tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145096192024-03-18T11:02:45.582+08:00A Nagueño in the BlogosphereMusings on education governance reform and all that matters to Naga and BikolandiaWilly B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.comBlogger439125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-82086718098281741082011-06-05T21:40:00.007+08:002011-06-06T07:39:40.407+08:00Pagtaong lalawgon sa kontemporanyong literatura and sosyedad kan Kabikolan<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Repaso kan librong "Sinaraysay – Halo-halong Blog nin Buhay" ninda H. Francisco V. Peñones Jr., Rizaldy M. Manrique asin Judith Balares-Salamat durante kan <a href="http://www.voxbikol.com/article/award-winning-bicol-writers-launch-book-columns">pagbongsod</a> kaini kan Sabado, Hunyo 4, 2011, sa STA Auditorium kan Naga College Foundation.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://voxbikol.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/Sinaraysay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://voxbikol.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/Sinaraysay.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>SARONG dakulang orgolyo para sa sakuya an matawan oportunidad na magtaong repaso sa “Sinaraysay – Halo-halong Blog nin Buhay.” An poco mas o menus 200-pahinang librong ini kompuesto kan pigtiripon na mga kolum sa <i>Bikol Reporter</i> kan tolong parasurat. <br />
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<b>Proud to be Rinconada </b><br />
Dakula ining orgolyo ta an tolo kapwa kaamistades asin kasabat-sabat sa buhay. <br />
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Si Frankie pareho ko nagin International Ford Fellow, maski ngani naenot ako saiya asin iba an dalan na piglakawan. Kan tawan oportunidad na magklase, pinili niyang magpa-San Jose, California asin duman orog na pinatarom asin pinabaskog an saiyang saiyang kakayahan bilang parasurat. <br />
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<span class="fullpost">Si Aldy kapareho ko UNCean. Haros pareho an dalan na samong piglakawan sa hayskul, nagin editor asin parasurat sa <i>The Trailblazer</i>, an dyaryo kan UNC High, asin nag-agi sa kamot kan samong adviser, si Ma’am Rose Virtuz.<br />
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Si Judith man matua sako, kun dai ako nasasala nin saro o labi pang taon, asin pareho kami nagtapos nin elementarya sa Anayan-Sagrada Elementary School sa Pili. Kun dai nindo naikokolokar, an samong eskwelahan yaon duman sa kataid kan pigsangahan kan Diversion Road sa Anayan, harani sa may tulay. Dakol akong agi-agi sa eskwelahan na idto, na pano nin maogmang memorya kan nakaagi.<br />
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An saro pang “common denominator” mi iyo na kami gabos gikan sa Rincodana. “Ngamin tataong magsarita sa Rinconada.” Si Frankie gikan sa Libmanan (na sarong banwa na harani man sa sakong puso), alagad nagdakula asin nagtrabaho sa gobyerno lokal kan Iriga. Si Aldy namundag sa Iriga, nag-elementarya sa Iriga Central School, asin sa presente nagpapadalagan kan sarong escuelahan duman. Si Judith siertong tatao man: an Anayan-Sagrada, maski ngani nasa Pili asin luas sa Rincodana proper, nasa boundary asin igwa nin dakulang populasyon nin mga taga-Rinconada. An sakong mga magurang galin kin Bula/Nabua sa father side asin Iriga sa mother side.<br />
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Kaya kan hapitan ako ni Aldy sa opisina 10 days ago bago kami nagpa-Singapore ni Mayor John asin Vice Mayor Gabby, dai lamang ako makadai. <br />
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<b>Duang obheto</b><br />
Sa blurb kan libro, igwa ining duang obheto: enot, magtao nin alternatibong istorya (“pagsaysay”) manongnod sa kontemporanyong Bikolandia, asin ikadua, irokyaw asin iselebrar an nagdadanay, asin sa pagtubod ko, orog na nagtatalubong kultura asin literaturang Bikolnon. Igdi sa mga obhetong ini mabirik an sakong pagrepaso kan libro.<br />
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Daing dua-dua, matriumpong naotob kan tolong parasurat an enot na obheto. Kun satuyang sisiyasaton an presenteng estado kan industriya nin peryodismo sa satong rona, an komentaryo parateng dominado nin pulitika, na sa kadaklan short-sighted huli sa naturalesa kaini. (Kada tolong taon baga, naeleksyon huling natatapos tulos an turno kan satong mga elehidong opisyal.) An lataw na narrative susog pa man giraray sa estoryang kontrolado asin minaitok sa “dakulang tawo” sa satuyang sosyedad, sarong framework na may sarong siglo na an edad.<br />
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Sa ibong na kampi, nakakarepreskong basahon an mga artikulo ninda Frank, Aldy asin Judith kun haen bit players an mga pulitiko, asin bida an ordinaryong tawo – poon mga tiyohon, tiahon asin mga partidaryo ni Frankie sa Iriga, asin mga kapwa parasurat sa Bikolandia asin sa nasyon; sa pamilya, maestra, kaamigo, kakontemporanyo asin kabisto ni Aldy; sagkod sa ina, agom, aki, mga katrabaho, estudyante, mga kakawat sa Anayan, kaklase sa Anayan-Sagrada, OFW students sa New South Wales ni Judith; asin sa mga indibidwal (tunay man o kathang-isip) na saindang pigbibiliban asin pigtitingkalag. Siempre, yaon man an Ruben Babar, sarong institusyon sa lokal na media, na iyong nagbukas kan dalan tanganing magin libro an mga obra kan saiyang tolong kolumnista.<br />
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Dugang pa, an komentaryo bakong short-sighted kundi nagtatao kan pig-aapod sa Ingles na “long view” – mas mahiwas an pagtanaw, almost timeless sabi ngani kaiyan, asin huli kaini mas mapuwersa asin may pakinabang huling padagos na napapanahon an mensahe asin argumento maski isinurat sa konteksto kan nakaaging dekada.<br />
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Asin daing dua-dua, huli sa pagtaong lalawgon igdi, an “Sinaraysay” sarong selebrasyon kan kultura asin literaturang Bikolnon. An desinyo asin istruktura kan libro nakakaogmamg pagbasahon huli sa tolong laen-laen na boses an nagtataram.<br />
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Dai ko isi kun angay ini, pero para sako, si Frankie sa tolo iyo an kuenta Randy David – mayong kasiertohan na magugustohan mo an panurat, alagad aram mong pinapanindugan an pagtubod asin an obligasyon na isabi an katotoohan, maski malanit sa ginhawa.<br />
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Si Aldy iyo an personipikasyon kan kasabihan na journalism bilang “first draft of history” o “history written in a hurry.” Garo siya si Michael Tan, pero Bikoliana imbes na salud an pigsusurat. Halimbawa, an saiyang artikulo manongod sa Bagyong Reming kapwa nagpapagiromdom satuya kan destrosong dara kan kalamidad na idto – na kun minsan madaling malingawan huling medyo haloy na kitang dai linalamasa nin makosog na bagyo – asin kan kakayahan kan mga Bikolanong padagos na bumangon pagkatapos. Na nagpagirumdom sako kan mga saray-saray kong video kan Reming kun haen literal na pinakit kan bagyo an atop kan samong dating multipurpose center sa Grandview, Pacol.<br />
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Si Judith puede kong sabihon na iyo an Rina Jimenez David sa tolo, asin labi pa. An saiyang eksperyensia bilang ina/agom, parasurat, paratokdo asin akademiko nagtatao nin kakaibang perspektibo sa mga isyung inaatubang kan satong sosyedad. Asin ini garo hinghing nakakapagirumdom asin nakakakodot sa puso, nangorogna manongod sa literal asin metaporikal na aplikasyon kan pagluto – huling an mga magurang ko sa Sagrada matibay man na mga kusinero. Kun may paaso-aso sa kasal nin partidaryo o kamidbid, an ama ko parateng inoosipan na magtabang sa pagluto nin mga gisong sa kasal-Rinconada ko sana nananamitan. Kaya ngani suro-semana nauli ta nauli kami sa Sagrada, ta parte kan semanal na ritwal iyo an pangodtohan kaiba kan mga magurang, tugang asin makuapong yaon sana igdi sa palibot.<br />
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<b>Sarong agyat</b><br />
Boot kong tapuson an repasong ini tanganing komendaran an tolong parasurat sa pagkakaigwa nin kosog nin boot tanganing pangyarihon an sarong ideya na magin realidad. Naoogma ako maski paropano, an sadol ko ki Aldy na dai na pagparahalaton an gobyerno nganing magin totoo an sarong plano nakatabang na itulod an ideyang ini. Mala, an okasyon na ini selebrasyon kan pwersa asin kapangyarihan kan pagmawot asin dedikasyon sa sarong katuyohan asin kawsa.<br />
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Siring man, boot kong iwalat an sarong agyat. Para sako, bakong igo na kitang yaon igdi magbakal nin kopya asin magbasa kan libro. Subago, nanotaran na garo dikit sana an yaon ngonyan asin nagpaheling nin interes sa okasyon na ini. An angat sato iyo na ipaabot an librong ini, asin iba pang obra kan literaturang Bikolnon, sa mas mahiwas na audience. I certainly commisserate with our young people today – at least kan high school ako, igwa kaming subject na “Readings in Bicol Culture.” Makamomondo na ngonyan mayo na.<br />
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Pero an pagkaaram ko, an kurikulum kan DepEd minatugot na magdagdag nin subject, basta dai sana bawasan kun ano an yaon na. Siguro, saro ining bagay na dapat turukawan asin pag-olayan kan satong mga nanunungdan, sa pangengenot ni Vice Mayor Gabby Bordado asin Konsehal Nathan Sergio na yaon ngonyan. Madali ining sabihon, pero may kadepisilan gibohon ta igwa nin logistical asin resource implications an siring kaining desisyon. Baka dai pa andam an mga teacher kan DepEd-Naga na gamiton an mga materyal na ini sa eskwelahan. Pero saro ining oportunidad para sa mga parasurat asin nagmamakolog sa literaturang Bikolnon na pagtarabangan hanapan solusyon an problemang ini.<br />
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Sa giraray, congratulations sa saindong tolo. And may our tribe increase!</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com85tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-4637042271313559742011-05-26T06:32:00.003+08:002011-05-26T09:21:00.975+08:00May Pag-asa o wala? You be the judgeBELOW is the tracking taken from Pagasa's 5 AM weather bulletin:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXhs7fmMnErzGUxQ0d0z0x8OfNbw6ggkmELecHL2N-6b27CWhcwZuOu_5N0AnY-0P3l2XoVK1QveYj7TZCnCHb9hYZp_5PsmdkXkJI3as96Rw_Gmnu9j2UgRMBuAf3sZazRRtMQ/s1600/Pagasa.gif"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXhs7fmMnErzGUxQ0d0z0x8OfNbw6ggkmELecHL2N-6b27CWhcwZuOu_5N0AnY-0P3l2XoVK1QveYj7TZCnCHb9hYZp_5PsmdkXkJI3as96Rw_Gmnu9j2UgRMBuAf3sZazRRtMQ/s320/Pagasa.gif" /></a> <br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://kidlat.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/wb/tcupdate.shtml">PAGASA</a></span></i><br />
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<span class="fullpost">Now compare that with the trackings below prepared by Mike Padua's Typhoon2000.ph, the US Joint Warning Center (JTWC) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), respectively:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFRpW_ox5LgWxKi0_Biv6vjd8eeCFPgNePims0m1o1GFEtKA1mvmvd1ZgMfHfDfuRK87N1ySVZdolN9JPzTr0IgbIChIOGlFaPH27RKiFJP3P9fDOZcEAQhfT5rrMELjDxWlW7A/s1600/Typhoon2000.gif"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFRpW_ox5LgWxKi0_Biv6vjd8eeCFPgNePims0m1o1GFEtKA1mvmvd1ZgMfHfDfuRK87N1ySVZdolN9JPzTr0IgbIChIOGlFaPH27RKiFJP3P9fDOZcEAQhfT5rrMELjDxWlW7A/s320/Typhoon2000.gif" /></a> <br />
<i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.typhoon2000.ph/activetrack.gif">Typhoon2000.ph</a></span> </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6MHQwAwU3VKnhZ87BSm0V5aY3wsc-vjMjsznGrdJWqYd-_UnIcLTdtc1Wbs9kxmVAeZV8f90_CxMXiRPboVf0g7_leC3-iUI8QBnGtD3ciOiN2XC05exv8rABQUrktqGgzsxSw/s1600/JWTC.gif"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6MHQwAwU3VKnhZ87BSm0V5aY3wsc-vjMjsznGrdJWqYd-_UnIcLTdtc1Wbs9kxmVAeZV8f90_CxMXiRPboVf0g7_leC3-iUI8QBnGtD3ciOiN2XC05exv8rABQUrktqGgzsxSw/s320/JWTC.gif" /></a> <br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/warnings/wp0411.gif">JTWC</a></span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkuxwI3Xmld_GAtNQWGVkoTUawzjU89TPcfawnSoWb8eSqxPxLJEVF5wF9-tsHkm0nBPWktGBmEcc9GqEdKDxhGRBy2xqDjIBO1zvz7BnIqB552GXhurGIM_1mFsFoifhfiQZNw/s1600/JMA.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkuxwI3Xmld_GAtNQWGVkoTUawzjU89TPcfawnSoWb8eSqxPxLJEVF5wF9-tsHkm0nBPWktGBmEcc9GqEdKDxhGRBy2xqDjIBO1zvz7BnIqB552GXhurGIM_1mFsFoifhfiQZNw/s320/JMA.png" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/images/zoom5l/1102-00.png"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">JMA</span></i> </a><br />
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I think the national weather bureau does not inspire confidence.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-56987396790276527992011-03-26T06:44:00.009+08:002011-03-26T21:42:47.942+08:00A homecoming — for someone who never left<i><span class="Apple-style-span" >Commencement Speech, 63rd Commencement Exercises, UNC High School, March 26, 2011.</span></i><br /><br />I’M HONORED to address the 2011 Graduating Class of the University of Nueva Caceres in this most important occasion in your student life. I can certainly say I understand the mixed feelings that go with the occasion, having been in your shoes 25 years ago.<br /><br />Which is quite something, isn’t it? After all, our batch, UNC High School Batch ’85, was the last of the so-called “Marcos babies”: in bidding goodbye to high school life on March 30, 1985, we were the last of our kind to graduate with the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos as sitting president.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Less than a year later, a snap election would be held on February 7, 1986, pitting Marcos against Cory Aquino, the widow of opposition Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr. who was assassinated two years back in August 1983 — when we were still in third year high school, in our classroom there in the Engineering Building. It would be the beginning of the end. In two weeks time, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution">People Power Revolution</a> would take place in Edsa and sweep the Marcoses out of power. And the rest is history.<br /><br />Yet, all these would probably be unimportant to you, as a generation who grew up on gadgets like the ubiquitous cellphone that cannot be separated from your body, or social networking technologies like <a href="http://facebook.com/">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a> that bind groups and communities together. I will not be surprised if for most of you, the Edsa Revolution of 1986 — whose 25th anniversary the country celebrated this year — is only stuff of textbooks, a boring but required reading to get you through school. (Although nowadays, you can also google it on the internet and download commemorative video clips on <a href="http://youtube.com/">Youtube</a>, something we didn’t have back in our days.)<br /><br />But boy, were they tumultuous years for our generation, those four we spent at UNC High! Looking back from hindsight two and a half decades later, I still cannot figure out how my parents, an ordinary farmer and a plain housewife from Sagrada, Pili, were actually able to send me and my brother (who is two years my junior) to UNC. Most probably it was because they’re into farming that our family livelihood was mostly shielded from the tremendous economic difficulties of the time. Moreover, many farmers have no choice but to continue farming, because they actually don’t have any other option available.<br /><br />Nonetheless, this singular opportunity to speak before you, as a “young once,” I therefore owe them. In the same manner that your presence here must have been made possible by having parents, guardians or benefactors by your side. But that is not what I want to dwell on today.<br /><br />Nowadays, it’s easy to lose hope, especially in these difficult times. For someone who has practically seen our country swing from the extremes — from a repressive regime under Marcos to a restored democracy under Cory, from the dull but gung-ho days of Ramos and his technocrats to the false populism of Erap and his midnight cabinet, followed by yet another People Power uprising in 2001 (and a planned coup d’etat by military backers, just in case) that installed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her regime of broken promises, which left in its wake equally broken democratic institutions, and now another Aquino back in Malacanang, propelled by the Biblical metaphor of “tuwid na daan” — I would like to think I’ve seen it all.<br /><br />It’s as if the country has just wasted a quarter of a century hurtling from one crisis to another, fighting and containing fires of our own making, so much so that 25 years later, our democracy project remains a largely unfulfilled promise. Meanwhile, our neighboring countries in Southeast Asia have gotten their act together, moved on and sped ahead — <i>iwinalat na kita sa baybayon.</i><br /><br />It pains me because I am reminded of, and now feel chastised by that vigorous debate I had with a lovely lady at the Provincial Capitol, where, fresh out of college, I worked from 1989 to 1991. It came during the time Gringo Honasan and his RAM cohorts have just launched another coup against Cory Aquino — I think it was the one that almost killed Noynoy. The Capitol lady, clearly talking from experience, opined that she doesn’t anymore care if Cory is ousted; it’s all about power, and whoever wins, it’s the country that actually loses. I, on the other hand, passionately argued that the newly restored democracy will weather these challenges and a better future awaits us because we will have learned from the lessons of history.<br /><br />It turns out I am both right and wrong. Right that Cory would survive the coups, and eventually exited the presidency with the grace and goodwill her successors never had. But I was terribly wrong about the more important thing — we cannot seem to learn from history.<br /><br />And she was right on what really matters most — it is the country that loses. Filipinos do not seem to have what it takes to succeed as a nation. Other countries have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and bounced back when they fall down. We, on the other hand, don’t seem to know how to win, which starts with getting our act together under a president who can inspire and draw the best from every Filipino. We instead revel in our infinite capacity to laugh at our own misfortunes, mistaking it for the legendary resiliency of the bamboo. But repeated many times over without ever learning, these are really failings that bite, very much like that ancient Bee Gees song called <a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bee+gees/i+started+a+joke_20015610.html">“I Started a Joke”</a> that is probably alien to your Lady Gaga-Taylor Swift-and-Justin Bieber generation. Even then, these failings are no longer funny — because mothers are dying during childbirth; children are growing hungry and stunted, eventually dropping out of school; our population is exploding; and poverty continues to prey on our benighted land.