offers, especially right after I reload my account, have been regular annoyance at my inbox, some of which, I admit, are tempting. Since these are spam, which rhymes with scam by the way, I do not easily succumb to them.
Why was this measure not effective? These maybe are few of the reasons:
1. Because a P20,800 is far incomparable to what they gain out of member subscriptions, which usually costs P2.50 (or P5.00 or more because there are offers which necessitates several texts for full registration). We are aware that these networks have millions of subscribers; probably half of it will subscribe, which may generate thousands of profit. Maybe P20,800 is not even a quarter of what they gain.
2. Although many has been complaining about spam messages, some also join these offers. The adage that goes “Walang manloloko kung walang magpapaloko” similarly applies to this case.
3. Lack of implementation of the law. Since the two cellphone giants have been penalized, have we heard of new penalties imposed? No.
Recently, Sen. Nene Pimentel proposed a law that will ban these spam messages. Under Senate Bill 1138, he proposes to bar telecommunications companies from sending unsolicited materials, such as commercial ads and contests to cellular phone subscribers via short message service or text, GMA News reports.
This was in response to the various complaints he received regarding these unsolicited text messages. Some subscribers also complained that these messages increased their phone bills or has resulted to rapid consumption call credit load of post-paid subscribers.
Under Senate Bill 1138, network companies are barred from sending unsolicited materials such as advertisements, offerings, promotions, subscriptions and other notifications to their subscribers via text or SMS.
The only exception is the sending of legitimate notices of past due accounts.
Violators would be fined between P20,000 to P100,000. A director, officer or employee found to have authorized or allowed the prohibited act shall likewise be fined P1,000 for the first offense; P2,000 for the second offense and P3,000 for the third offense
Image courtesy of Softpedia.com
Tags:Current Events, In the News, Philippine Politics, Philippines, Politics, Spam, Spam Filter, Technology
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Wanted: A sustainable solution!
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007It seems that the health care crisis continues to be a problem in the Philippines. We have been running out of health manpower as nurses, midwives and doctors go abroad. It seems that we have another thing to be afraid of - the Philippines is also running out of hospitals!.
The Philippine Medical Association (PMA), based on a survey, reported that the number of hospitals, both private and public, in the country has dropped by 55 percent in the last 20 years - from a total of 2,000 in 1987 to only 890 at present.
Further, the new government policy that prevents private hospitals from “detaining” patients until they settle their hospitalization bills will worsen the situation. It may lead to bankruptcy of more hospitals which may lead to a more deteriorating health care system.
To probably mask this worsening situation, the Department of Health denies the claim that this problem exist.
What do we really need to solve the health care problem? Simple, we need a sustainable solution. As I have observed, the government is always acting on impulse. The worsening education status of the Filipinos, for example, was thought can be solved by offering student loans. Although, this seems a promising solution, it will not really address the root of the problem - which is poverty. I think it will work, but only as supplementary aid for the purpose of defeating lack of education.
Then, the government came up with a desperate solution of banning health workers from going abroad, in response to the deteriorating health care system in the country.
In a case study (a PDF article) done by Institute of Health Policy and Development Studies of UP Manila (published on 2006 by the International Labour Organization) about migration of health workers, among the reasons include colonial mentality, economic need; professional and career development; and the attraction of higher living standards. But the common reason given was that the low and variable wage rates do not allow them to earn “decent living wages”.
Factors were categorized into “push” and “pull” factors. The former were related to economics, working conditions and socio-political factors. Aside from the financial reasons given, emphasis was placed on the country’s deteriorating condition. Pull factors included the respondents’ concern for the financial and physical security of their children.
Solving a country’s issue is like solving a math problem - you need to analyze the givens and factors, look for the operation needed, to come up with the accurate solution. The government needs to assess these reasons, then come up with a solution for them.
