The COVID-19 Nightmare and the Mangyans

I once worked for and with the Mangyans of Occidental Mindoro and even from the confines of my comfortable home today, I can’t help thinking about them with regards to the recent global outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. This includes Berto, the Tao-Buid tribesman and the unidentified Fufuama (tribal elder) sitting next to him as shown in the picture above. 

While the mainstream local governments are busy with all their efforts to “flatten the curve” of the drastic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the already marginalized, geographically isolated and disadvantaged population of IPs are again apparently being neglected and abandoned, here and maybe elsewhere.

With the full implementation and the legal fruits of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act or the RA 8371 is still to be fully enjoyed, the indigenous political structure they have been aspiring for still cannot gain equal opportunities as they have in the dominant civil authority or government. This ecologically-fragile island is home to more or less two thousand individual IPs and I believe that it is imperative that any government response to the pandemic should address the needs of all Filipinos, including our IPs, the Mangyans.

The most needed act of immediate and impactful relief to indigenous peoples/indigenous cultural communities (IP/ICCs) is by way of emergency relief in the form of food supply, specifically rice. Next is sustained health interventions in line with defeating this dreaded COVID-19.

This tragedy and health debacle that the world face today further isolated our brethren IPs from total human progress the rest of the modern world could offer. Because of the enhanced quarantine strictly implemented from the smallest sitio in rural areas of the country, to exclusive villages of the elites in the urban centers, the Mangyans cannot go to town and sell their produce, handicrafts, animals and crops to earn a living. They also cannot work as daily wage earner in the nearby barrio. The situation of hunger is more distressing than the virus itself.

May I earnestly appeal to civic organization and welfare institutions to please find ways to help the Mangyans by way of establishing a wide network of mission partners towards this end. This must start from religious organizations who have Mangyan ministries, the LGUs’ Mangyan affairs offices, the M or PSWDOs, the tribal Filipino organizations in coordination with the NCIP and your respective IPMRs. I just do not know.

But at the height of this emotional and invisible devastation, the Mangyans just stayed foot, waiting what will happen next. This virus caught them flatfooted and their totally livable customary practices are being affected.

The Mangyans are now at risk and isolated more than ever. They are extremely susceptible to disease not only because of lack of health interventions from the government solely aimed at them and their situation. The Mangyans, especially those in the wild are unaware of what is happening in the world because they have no means to see or understand to look beyond the global window. God forbids, if the Mangyans get infected, their whole tribe could easily be infected and decimated by COVID-19.

Nothing is heard of from National Commission for the Indigenous Peoples or NCIP on this note. Seldom in the news we can read about COVID-19 and the IPs and how it affects them. Such absence of anything from the commission would not flatten the curve of the pandemic, ever.

A human rights-based approach in regulating this pandemic is imperative aside from welfare-oriented ones. This cannot be against the rule of law and human rights protection. This is not Martial Law, the previlege of Writ of Habeas Corpus is still in effect. A certain top official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) should know this.

I cannot imagine how these IP/ICCs will go against COVID-19. Our public health system is truly frightening, especially when the weakest among our brethren have nothing to buy essential commodities in this time of COVID-19.

With or without the risk of COVID-19, the IP/ICCs are experiencing lack of water access, poor health conditions, and malnourished children making them particularly susceptible to a COVID-19 outbreak. The immediate thing we could do is to give them food and nourishment to capacitate their immune system. If cases would start in the IP areas, with such vulnerability, a real catastrophe will fall upon them. It will create havoc in their communities. With that, the Mangyans will be erased from the face of the island.

I am saying this taking the risks of being branded as alarmist and/or conspiracy theorist.

Pray with me that this may not happen…

--------

(Photo: Occidental Mindoro Getaways)

Of Marffin and Risa and the SOGIE Bill

It was a close encounter between Municipal SK Federation President Marffin Bayog Dulay and Senator Ana Theresia "Risa" Navarro Hontiveros-Baraquel.

The lady solon, in the middle of the opening handshake, solicited the support of the ex-officio Sangguniang Bayan member and simultaneously serving as the Sangguniang Kabataan Chairperson of Barangay Poblacion in Sablayan on the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill but the latter didn’t say a word about it. All the senator got is a smile. The visiting local officials exchanged pleasantries with her before the official business meeting went on.

Aside from SB Dulay, present in the meeting with Senator Hontiveros last November 4, 2019 are SBs Bong V. Urieta, Jun-Jun C. Ventura, Greg A. Villar, Obet Z. Dawates, Jaebee A. Dawates, Salvy U. de Vera, Mc. King O. Legaspi, Ruben C. Aldaba, and Vice-Mayor Bong Marquez.

The eldest child of Rufino Dulay and Mary Bayog who was born on October 9, 1996, though member of the LGBTQIA+ community is critical of the bill. SB Dulay, being a devout Catholic, believes that just like another individual human being, any human condition is an instrument for spiritual renewal and salvation. “Regardless of our sex or gender, each of us is called to fulfill God’s will in our lives,” says the young dreamer who believes in the value of divine intervention who calls for a PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens). By the way, SB Dulay is a product of a Catholic school. The SK Fed prexy graduated at Colegio de San Sebastian with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with various recognition in academic and non-academic areas.

SB Marffin is an active member and leader of different youth organizations that showcases the participation and involvement of youth in a more productive and inclusive venues and served as Presiding Officer of Local Youth Development Council (LYDC) and an enthusiastic member of the Gender and Development Focal Point System, Municipal Peace and Order Council, Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council, Municipal Advisory Council of PNP in Sablayan. On the other hand, Hontiveros is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, which conducts the hearings on the SOGIE bill.