<br /><br />But there is hope, because there is a better way. What our batch did is probably instructive — we simply ignored the national government and moved on with our lives. Like many Filipinos today, a number chose to vote with their feet and went abroad. Many of them are doing well. In a decade or so, they should be coming home and contribute more directly to community building. Others chose to leave and try their luck in other places of the country, including Metro Manila. But most opted to stay in Bicol, particularly in Naga, like myself and many others who have built their family, career and living in this city we call “maogmang lugar.”<br /><br />The bottomline is this: We have cut off the static and the crap that came from a central government and its parade of post-Edsa administrations that have failed miserably, and upon which we have very little influence — and decided to rechannel our energies to more productive pursuits.<br /><br />This process is called re-centering. Here, I take a leaf from literature, by way of the experience of Merlie Alunan of Leyte and Abdon Balde, Jr. of Oas, Albay as described in an article entitled <a href="http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/308979/center-away-center">“Center away from the center”</a> which appeared in the March 12, 2011 issue of <i>Manila Bulletin</i>.<br /><br />Balde, one of the most outstanding Bikolano artists awarded by the city government in 2009, especially came out with this gem: “Centers are not permanent places. I suppose I am just like any writer who creates his own center, and it doesn't matter whether it is in the center or in the margins. What matters is that I am comfortable in my own center.”<br /><br />By pretending as if the national government did not exist, our batch effectively created their own centers and became comfortable with it. These centers are not constrained by geography — for some, it was Hong Kong or Singapore or Malaysia in Southeast Asia; Dubai, Saudi or Qatar in the Middle East; UK, Austria or the other countries in continental Europe; Australia down under; and of course the good ol’ US of A in North America. For our seamen, it can even be the seven seas of Sindbad, or wherever their ships would bring them.<br /><br />But for the less audacious ones like myself, who by force of choice or circumstance decided to stay, Naga became our center. And for the past two decades, I had the opportunity to contribute to its growth, its development, its continuing effort to be the “maogmang lugar” its citizens dream about — in the best way that I can.<br /><br />But more importantly, our batch never forgot we are all connected — that once upon a time, we spent together four colorful years of high school life within the walls of this university, making it our veritable second home.<br /><br />Which why I am both honored and happy to be here to refresh the landscape of our memories. It is during times like this that we yearn for things that were, and those that never were and didn’t come to pass. Seeing you today reminds me of the very things that make high school that unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Like many of you for sure, it was in high school when we fell in love for the first time, so much so that some of our “love teams” survived both the juvenile traps and the temptations of college life and actually ended for real and for keeps. Most others weren’t so lucky, and I’d like to believe it was because they would eventually find someone better. Others chose to be on the safe side and decided to keep the feeling to themselves, and had all the pimples to show for it. Still others would bide their time, and like Ramon Fernandez, my hardcourt hero from the fabled Toyota Corollas, or his counterparts from the much-hated Crispa Redmanizers, would opt to launch their attempt in the closing seconds of the game. But the better ones would cast their net wider, choosing either someone younger or older, depending on their taste and skills.<br /><br />So, thank you for indulging me and my juvenile reminiscences in this homecoming of sorts — for someone who never really left. You see, I was supposed to be here last December 29, 2010 when Batch ‘85 hosted the traditional alumni homecoming of the university. That was until a virulent illness felled me five days before the big event, and kept me under house arrest for the next three weeks.<br /><br />Three months later, I am finally home and thoroughly enjoying your company.<br /><br />And a decade or so from now, my batchmates with hairs graying like mine will come home too, for good — because at the end of the day, there is no place quite like it. And we will have this little big university to thank for, not only for the cherished memories of youth but for a life well lived. And it will be for the greater glory of Naga, and in the best interest of our beloved Bicolandia, that these centers will converge — for good and for keeps.<br /><br />But enough of the melodrama! Again, thank you and may Jehovah God bless wherever your feet will carry you, and choose to create your own centers.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-10468032008365008262010-11-06T05:58:00.005+08:002010-11-06T06:25:22.677+08:00Peripheral yet Central: Notes from a 20-Year and Going Urban Democracy Project in the Philippines<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Presented on October 5, 2010 during the Second General Assembly of the IFP Philippines Alumni Association (IFPPAA) at the MMLDC, Antipolo City.</span><br /><br />WHEN we were about to get our degree from the Department of Land Economy in Cambridge in 2004, a Cypriot classmate, who is an expert in real estate finance, asked me what my plans are after graduation.<br /><br />I asked: How about you?<br /><br />He said he will probably work for one of the leading London-based property conglomerates. At that time, I really had no doubt he will succeed. An indication that it came to pass is the fact that he used to sponsor one of the annual student awards at the Department in honor of her grandparents.<br /><br />For my part, I said then I will go back to my native city, where I think I stand a better chance of making a difference.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Looking back at that brief conversation, I think that on the whole, my decision to go back to the city government of Naga after completing my IFP fellowship turned out to be a good decision. But to say that the outcomes of that decision was a clear example of an either-or proposition – economists like Assad Baunto would love to call it a zero-sum game </span><span class="fullpost">–</span><span class="fullpost"> totally misses the point. Which should nicely lead me to a discussion on the dilemmas we face as IFP alumni.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Good Decision</span><br />But before I do so, allow me to explain why I believe it was a good decision. I will highlight three points:<br /><br /></span><span class="fullpost">1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Professionally</span>, going back to Naga enabled me to make good use of my schooling. My graduate work at the Department of Land Economy focused on planning, growth and regeneration. Today, my work as head of the city’s planning and development unit enables me to apply the theories and principles on urban planning to Naga’s development.</span><br /><span class="fullpost"><br />For instance, the way Philippine local governments today conduct their planning has been revolutionized and rationalized, aided by a study conducted by UP SURP and enshrined in a joint memorandum circular issued by the DILG, DBM, NEDA and DOF issued in 2007. While we are taking measured steps towards delivering these documents, I can fairly say that we have a better handle of the process, thanks to stuff I learned from my Cambridge professors and the English experience with the so-called “urban planning machinery” that drives housing and urban development.<br /><br />Almost a month ago, I was gratified to hear a high-ranking functionary of the DILG speak about the need for greater civil society participation in generating baseline LGU performance indicators in its flagship Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS).<br /><br />This was precisely our experience and realization several weeks back during our planning workshop in crafting Naga’s comprehensive development plan that used LGPMS data. Essentially, it boils down to the fundamental weakness of the system – which has to do with its self-rating nature. Without outsiders actively engaged in the process, there is that temptation to window-dress data driven by the urge to make one’s locality look good. But this of course comes at the expense of truth telling, which is a basic requirement of good planning.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Personally,</span> going back to Naga enabled me to raise my family, and see my children grow before my very eyes in the same city where I work. This was the single biggest problem I faced when doing graduate work in Cambridge: a Ph.D title appended to my name would have sounded fine, but the best university in the world (according to the 2010 QS World University rankings) was simply not the best place for a homesick father of five (at the time) and faithful husband to his wife.<br /><br />As an IFP fellow exposed to the comforts and opportunities of a First World society, I must admit staying put in the UK – regardless of what the PSSC and the Ford Foundation will say – crossed my mind. I am sure all of us, one way or another, had to face this temptation. But every time, the family card would trump all possible permutations where benefits outweigh the cost of leaving them behind.<br /><br />So for me, it matters less that I am earning Philippine pesos and not British pounds; what matters more is that when I rise every morning, I get to wake up beside my best friend of 18 years, cook for and eat breakfast with my children, and drive them to school before I go to work. Yes, it is definitely a challenge to make the most out of a government worker’s salary, which often requires foregoing many comforts and luxuries that come quite easy for OFW families in our neighborhood; but these are tradeoffs I have learned to accept in exchange for the sheer pleasure of growing up with my children.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Psychologically</span>, staying in the City Government of Naga actually brought me immense self-satisfaction. In my own little ways, I am making a difference.<br /><br />For instance, the quality of local decision-making has improved because of my department’s newly acquired capability to do evidence-based policy analysis. Take for instance the currently raging issue of whether City Hall should raise rental rates at our newly rehabilitated public market. The study we did, in response to a directive from the Sangguniang Panglungsod committee on market affairs, has crystallized the available policy options to both the executive and the legislative. And to a great extent, the numbers behind those options have shaped the ongoing debate, in the process tamping down heated passion that used to carry the day.<br /><br />Then, there’s also our enhanced capability to come up with trailblazing local initiatives. Just two days ago, we formally launched the Naga River Revitalization Project, a multisectoral effort that seeks to finally reverse the decline and degration of the city’s major waterway. In May, when I submitted it to a pioneering training program for local governments jointly sponsored by the World Bank and the Singaporean government, even my city hall colleagues were not convinced, thinking there were other more urgent matters that the city government should respond to.<br /><br />But after a highly successful 10-day stint at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore last July, where we developed an action plan to implement the Naga River project under the supervision of WBI and LKY faculty, the World Bank has apparently decided to adopt riverfront development as the overarching theme for its second round of training. If things hold up, we will most probably be invited back to share our experience to the next batch of Asian cities chosen to participate in that event in July 2011.<br /><br />There’s also that ongoing effort the come up with a new joint memorandum circular to govern the use of the Special Education Fund (SEF) by Philippine local governments, which is central to my work on and abiding interest in Local School Boards. Of course, it helps that my former mayor is now the acting secretary of the DILG (for how long, I don’t know). But I find it truly fulfilling to have been invited to actively comment on the several drafts of the JMC, and with some of my recommendations actually being adopted – at least in the most recent version I saw. With all the mishaps and missteps attending P-Noy’s young administration, I am not sure whether that JMC will actually see the light of day – and I really pray that it does. But whatever happens, my experience shows that it is entirely possible to do good work in the periphery sufficient enough to impact central policymaking.<br /><br />Finally, there’s of course the 2009 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award accorded to our Public Service Excellence Program (PSEP) Team, of which I am the deputy team leader, at the Naga City government. Our team is primarily responsible for bringing about three editions of the Naga City Citizen’s Charter, the pioneering effort of the Naga City Government to empower its citizenry by promoting transparency and accountability in service delivery. England, by the way, has a long tradition of promoting services charters.<br /><br />Naga’s Citizen’s Charter, the first of its kind in the country, predates by seven years Republic Act No. 9485, more popularly known as the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) of 2007” that requires all national and local government agencies to come up with their own service charters. RA 9485 only came into effect when it was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on June 2, 2007.<br /><br />In recognition of this, the Civil Service Commission accorded to us that award, the highest recognition “conferred on an individual or group of individuals for exceptional or extraordinary contributions resulting from an idea or performance that had nationwide impact on public interest, security and patrimony.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dilemmas</span><br />But coming home to one’s country armed with a degree made possible by our fellowship, which should make Mareng Winnie Monsod proud even if we are not her students at the UP School of Economics, is not all bed of roses. Truth of the matter is, we are faced with two formidable dilemmas:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">One, was it worth my while?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I sense from our Yahoo e-group, a good number are having difficulty finding jobs that pay well, not so much psychologically but financially. This, to me, is a gut issue, and we don’t have to invoke Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to make it so.<br /><br />Compounding the problem are the raised expectations that come with completing that fellowship, both from our end and from others. From our end, the fellowship is the nearest thing to being an OFW: in my case, I am able to set aside some money that I regularly send home to support my family. But it was only as good as it lasted; homecoming meant going back to the real world, warts and all. And then there’s the unwarranted expectation from others, especially from relatives, that having a degree from a university abroad is the “Open Sesame” that automatically unlocks the door to fabulous riches described in the stories of the Arabian nights.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Secondly, with the uncertainties of the future, did I really do the right thing?</span> Doubts about the wisdom of coming back to the country starts to creep in when our current realities – that is, the opportunities supposed to come with our schooling – do not match up with expectations. This is exacerbated when one begins to compare himself with better-off OFWs who are actually doing well financially, and they did not have to go through the rigors of what we went through, starting from the pre-academic trainings mandated by PSSC down to the thesis and dissertations we had to submit as requirements of the our degree!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Way Forward</span><br />While these dilemmas can be very unsettling at times, I never fail to derive inspiration from one movie I recently saw and enjoyed with my family, so much so that my children would watch it over and over again.<br /><br />I am referring to the 2009 Bollywood hit entitled <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Idiots">“3 Idiots,”</a> a highly engaging 2-hour 44-minute comedy – which incidentally illustrates the huge gulf separating Indian and Philippine cinema.<br /><br />The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website describes the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187043/">movie’s storyline</a> as follows: “Two friends embark on a quest for a lost buddy. On this journey, they encounter a long forgotten bet, a wedding they must crash, and a funeral that goes impossibly out of control.” This, of course, does no justice at all to that movie, so I suggest that you take time downloading a copy on your favorite bittorrent application and watch it yourself.<br /><br />There are, however, two memorable <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187043/quotes">quotes from IMDb</a> that I would want to share:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“Today my respect for that idiot shot up. Most of us went to college just for a degree. No degree meant no plum job, no pretty wife, no credit card, no social status. But none of this mattered to him, he was in college for the joy of learning, he never cared if he was first or last.” </span>– Farhan Qureshi<br /><br />This, I think, goes at the very heart of our motivation for pursuing higher education. The typical perspective, represented by Farhan’s, is that getting a degree is merely a means to achieving higher ends – a good job, financial security, a happy family, a higher standing in society.<br /><br />But there is that other perspective represented by Rancchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad aka “Rancho” – the joy of learning is by itself a worthy end, and everything else is secondary: the icing on our cake, the gravy to our chicken.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“Pursue excellence, and success will follow, pants down.”</span> – Rancho<br /><br />This second quote, I think, is the movie’s central message. To me, this is a powerful response to problems created by the two dilemmas I outlined above. Its effectiveness in resolving these issues in our own individuals lives will pretty much depend on ourselves.<br /><br />And my little experience of staying put in Naga shows that one can choose to wage his battle even in the periphery, outside of the power center that is Imperial Manila; yet by pursuing excellence with passion, he can do enough good work as to impact society at various levels, from the grassroots to a town or city, from a province to a region and even the nation itself – and make a difference.