Tags:Health, Personal, Philippine Controversies, Philippine Politics, Philippines, Politics, Social Issues
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Good news: Student loans may soon be granted
Sunday, July 29th, 2007The Commission on Higher Education will be increasing its funding for student loans to P4 billion from P215 million, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports. Due to this, student loans may soon be available from the government of as much as P30,000 per year to finance their education. This will serve as financial aid to less fortunate students and they can pay it later.
The funds could be availed of as early as the second semester of the current school year which begins in November. The student loan program’s bank is the Land Bank of the Philippines which has committed itself to providing some P1 billion in funding.
Further, the qualification standards will not be that strict so everyone can avail to it. The program will be available by the second semester this year and will be fully implemented by 2008.
With this increase in budget for student loans, the CHEd will be able to provide about P30,000 per year (or P15,000 per semester) to each of almost 200,000 student beneficiaries.
Many researches about the prevalence of out-of-school youths in our country had been conducted and financial problems or poverty are cited as the major reason for quitting from school. It’s a good thing that the government is making a move to solve this increasing problem.
Tags:Child Care, Current Events, Education, Good News, Philippine Politics, Philippines, Social Issues
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Comelec to proclaim 10 senatorial bets
Monday, June 4th, 2007The COMELEC will proclaim 10 senatorial bets on Wednesday. I am glad that whom I voted for were also the choice of the majority.
My senatorial bets were:
1.Panfilo Lacson was first on my list because of health was included in his agenda.
2. Francis Joseph Escudero
3. Ninoy Aquino Jr.
4. Edgardo J. Angara
5. Joker P. Arroyo
6. Gregorio B. Honasan
7. Antonio F. Trillanes IV
8. Aquilino L. Pimentel III
9. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri
10. Sonia M. Roco
11. Nikki Coseteng
12. Loren Legarda
Partial and Unofficial as of 5 p.m. June 2, 2007
1. LEGARDA, Loren B. - 17,715,734
2. ESCUDERO, Francis Joseph G. - 17,517,068
3. LACSON, Panfilo M. - 14,928,818
4. VILLAR, Manuel Jr., B. - 14,710,755
5. PANGILINAN, Francis N. - 13,992,091
6. AQUINO, Benigno Simeon III C. - 13,797,782
7. ANGARA, Edgardo J. - 11,833,990
8. CAYETANO, Alan Peter S. - 11,322,274
9. ARROYO, Joker P. - 11,163,030
10. HONASAN, Gregorio B. - 11,060,153
11. TRILLANES, Antonio IV F. - 10,716,241
12. PIMENTEL, Aquilino III L. - 10,445,489
13. ZUBIRI, Juan Miguel F. - 10,253,628
14. RECTO, Ralph G. - 10,046,284
15. DEFENSOR, Michael T. - 9,342,850
Source: ABS-CBNNews.com
Tags:Current Events, Philippine Controversies, Philippine Politics, Philippines, Politics, Senatorial Candidates
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Philippine Politics
Saturday, May 19th, 2007Idealism without action is simply that, idealism, however cogently, articulately, and lucidly explained and proposed. On the other hand, idealism, however compromised, dented, battered and watered-down by realities, translated into action transcends f…
Beyond Quirky, Maybe . . .
Friday, April 20th, 2007Maybe bordering on delusional misperception? Or to an outsider, maybe just flagrant displays of puerile behavior.The Filipinos hold senatorial elections this coming May. The shortened campaign period appears to have galvanized eager politicians and th…
Campaign ads on your cellphone
Monday, March 12th, 2007Cell phones and SMS are now widely used for many purposes. Opportunists find a weapon through cellpones to spread scamming activities, promotional campaigns, and sending many unwanted text messages to defenseless subscribers. On the good side, cell phones and SMS have helped resolved a number of crimes.
With the coming of the May 2007 national [...]
The controversial letter/e-mail from Harvey Keh
Friday, March 2nd, 2007Subject: What will make me leave the Philippines. ..
An Open Letter to Every Filipino - by Harvey Keh
I was watching a TV news program a while ago when they reported about a controversial e-mail from a youth leader being spread in the internet. I have received a copy from a friend and because [...]