Senator Hontiveros believes that her bill is still the best policy tool to protect members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community from discrimination, harassment, and violence. Nonetheless, the senator emphasized from the start that her bill will “take into consideration religious and faith-based sensitivities.”

In May 2019, the SOGIE Equality Bill officially became the longest-running bill under the Senate interpellation period in Philippine history. The bill has become one of the slowest-moving bills in the country's history. 

According to SB Dulay, SOGIE Equality Bill is not the ultimate solution to gender inequality and giving extra rights for the LGBTQIA+ is something to study much further. Anti-discrimination laws are intact and they are enough.

During a tête-à-tête with this lowly blogger, Marffin said that self-respect must come first before you expect respect from others. The youth leader from Sablayan is greatly dismayed when LGBTQIA+ community members fight each other for there are a lot of them are also against the proposed legislation.

“Ang babae kahit anong gawin, babae yan. Ganun din ang lalaki. Kung ikaw ay bakla, lalaki ka pa rin, Kung ikaw ay tomboy, babae ka pa rin. Yan ang masakit na katotohanan. Ngunit kaakibat niyan, isipin mo na lang bakit ka nilikha bilang ikaw. Dahil lahat tayo ay may misyon sa ating buhay, inilagay ka lang sa ganyang pangangatawan dahil diyan mo magagampanan ang misyon mo sa mundo,” says the youth leader who states further that, “Hindi masama ang magmahal ng kapwa mo lalaki o babae. Ang masama ay habang nag mamahalan kayo ay may natatapakan kayong kapwa ninyo.”

But both Hontiveros and Dulay, despite of their differences on the SOGIE issue, are against any form of discrimination and they want the best for their constituents. They want to preserve values and the Filipino family through their respective official capacity at present…

--------
(Photo: Jasper H. Francisco)

Sablayan SB First 100 Days: Pioneers & Incumbents*

With the opening of our Photo Exhibition a while ago and the gallery walk, we are going to observe and commemorate the first 100 days of office of each Sangguniang Bayan. With this historical-cultural-political lookback using photo gallery as medium, we at the Office of the Vice-Mayor and the Sangguniang Bayan are optimistic that this would serve the purpose of commending and acknowledging the past and present local legislators and vice-mayors of Sablayan.

My assignment today is to give you a foreword for this activity.

We call this Pioneers and Incumbents: A Photo Exhibition of Historical Reminiscences of Past and Present Legislators and State of First 100 Days’ of Local Legislation Address of Vice-Mayor Walter B. Marquez.

But before everything else, please be reminded that the 100-days concept is believed to have its roots in France, where the concept of “Cent Jours” (Hundred Days) refers to the period of 1815 when King Louis XVIII regained the throne.

Later in America, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s extraordinary productivity translated into enormous popularity, and he set a first 100-day standard against which all future U.S. presidents would be measured. This tradition extends in US allied countries like the Philippines and it transcends down to its local governments, and the rest is history, so to speak.

This event coincidentally falls in the celebration of the 28th Local Government Code anniversary as per Presidential Proclamation No. 63, series of 1992 declaring October as the Local Government Month, the second week of October as the Local Government Week and the 10th day of October as the Local Government Day.

In our teaser and in the opening banner it is written:

This project is in no way a finished business.

This Photo Exhibit is a continuous historical search and requires a more thorough investigation in the future, specifically the part where we try our best to honor the pioneering legislators and vice-mayors of our beloved town of Sablayan.

The days from October 14, 2019 onwards, we will have thankful days of remembrance. We will be presenting you photographs and documents to recapture the moments of legislation and dedicated labor of our past and present legislators.

The long gone pioneer legislators and those who are still living lost every bit of their temporal comforts but never let their zeal to serve the people, through authoring local legislation, go in vain. We have moved a long way and have arrived at a time where we have been called to cultivate the qualities of gratitude and service and possess the gentle spirit of determination to hasten the work of Lawmaking.

The Spirit of the People of Sablayan is larger than Life, thus, the Theme: “Look Back as We Look Forward for Quality Policy Rules”.

The journey of this town leading to quality legislation may be long and hard, but we will never be alone.”

But this was more than a photo exhibition and bestowing of recognition to the “surviving”, living past vice-mayors of Sablayan. It has been a major awareness campaign to remember the life and works of our forebears in local legislation. Today we honor their achievements, their drive to succeed and their contributions to our town’s development and productivity. It is our aim to highlight the ability of these lawmakers who made both their public and private lives productive, relevant and meaningful.

But bear with us in our inconsistencies,-historically, grammatically, or otherwise. The typo errors, the overlooking of some details are ours alone. We will rectify them the soonest possible time.

We all should empowering our constituents beyond our first 100 days of office and beyond and give them importance. We should abide by this culture. This is a way of capacitating them and empowering the people. Our constituents cannot be outsiders forever. They are part and parcel of governance.

Their participation is what we all celebrate. Let us give them a warm round of applause.

These are the things that cannot be captured in any photo of whatever size and be accommodated in any show room or exhibition space, as we have stressed in our opening banner.

Thank you very much and we wish this exhibition be a complete success.

Magandang araw po sa inyong lahat!

-------

(Introduction to the Activity Speech during A Photo Exhibition of Historical Reminiscences of Past and Present Legislators and State of First 100 Days’ of Local Legislation Address of Vice-Mayor Walter B. Marquez, 14 October 2019; 2nd Floor Legislative Building, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro)

               

Baptism by Fire at the SP

My sympathy goes with Diana Apigo-Tayag and Eleonor Barrera-Fajardo, the two neophyte women provincial legislators of Second District of Occidental Mindoro for they, at first glance, may have been victims of the so-called tyranny of the majority. That is if what I’ve just heard from the grapevine is true. If they were amazons, it was their first exposure to combat.