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-596156344057049042010-09-01T09:21:00.007+08:002010-09-01T10:10:46.573+08:00Post-mortem to the Manila hostage crisisTODAY'S <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/31/10/robredo-washes-hands-hostage-fiasco">headline story</a> at the ABS-CBN News website confirms what I have believed all along: my former boss and now DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo could not have been on top of that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_hostage_crisis">bungled Manila hostage crisis</a>.<br /><br />Immediately after the incident, Vice Mayor Gabby Bordado told me his cellphone was flooded by text messages: Where on earth was Secretary Robredo while Rolando Mendoza's caper was happening? The bottomline: this was not the Jesse Robredo we knew. Knowing the guy up close, what just happened was very un-Jesse.<br /><br />Our former mayor became equally famous, not only for his being a legendary spendthrift (the close-fisted "boksingero" in local parlance, as opposed to the open-palmed "karatista"), but also because of his ingrained habit of being one of the first, if not the first, to rush to the scene of incidents requiring government presence. It's perfectly in synch with his fundamental governance philosophy -- you cannot ask of others what you yourself are not willing to do.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">In all the crises that our city faced over the last two decades -- from the fires that hit the Naga City Public Market and private dwellings, to the <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2006/12/beware-of-november-views-outside-my.html">supertyphoons that lashed our homes</a> -- his reassuring presence strongly signals what have become a certainty: come what may, Naga will surely overcome.<br /><br />I'm not sure what typhoon it was that buried the city center in foot-deep mud, but one unforgettable sight that Conrado de Quiros immortalized on one of his columns was of Robredo shoveling the dirt by his lonesome the morning after.<br /><br />Legend has it that one of his kagawads had the temerity to ask why the mayor was doing the shoveling, when he can command his people at City Hall to do it for him. He was said to have replied: "Do you really think I'm enjoying this? But someone must start doing something."<br /><br />Yes, hindsight is 20/20 vision. But my gut feel tells me that if only President Noynoy Aquino trusted the political instincts of his DILG secretary more, things would have turned out differently.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-19671194058573150902010-07-15T08:48:00.003+08:002010-07-15T09:29:13.762+08:00It's also about the mindsetI CAN ONLY commiserate with the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100715-281141/Aquino-hits-weather-bureau-for-error">which again bungled its job</a> of providing accurate forecast on the path of Typhoon "Basyang" that caught Metro Manila residents on their pants once more.<br /><br />But while I agree with the <a href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20100715-281146/When-it-rains"><span style="font-style: italic;">Inquirer</span> editorial's point on securing the necessary equipment</a>, that is built on the faulty premise that it is the only solution to our woes. And if we are to follow this line of reasoning, it will need P1.8 billion in government spending and two more years before the Doppler radars are finally made operational.<br /><br />For a country lying on the typhoon alleyway like ours, this is not an acceptable option.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">And the premise easily crumbles in the face of David Michael "Mike" Padua's accurate forecast of Basyang's track. As early as 2 pm last Tuesday, in a meeting hastily called by Mayor John G. Bongat, Padua's latest map tracking the typhoon clearly showed Metro Manila as its target.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Medyo nagbaba an direksyon as of 12 noon, kaya mahanggilid sa northern Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte, pero at most 50 kms away from the city,"</span> city disaster pointman Erning Elcamel explained, interpreting Padua's table of strike probabilities on Naga. It used data from the <a href="http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html">Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawai‘i</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Now, how did an unassuming guy, armed only with his love of storm tracking and equipment either bought out of his own pocket or donated by friends, admirers and other partners, got it right -- while the entire PAGASA machinery got it wrong?</span><br /><br />It's all about the mindset. From the looks of it, our state weather bureau's instinct is of the pre-internet days -- which is to rely on its outdated data gathering methodologies anchored on internally generated info from field men and their outdated equipment.<br /><br />By holding on to these methods and procedures, it becomes like the proverbial ostrich that buries its head in the sand.<br /><br />Instead of sniping on Padua's work, which some of its local people do out of spite, it's about time PAGASA listens to what the guy said:<br /><blockquote>"...the problem with PAGASA’s forecast went beyond the procurement of new equipment. You will need more training to go with the new equipment. But more than how to use the new equipment, training in the new methods of meteorology and storm tracking.<br /><br />"Padua recommended training under experts from the National Hurricane Center in Miami. He also said PAGASA should use resources on the Internet for information on coming storms. 'There are many websites officially recognized by many agencies,' he said."</blockquote>Actually, <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100715-281154/Robredo-proposes-local-forecasting-facilities-for-LGUs">instead of relying on the state</a>, what communities and local governments should do is to create space for more Mike Paduas to flourish and encourage them to pursue their hobbies with renewed vigor.<br /><br />The academia would be a perfect place to start. After all, Mike Padua by day is a professor at the Naga College Foundation.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-2315166142232907042010-01-31T16:21:00.010+08:002010-01-31T20:23:41.303+08:00A little more honest, but...MY FORMER City Hall colleague, <a href="http://natividadtribe.blogspot.com/">Jessie Natividad</a>, must have been following my ongoing conversation with Atty. Che Carpio.<br /><br />When I woke up this morning, I got an email from him containing the link to <a href="http://www.voxbikol.com/bikolnews/4030/tinimbang-ka-ngunit-kulang">Carpio's latest column</a>, which <span style="font-style: italic;">Vox Bikol</span> published in its website a day after our face-to-face at the Ateneo when he talked about <span style="font-style: italic;">Kaantabay sa Kauswagan</span>, Naga's urban poor housing project.<br /><br />I of course obliged him with the following reply:<br /><br /><span class="fullpost"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dear Attorney Carpio: </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">This pertains to your latest column entitled “Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang,” which continues to amuse me. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">First off, this is an ongoing conversation between us. Since</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2010/01/chosing-to-see-glass-half-empty.html"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">I first emailed you</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> last Jan 17, you will take note that the message came from my email address; and it was my name that appeared as its author. It is only in your mind that it was Mayor Jesse Robredo responding, not I. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Having said that, anyone interested in finding out what I emailed you the second time around can check my </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2010/01/case-of-intellectual-dishonesty.html">weblog</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">. I stand by what I wrote; if your or anybody else’s sensibilities are offended, then I’m sorry for that and the attending hurt or discomfort. But I will never apologize for correcting distortions and data selectivity that would amount to intellectual dishonesty. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Let me now address your clarifications point by point: </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">1. The only reason why the S&P report is not available in the website is because S&P marked it confidential. That much is clear from my email to Julma when I forwarded it to her per your request. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">2. To the contrary, your claim that “intermediate is a dismal 50% rating” and a “failing mark”” </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">is what I will call a spin. <span style="font-style: italic;">Because nowhere in that report did S&P conclude that way.</span> They were your simplistic conclusions that do not do justice at all to the report in its entirety.</span> <br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Consider, for example, the following snippets from the Financial Management Assessment (FMA) Report’s “Overview of Naga City’s key strengths and weakness” (underscoring mine): </span><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Not withstanding the systemic constraints and institutional weaknesses afflicting Naga City, the strongest areas of financial management which drive the overall score for the city government include annual budgeting at <span style="font-style: italic;">Intermediate</span>, financial reporting and disclosure at <span style="font-style: italic;">Intermediate Plus</span> and debt management at <span style="font-style: italic;">Intermediate Minus</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Despite the lack of budgeting or accounting software, the city has been accurate in its budgeting performance on both revenue and expenditure. And as mentioned, its audited financial statements are free of material qualifications, a rarity among Philippines LGUs. </span>This is a significant driving factor behind the city’s overall score as well. Naga city has also proven to have the capacity to managed debt and demonstrated a relatively high level of quality in its debt monitoring.<br /><br />…<br /><br />The city’s financial statements had received clean audit opinions from COA in the last few years. No notable discrepancies appeared on Naga’s audited statements except for the usual inconsistency in the valuation of physical assets, and COA reported that the city is expected to resolve them by end 2008. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Naga’s transparency in its reporting of financial performance is also noteworthy, with the comprehensive publishing of its annual budget, interim annual and quarterly financial statements released on a timely basis on the city website. However its financial reporting score is constrained by the lack of accounting software that would potentially reduce paperwork and offer easier access to financial information within the city administration. Nonetheless, Naga has still managed to consistently produce reliable financial statements despite the lack of electronic solutions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Likewise, despite the absence of any budgeting software, Naga’s annual budgeting performances have been strong and demonstrated relative accuracy on both revenue and expenditure planning. It is conservative on revenue budgeting, with final outcome more often than not exceeding initial budgeted amount.</span> Correspondingly, expenditure outturn has been lower by an average of 1.6% from budgeted amounts in the period 2005-2007 (albeit with some volatility from year to year). Though Naga’s annual budgeting process is still largely characterized by incremental-based, it is one of the few LGUs to have at least adopt some form of programmatic expenditure planning. Currently, around 15%-20% of the city’s budget is estimated to be program-based.<br /><br />The Naga city government demonstrate adequate capacity in debt management. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Unlike most LGUs who have monthly debt repayment automatically deducted from their monthly IRA transfers, the Naga administration keeps good track of its amortization schedule and issue checks on timely basis to directly repay lending banks. Furthermore, all of the city’s loans are negotiated with clauses that allow prepayment without penalties. The city government actively monitors borrowing rates and would seek cheaper refinancing whenever the opportunity arises.</span> However, like most LGUs, Naga’s debt management score is weakened by the lack of a coherent and explicit debt policy. Alleviating this is that the city’s medium-term investment plan (LDIP) has acted as a pseudo-debt policy of the current administration. </blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Together with the FMA is the Credit Rating Report on Naga, whose section entitled “Comparative Analysis” contains the following: </span><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >International peers</span><br />The Russian entities of Nizhny Novgorod (BB-/Stable/--) and Tver Oblast (B+/Negative/--), as well as the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv (CCC+/Watch Neg/--) and the Turkish city of Istanbul (BB-/Negative/--) are suitable international peers for the City of Naga (which is was given a credit rating of BB-/Stable)<br /><br />…<br /><br />Like some of its peers, the City of Naga has been able to partially fund aggressive capital expenditure programs in recent years with operating surpluses, which has helped to limit its borrowing requirements. However, the overall average level of capital expenditure relative to total expenditure reported by Naga (18.5%) is still below that for its international peers (30%) from 2005-2007. Although its physical infrastructure is relatively well-maintained by national standards, it is largely inadequate in the international context.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Naga’s direct debt level has been steadily declining, unlike Istanbul’s. Coupled with a healthy and fast-rising cash position, the city’s overall debt profile is favourable and compares well to that of Nizhny Novgorod. Likewise, Naga’s strong budgetary performance stands out among its peer group. </span>However, this is in part a function of the city’s weaker capacity to administer capital projects (stemming from lack of benefits of scale), and also a function of the systemic borrowing constraints faced by Philippine local governments.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Local peers</span><br />Unlike its domestic peers who are located in Metro Manila like Quezon City, Taguig and Mandaluyong, who have relatively more diversified service-base economies, Naga is predominately engaged in the agrarian sector. The lack of a distinct geographic or industrial advantage has resulted in lower property value and smaller-scale businesses operating in Naga, which in turn limits the city’s real property and business tax collection. In mitigation, its local economy has been relatively more insulated than Metro Manila peers in this current global downturn. In addition, outside the capital region, Naga’s tax base and per capita income would compare more favorably than those of Iligan and Tacloban.<br /><br />…<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The city’s budgetary performance is nevertheless stronger than all rated Philippines cities, despite the fact that other cities have far more revenue streams at their disposal. This reflects to some extent the more advanced financial management practices of the Naga city government than its peers. Likewise, despite its more limited resources, Naga has been able to maintain robust liquidity coverage and a direct debt burden better than the average for its peer group. </span></blockquote><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">This is hardly the picture of a “failing” city and its local government. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">This is precisely why I challenged</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> Vox Bikol</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> to publish it wholly and let its readers decide. To me, it is an unadulterated take on the strengths and weaknesses of the city’s economy and the city government’s stewardship of its financial resources. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I will have to check if our point person in this credit rating project has already secured the needed clearance from S&P to publish the report in the city website. If yes, rest assured that we will make it available. Nonetheless, I am uploading the report in my blog, albeit unofficially, because I believe that its potential to educate us clearly outweighs its confidential nature. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">3. I am happy that you have now acknowledged Naga’s score relative to its peers, the glaring omission that actually prompted that “intellectual dishonesty” remark in my previous email. Consequently, I will now gladly reconsider that assertion. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">4. I will concede your point on the scope of that World Bank-funded pilot project, which is only limited to eight cities thus far. But I am confident that this inference is in order for the following reasons: </span><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><li>To have been considered, and more importantly, included in a pilot project on the credit rating of Philippine cities (out of the 120, because the League of Cities of the Philippines is still contesting the controversial SC decision affirming the cityhood of the other 16) already says enough about Naga. The mayor’s SOCR already covered this. But clearly, there is something about Naga that merited the Bank’s attention.</li><li>Quezon City, the richest LGU in the Philippines today, is among the pilot cities. So are Marikina, incidentally the most innovative and most awarded city in Metro Manila; Mandaluyong, Malabon and Taguig. But as you yourself acknowledged, albeit grudgingly, Naga more than held its own compared to these richer localities and their much more diversified economies. Unlike you, I therefore like our chances.<br /></li><li>Your asides about transparency notwithstanding, the report clearly recognized, and it bears repeating here, that “Naga City is the only city assessed so far to have consistently received a clean opinion from COA on its financial statements, which placed the quality of its financial reporting considerably above domestic peers.” I have every reason to believe we will continue to be so, even if credit rating covers the entire universe of Philippine LGUs.<br /></li><li>My experience with Philippine local governments -- and my work on public education has brought me to a number -- is that for the most part, they have continuing difficulty with disclosure and openness in regard to their finances. (For instance, I will be very interested to see whether the CWC is making money or not. By the way, I have written COA twice, requesting that it put online its 2008 Audit Reports for the Bicol cities and provinces; thus far, they have only obliged us with Masbate province and city.) To my knowledge, and of course I will be happy to be corrected on this matter, only Naga publishes its proposed and approved annual budget, as well as its quarterly financial statements.</li></ul><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">5. Finally, that “consuelo de bobo” thing again highlights the fundamental difference in our respective positions: you may have become a little more honest in laying down the facts, but the “half-empty” perspective continues to color your opinion. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In your static world view, that condescending put-down (that Naga merely topped the class of Philippine failures) is consistent with your negative perspective; if one reads closely, it smugly implies that Philippine cities do not have what it takes to be world-class -- simply because their best started out with a measly “Intermediate” rating when S&P first came to local shores, courtesy of the World Bank. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In that world view, its credit rating of BB-/Stable for foreign currencies -- mind you, better than the capital cities of Ukraine and Turkey; BB+/Stable for local currencies; and AA+ in the national rating system -- only a shade lower than AAA, </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_&_Poor%27s">S&P’s top investment grade</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> given to “the best quality borrowers, reliable and stable” -- it proposes for Philippine local governments do not matter at all. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Unfortunately for you, the Naga city government not only looks at the glass half-full, but believes it is our responsibility to fill it up the brim. Instead of sulking and fault-finding, we celebrate affirmations that come our way, like that S&P report, because they tell us we must have doing some things well and right all along. Thankfully, its FMA points out precisely where and what we need to do make the system better. I am confident that our current and next leaders are as bullish about the future and have the same positive, can-do attitude. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Again, I will not take it against you: you are entitled to your beliefs, in the same manner that I am entitled to a vigorous defense of the city’s position against continuing distortions that mask reality. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And I don’t have be a Mayor Robredo to be able to do it.:)</span><br /><br />Those interested in the S&P report can go check the following:<br /><br /><a title="View Credit Analysis of Naga City on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/25817915/Credit-Analysis-of-Naga-City" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Credit Analysis of Naga City</a> <object id="doc_821254872341832" name="doc_821254872341832" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline-color: -moz-use-text-color; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium;" width="100%" height="600"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=25817915&access_key=key-pwyr76zokvl5wvjwhf8&page=1&viewMode=list"> </object><br /><br /><a title="View Financial Management Assessment (FMA) Report on Naga City on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/26142692/Financial-Management-Assessment-FMA-Report-on-Naga-City" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Financial Management Assessment (FMA) Report on Naga City</a> <object id="doc_686570968785856" name="doc_686570968785856" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline-color: -moz-use-text-color; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium;" width="100%" height="600"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=26142692&access_key=key-mr24yvjz9jh5xa1pzbn&page=1&viewMode=list"> </object><br /><br /><a title="View Appendix - Overview of the Philippine Inter-Government System on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/26142834/Appendix-Overview-of-the-Philippine-Inter-Government-System" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Appendix - Overview of the Philippine Inter-Government System</a> <object id="doc_233293244212150" name="doc_233293244212150" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline-color: -moz-use-text-color; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium;" width="100%" height="600"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=26142834&access_key=key-1b2xwm7uw3oo88u3vnqp&page=1&viewMode=list"> </object></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-82159122884745699542010-01-28T19:38:00.006+08:002010-01-29T14:48:01.981+08:00Malolos City is short, however one looks at itINTRIGUED by <a href="http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=544529&publicationSubCategoryId=63">the close 7-6 vote by the Supreme Court</a> on the <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2010/01/pyrrhic-victory-for-palaka.html">voided law</a> creating a separate Malolos City congressional district, I checked the <a href="http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/january2010/188078_abad.htm">dissenting opinion</a> penned by Associate Justice Roberto A. Abad.<br /><br />I have a feeling these are more or less the arguments that were invoked or will be invoked by Rep. Dato Arroyo and his PALAKA cohorts in support of their reapportionment of Camarines Sur's former 1st and 2nd congressional districts.<br /><br />The money quotes (underscoring mine):<br /><span class="fullpost"><span style="font-size:14pt;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Court has always been reluctant to act like a third chamber of Congress and second guess its work. </span>Only when the lawmakers commit grave abuse of discretion in their passage of the law can the Court step in. But the lawmakers must not only abuse this discretion, they must do so with grave consequences.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:14pt;"></span>Here, nothing in Section 5, Article VI of the Constitution prohibits the use of estimates or population projections in the creation of legislative districts. <span style="font-weight: bold;">As argued by the Solicitor General, the standard to be adopted in determining compliance with the population requirement involves a political question. In the absence of grave abuse of discretion or patent violation of established legal parameters, the Court cannot intrude into the wisdom of the standard adopted by the legislature.</span><br /><br />...<br /><br /><span style="font-size:14pt;"></span>R.A. 9591 is based on a “legislative” finding of fact that Malolos will have a population of over 250,000 by the year 2010. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The rules of legislative inquiry or investigation are unique to each house of Congress. Neither the Supreme Court nor the Executive Department can dictate on Congress the kind of evidence that will satisfy its law-making requirement. </span> It would be foolhardy for the Court to suggest that the legislature consider only evidence admissible in a court of law or under the rules passed by the Office of the President. Obviously, the Judicial Department will resist a mandate from Congress on what evidence its courts may receive to support its decisions.</blockquote>It is however Paragraph (c) of Justice Abad's disquisition as to why a Ramos-issued executive order governing the use of NSO demographic projections that I find flawed mathematically. It relies on the annual application of the 1995-2000 population growth rate (PGR) of Malolos City (certified at 3.78% annually by NSO Region III Director Alberto Miranda) from 2001 to 2010, which would conveniently yield a projected population of 254,036 this year -- enough to meet the minimum 250,000 threshhold.<br /><br />But it is not an accurate projection for two reasons:<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">It does not square with the actual 2007 NSO count.</span> The 2007 NSO census for Malolos (223,069), which is available <a href="http://census.gov.ph/data/census2007/index.html">here</a>, is 4,208 lower than the projected count of 227,277 -- putting the 3.78% certified PGR at the high side.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The PGR between 2000 and 2007 should have been used. </span>It would have yielded a more accurate projection, being closer to the year in question. Demographers and city planners <a href="http://www.nscb.gov.ph/RU11/glossary/population/PGR.htm">can easily compute this</a>, using either geometric or exponential formulas.<br /><br />I plugged these formulas and the basic data in <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArNI9SAMqZKUdEJQRFUwYkQ3ekdRQ0pCb2tFZjlaVkE&hl=en">this spreadsheet</a>, which I uploaded to Google Docs. I will urge you to check it for accuracy. In sum, my computations yielded a PGR between 3.44% (geometric) and 3.5% (exponential), significantly lower than what Director Miranda certified.<br /><br />In both instances, Malolos City falls short of the threshhold by a low of around 3,600 to a high of around 4,000.<br /><br />They only reinforce the <a href="http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/january2010/188078.htm">majority decision penned by Associate Justice Antonio Carpio</a>, which spells trouble ahead for the PALAKA coalition in Camarines Sur.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-39921062575433512612010-01-28T09:21:00.006+08:002010-01-28T13:50:12.326+08:00A pyrrhic victory for PALAKA?<span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE (1:35 PM)</span>: The SC decision voiding the Malolos City congressional district is now accessible <a href="http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/january2010/188078.htm">here</a>.<br /><br />THIS <a href="http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=544529&publicationSubCategoryId=63">PHILIPPINE STAR</a> story should give pause to the <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2009/12/ateneo-forum-on-datos-dam.html">unabated media war</a> being prosecuted by the media groups of Rep. Dato Arroyo and San Fernando Mayor Perry Mabulo, aided by Gov. L-Ray "Bebe Ko" Villafuerte.<br /><br />If the SC decision penned by Justice Antonio Carpio were to serve as precedent, they may just end up -- together with DBM Secretary Nonoy Andaya and <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2009/11/law-of-unintended-consequence.html">Rep. Luis Villafuerte</a>, author of the bill reapportioning what used to be the 1st and 2nd Districts of Camarines Sur -- holding an empty bag, owners of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory">pyrrhic victory</a> that caps the total unraveling of yet another best-laid scheme of mice and men by the Partido Lakas-Kampi (PALAKA) coalition.<br /><br />The key portion of the story, found towards the end, deserves to be quoted fully:<br /><span class="fullpost"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">‘Invalidate splitting of Camsur’</span><br /><br />Meanwhile, sources in the House of Representatives said the SC could also invalidate the splitting of the first congressional district of Camarines Sur.<br /><br />They said like Malolos, the two districts do not meet the population requirement of 250,000 per legislative constituency as prescribed by the Constitution.<br /><br />President Arroyo’s son Diosdado is the incumbent representative of Camarines Sur’s first district, which has been split into two.<br /><br />The new district is composed of the towns of Libmanan, Pamplona, Pasacao, Minalabac, and San Fernando, and the second district has the towns of Gainza and Milaor.<br /><br />Libmanan is Rep. Arroyo’s adopted town. He is seeking reelection in the new legislative constituency, now denominated as the second district.<br /><br />What remained in the original first district are the towns of Del Gallego, Ragay, Lupi, Sipocot, and Cabusao.<br /><br />Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., who represented the district for nearly nine years, is seeking to reclaim his House seat. The Andayas are from Ragay.<br /><br />The present second district becomes the third district and is composed of the remaining towns of Pili, Campo, Camaligan, Canaman, Magarao, Bombon, and Calabanga, and Naga City.<br /><br />Rep. Luis Villafuerte, author of the law splitting the first district, represents the second (now third) district.<br /><br />The third district becomes the fourth. It will continue to compose the towns of Caramoan, Garchitorena, Goa, Lagonoy, Presentacion, Sangay, San Jose, Tigaon, Tinambac, and Siruma.<br /><br />The fourth district becomes fifth. Like the fourth, its composition -- Iriga City and the towns of Baao, Bato, Buhi, Bula, and Nabua – remains intact.<br /><br />Secretary Andaya, a lawyer, said if he and Rep. Arroyo win on May 10, they would both lose their congressional seats if the Supreme Courts declares the splitting of the first district as unconstitutional.<br /><br />Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo have asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the division of the first district for failing to meet the population requirement.<br /><br />Local officials, led by Gov. Luis Raymond Villafuerte, Rep. Villafuerte’s son, initially opposed the splitting of the first district because they wanted a general redistricting of the province, which they said was entitled to six districts, instead of five.<br /><br />In their letter to the Senate, they said Rep. Villafuerte’s bill would cripple the existing first district in terms of population.<br /><br />“The remaining towns of Del Gallego, Lupi, Ragay, Sipocot, and Cabusao have a combined population of 176,383, 30 percent short of the population requirement prescribed by the Constitution,” they said.<br /><br />When Rep. Villafuerte’s bill was pending in the Senate, Aquino had suggested that all the existing districts be reconstituted so that each would hurdle the population standard and the province would be entitled to six, instead of five districts. But his suggestion was ignored.</blockquote>As my friend from Minalabac puts it colorfully, <span style="font-style: italic;">"gurang nang komedyante, nasuwi sa entablado."</span></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-3751518707515570462010-01-17T08:38:00.006+08:002010-01-17T12:44:22.175+08:00Choosing to see the glass half-emptyTHROUGH my Newswires widget. I came across <a href="http://www.voxbikol.com/bikolnews/3976/%E2%80%9Cintermediate%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%9Cbest%E2%80%9D">this <span style="font-style: italic;">Vox Bikol</span> column</a> by Atty. Jose Maria "Che" Carpio. The article is taking issue with the 2009 State of the City Report of the Robredo administration, which can be accessed <a href="http://naga.gov.ph/cityhall/soca/soca2009/socr09012009.pdf">here</a>.<br /><br />To set the records straight, I sent him the following email:<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">"Dear Attorney Carpio,<br /><br />"I just read your <span style="font-style: italic;">Vox Bikol</span> column, which raises the question: "Is 'Intermediate' the 'Best'?”<br /><br />"I cannot fault you for taking a negative stance on the matter. It's the classic hall-full glass: in your effort to find fault with the city government, you have chosen to ignore the obvious, which I am quoting below. Funny how you can miss this when it is found on the very same page quoted in your column.<br /><blockquote>The overall FMA score of ‘Intermediate’ for Naga City reflects its moderately developed level of financial reporting and fairly high level of disclosure, adequate performance in annual budgeting and debt management skills which are more sophisticated than most local peers. On the other hand, the score takes into account the basic practices of Naga in elements of FMA like expenditure management and medium-term planning.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Notably, Naga City’s overall FMA score is the highest among assessed Philippines LGUs to date, reflecting the city’s more balanced developments in its FMA practices for most key areas, as opposed to some local peers who may demonstrate sound practices in certain elements such as revenue management, but at the same time scoring poorly in other areas like debt management, budgeting etc. </span>Nevertheless, the Naga city government’s lack of computerization in most aspects of financial management such as annual budgeting, financial reporting, tax collection and disbursement have emerged as a constraint on these respective scores. A comprehensive computerization of the city’s system could potentially see improvement in Naga’s overall FMA and individual element scores. (Underscoring mine) </blockquote>"So, to answer your question, an "Intermediate" score is the best among Philippine LGUs according to that S&P report. But you opted not to see that, and would not accept it, because you chose to see the glass half-empty, as you always have with the city government."<br /></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-38864537910737064742010-01-13T05:54:00.009+08:002010-01-13T09:20:31.615+08:00Show me the money!TV INFOMERCIALS of the leading presidentiables suddenly flooding the airwaves last night forced me to check their platforms, whose links Manolo conveniently put up <a href="http://www.quezon.ph/2009/12/23/published-platforms/">here</a>.<br /><br />After reading through them, I felt somewhat like Cuba Gooding, Jr's Rod Tidwell character in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Maguire"><span style="font-style: italic;">Jerry Maguire</span></a> and shout at Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro and Dick Gordon: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116695/quotes">"Show me the money!"</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfNZhxEpzUsrwCDw2crt3pwVESptD44YyBp4Z-ZyY75BbpfRTaTNBC5T5YYxvL-Mx_Hvxkl8CbiGqx5MUGyGDLTgCpk6mfej3V8MRAV4z3spXJ7BmzPvgPbR2QT2l9DJeWpcrrA/s1600-h/Projected+NG+Budget.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfNZhxEpzUsrwCDw2crt3pwVESptD44YyBp4Z-ZyY75BbpfRTaTNBC5T5YYxvL-Mx_Hvxkl8CbiGqx5MUGyGDLTgCpk6mfej3V8MRAV4z3spXJ7BmzPvgPbR2QT2l9DJeWpcrrA/s320/Projected+NG+Budget.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425981773454883538" border="0" /></a>C'mon, guys! You're promising us heaven (especially Manny Villar, who proclaims he will finally write <span style="font-style: italic;">finis</span> to poverty as we know it). But from the looks of it, whoever wins will be so cash-strapped his administration wouldn't even have enough money to support the current level of basic government programs and services.