Seemingly, each member of the Provincial Board will chair committee except for the two first-timer and minority SP members Tayag and Fajardo of San Jose and Magsaysay, respectively. Without a committee to chair in their own, their hands are handcuffed and their power and authority have been clipped therefore they cannot move as free as they like. They will just become a second-class citizen in the august body. H0w could change and unity be harmonized this way? With this, the “politics is just one day” rhetoric is just what it is - rhetoric. But one has to move on. 

The general criteria of what a committee for a legislator to chair are normally or usually given according to his or her capacity and advocacy. Unaware of the SP’s Internal Rules, I think the legislative body has a lot of explaining why Tayag and Fajardo, an accountant and a doctor of medicine respectively, did not get any chairmanship. Is “equity of the incumbent” becomes the rule of the thumb when they decided for such leadership in committees? Is there another newbie who got a chairmanship?  

Well, the phrase “tyranny of the majority” was first coined by French historian and political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville and memorialized by John Stuart Mill. A tyranny of the majority occurs when a majority takes action to thoroughly subjugate the minority.

I expect that in their Internal Rule, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan emphasized the balance of majority rule and minority rights. True, the will of the majority must in all cases must prevail and for that will to be rightful must be reasonable and must possess equal rights that the law or rule must protect, as US President Thomas Jefferson expressed it in 1801 in his First Inaugural Address.

Majority rule must be limited in order to protect minority rights, because if it were unchecked it probably be used to oppress persons holding unpopular views. I expect that this tenet is part of the SP’s existing internal rule.

I think Tayag and Fajardo are now automatically members of major committees.  They are not after the perks relative to the chairmanship I am sure. What is important is they can still draft ordinances and resolutions, have salaries and budgets for their staffs  and can still render speeches and other functions as legislators, both oversight and otherwise. And the general fullfilment of their campaign promise.

One does not need a committee to perform well in the Sanggunian and come up with good resolutions and ordinances. Besides, such are one of the ugly faces of politicking. Time will come a Sangguniang Bayan is up through an election and become a part of the new majority and ultimately chairing a committee of his or her choice. In the next election, s/he may still be elected but will not have the number and stay in the minority, maliban na lang kung siya ay babaliktad.  

To be frank about it, at least to me, committee chairmanships are not a matter of life and death. Charge that to experience. Kung ayaw nila, wag nila. At any rate, Tayag and Fajardo could always chair the “committee” of genuine commitment and exemplary performance. They just showed what they are made of.

Baptisms, of water or by fire, always result to purification…

-------

(Photo: SP OCM)

Palaspas at Pulitika

Ang pagwawagayway ng palaspas ay isang pampulitikang protesta noong panahon ni Hesus. Ang palaspas ay simbolo ng tagumpay ng pakikidigma at hindi lamang pantaboy ng aswang o kaya ay para may masunog tayo para sa Miyerkules ng Abo sa isang taon, kagaya ng alam natin ngayon dito sa Pilipinas.

Sinakop noon ng mga Romano ang mga Hudyo. Inalipin sila, pinahirapan, inabuso at inalipusta. Brutalidad ang naranasan ng mga mamamayang Hudyo sa kamay ng mga mananakop. Ang palaspas ay simbolo ng tagumpay ng madirigma. Ang pagwawagayway ng palaspas din ay isang paghamon, isang protesta o banta ng insureksyon noong panahong iyon. Sabi nga ni Bo Sanders sa kanyang sulatin noong 2013 sa Tripfuller.com na may titulong Palm Sunday is the Most Political Sunday, “Laying down palm branches ahead of a man riding a donkey was an act of defiance and an aggressive political statement.”  Sa Pilipinas, ang kaisipan at historikal na katotohanang ito ay hindi gaanong napag-ukulan ng pansin at pagninilay. Dangan kasi naman, tayo man ay bansang sinakop din ng mga Kastila na siyang nagdala sa atin ng Kristiyanismo.

Papaano natin aasahan na ipamulat nila sa atin na ang orihinal na Linggo ng Palapas ay maituturing na isang kilos-bayan o aksyong pulitikal. Dagdag pa ni Sanders, “Palm Sunday might be the most flagrant example of ignorance and misappropriation. Palm Sunday is call for revolution against the powers of oppression, the systems and institutions that occupy foreign lands and repress its citizens with unjust practices and economic policies.” Sinong pari kaya ang mangangahas na iugnay ang tunay na diwa ng Linggo ng Palaspas sa mga aksyong panlipunan?

Pero hindi ko sinasabi na dapat gumamit tayo ng mga bagay na labag sa batas para tayo makalaya. Pang-aabuso, pananakot at panlilinlang ang gamit ng pamahalaang Romano noon para mapanatili ang kanilang paghahari. Ang pulitika ng matandang Roma ay nakatuntong nang labis sa otoridad at kapangyarihan.

Iba ang pulitika ni Hesus sa Pulitika ng Roma. Opo, si Hesus ay hindi pang-espiritwal lang. May pulitika sa Kanya, maniwala man kayo o hindi.