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">I did some pencil pushing using data on the proposed 2010 national budget, which can be found at the <a href="http://www.dbm.gov.ph/data/File/NEP2010/general_intro.htm#nep_2005_table1">DBM website</a>. You can see for yourselves the tables, including my notes, assumptions and computations, which I uploaded as a <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArNI9SAMqZKUdHNXQUx5Nk1ZTFVYVE44M05PYkZjQWc&hl=en">Google spreadsheet</a>. Sheet 4 contains the table reproduced above.<br /><br />Assuming my calculations are accurate, the incoming administration, when it prepares its first budget proposal for 2011, will barely have P125 billion left to fund P174 billion worth of other obligations in the 2010 budget, assuming these are carried over next year.<br /><br />This "free resource" -- arrived at after taking out personal services (salaries and wages for government employees, which will be pushed upwards by at least P50 billion annually over the next four years, thanks but no thanks to the <a href="http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/june/18/yehey/metro/20090618met1.html">Salary Standardization 3</a> law), the allocation to local governments (including their Internal Revenue Allotment or IRA), debt servicing, pension and gratuity for retirees, and the maintenance and other operating expenses for government agencies in the executive, legislative, judiciary and other constitutional offices -- further dwindles to P69 billion in 2012, and to only P9 billion in 2013.<br /><br />What are these other obligations? Table II-2, which details the Special Purpose Funds included in the budget, includes the following:<div><ul><li><a href="http://www.dbm.gov.ph/data/Image/BSGC.pdf">Budgetary Support to Government Corporations</a>, which include GOCCs like the National Food Authority; specialized hospitals like the Lung, Kidney, Heart and Children Center; the Philippine Convention and Visitors Center; the Philippine National Railways; the housing agencies NHA, NHMFC and Home Guaranty Corporation; Cultural Center of the Philippines; and research instituions like the PIDS and the DAP.</li><li>AFP Modernization Program</li><li>Calamity Fund</li><li>DepEd-School Building Program</li><li>E-Government Fund</li><li><a href="http://www.dbm.gov.ph/data/Image/ICF.pdf">International Commitments Fund</a>, and</li><li>the Priority Development Assistance Fund, more popularly known as the pork barrel of the Senate and the House</li></ul></div>And this assumes that government is able to fully fund its annual expenditure program; in other words, the BIR, the Bureau of Customs and the LTO are finally able to meet their annual revenue targets. Otherwise, it will continue to finance these deficits (which r<a href="http://www.dbm.gov.ph/data/Image/TableA.2%282%29.pdf">eached P234 billion in 2008</a> and should easily breach P300 in 2009) through another borrowing binge. Which will of course add more pressure on our debt position.<br /><br />Several questions therefore I would like to ask our esteemed presidentiables:<br /><br /><b>1. Given these constraints, how are you going to fund the programs you committed to undertake in your respective platforms, particularly the money-draining populist ones intended to win you votes?<br /><br />2. How will you plug the deficit, which will surely plague your administration?<br /><br />3. If it is by raising more revenues, what new taxes will you certify to Congress as urgent? Which government properties will you sell or privatize? And what makes you think you will squeeze out more of BIR, BOC and LTO and other revenue generating arms of the national government?<br /><br />4. If it is by reducing costs, which agencies will face the chopping block first?</b><br /><br />It's time to cut through the bull, guys.<br /><br />We deserve better than the motherhoods you've been serving up so far.<br /><br />Show us the money, baby!</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-69962946250775500672009-12-17T10:11:00.019+08:002009-12-18T04:56:51.072+08:00Financing an autonomous BicolandiaOFFHAND, I salute the Bicol Autonomy Movement for raising the discussion on federalism to another level. The <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2009/12/proposed-charter-of-bicol-autonomous.html">proposed charter</a> for a Bicol Autonomous Region (BAR) finally provides a clear starting point for a meaningful conversation on the issue, which is a sentimental one for Bikolanos.<br /><br />This is certainly far more important than the ongoing furious <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2009/12/ateneo-forum-on-datos-dam.html">inane air war</a> between Dato Arroyo and LRay Villafuerte over the Libmanan-Cabusao Dam Project that has become very irritating and proves only one thing: they both have oodles and oddles of money whose questionable provenance, given their meager salaries as public officials, is what local radio stations should be investigating.<br /><br />But you can't expect local radio stations, whose management are laughing their way to the bank, to care a whit, can you? The faster the burn rate, the better for them.<br /><br />Anyway, the establishment of a regional government akin to the one in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is a concrete step towards this aspiration -- which clearly does not need tinkering with the 1987 Constitution.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">But one nagging question that must be answered: can the BAR fly for the long haul? Or stated differently, will it be able to sustain itself?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgvhY_RIok_GHHhrThyphenhyphen9K8P6julPgBSvb85bclpbWl9oDCzaQ2NcObzNaC22pplns1rMeMwrysdnMiIq_w9hjcHMGfk9EuBp8VwGnDrNEjF0NYMHjaBwsveMXp04dcvyWFOz07w/s1600-h/Comparative+Unitary+vs+Federal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgvhY_RIok_GHHhrThyphenhyphen9K8P6julPgBSvb85bclpbWl9oDCzaQ2NcObzNaC22pplns1rMeMwrysdnMiIq_w9hjcHMGfk9EuBp8VwGnDrNEjF0NYMHjaBwsveMXp04dcvyWFOz07w/s320/Comparative+Unitary+vs+Federal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416023922986875778" border="0" /></a>I have strong reservations that it will.<br /><br />Article XI (Fiscal Autonomy) consists of nine sections that essentially lay down the mechanics as to how the proposed BAR regional government will fund itself.<br /><br />Section 1 provides that it will retain 80% of all national revenue taxes imposed, as well as the income derived from utilization of national resources in the BAR.<br /><br />Section 4 identifies the main sources of revenue for the regional government, including the imposition of its own taxes, national transfers, share in both tax and non-tax revenues collection in the BAR, block grants and other forms of donations, aid or endowments.<br /><br />Section 5 defines the sharing scheme for the 80% share of national revenue taxes to be retained between the BAR (which will get half of the 80% or a 40% net) and its component local governments (provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays, which will share among themselves the remaining 40%).<br /><br />In addition, Article XIX (Transitory Provisions) also provide two additional interim funding source: a P25 million initial outlay to support the operations of the interim regional government (Sec. 4), and P10 billion annual outlay for priority infrastructure projects over its first five years of existence (Sec. 13).<br /><br />But totaling all of the above, as summarized in the accompanying chart, shows that the region will be worse off by at least P5 billion annually under the proposed BAR than under the current setup during those first five years. For one, DBM data <a href="http://www.dbm.gov.ph/BESF09/B.8.pdf">here</a> show that in the current 2009 budget, Bicol already gets a total funding allocation of P35 billion, spread throughout the regional offices of national government agencies, the local governments (mainly their <a href="http://www.dbm.gov.ph/lbm61.htm">IRA share</a>), as well as the pork barrel of its legislators and its share in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Fund.<br /><br />Of the total, almost P19 billion are allocated for the regional offices of various line and staff departments of the national government, which in theory is what will be devolved to the proposed regional government; DepEd accounts for almost P11 billion of this, which effectively is the cost for providing basic public education services in the region. The proposed charter failed to fully factor in the cost of these devolved services.<br /><br />Can the BAR cover this huge funding shortfall by getting half of the 80% of internal revenue taxes that will be retained in Bicol, as Section 1 of Article XI proposes? Hardly. The <a href="ftp://ftp.bir.gov.ph/webadmin1/pdf/42114CY%202007%20Coll_web.pdf">2007 report of BIR collections</a> show that Bicol contributes only 0.53% of the country's internal revenue taxes. Using this data, this translates to a share of only P1.5 billion for the BAR regional government.<br /><br />And because the P10 billion outlay for insfrastructure is a special purpose fund that cannot be used to defray to cost of other essential services defined under Section 2 of Article VI, we are looking at a gaping funding shortfall of at least P17.5 billion annually.<br /><br />Will the BAR's proposed taxing powers and other revenue sources make up for it? The huge difficulties being faced by the national government's revenue agencies, mainly the BIR and Customs, in plugging this year's deficit -- <a href="http://ph.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20091208/tbs-philippines-economy-budget-8bedc88.html">projected to hit P320 billion</a> -- does not inspire confidence.<br /><br />It is stuff like these -- financing and institutional arrangements that will help make sure that the proposed Bicol autonomous region will be sustainable over the long run -- that needs to be examined and reexamined, both by proponents and critics of the BAR. As things stand, a federal Philippines will never be able to fly if no equalizing mechanisms will be adopted, in the face of current realities where the National Capital Region accounts for 87% of the internal revenues of the national government. Clearly, one cannot treat unequals equally.<br /><br />There are other considerations that matter as well (for instance, are provincial governments a redundancy under a system of regional autonomy, or not?), and I will try to cover them later. But certainly, the Bikol Autonomy Movement does need to review the provisions of its draft charter in regard to the sustainable financing for the proposed BAR.<br /></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-6467848020078249202009-12-15T15:54:00.002+08:002009-12-15T16:14:02.045+08:00The proposed charter of Bicol Autonomous RegionBY WAY of <a href="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=48263869&postcount=909">fil07's posting</a> at the Skyscrapercity forum -- who I have a feeling is none other than <a href="http://filipinayzd.i.ph/blogs/filipinayzd/">Irvin Sto. Tomas</a> -- I have uploaded via Scribd a copy of the draft charter for the proposed Bicol Autonomous Region.<br /><br />Mainly the effort of the Bicol Autonomy Movement chaired by Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) fame, it had its <a href="http://rennegumba.blogspot.com/2009/12/launching-of-bicol-autonomy-movement.html">formal launching</a> last December 8 in Daet, Camarines Norte.<br /><br />Rene Gumba of the Ateneo de Naga University Institute of Politics, one of moving forces behind the movement, had other related posts <a href="http://planet.naga.ph/draft-charter-for-autonomous-bicol-region/">here</a> and <a href="http://rennegumba.blogspot.com/2009/11/movement-for-bicol-autonomy.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Jimenez, in an <a href="http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/15361-bicol-poised-to-draft-charter-sees-autonomy-as-way-out-of-poverty.html">interview with <span style="font-style: italic;">Business Mirror</span></a>, laid down the basic -- and mainly economic -- argument for the autonomy movement: to lick poverty and increase investments in the region.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">What do you think? My initial thoughts in my next entry.<br /><a title="View The Charter of Bicol Autonomous Region on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/24113501/The-Charter-of-Bicol-Autonomous-Region" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">The Charter of Bicol Autonomous Region</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_439208044018460" name="doc_439208044018460" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="100%" align="middle" height="500"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=24113501&access_key=key-1znfn14bgzeovrf4t2bq&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <param name="mode" value="list"> <embed src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=24113501&access_key=key-1znfn14bgzeovrf4t2bq&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_439208044018460_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" mode="list" width="100%" align="middle" height="500"></embed> </object></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-16101167194061581822009-12-12T09:56:00.003+08:002009-12-12T10:26:12.010+08:00Another interesting weekend readingGOT an email the other day, and then this morning, another forwarded copy dropped again in my mailbox. I guess it must be interesting enough to circulate in the internet, so I might as well share it with you, by way of <a href="http://www.scribd.com/">Scribd</a>.<br /><br />To provide some context, Kristian Cordero has Fr. Wilmer Tria's original open letter <a href="http://santigwar.blogspot.com/2009/01/open-letter-to-harvey-keh.html">here</a> -- which the document below responds to -- and City Hall's riposte through Joe Perez in the comments section.<br /><br />Materials on the Naga City Coliseum are available <a href="http://www.naga.gov.ph/coliseum/">here</a>.<br /><br />Happy reading.:)<br /><span class="fullpost"><a title="View Open Letter to Fr Wilmer Tria on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/23997912/Open-Letter-to-Fr-Wilmer-Tria" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Open Letter to Fr Wilmer Tria</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_485032337347624" name="doc_485032337347624" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="100%" align="middle" height="500"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=23997912&access_key=key-64kmf0uxz238dq5irif&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <param name="mode" value="list"> <embed src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=23997912&access_key=key-64kmf0uxz238dq5irif&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_485032337347624_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" mode="list" width="100%" align="middle" height="500"></embed> </object></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-33370057215390361712009-12-11T07:03:00.006+08:002009-12-11T07:55:39.718+08:00The Ateneo forum on Dato's DamLAST Monday, <a href="http://aponihandiong.blogspot.com/">Vic Nierva</a> informed me that the forum on the Libmanan-Cabusao Dam Project (LDCP), more popularly known as Dato's Dam, is finally pushing through on December 8.<br /><br />Because of a prior commitment, I asked Mandy, a colleague at the Naga city planning office, to attend and take notes on the proceedings. I am sharing with you his take on what happened during the forum.<br /><br />To my mind, the presentation by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) representative only raised more questions than answers. You can draw your own conclusions after reading the document.<br /><span class="fullpost"><a title="View Report on the Libmanan Dam Forum on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/23951419/Report-on-the-Libmanan-Dam-Forum" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Report on the Libmanan Dam Forum</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_141105648040913" name="doc_141105648040913" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="100%" align="middle" height="500"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=23951419&access_key=key-2m6jje3ojk94mrdu0hd6&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <param name="mode" value="list"> <embed src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=23951419&access_key=key-2m6jje3ojk94mrdu0hd6&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_141105648040913_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" mode="list" width="100%" align="middle" height="500"></embed> </object><br /><br />But the following paragraph, I think, foreshadows what will happen to this controversial project.<br /><blockquote>Mayor Norberto U. Genova of Cabusao said that already Congressman Dato Arroyo has told him that a massive campaign against him has been launched to discontinue the dam construction, and is now considering the option to withdraw the project.</blockquote>This response from the incumbent congressman is expected; the LDCP issue has been politicized and has emerged as a major theater in the unfolding war between Dato Arroyo and Gov. LRay Villafuerte. Check out the accusations levelled against Nierva and his fellow Lupinons in the community forum of their <a href="http://lupikontradam.tk/">anti-Dato Dam blog</a>.<br /><br />Since late November, local airwaves are being inundated with competing radio spots, voiced over by innocent children, which are often played one after the other. They started out as ingenious ads, but whose increasing frequency has become grating to the ear. (Only the radio stations are laughing their way to the bank.) These are what the <span style="font-style: italic;">PDI's</span> Jonas Soltes complained about during the forum.<br /><br />A few days ago, the attacks have become personal, making implied allusions to sexual preferences of the political principals.<br /><br />And the official political campaign season has not even started out yet.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com195tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-45014326547545606282009-11-09T08:22:00.006+08:002009-11-09T08:55:51.352+08:00The law of unintended consequencesAccording to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequence#The_.22law.22_of_unintended_consequences">Wikipedia</a>,<br /><blockquote>The so called "law of unintended consequences" (or "law of unforeseen consequences") is ... a humorous expression in common use according to which any purposeful action will produce some unintended, unanticipated, and usually unwanted consequences. Stated in other words, each cause has more than one effect, and these effects will invariably include at least one unforeseen side-effect. The unintended side-effect can be more significant than the intended effect.<br /><br />Like Murphy's law, again a humorous expression rather than an actual law of nature, this law is a warning against the hubristic belief that humans can fully control the world around them.</blockquote><p></p>Reading this <a href="http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=521691&publicationSubCategoryId=63"><span style="font-style: italic;">Philippine Star</span> article</a>, I have a feeling that not only incumbents Rep. Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya stand the possibility of reaping the unintended consequence of Sen. Joker Arroyo's singleminded effort to reapportion the 1st and 2nd congressional district of Camarines Sur. Should he decide to run and win, Rep. Luis R. Villafuerte, who sponsored the original House Bill, may also suffer the same fate.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Let's review how Andaya explains it again:<br /><blockquote>In a recent interview, Andaya said whoever runs and wins as representatives of the two districts would be unseated if the Supreme Court strikes down the law splitting the first district as unconstitutional.<br /><br />“If I and Rep. Dato Arroyo run and win, pareho kaming<span style="font-style: italic;"> sibak</span> (we will be both unseated), because it’s as if the two districts did not exist,” he said.<br /><br />Asked if the winning candidate in what remains of the first district would also lose his seat, Andaya, who is a lawyer, gave an affirmative answer.</blockquote><p></p><p>Because Villafuerte's district <span style="font-weight: bold;">gave up Gainza and Milaor in the reapportionment law signed by GMA</span>, doesn't it follow that the smaller 2nd Congressional District he will be running in for reelection next year also would not exist -- effectively removing any representation to the 1st and 2nd districts as we know it today?<br /><br />I think a plausible argument to that effect can be made. What do you think?</p></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-32876015264492518182009-10-05T21:13:00.006+08:002009-10-07T11:24:21.347+08:00Naga City wins Plaza Rizal case at the Supreme Court<span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATED (Oct 7):</span> The SC decision is now online <a href="http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/september2009/175064.htm">here</a>.<br /><br />WHEN the Supreme Court website containing <a href="http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/toc/september.htm">decided cases for September</a> is finally fixed, expect the following to dominate the local airwaves for a news cycle or two:<br /><b></b><blockquote><b>Naga City retains control over landmark site </b> (0 hits)<br /><i>By Ira P. Pedrasa</i><br />The City of Naga has administrative control over a landmark site there called Plaza Rizal, the Supreme Court said. In a 21-page decision penned by Associate Justice Minita V. Chico-Nazario, the third division of the high court debunked the claim...</blockquote>The incomplete, corrected lede (it refers to Plaza Rizal as Plaza Miranda, and misspelled "landmark" as "landark" ) is what the <a href="http://codex.bworldonline.com/php/freesearch.php">Business World Codex Free Search feature</a> shows if one types "Naga City" in the search box. The article appeared in the October 3, 2009 issue of the Manila-based business newspaper.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">The particular link to watch out at the Supreme Court website is <a href="http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/september2009/175064.htm" target="_blank">G.R. No. 175064. September 18, 2009:</a> Province of Camarines Sur, represented by Governor Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte, Jr. Vs. Hon. Court of Appeals and City of Naga, represented by Mayor Jesse M. Robredo.<br /><br />This piece of info came courtesy of the Newswires widget in my sidebar.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-17481770081909946572009-09-22T05:55:00.005+08:002009-09-22T08:14:25.591+08:00An eroismo kan mga Bikolano: Overview kan bagong obra ni Joe Barrameda<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOKmXbO0by_AzfwZI3O9SiaHcv0E_tOwMaL5x58ZlGG_eITXTA_kciHYQj-L8JTCpJZ1hiSEhjBhKyfnPd6DF-CQHY95oekHEWd0GasmeDILrsev-C8OkF5v69ngQerNPgHxpAg/s1600-h/joebar+invite_Page_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOKmXbO0by_AzfwZI3O9SiaHcv0E_tOwMaL5x58ZlGG_eITXTA_kciHYQj-L8JTCpJZ1hiSEhjBhKyfnPd6DF-CQHY95oekHEWd0GasmeDILrsev-C8OkF5v69ngQerNPgHxpAg/s320/joebar+invite_Page_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384045908081553858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Given during the book launch of Jose V. Barrameda's historical novel on September 15, 2009 at the Raul S. Roco Library.</span></span><br /><br />KAN mag-text si JoeBar na matao akong overview sa launching kan saiyang bagong libro, daing gayo ako nahadit ta saboot ko, dakol man siguro kaming mataram. Pero kan makua ko na su program, medyo kinabahan ako ta ako lang palan an matao kan overview.<br /><br />Kaya kasubanggi, binasa ko giraray su pigsurat niya ta baka dai ko matawan hustisya. Ponan ko an estorya sa pagtao nin konteksto sa pagtiripon niatong ini. Dai pa sana nahahaloy, an mga autoridad sa Cebu nahahadit huling nalilingawan na kan mga aki ninda kun siisay si dating Presidente Sergio Osmena. Kan magheling ako sa <a href="http://sunstar.com.ph/">Sunstar.com.ph</a>, igwang artikulo duman manongod sa ika 141ng anibersaryo kan kumpleanyo kan dating presidente. Dakol sa mga aki nagsabing bisto ninda si Osmena huli sa (1) nakapangaran saiya an eskwelahan ninda, (2) igwang tulay na an pangaran Osmena, asin (3) si Osmena lolo kan presente nindang alkalde.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">An libro ni JoeBar nagpapangyari satong mabisto nin orog kun siisay si Elias Angeles asin Felix Plazo, na para sa kadaklan tinampo sana igdi sa satong ciudad. An dua iyo an nasa likod kan sarong successful uprising laban sa mga kastila 111 anyos na an nakaagi igdi sa Naga, na mibdid kaidto bilang Nueva Caceres. Si Angeles asin Plazo pareho indiong guardia civil. Kun papanong an pag-entra sa PMA ngonyan sarong paagi tanganing an sarong tios mag-asenso sa buhay, kaidto palan ginigibo naman iyan. An mga indio puede man magin miembro kan guardia civil, an federal paramilitary police kan mga kastila segun sa Wikipedia. Si Angeles bakong propiong taga-Naga; sa Pasig siya namundag, alagad huli ta may kapilyohan na naginibohan, napiritan siyang magdulag asin nakaabot igdi sa Naga, kun haen sinda nagkabistohan ni Felix Plazo na tubong Tigaon.<br /><br />Sa librong ini ni JoeBar, madidiskubre ta na an pista palan kan Penafrancia orihinalmenteng pigseselebrar kada Hulyo, bakong Septyembre. Sarong editorial kan <span style="font-style: italic;">Bicol Mail</span> an naheling ko man sa internet, asin duman pigsabing nagin Septyembre sana an pista kan 1905 huli sa espwerso ni Jorge Barlin, obispo kan Caceres. Kaya bakong totoo na mayong diretso an lokal na estado na iselebrar an bulan na Septyembre; an totoo pigdeklarar na kan Sanggunian an ika 18 asin 19 kaini bilang aldaw nin katalingkasan kan ciudad.<br /><br />Kaya kan Septyembre 1898, tapos na an fiesta. Pero kun babalikan ta an kasaysayan, maribok na kaidto sa Filipinas. Orog na nagroro an sitwasyon poon kan badilon si Jose Rizal sa Bagumbayan (ngonyan Luneta) kan Disyembre 30, 1896, na sinundan kan 11ng mga Bikolanong martir, kompuesto kan mga midbid na tawo sa Nueva Caceres, kan Enero 4, 1897. Limang bulan pa sana an nakakaagi, prinobaran na pabagsakon kan mga Katipunerong taga-Daet sa pangengenot ni Ildefonso Moreno an gobyernong kastila sa parteng idto kan Ambos Camarines (mayo pa kaidtong Camarines Norte). Alagad sa ibong kan tolong aldaw na pagkubkob kan tropa ni Moreno kan pinagkutaan kan mga kastila, dai sinda napasuko. Kagadanan an sinapo ninda Moreno kan umabot an ayuda hali sa Naga; an iba pinugutan nin payo sa kasuguan ni Francisco Andreu. An kaparehong kaaabtan an nagdara nin takot sa mga indiong guardia civil na pinangengenotan ni Angeles asin Plazo; arog ni Moreno, sinda man mga miembro kan Katipunan ni Bonifacio, sa lokal na sanga kaining pig-apod na Barangay Maluningning.<br /><br />Tano ta nagkaigwa nin selebrasyon giraray kan Penafrancia kan panahon na idto sa Naga? Ini an draft blurb na pigsurat ko bilang kontribusyon sa libro ni JoeBar:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Bikolanos’ finest hour </span><br /><br />If you think the recently frayed (and hopefully mended) relations between the local church and state is something new, better think again and read Joe Barrameda’s latest opus. A fitting follow-up to the cinematic <span style="font-style: italic;">In the crucible of an asymmetrical war in Camarines Sur 1942-1945</span> that chronicled the exploits of the Tancong Vaca guerillas during World War II, <span style="font-style: italic;">Catalingcasan</span> traces the fateful days of September 1898 that ultimately led to the successful liberation of Nueva Caceres (now Naga City) and Ambos Camarines from Spanish rule by a regiment of Tagalog and Bikolano guardia civil led by Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo. (Which raises the question as to why the Tigaon-born Plazo is not equally honored as Angeles, who originally came from Pasig?)<br /><br />In its pages, you will discover that 110 years ago, Peñafrancia festivities are celebrated in July and not September; that the Spanish military rulers, often at odds with their civilian and religious counterparts, colluded with church leaders in mounting a triduum featuring a Traslacion and fluvial procession of the image of Lady of Peñafrancia to appease the growing discontent and unease among the locals; and how Angeles and Plazo, sensing a possible repeat of the tragic bloody fate that befell fellow Katipunero Ildefonso Moreno and his band of Daet revolutionaries, were forced to mount a carefully planned uprising that -- in an overnight of horror and terror, and sheer barbarism as unintended consequence -- successfully booted out the colonials from one of the original royal Spanish cities in the Philippines.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Catalingcasan</span> showcases the perennially underestimated sons of Handiong at their finest hour, and its pages celebrate their heroism, valor and honor as turn-of-the-century Bikolano warriors. But it would be shortlived as the realpolitik of the Tagalog-led Philippine revolution would bring the Angeles-Plazo tandem in disfavor before the new conquering horde. Which only goes to show that the more things change, the more they remain the same.<br /></blockquote>Kan ako nasa hayskul pa, igwa kami kaidto nin sarong subject sa 4th Year na pig-aapod "Readings on Bicol Culture." Oportunidad ini kadto na pag-adalan an satong kasaysayan asin kultura; an makamomondo, an bagong kurikulum sa hayskul mayo na kan siring na subject. Baka maray paghingoahon ka Local School Board na ibalik ini huling itinotogot man iyan kan DepEd, basta dai sana inaan an basic curriculum.<br /><br />Ikadua, baka kaipuhan na gamiton niato an iba pang medium -- nangorogna na visual arts -- tanganing mas orog na maapresyar kan mga hobenes an kasaysayan kan ciudad na ini. An duang obra ni JoeBar sa pagtubod ko cinematic: puedeng gibohan pelikula o kun dai man digital animation film ta igwa naman diyan kakayahan an ciudad.<br /><br />An common theme kan mga pigsurat ni JoeBar iyo an eroismo kan mga taga-Naga. Kan 1945 sa saiyang libro manongod sa Tancong Vaca guerillas asin kan 1898 sa bago niyang libro, pareho nagin matriumpo an Bikolano sa pagpapalayas kan mga dayuhan. Matatawan sana niato nin hustisya an saiyang kontribusyon sa sosyedad kun ini mapapakinabangan asin aapresyaron kan satong mga kaakian. An angat sato ngonyan iyo an paghanap nin mga paagi kun pano orog na mapapakinabangan an mga obra ni JoeBar.<br /></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-71864827457295794602009-07-04T04:12:00.005+08:002009-07-04T04:45:42.163+08:00Bridging the gap between community information needs and student research: A local government perspective<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Remarks during the forum on <a href="http://communityresearchinitiative.blogspot.com/">Community Research Initiative</a>:“Bridging the Gap between Community Information Needs and Student Researches” held at Avenue Plaza Hotel yesterday, June 3, 2009.</span><br /><br />MY TASK this afternoon is to share my thoughts on how we can bridge research and the need for information.<br /><br />Allow me to approach this from the perspective of a city official in charge of planning (who necessarily must view things from the confines of Naga City) and as program officer of the newly established Naga City Governance Institute (NCGI), whose advocacies encompass regional issues and consequently require a regional perspective.<br /><br />In covering the topic, I will share with you a useful conceptual framework that, to my mind, captures the challenge we are facing in community research; examples of data gaps that we contend with in government; and my personal thoughts as to why we should move this effort forward.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Conceptual Framework</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_sf0weuO6eXUB1dOScsAcGyZ7_Y3H4RypeUy9WiAx0tEAoqPDAfXjF62XjbbIacjl4oA8HdKwFL2mSqGxlc6bTDtQkOCP8qWOuKh98mLeVQnXXqU-KRnjmehvx3KIuGwztMYtA/s1600-h/dta+triangle.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_sf0weuO6eXUB1dOScsAcGyZ7_Y3H4RypeUy9WiAx0tEAoqPDAfXjF62XjbbIacjl4oA8HdKwFL2mSqGxlc6bTDtQkOCP8qWOuKh98mLeVQnXXqU-KRnjmehvx3KIuGwztMYtA/s320/dta+triangle.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354334944520587394" border="0" /></a><br />To situate our discussion, let me start with the so-called Data Triangle, which essentially captures the kinds of information that we at the city government and the NCGI are concerned about. According to the <a href="http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Cities_Data_Book/02chapter2.pdf">ADB Cities Data Book</a>, to which I contributed the profile on Naga City:<br /><blockquote>At the bottom level of the data triangle are raw data or information. These data are usually assembled into statistics, which often take the form of tables or other partially organized data frameworks. These tables are not generally of much value in their own right for policy, since a majority of people cannot read large tables or perceive the importance of the results; and they require further interpretation and analysis.<br /><br />The next step of organization is indicators, which are usually single numbers, mostly ratios, such as the unemployment rate of the economic growth rate, which permit comparisons over time and space and have normative and policy implications. Finally, at the top level of data organization are indexes, which are the combination of indicators designed to measure the overall health or progress of the object of study. The consumer price index (CPI). gross domestic product (GDP) and human development index (HDI) are all well-known indexes.</blockquote>The same book distinguishes between indicators and the three other types of information: "The main difference between indicators and other kinds of data is that the connection with policy is, or should be, explicit. Indicators are about the interface between policy and data."<br /><br />Of what importance is this Data Triangle to our work at the city and NCGI and your own work as researchers?<br /><br />I don't want to underestimate college-level research, but to my mind, the area where we can more effectively work together in bridging the gap between the supply and demand of information is to focus on generating the two lower tiers of information, namely data and statistics, for two reasons: one, quite simply, these are the biggest holes in our information wall, to borrow from that popular GMA afternoon show; and two, we (and I particularly refer to student researchers) may not at this point and level of education have the expertise and experience required to grapple with indices.<br /><br />Thus, I am proposing that by concentrating on addressing the local gap on data and statistics, we will all be better off because we will be doing something we can be good at and one what offers the most productive potential use to the local community of users.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Local, Regional Data Gaps</span><br />What are examples of the data/statistical gaps that we can address through a more responsive community-based research?<br /><br />Allow me to share with you some, culled from my experience in assembling the Naga City indicators for the ADB Cities Data Book:<br /><br />1. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Population. </span> Number of women-headed households, i.e. families where the father already passed away and the mother serves as household head.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Equity. </span>Family income and expenditures by quintiles. What NSO has are income and expenditure survey results aggregated per province; data for towns and cities are not available. Consequently, it is difficult to definitively measure and track whether incomes and poverty incidence are rising or falling through time.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Health and education.</span> On the surface, we have official data from the DepEd, but there are complications arising from the fact that public schools actually serve catchment areas that do not correspond to specific territorial/political jurisdictions. Which is why you find a significant number of children from neighboring towns – like Canaman, Magarao, Bombon and Calabanga to the north and Pili, Milaor, Gainza, Camaligan, Minalabac and San Fernando to the south-southwest enrolled in city public schools. This can overstate the real participation rate of school children in the city.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Productivity.</span> City product per capita – or essentially the economic output of the local economy year in and year out. Even the ADB publication says this is usually not directly available despite its importance.<br /><br />An important data that can help us generate this is the accurate picture on employment by sector, i.e. breaking down employment using the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC)<br />* Manufacturing, construction and utilities;<br />* Wholesale and retail, transport, personal services;<br />* Finance and business services;<br />* Education, health, government; and<br />* Agriculture, mining, defense.<br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">New technology.</span> Telephone traffic (the number of telephone calls per annum per person, broken down into local, international and mobile) and number of internet connections and their annual growth.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Land and floorspace.</span> Rental rates, operating costs and other charges per month for prime commercial spaces, per square meter: these are especially important to investors.<br /><br />7. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Housing.</span> Data on how housing is financed, especially the percentage of mortgages and those taken by women-headed households from such institutions as savings banks, commercial banks, government institutions, credit unions or cooperatives, trust or finance companies, and insurance companies or pension funds.<br /><br />8. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Physical and social environment.