Halos lahat ng antas ng kanyang buhay, simula sa pagsilang Niya sa sabsaban hanggang sa pagkamatay Niya sa krus ay may pampulitikang kaugnayan at kahalagahan noon at ngayon. Ipinanganak Siya sa malayong lugar dahil sa kailangang silang masensus para mabuwisan at ipinako Siya sa krus, na parusa noon sa mga kumakalaban sa gobyerno. Ang pagbabayad ng buwis at pagsasalita, pag-aalsa kagaya nang ginawa Niya sa templo ay pawang mga pampulitikang gawain. Ang pulitika ay nasa sentro ng buhay ng Salitang Nagkatawang Tao.

Ang mga turo Niya tungkol sa pagdatal ng Kaharian ng Diyos ay maituturing na isang adyendang pulitikal. Ang Diyos ang totoong hari at ang kanyang kaharian ang siyang lulupig sa mga kaharian o mga terminong pulitikal  na gawa lamang ng tao.

Ayon kay Isaac Morehouse sa kanyang blog post noong Agosto 10, 2009 na Palm Sunday and Politics, “Physical freedom is a worthy goal. Defending oneself from violence and oppression is not immoral. But as a Christian, to use government to enforce the morality you believe in through law, backed up by the agents of the state, is to contradict Christ Himself.”  Ganyan ang sitwasyon ng lipunan ni Hesus noon. Ganyang din ang sitwasyon ng lipunan natin ngayon. Sinong tagasunod ni Kristo ang mananahimik sa mga pagpatay sa tungki mismo ng kanyang ilong? Sinong Kristiyano ang hindi kikibo kung ang kanyang Diyos mismo ay minumura? Sinong Kristiyano ang hindi magagalit sa panibagong pananakop ng mga dayuhan sa ating bansa kagaya nang naranasan noon ng mga Hudyo sa mga Romano noong unang Linggo ng Palaspas?

Sa pulitika ni Hesus ay una ang paglilingkod kaysa sa anumang kapangyarihan. Ang pulitika ni Hesus ay may kababaang-loob, may paggalang sa paniniwala ng iba, hindi makasarili, nagbibigay ng pagkakataon sa iba pang ibig mag-lingkod. Hindi kumukuyapit sa pwesto. May totoong pagmamahal kahit hindi paulit-ulit na bigkasin.

Ang masaklap, hindi pulitika ni Hesus ang ating salalayan sa pagboto at pagwawagayway ng pampulitikang palaspas kundi pulitikang Romano. Pulitikang Romano na ang mga hari ay kapit-tuko sa kapangyarihan, marahas, mapanlinlang o kaya naman ay abusado.

Ang mga taong palaspas, malamang sa hindi, sa halalan ang ibuboto ay mga makabagong Hestas!

---------

Sources :

Photo: Imagenesmi.com

https://trippfuller.com/2013/03/25/palm-sunday-is-the-most-political-sunday/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/teachingnonviolentatonement/2016/03/the-subversive-politics-of-palm-sunday/

https://isaacmorehouse.com/2009/08/10/palm-sunday-and-politics/

Biased Crowd Counting

Political rallies are all over and as expected, crowd counting will always be contentious. Sure thing is, both political camps have a devolved interest in the counts. The rally organizers want to project a higher count and the rival camp(s) naturally want to project a lower count.

Well with the absence of estimates or data from credible and competent authorities such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), among other agencies, numbers are sexed-up thus used as political propaganda material. Nonetheless, all political rallies or gatherings will always be disputed. For instance, no matter how huge is the crowd a party draws in certain municipality, the adversary can always claim that it is just a tiny portion of town’s population. The opposing camp will claim that a hakot system was employed or even vote buying just to gather enormous crowd. Accusations that are most of the time as real as water and power shortages that the people are currently experiencing. 

In Philippine election where patronage politics prevails, a massive crowd drawing isn’t the true measurement of support or vote for particular group of candidates. In a community where the spirit of volunteerism is not put into flesh, the number of people attending a political event is not a manifestation of heartfelt support but a display of abundant resources,- material, manpower, and most of all financial, of those seeking for public office. As long as political campaigns are fueled with money, money will always be the ultimate crowd-drawer. How can one hire movie personalities and entertainers from the city without huge amount of campaign fund or to hire social media mercenaries?How could the organizers bankroll the event with meager funds and so forth and so on? As long as nobody applies a scientific method of crowd counting, it will always be subjective. Therefore, it is  mere empiricism, political strategy-wise.

The simplest way to have a fair crowd count is to know the square footage of the venue or its site carrying capacity, the percentage of the venue occupied by participants and the crowd density. This technique originates from a journalism professor Herbert Jacobs of University of California, Berkeley, who devised the process by watching students protest on his campus against the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

Jacobs’ premise was simple: Area times density will yield more accurate results than biased guesses. Density differs whether people are standing (at about five square feet per person) or sitting (at about 10 square feet per person), and observers know that the fronts of crowds are always more dense than the rear of crowds. I assume that it is one of the methods the PNP is employing today specially in mass protests.

When one crowd estimate in the ground, its result will always be over-estimation. According to sociologist John McCarthy in his book (co-authored with Clark McPhail) Who Counts and How: Estimating the Size of Protests which was published August 1, 2004, “If you’re on the ground, it’s easy to overestimate. Because if you’re in the middle of it, it looks like a million people.”  In this particular case, we must keep our feet off the ground.

Aerial photography via drone can help determine the carrying capacity of the venues or sites and make guesses at density especially in a stationary crowd like in political campaign or rallies. The interpretation from competent authority is also essential. If I may repeat, unless a system or a scientific method is applied we cannot have a believable product. 