</span> Energy usage per person, where you have to factor in all possible sources like petroleum (kerosene, aviation fuel, natural gas), coal, wood, electricity (hydro, wind, geothermal).<br /><br />9. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Transport.</span> Mode of travel (private cars, train, bus or minibus, motorcycle; bicycle, including pedicab; walking, and others like boat or taxi). Percentage of car ownership. Traffic counts (pedestrian and automobile).<br /><br />10. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Governance.</span> Perceptions as to livability and consumer satisfaction.<br /><br />What else? Insofar as the NCGI is concerned, let me reiterate the example I shared during the launching of the institute last June 20 at the Crown Hotel, to wit:<br /><blockquote>At the same time, we will explore new perspectives on certain advocacies that come naturally and we often take for granted. For instance, federalism is now being dangled back as a sweetener to push Con-Ass and ChaCha, and there is danger that some of us may fall into that trap, But if you come to think of it, all arguments we have heard thus far in support of federalism are political arguments. I think it’s about time we explore other compelling arguments: for instance, we should explore the economics of federalism in the context of Bicol’s development.<br /><br />Research should be able to tell us what the optimal conditions are – particularly financing and institutional arrangements – what will make federalism feasible. Otherwise, I am afraid we are running the risk of blindly rushing and pushing for an advocacy because of passionate reasons that run deeply in our veins as Bikolanos, instead of approaching the matter dispassionately.</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why We Should Bridge These Gaps</span><br />Let me now move to the last part of my talk, which deals with the reasons why we should move this initiative forward.<br /><br />The answer, I believe, lies on why we are doing research in the first place – which is not just to earn a degree or confer these to our graduates, which by itself is a virtuous pursuit; or because there are opportunities in the environment and the market place, which should be taken advantage of lest we lose them forever. It is about our search for truth, or at the very least, a fuller understanding of the truth.<br /><br />I want to mention this in the light of a lecture early this year at the Ateneo de Naga University, where Fr. Wilmer Tria took issue with the city administration in regard to its reputation as a good governance practitioner.<br /><br />Now, let me say that I respect and even encourage researchers to think critically and cover all the bases in our search for the truth – after all, that is the most potent argument one can ever have against the claim that dissent is not being tolerated in the city.<br /><br />For one, I fully agree with Fr. Tria when he said that good governance is merely a means and not an end in itself; that at the end of the day, the end-all and be-all to good governance, including the city’s claim to it, is human development. And this is where I part ways with him.<br /><br />Because the state-of-the-art in research today shows that there are means of measuring the state of human development. I have already mentioned one – the HDI – a while ago, and the HDI has many other variants and flavors, depending on where on is coming from. We have the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and its plethora of indicators, which have been agreed upon by the international community of nations, and one which the NCGI has embraced as its own framework for regional advocacy. In others words, we no longer have to reinvent the wheel so to speak if we really want to understand more fully how local communities – in the province of Camarines Sur, among Bikol provinces and among Philippine regions – compare with each other in terms of human development.<br /><br />And this is one concrete way through which community-based research among the educational institutions of the city can choose to move this initiative forward. For instance, you can choose to focus on each one of the eight MDGs and find out how towns and cities in Camarines Sur, or even how the 26 barangays in my native town of Pili are faring, considering that we have more or less five years to go before 2015.<br /><br />If you are from Canaman, for example, where the purest variant of the Bicol language is said to come from, you may want to track down and analyze the comparative participation and completion rates of its various public schools, find out the magnitude of casualties – the average number of Grade I pupils who eventually drop out and are unable to finish Grade VI – the reasons as to why the phenomenon is happening (which is not true to the local but also the national level), and more importantly what the DepEd District Office and the Local School Board are doing or are intending to do about it. This puts you in a good position to relate these indicators to policy actions that they can explore as a means of addressing the problem.<br /><br />Then, the Bercasio Group, probably in partnership with the NCGI and the Metro Naga Development Council, can sponsor an event that will allow you to present your findings, conclusions and recommendations to the concerned stakeholders. (Which is precisely what we are planning to do in Naga, through NCGI, within the year.) If this happens, one can really say with a high degree of confidence that his or her research is helping move things forward.<br /><br />The bottom line is: we should not be afraid of numbers because as real researchers, they are key towards our deeper and fuller understanding of the truth, and in unmasking untruths. As is often said: one cannot improve what he does not measure. And one cannot measure what does not understand.<br /><br />Otherwise, without the numbers backing up your thesis and assertions, what you will have is nothing but an educated opinion, which is still an opinion from anywhere one looks at it.<br /><br />And while anyone can have his own set of opinion, he is not entitled to have his own set of facts. As researchers, our work will help ensure that these facts, or numbers, are valid, reliable and verifiable.<br /><br />Thank you very much.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com140tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-84928844680659880532009-06-21T23:16:00.004+08:002009-06-22T16:31:50.410+08:00A life changing surgery<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fAwYFDejQkhk3u6QyKQBMOO7Z7BkThxs6zNOC4WlDEZ-n3Cn2H64Bz12cuUosiEcaU2M60I7y_ST6SVZWo0hp4rVJIDaiwqRzt8hm0FRw9irICq-9Am_VkGmDwqd5svw0vzmPg/s1600-h/16062009(001).jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fAwYFDejQkhk3u6QyKQBMOO7Z7BkThxs6zNOC4WlDEZ-n3Cn2H64Bz12cuUosiEcaU2M60I7y_ST6SVZWo0hp4rVJIDaiwqRzt8hm0FRw9irICq-9Am_VkGmDwqd5svw0vzmPg/s320/16062009(001).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349805824368376354" border="0" /></a>A WEEK before the furor on <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090619-211319/Rizal-house-is-green-but-people-see-red">Rizal's green house</a> in Calamba hit the headlines, the three of us -- Lynn, Patricia Anne (our 5th we still call <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-special-kid-nokie.html">Nokie</a>, but who now wants to be called by her real name) and myself -- found ourselves staying in our national hero's hometown.<br /><br />Occasion was "Life Changing Smile" surgical mission arranged by the <a href="http://www.cmc.ph/">Calamba Medical Center</a> (CMC), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, in partnership with <a href="http://www.operationsmile.org/">Operation Smile</a> and the City Government of Calamba. The mission provided free cleft lip and palate operation at the 4th floor of the CMC Complex from June 15-17.<br /><br />Nokie is turning six next month and the speech problem she had two years ago still persists, belying earlier assurances by local and Manila-based doctors that it is just a case of delayed speech which will correct itself when the right time comes.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Early this year, we brought her back to Manila and had her checked by an pediatrician specializing on speech problems; she referred us to an EENT who promptly diagnosed that Nokie's is a case of submucous cleft palate -- the outer lining of her palate is intact but the underlying muscle is not joined, which is most probably the reason why she has difficulty speaking clearly.<br /><br />Last year, Naga (and several other Philippine cities) hosted an Operation Smile mission but its website showed there is none scheduled for the year. There are <a href="http://www.operationsmile.org/missions/schedule/">international missions scheduled in Southeast Asia</a>, the nearest being Vietnam, but the ones for the Philippines have been concluded last February. Fortunately, when I inquired with its Philippine office, I found out there will be three local missions scheduled for Calamba in June, and Pasay and Makati in July. Renewed hope immediately replaced my quiet desperation.<br /><br />The internets connected me with Dhey Nañola, CMC's bubbly marketing supervisor: first by Twitter, then by Facebook and finally by email, through which she sent the instructions and forms we need submit. It was already days past the extended June 1 deadline, and there are still data gaps and signatures by Pacol barangay officials we need to fill up.<br /><br />Because I have to fly to Manila for a speaking engagement and the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges (CSPC) board of trustees meeting to attend to on behalf of my principals, my eldest son Ezekiel had to take care of the rest; by midday, he emailed back to me the completed two-page form, which I immediately forwarded to Dhey after pasting Nokie's 3R picture I took the night before.<br /><br />On June 10 and 11, Nokie had to take the blood test twice because her hemoglobin level (at 112) was quite low the first time around. After a good night sleep and iron supplements, it shot up to 119, only one notch lower than the 120 minimum but good enough that the attending pedia cleared her to undergo surgery.<br /><br />On June 13, she and Lynn went ahead because I have important meetings to attend to in view of the approaching 61st Charter Anniversary of the city, which will be highlighted by the launch of the <a href="http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2009/06/naga-city-governance-institute.html">Naga City Governance Institute (NCGI)</a> which the city planning office is handling.<br /><br />In the late afternoon of June 15, I finally joined them at the CMC. Twenty four hours later, after calmly marching with a doctor and a nurse to the operating room, she went under the knife and emerged from the operating room about an hour later, terribly angry at the ordeal (and probably mad at the apparent betrayal of those she joined peacefully just an hour before?) with legs kicking and arms flailing at everyone.<br /><br />Only when her mom cried unabashly and apologized did she regain the calm and steely resolve to overcome every hurdle just so she can speak clearly and finally join her younger sister Daddy (aka Ophelia Bianca, Jian Di or Bulilit Bulilit ang Liit-liit, depending on who's calling) at the latter's Peñafrancia Educare school.<br /><br />The road ahead to Nokie's fully developed speech may still be long, or it can be short enough to be just ahead of the corner. I don't know: according to the doctors who briefed Lynn last June 15, the reconstructive surgery is no magic bullet for speech problems associated with children like Nokie. They have to unlearn how they now form words, and this can be difficult and will take time.<br /><br />But with her palate now hopefully functioning well after the surgery, I am confident that we have addressed the physical constraint to Nokie's fully developed speech. Just moments ago, after a little prodding and coaching, she was able pronounce "Papa" correctly. Needless to say, I remain very hopeful.<br /><br />As the world celebrates Father's Day, no gift can be greater, and for that I have to thank CMC (especially Dhey and Doctor Herbosa, who operated on Nokie), Operation Smile Philippines and the city of Jose Rizal for making it happen.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-38457442746681813792009-06-21T12:04:00.010+08:002009-06-21T23:33:50.961+08:00The Naga City Governance Institute: An introduction<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Remarks during yesterday's launch of the Naga City Governance Institute (NCGI) and the Inaugural NCGI Local Governance Forum at Crown Hotel, Naga City.</span></span><br /><br />MY TASK this morning is to introduce to you what the Naga City Governance Institute is, how it came into being, and what it proposes to do.<br /><br />Let me start with how it came into being.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The State of MDGs in Bicol</span><br />In 2006, I was asked by NEDA Region V to write a midterm progress report on the Millennium Development Goals in the region, using data they collected and organized from various line agencies of the national government.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">The report came out in 2007, covering the region’s six provinces and three major cities. I’m not sure if many of you read it, buy let me share some of its findings.<br /><br />Fig. 1 graphically summarizes them.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifeQh4_s3-6KayaerO2h48idVEiRIFitgddboHfj8ckZCifOQg-ucITGGuINqd_cSsB3pHjLb3mlsB5JFNakRCiM3SI6Kg1tAdy3IMimhVzafj_2adT_TZ3f9K8gYtHe0Dfdkuw/s1600-h/bicol+mdgs.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifeQh4_s3-6KayaerO2h48idVEiRIFitgddboHfj8ckZCifOQg-ucITGGuINqd_cSsB3pHjLb3mlsB5JFNakRCiM3SI6Kg1tAdy3IMimhVzafj_2adT_TZ3f9K8gYtHe0Dfdkuw/s320/bicol+mdgs.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349632299879548130" border="0" /></a><br />While on the balance, Bicol region appears to be on track on four of the seven MDGs, provincial and city performance varies, especially as one goes down into the detailed indicators.<br /><br />We have two provinces that have almost twice as many off-track indicators as the region.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the urban-rural disparity is also evident: the three cities are noticeable faring better than the six provinces.<br /><br />Two years later after the report came out, there has been very little change. Of course, the report was published and publicized in the RDC newsletter but that was pretty much the end of it.<br /><br />The local and national government agencies in the frontline of delivering or coordinating services and interventions are back in their business-as-usual mode pretty much without regard to the 2015 deadline.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Local challenges facing the MDGs</span><br />What other observations stood out in the report? Allow to share more with you:<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Information gap</span> was noted as a major concern in the preparation of the regional progress report. The concern arose from <span style="font-style: italic;">data gaps</span> (total or partial absence of required indicators), <span style="font-style: italic;">inconsistencies </span>(conflicting datasets by government agencies), and <span style="font-style: italic;">quality issues</span> (bad data that mask problematic situations on the ground).<br /><br />• In addition, the report touched on <span style="font-weight: bold;">“data implication,”</span> pointing out that MDG indicators are substantially devalued when collected merely for the sake of monitoring without venturing deeper into their impact on policy. Essentially, it raised a concern on the inability of local authorities to link these indicators to policy and eventually to local action.<br /><br />• Finally, the other face of the information gap concerns <span style="font-weight: bold;">good local MDG practices</span>. The report noted that while good local practices abound in the region, indicated by a DILG report that included less-known barangay programs from Bicol, there is a dearth in the number of documented, popularized initiatives that effectively address any or a combination of the eight MDGs. The particular gap has prevented more effective and widespread scaling up of local action addressing the MDGs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The NCGI</span><br />It is in the context of the above that the city government, under Mayor Jesse Robredo, conceptualized the NCGI. Modesty aside, Naga did better than everyone else. Therefore, we must be doing something right, don’t we? And if there is that one thing we have been known for and proud to have been doing all along, it is our brand of participative governance.<br /><br />The institute is built on the following propositions:<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">It proposes to embrace the MDG framework</span> because it is minimalist, the targets are within reach if a community only puts its heart and mind to it; it is robust, built around measurable indicators; and it widely accepted, having been agreed upon by the international community of nations<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">It proposes that good local governance matters</span>, because it brings a community together in mobilizing resources that promote economic growth and equitable social development that directly benefits its people<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">It proposes that the Philippines will be better served if the quality of governance improves at the local level</span>, as it is the key in reducing disparities and inequities among groups and sectors of the local society,<br /><br />Our challenge therefore is to scale up and widen its network of “islands of good governance,” which can serve as model for effective community resource mobilization in promoting social development.<br /><br />For this reason, Mayor Robredo issued Executive Order No. 2009-004 on People Power Day last February 25 creating the NCGI to serve as the main agency of the city government that will respond to the challenge of growing, promoting and sustaining local governance innovations in Naga City and the Bicol Region.<br /><br />Its mission is reflected by the NCGI logo showing the Naga City Hall as backdrop. The four hands around it represent its four core functions: research, training, networking and advocacy – and its readiness to work with entities who share the same goal of improving local governance in Bicol as well as the Philippines.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What it plans to do</span><br />In response to that challenge, the institute will dedicate its efforts to the following, which we hope to implement with the help of the international community, starting with a grant facility of the European Union that we have been prequalified to apply to.