Bottom line: Crowd counts are used as mental conditioning to create a band wagon effect but the true arena is still in the precincts, not much in crowded political gatherings. The silent majority and the fed-up onlookers are very much aware of that. Even if one is bent on using it as a sole determinant of election success…

---------

(Photo: GMA News Network)

A Gray Area in the Universe

Is it universally ethical to accept any form of gifts from politicians specially this season of Christmas and election? On the other hand, is it also ethical to give any form of gifts, money or otherwise, if you are a candidate at this very moment of the year? Could you tell me exactly when a gift becomes a bribe?

Gift-giving, especially cash-giving, is a fad among politicians in this very hour. They are all over Facebook. Photos of politicians distributing cold cash were posted. But when a gift is not a gift? Giving, in whatever form, establishes a relationship. One ethical issue to consider when assessing whether offering or accepting a gift is appropriate is whether the relation will be ALTERED or if there is an expectation that it will be INFLUENCED in some way. For example in such a gesture, when the giver is expecting favors (read: votes) in return, this is clearly a bribe and NOT a gift. The giver’s as well as the receiver’s motives are important in pinpointing this but there are still no instrument invented by man to detect or measure one’s motive.

What is “Ethics”? It can be summed up with these words: "Ethics is concerned with how people ought to act and how they ought to be in relationship with others. Ethics does not just describe how things are, but rather is concerned with establishing norms or standards for how human life and conduct should be." Ethics are a set of principles of right conduct. But how can one distinguish clearly what is right from what is wrong? And it becomes more complicated when these two areas (what is right and what is wrong) overlap so that a gray area develops. It is clear to me as once student of Ethics, gifts and bribes as distinctively separate. Gifts are ethical while bribes are not. 

But in Occidental Mindoro culture in particular and the Philippine culture in general, the concepts of gifts and bribes are not distinctly separate. That is why both the giver and the receiver of both bribes and gifts considered their gestures as normal. There are overlapping areas between offering gifts and offering bribes. Gift-giving behavior can be extended into the area of giving bribes, so that the concepts overlap. When this occurs, the behavior is at the same time ethical and unethical. But this is not limited only to politicians and their constituents but also to other “relationships” like between a politician and the other individuals under them.

Applying a code of ethics to behavior becomes very complicated because a gray area exists between ethical actions and unethical actions. As discussed before, offering a gift is an ethical (right) behavior and offering a bribe is an unethical (wrong) behavior. But in the gray area where offering a gift extends into the area of offering a bribe, it is very hard to interpret whether the behavior is right or wrong.

We are not expecting government regulations and laws alone can solve the prevailing problem of corruption and bribery here in Occidental Mindoro or elsewhere in the Philippines. There is a dire need for a group of citizens to differentiate between the overlapping area of offering gifts and offering bribes so that we, Filipinos, are able to distinguish between gifts and bribes. This is not an easy task because gifts and bribes have traditionally overlapped in our culture so that the distinction between ethical and unethical behaviors is not clearly defined and practiced.

On December 3, 2018, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) reiterates the provisions of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees which prohibits civil servants from soliciting or accepting gifts, favors, loans or anything of monetary value in the course of their official duties.

Under CSC’s lenses, the propriety or impropriety of the gift is determined by value, kinship, or relationship between the giver and receiver, and the motivation. Thus, gifts exempted from the prohibition are those from family members given without expectation of pecuniary benefit; those coming from persons with no regular, pending or expected transactions with the government office where the receiver belongs; those from private organizations given with humanitarian and altruistic intent; and those donated by one government entity to another. Something of monetary value is one which is evidently or manifestly excessive by its very nature. The CSC reminder is timely. RA No. 6713 is a welcome development and very relevant though it is very specific. Specific laws such as this are imperative in giving clear-cut, crystal-clear legal measures on this ethical issue.

Corruption in the form of bribery and accepting bribes serves as a contributory factor in the commission of human rights violations. Human rights offenses no doubt, are good breeding grounds for impoverishment or poverty. Nonetheless, bribery should be put under human rights lens. Moreover, there is a very thin line that separates gift from bribe, the ethical from the unethical. But we have forgotten that there is also such an animal called delicadeza.

Gray reigns in this universe…

--------

(Photo: Cebu News)

A Power Story

I am telling this story anchored on an aphorism I posted in my Facebook Page today: “Power has its own story to tell and every story has its own power when told.” But this is not just my reaction to our present predicament of power shortage, this is also a product of my personal reflection on being a writer and, you've guessed it right, a story-teller. Aphorism oftentimes consist a metaphor, remember?

This coming December 3, 2018, the power company called Energy World will be finally launching their bid for the CSP to be presented to OMECO. This power company is just one of the many prospective new players in the horizon. It looks forward for the finalization of the Off-Take Agreement that would hopefully pave the way for the building of a plant somewhere in Sablayan if no trouble (of whatever nature) would exist in the process. Sablayan LGU had already signed a MOU with Energy World regarding the construction of the plant within the jurisdiction. According to people from Energy World, due to its geographical location, the municipality is ideal in supplying power in the whole of Occidental Mindoro. The company is using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in their operation as fuel. They have plants in Australia and Indonesia and here in the Philippines, they have a service utility in Pagbilao, Quezon. Be reminded that I am in no way endorsing said company and this is a statement of fact.

Led by Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano, concerned heads of the legislative and executive branches of the Municipal LGU visited the plant, and for their part, Energy World already started to conduct prospecting for the plant site since the informal partnership was last year. While the Energy World renewed commitment for its realization, the town’s local chief executive made the same commitment whoever would provide sustained, affordable and reliable energy for the province. We hope that in due time, many players will ultimately be considered to provide power and energy in this doomed part of the planet, power supply-wise.

Electricity is life. Without access to reliable power, our lives would be much more like being sent back to the Stone Age, as one Facebook user used to post it. Needless to say, it is so crucial to modern life, in fact, the history of electricity is really the history of the modern world.

This writer is not pinning all out hope on the realization of the proposed project of Energy World because as we all know, there are still a lot of legal and technical processes to hurdle before this could come to fruition. Nothing in the industry works like magic. Also, it is expected that a lot of peripheral things will come along the way like partisan politics, vested interests of the local elites, to name just two.  

I am relating this not to fully expect its realization for it may bring us false hope. It is still a long, long way but what I am just trying to emphasize is there is an on-going progression with regards to the application of possible power (preferably “clean” energy) providers in the future for our province and this one, too, has a chance to remedy the decades-long power supply problem in our locality. Moreover, it is necessary for every concerned citizen and OMECO member-consumers to be aware of every bidding process which unfolds every now and then. The electric cooperative likewise needs to be very transparent on everything under the bulb, so to speak. The bidders should also be scrutinized and skinned like a jack fruit by the member-consumers in general. The local politicians should be aware of the limits of their authority and power with regards to intervening in the problem specifically in the operations of the electric cooperative.

I am not zeroing-in on Energy World alone or any in existing or other forthcoming specific power providers for that matter. That wouldn’t be my story line ever. I am out of the loop in legal and technical aspects of this situation. My story is all I can offer.  

The issue of problem of power and energy has certain implication to one’s candidacy for sure to those who are occupying or struggling to get a political position especially the provincial slots. It is clear that this issue could again make or unmake political careers. With high expectation, this issue is domineering to be in the front lines in every miting de avance in due time.

Since the time of Thomas Edison, the electricity industry is already politicized. Before Pearl Street (his pioneering streetlight project) ever opened, Edison had to bribe New York politicians just to begin laying the foundations of his work. As Time magazine recounts, Edison “obtained with great difficulty the consent of New York’s famously corrupt city government to build his proposed network on the southern tip of Manhattan.” As the early electricity industry grew, it became more involved with city politics over lighting contracts. Electricity providers had to receive franchise rights from city officials in order to serve local areas, opening the door for those officials to extort power companies for campaign contributions or personal bribes. Who says it’s a different story now? I am mentioning this with the national situation in mind.

In going back, some may say that this and all the proposals are just “drawings”, far-fetched. Well, even drawings, and not only stories, have power. If one is not moved by the power of stories and images, one could not be a story-teller (or a witness) of his time, therefore, he cannot transcend from darkness to light….

-------

Photo: Concept News Central

References:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/history-electricity/

http://www.energyworldcorp.com/

A Need for a Political Research about Occidental Mindoro

Marty Rubin, one of my favorite modern-day aphorists, penned this one-liner: “An echo has no voice of its own.” To put it in the positive light, I think an echo can be likened to a research work that only resonates the voices of the respondents.

When I was still at the Social Action Center (SAC) of the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose, I dreamed of reading a sort of a political research work aimed at describing and analyzing the structure and the dynamics of the present-day Occidental Mindoro, say from 1970s to date, which is anchored on the province’s politics of public administration. My search was futile. The people in the academic field are apparently more interested in some other scholastic endeavors than this particular kind of investigation or study.

Talking of researches and echoes, in 1962, there was a student paper published by the University of the Philippine’s (UP) students from Mindoro called “The Mindoro Echoes” where some of its staff members are tasked to conduct researches financed by the university’s Institute of Public Administration. Its editor that time is a student named Edgar Tarriela. The Up research team was led by Dr. Remigio E. Agpalo and started 15^th of April that year. Aside from Tarriela part of the team are Juan Tapales and Artemio Arellano. They, at that time, are all graduates of UP with AB Political Science degrees. Tapales and Arellano then are both working for their master’s degree while Tarriela is pursuing his course in law.

The research mostly consists of field interviews and ocular observations and their interviewees were local elected officials in select towns of Occidental Mindoro.  The tedious tasks made by the OCM-born students paved the way for the publication of Agpalo’s book, which was published a decade later (1972), titled “The Political Elite and the People: A Study of Politics in Occidental Mindoro”. This is the only documented and published research on the subject matter as far as I know. I just do know why.

As far as I know, there are colleges in San Jose which are offering graduate studies in Public Administration. I do not know what prevents the students in researching such a badly needed academic output. I have my own speculations that I do not want to share here.

Why such a research is important? First and foremost, the citizens can be provided with information on our political mindsets as a people living in one community that could very well guide us to our main quest of participatory citizenship, civic duty and public functions.

On the part of the local government officials, it will provide data that could help evaluate and assess the needs and aspirations of their constituents or the people. And, from Agpalo’s own words, “Thus, public officials will be able to formulate and adopt enlightened policies based on adequate and objective information to cope with the province’s problems.” I just do not if these are important to them other than winning each electoral race.

Allow me to reiterate the need for such a research and call on the attention of the competent and independent men and women in the academic field to please initiate it for you are the most qualified, credible and capable to handle such a noble work than this biased, lowly blogger and story-teller.

Or I just sound like an echo talking only to myself…

------

(Photo: researchguides.library.wisc.edu)

Source: Remigio E. Agpalo;“The Political Elite and the People: A Study of Politics in Occidental Mindoro”; 1972; p. 390-390; University of The Philippines’ College, College of Public Administration, Manila.

Of Judging and the Entertainment Kiss

Each time a high government official appears in public, the good citizen among the crowd must think like a courtroom judge and not a freak show audience. Governance must not be reduced to entertainment. 

Incidentally, in any court of law, buffoonery is greatly considered contemptuous. With few exemptions, here in this ever-seeking-for-justice country of ours, some incumbents or aspirants for national political positions are pundits in their own buffoonery!

Every now and then, a controversy or scandal transpires from public appearance of our sitting president, be it in Davao City or in Seoul. About the so-called Korean Kiss, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Assistant Secretary Marjorie Jalosjos herself said that it was “just part of entertainment”. Well, entertainments too are subject to judgments and criticisms. Judges scattered around every corners of the earth coming in different political colors and brain sizes.

Taking the risk of stepping into the realm of lawyers, I would like to share some thoughts from a book I read some days back. The book is titled “Law and Philosophy” (Appleton Century Craft, NY; 1970; pp 408 – 409) by Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr. He was a United States federal judge. Born in Houston, Texas, Hutcheson received an LL.B. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1900, according to Wikipedia. There’s a chapter there discussing types of intuitive judgments rendered by courtroom judges and what produces them. The author categorized them into five types.

The Intuitive Judgment, according to Hutcheson, is a product of a hunch or a feeling been reasoned out. The Aleatory Judgment is a product of something depending on the throw of a dice or on chance, random and a thing that avoids thinking. Pusillanimous Judgment is the product of fear of apprehension of displeasing authority or showing a lack of courage. Venal Judgment is a product of bribe, corruption sometimes offered but of late, often demanded. And lastly, Asinine Judgement which is plainly a product of an ass!

The 5^th  item is our usual doughnut, complete with its hole…

-------

Photo: mfwa.org.

Sources: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/998783/dilg-exec-on-presidents-seoul-kiss-just-part-of-entertainment?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1528433235

Remigio Agpalo & the Local Dance

Only a tiny portion of our province's population was able to know the legacy of the late Prof. Remigio E. Agpalo, PhD, the political scientist who was born in Occidental Mindoro.

To commemorate his 90^th birth anniversary this coming Sunday, this little space is this lowly blogger's humble tribute to him.

Born in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro June 10, 1928, 3rd of 8 children, born to Paulino Agpalo and Paulina Escalona, Remigio studied college at the University of Maine and returned to the Philippines in September 1952 to fulfill his promise of sharing his gift of academic quest and taught at UP in 1953. He later went to University of Indiana and took his doctoral studies. Agpalo taught at the University of the Philippines (UP) for almost 50 years and was laid to rest February 10, 2008. He succumbed to prostate cancer. He was 79.

The political picture that Agpalo emphasized decades back remains relevant even today. In his book “Pandanggo sa Ilaw : The Politics in Occidental Mindoro” published in 1963 he wrote, “The elite exploited these (Filipino traditional) values and brought them into play, together with their material potentials, to their own advantage. The unsatisfactory economic situation, the general poverty of the population, the insufficient education … as well as broadening gap between the elite and the masses…” (pp. 83). For me it is a very imaginative as well as accurate description or emblem of how politics is practiced in the whole country until today.

The Pandanggo sa Ilaw is a native folk dance where his political concept is derived. The dance which originated in Lubang Island is described in terms of the following according to Agpalo himself: 1) the participant dancers, 2) the objects the dancers carry or hold, and 3) the way the participants dance. The participants are male or female, two or more of them, who carry lighted glass oil lamps on their heads and the back of their hands. Dancing to the rhythm of lilting music, they sway and balance, go around the stage or dance floor, intermingle, manipulate the glass lamps with amazing and spectacular deftness, and maneuver for dramatic and arresting position on the floor. Swift of hands and agile of feet, the dancers do not trip or drop the glass lamps that they carry.

Here’s the analogy: The dancers are the politicians (and their staunch supporters and the citizens in general) and the glass lamps are the political powers while the stage is the political arena. Agpalo wrote further, “The movement of the political actors can be compared to those of the dancers; these consist in skillful manipulations and manuevering. For this reason, the political actors, like the dancers, are fascinating to watch.”  In his another book called "Adventures in Political Science" at full length he explained, “Unlike the politics of ideology where the ideological doctrines guide, direct, and dominate the political process, there are no doctrines guiding and directing the political actors in Pandanggo sa Ilaw politics. Thus, elections, legislations, administration, adjudication, and other processes of the government in this system are not ideology-oriented ... What interests them are personal and practical matters -- what favors can be allocated to supporters and burdens imposed on non-supporters; what personal traits certain public officials or citizens have or do not have; what party can grant favors and what group cannot give patronage; and the like. In other words, Pandanggo sa Ilaw politics is oriented towards personality, practicality and material goods." Now, who says that this isn’t true today? Our “dancers” (read: political leaders) been lingering on the “stage” (read: political positions) almost for life resting the proverbial “glass lamp” (read: political power) in their hands endlessly amusing and fascinating the “audience” (read: citizens) with stunts and trivialities in between, as emphasized by their critics.

Dr. Remigio Agpalo did not stay in Occidental Mindoro most of his life except during his twilight years and that's maybe the reason why only a few of us know him. He was called the Father of Political Science in the Philippines and the leading political scientist during his time. Dr. Remigio E. Agpalo’s invaluable collection of books were turned over at the DLSU Library in June 10, 2013 and afterwards, Ms. Christine Helen Perez-Eustaquio, the daughter of Dr. Agpalo, delivered the Remarks of Circumstance and shared some stories she has about her father. Well while known in the intellectual circle, only a few knows Dr. Agpalo in his province because he did not stay here for long.

Only last month, I stumbled from the web a book titled “Dance & Politics: Moving Beyond Boundaries” (Manchester University Press, 2017) by Dana Mills. Mills, stressed that, “Our political world is in constant motion. Our lives are continually shifting. Collective communicative structures which have held us together in various forms of communal life are relentlessly being challenged by new languages.” In our context, I believe that these “new languages” suggest aspirations of the common people, the masa, and the non-hardliners. What they hoped is a first-hand dance with different dancers on the deep-rooted stage holding firmly and efficiently the sacred but desecrated glass lamp. 

Mills’ book expounds on why dance is political and how it can articulate political perspectives. As such, therefore, searching for and learning a new “dance”, like searching for and learning new politics, provide opportunity and outlet for those who are fed-up of this national situation...

------

Photo: https://www.geni.com/people/Remigio-E-Agpalo/6000000027893713165

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN3Wa-FHyzo

http://librarynewsette.lasalle.ph/2013/06/remigio-e-agpalo-collection.html 

http://newbooksnetwork.com/dana-mills-dance-and-politics-moving-beyond-boundaries-manchester-university-press-2017/

Sensing a Duterte Win

Though I am not a fan and I won’t vote for him this coming May, I smell the dawning of the Rodrigo Duterte presidency.

Violence is predominantly felt every day and everywhere in so many different forms and levels in our social interactions: abuse of power, crime, corruption and exploitation. The Filipino people are sick and tired of this chaotic reality happening right before our very eyes. Knowing the Filipino psyche, the word “Peace” is only confined to absence of violence as conveyed to us by both the mainstream and social media. Criminals with their vicious acts, both in the private and public spheres, continue to flourish as we see in the news sensationalizing  the very details of the case to the point that they bring irritating negative vibrations even in our supposedly most solemn or joyful moments. These news, the way they are presented, are giving us anxieties and even irrational fears or paranoia. Many of us are now suspicious of every stranger we meet in the streets, workplaces and even the people in our own neighborhood and homes. The criminals,- the kidnappers, hold-uppers, rapists, carnappers, etc., continue to draw blood from the hapless, innocent victims no doubt.

It is in this dreadful background that Rodrigo Duterte offered himself to the position for the nation’s top post which is the presidency. The former mayor of the then crime-infested Davao City succeeded in projecting himself as the crime busting messiah that is why, as of this writing, he continuous to gain support from the people and get high ratings from many surveys. To those who are behind him in his campaign and to millions who hope that criminality could be ended by using the iron fist approach in leadership, it is okay to employ brute force or even maim or kill in the name of peace and justice. Here lies the reality that generally, we Filipinos have very distorted concept of Peace and Justice.

Peace, to a genuine peacekeeper, is creatively and non-violently dealing with conflicts. True peacekeeping, over and above, is a way of developing alternatives to violence as means to resolving criminality. There can be no peace without justice. Justice in plain words is “giving what is legally and morally due to a person”. Indeed, we are true peacemakers only if we give what is due to somebody, his/her rights as human being to fully achieve his/her full potential and full development. The right to due process is foremost. Given the very alarming level of criminality in our society, presidential aspirants and all the candidates in general, must be committed to the defense of life and its sacredness in all its states and dimensions. The life of the suspects included. There is no room for extra-judicial killings or summary executions but on the other hand, many Filipinos today out of desperation, believe that such brutal actions are the only way to combat criminality. It is alleged that when Duterte was the local chief executive of his city, he formed death squads killing drug pushers and other criminals. We love men of action both in reel and real life. We are bombarded with movies depicting screen heroes radiating with fearlessness in the past thus this idolatry. But to follow the thoughts of Pope Francis, who am I to judge them?

Meantime, Duterte is scheduled for a campaign here in Occidental Mindoro on April 15, 2016 and a huge crowd from all over the province is expected to come. Well, even in the internationally acclaimed Google News and Al Jazeera before me put articles saying that Duterte’s presidency is inevitable.  Except for this hardline way of achieving peace and order, his other stand on certain issues, say federalism, are mostly commendable. But it is sad to note that it is not the issue of federalism or his sound development agenda that moved people to support him but his street smart personality, his machismo and his scheme of how to ultimately end criminality.  

The present generation clamor for punishers. We as voters and as citizens lack good voting judgment as it was shown in the past. As I sense that the Duterte presidency is expected, I also expect that our immaturity as voters and the patron-client relationship in our political culture will remain, so is our regressive electoral systems.

People do not care if Duterte has close friendly links with some top officials of the CPP-NPA-NDF which was classified as terrorist group by many of the Philippines’ ally nations. His supporters are mum over his pronouncement that it is okay to pay revolutionary taxes to armed communist groups. They do not care if Duterte’s stand is not to continue our legal quest against China over territorial disputes. They do not care if Duterte is a womanizer. Plain and simple, we thirst for the blood of heinous, hardened criminals, and corrupt officials except of course if that felonious individual is one of our loved ones, or perhaps, our own president.

The only thing uncertain is how his supporters will sustain to back him up and participate in eradicating and annihilating criminals in this part of the earth in just 6 months (or even after his term). Participatory governance is essential in every president’s agenda and program. Are they willing to participate in every drastic action to attain a peaceful and just society that they and their candidate are aspiring for or trying to imagine?

Ironically, of all the presidentiables, only Duterte is assured of prayers by the Pope after the former personally sent the pontiff a letter of apology. Prayers of the pope are still prayers of the pope no matter what made him do it. Under Duterte’s watch, we must now learn how to pray more for our nation. God, please, have mercy on us!

As the support for Duterte continues to swell, so do my sinuses. Due to acute perennial or seasonal rhinitis, my EENT doctor told me that I would occasionally suffer from olfactory disorder. Over and above, all communicators have reserve privilege to change their minds…

---------

(Photo: Cebu Daily News)