<br /><br />They are built around the steps recommended by the midterm report recommended to address the information gap in regard to the MDGs and intensify their localization in the Bicol Region:<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">More localized MDG tracking down to the city/municipal level. </span>This involves the conduct and institutionalization of MDG progress monitoring and assessment at three levels: (a) regional (for provinces and cities), (b) provincial (for municipalities), and (c) city/municipal (for the barangays).<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">More effective alignment between national and local agencies. </span>The report pointed out that the MDG outcomes it documented reflects the status quo, where regional and sub-regional units of national agencies, local governments and civil society organizations pursued MDG-related activities independently. A better way, it argued, is for them to align these activities to achieve greater synergy and efficiency and improve outcomes.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Documentation of less-known good practices.</span> These should focus on local initiatives that address any or a combination of the eight MDGs and more importantly yield concrete outcomes.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dissemination of local MDG tracking results.</span> This involves the regular communication of MDG tracking results to stakeholders using various available mechanisms – such as the annual mayor or governor’s state of the local government report – and the production and dissemination of analog and digital MDG promo collaterals to key stakeholders and constituents.<br /><br />Parallel to that, we will pursue certain advocacies we believe will promote regional development. One of them is the Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education (MLE), for which we already did a lecture-forum last March 31 in partnership with the UP-based MLE Consortium, We look forward to working with DepEd-Naga and the regional office to push this forward, in line with its own Lingua Franca initiative.<br /><br />We will also conduct smaller roundtable events to promote a culture of local and regional research that will drive, define and inform our advocacies. For instance, in Naga City, we will be working closely with the Bercasio Business Solutions group in implementing their Community Research Initiative (CRI) that seeks to bridge supply and demand in applied and theoretical research, starting with the college level.<br /><br />Truth of the matter is, much of our academic research in the city is grappling with the Mona Lisa conundrum: after being completed by students as a degree requirement, they would just lie there and die there, in a manner of speaking – in spite of their immense potential value to users.<br /><br />For instance, students at the Naga City Science High School, if I’m not mistaken, came up with a way to produce katol our of water lilies – just imagine the impact it would have in revitalizing Naga River by suddenly giving value to the harvesting of these plants, thereby sparing us of a perennial headache during weekly cleanup drives.<br /><br />Another research dealt the use of certain flowers as predictors of air quality – which we can potential use in cross-checking periodic readings made by our local environment office.<br /><br />The NCGI will conduct events that will bring researchers (producers) to their logical community of users (consumers), thereby addressing what is called in literature as information asymmetry. At the same time, we will be working with our local academic institutions in crafting a research agenda that will respond to what the market really needs.<br /><br />At the same time, we will explore new perspectives on certain advocacies that come naturally and we often take for granted. For instance, federalism is now being dangled back as a sweetener to push Con-Ass and ChaCha, and there is danger that some of us may fall into that trap, But if you come to think of it, all arguments we have heard thus far in support of federalism are political arguments. I think it’s about time we explore other compelling arguments: for instance, we should explore the economics of federalism in the context of Bicol’s development.<br /><br />Research should be able to tell us what the optimal conditions are – particularly financing and institutional arrangements – what will make federalism feasible. Otherwise, I am afraid we are running the risk of blindly rushing and pushing for an advocacy because of passionate reasons that run deeply in our veins as Bikolanos, instead of approaching the matter dispassionately.<br /><br />We look forward to working with each and every one of you in these endeavors.<br /><br />Thank you very much.Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-90000604339437403462009-03-22T21:36:00.001+08:002009-03-22T22:31:19.231+08:00Zest Air, Cebu Pacific's new best friend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovzm4TRkWMZr_0JC5CYbiHLflDazCzkWnj9r5trKWCfPY_X4NWpwXcmzJZV1AtiEcrny7Iw5qR6krof9CjASICCaFVkN06ZVMbiXZTNKhHerGv4FaTk33f6DczaGJWlK3W11tdQ/s1600-h/IMG_0160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovzm4TRkWMZr_0JC5CYbiHLflDazCzkWnj9r5trKWCfPY_X4NWpwXcmzJZV1AtiEcrny7Iw5qR6krof9CjASICCaFVkN06ZVMbiXZTNKhHerGv4FaTk33f6DczaGJWlK3W11tdQ/s320/IMG_0160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316013436804765730" border="0" /></a>I TOOK <a href="http://www.zestair.com.ph/">Zest Air's</a> afternoon flight to Manila today and mumbled to myself, "Cebu Pacific has a new best friend in Naga."<br /><br />With its four-flights-a-week frequency (MoWeFriSu), the Naga Airport in Pili town effectively has three flights a day this summer: Cebu Pacific Air's (CPA) 72-seater European-made ATR 72-500 slugging it out with Air Philippines's Boeing 737 jet service every morning, and Zest Air alternating with CPA (TuThSa) in the early afternoon market.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Zest Air's aircraft is the Chinese-made 56-seater <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian_MA60">Xian MA60</a> (MA stands for "Modern Ark"). Powered by Canadian-made Pratt and Whitney turboprop engines, the flight was a tad louder than the ATR's, but less noisier than the YS-11, which Asian Spirit used to field for its Naga flight. But for a one-hour flight, it was tolerable enough.<br /><br />In September 2008, Asian Spirit was rebadged <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zest_Airways">Zest Airways</a> (after Zesto, the flagship juice drink brand of AMY Holdings) when the Yao group purchased the former lock, stock and barrel. Last March 16, it resumed its flights to the city.<br /><br />But one thing actually going for it are its staff, who are certainly more customer-friendly than CPA's. My main beef with the latter is its increasingly impersonal service: the personal touch that would make loyal patrons at ease is largely gone, replaced by rigidly applied rules that spare no one.<br /><br />I can vouch for Zest Air's ground staff at Naga Airport, led by Ryan Manza: they were colleagues when we were still running Asian Spirit's operations here. For us, the customer is really king. This afternoon's flight was actually a get-together: sending me off was my city hall collegue Nick Motos, who was Ryan's boss at the time.<br /><br />And of course, a P488 promo airfare (about half than what you would pay for the 7-to-8 hour overland trip) definitely didn't hurt: I managed to wangle one when I purchased online last Thursday. But that promo fare is most probably gone: when I checked before leaving Naga, the cheapest is already P888. With a full flight coming in and about 33 going out, that was not a bad fourth flight at all for the newest player in the local air passenger market.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com342tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-26544245629981908962009-03-19T10:40:00.005+08:002009-03-19T16:20:17.967+08:00Most and least corrupt at the same timeFROM today's <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090319-194937/Survey-DPWH-most-corrupt-DepEd-least"><span style="font-style: italic;">Inquirer</span></a>:<br /><blockquote>No. 2 on the list of “most corrupt” agencies was the Philippine National Police (21 percent), followed by the Department of Agriculture (19 percent), Bureau of Internal Revenue (16 percent), DepEd (15 percent) and Bureau of Customs (15 percent).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Interestingly, while the DepEd is identified as ‘most corrupt’ by 15 percent of Filipinos, 20 percent (of the respondents) deem it as one of the least corrupt government agencies in the country,” Pulse Asia noted.</span><br /></blockquote><span class="fullpost">Methinks it has something to do with the high level of respect still generally accorded by the population to hardworking public school teachers.<br /><br />Corruption however starts to rear its head as one moves up in the totem pole. Teacher items for sale, overpriced textbooks and computers, padded cost of school and multipurpose buildings: these are some of the many faces corruption takes in our public schools.<br /><br />Many years back, a friend once told my wife: "Mag-principal ka 'boy! Yaon d'yan an kwarta." She is now one, and controversies have always hounded her in all schools she was posted.<br /><br />As graduation time nears, these vultures will again have a field day exacting their pound of flesh on hapless parents, especially the poor. "Libre man baga an pagpaeskwela" goes their twisted reasoning. <br /><br />With an old-boy network instinctively looking after their kind, reinforced by criss-crossing <span style="font-style: italic;">padi-madi</span> relations (called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compadre">compadrazgo culture</a> in academic literature) I'm not so sure if change will ever take place in the DepEd that I know.<br /></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-37089550142242193452009-03-17T18:37:00.003+08:002009-03-17T18:44:22.903+08:00Naga City Science High shines in Smart tiltGOT the following in my mailbox. Congratulations to Joretze Carandang and her winning team.<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.smartschools.ph/SmartSchools/News/NagaChampDPSA.htm">Naga City Science HS reigns at the 1st DPSA Learning Challenge Awards</a><br /><p><strong>[14 March 2009, Manila]</strong> – The Naga City Science High School (NCSHS) won major awards during the 1st Doon Po Sa Amin (DPSA) Learning Challenge awarding ceremonies held in SM Megatrade Hall 2 in Mandaluyong City.</p> <p>The NCSHS DPSA Team, headed by their Moderator, Ms. Joretze S. Carandang, bagged the Grand Champion and the Best in Social Science Topic Category awards with their entry “<a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/penafrancia/index.html">Si Ina: Sarong Debosyon sa Halawig na Panahon</a>.” The entry is a research narrative about the social issues revolving around the Peñafrancia Festival, and is one of the top 5 entries under the Social Science Topic Category.</p><span class="fullpost"><p>Thirty-five entries were shortlisted from the total 130 entries submitted by 40 Smart Schools Program (SSP) partner schools nationwide. Winners of the Best in Topic Category award are: </p> <p><strong>Mathematics</strong><br /> Science and Technology Education Center<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/StecPulos/index.html">Pulos: The Functions of Math in Oponganon’s Way of Life</a></p> <p><strong>Science and Environment</strong><br /> Lake Sebu National High School<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/SAGIPLAWA/">Sagip Lawa</a></p> <p><strong>Language and Literature</strong><br /> Batanes National High School<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/theuntoldstories/index.html">The Untold Stories of the Ivatans</a></p> <p><strong>Arts and Culture</strong><br /> Batanes National High School<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/lajiandpalopalo/">Laji and Palo Palo</a></p> <p><strong>Health and Wellness</strong><br /> Camiguin National High School<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/camiguinlolaansing/">Amazing Nanay Ansing</a></p> <p><strong>Technology and Livelihood</strong><br /> Lupon Vocational High School<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/bundas/index.htm">Bundas: Gateway to Squid Fishing</a></p> <p>Teams of the winning entries in the Best in Topic Category award received P30,000 cash prize, trophy, and Smart Bro prepaid Plug-it Kit. Their schools, in turn, will receive one computer unit each. As the Grand Champion, the NCSHS team received an additional P50,000 cash prize, trophy, and one-year Internet access grant for their school.</p> <p>The following entries also received Special Awards:</p> <p><strong>Best in Student Collaboration</strong><br /> <a href="http://smart.com.ph/smartschools/gschs">General Santos City High School</a></p> <p><strong>Best in Photos</strong><br /> Barobo National High School<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/barotonitatay/index.htm">Baroto ni Tatay</a></p> <p><strong>Best in Website Design</strong><br /> Oton National High School<br /><a href="http://www.mysmartschools.ph/*/onhsbakawanbulawan/index.html">The Community Structure of Mangroves In Batiano River, Oton, Iloilo</a></p> <p><strong>Best in Community Impact</strong><br /> Agusan National High School<br /><a href="http://202.91.162.22/*/moryomoryo/">Moryo-Moryo: A Ray of Hope</a></p> <p>Winners of the Special Awards received P10,000 cash prize, and trophy.</p> <p>The Doon Po Sa Amin Learning Challenge, one of the components of the <a href="http://www.doonposaamin.ph/">Doon Po Sa Amin</a> project, is a competition for local content generation that seeks to engage SSP teachers and students to generate rich local content using ICT and curriculum-based topics that will help promote and develop their respective communities.</p></span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14509619.post-61699689365123928432009-03-17T12:53:00.008+08:002009-03-17T13:10:47.694+08:00This made me pauseWHILE looking for something on the net, I stumbled upon <a href="http://www.upibalonbicol.com/2008/11/naga-city-could-be-left-behind.html">this</a>, which came out in the U.P. Ibalon Bicol online newsletter last November and needs to be quoted in full:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Naga City Could Be Left Behind</span><br /><br />For the past years I have been a regular visitor to Naga and Naga is my base when I stay in Bicol. So, I have come to observe and be familiar with Naga. I have also travelled a lot over the years and I have stayed in different places. With that I am able to compare Naga with the other cities I have become familiar with.<br /><br />Naga is a beautiful place with a charm of its own. It is place of gentle people who are really proud of their city, with enough reason of course. In UP Ibalon it has contributed its fair share of denizens.<br /><br />Naga consistently ranked high in competitiveness surveys. It is a well-run city led by legendary mayor who has won award after award and who is not content to just sit behind a desk. It has also led in people empowerment, transparency and public consultation.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">With these factors, Naga could be flying high soon but that is not what I see. I even see the threat that it could be left behind and I will be sad for that.<br /><br />I see the Naga government is very good in the old things that it usually does. In short, the grind. Complain about something, you will be heard. A pothole and a burst pipe is reported, it will be patched soon. A problem rises, the city government will try to look for solutions, in the soonest possible time, that is equitable for all.<br /><br />But then I feel something is lacking but I cannot put my finger into it.<br /><br />Even decades ago Naga is already a great educational center. But I see that it really cannot absorb its graduates. Graduates are human capital and it is Camarines Sur which paid for that. Once lost few will come back and they will no longer be available for development nor consumption.<br /><br />Naguenos might not be bothered by it but to an outsider like me the lack of development in the Diversion Road, which has been open for the past 25 years, is an indictment. I heard the former big landlords of Naga would rather sit on their land and see its "value" rise year after year. I see that beyond the highway the marks of the former haciendas are still around. Why not convert it into a value-added enterprises? I think they should learn a thing or two from outside developers. Or are they simply waiting for outside developers to drop by?<br /><br />I heard one land owner was dissuaded from putting up a warehouse across Avenue Square because it would ruin the ambience of the strip. Good move but it reminded me of Concepcion Grande which became a center of warehouses. In some cities, rather than putting up warehouses they would rather build buildings for IT purposes.<br /><br />Which brings up my question. Where is the IT park of Naga? I have learned from a former restaurant owner in Naga who is now an operations manager of a big BPO company that putting up a call center is no big deal and it does not need foreign capital or enterprise to put it up. Why is it that the known call center in Camarines Sut is in Pili and Naga people have to be shuttled there?<br /><br />In the South, leaders do not talk of bringing in foreign or outside investors. Of course, they will be happy if those kind of people come. They just talk more on how local business leaders should invest so that the city will grow (here in our place they are prepared to just break even in the first ten years but they know they are investing for the future). And of course they will try to look where they fit in in the government's Medium-Term Development Plan (and Cagayan de Oro is very good in this).<br /><br />Do the local wielders of capital in Naga get together to talk about and pool their resources to plan for the projects of the future? Are Naga landlords willing to become capitalists instead of just relying on rent seeking? Or Naga will just wait for the next Enrile or Astillero?<br /><br />In Ormoc City, Koreans come in droves and help in the development of the city. All for the love of golf and the sea (their seas are frigid and their weather is cold). Ormoc is developing and I don't think many people will vouch for the competence or cleanliness of its government (so it seems a city can be sold beyond this). Do Naguenos wonder now how can the formerly-derided Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC) became such a hit?<br /><br />Every time I come to Naga I notice that radio anchors all devote their time for criticism. But of course some are obviously paid hacks of some powers-that-be. But how does hawk-eyed criticism relate to development?<br /><br />Maybe the city needs to put up a think tank for future options so that it will have a vision and an action for the 21st century economy. And that is not about attracting Indian-owned call centers that pays just a pittance for stressful work.</blockquote>The piece, I think, deserves a lot of soul searching and action by the local society.</span>Willy B Prilles, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030727018693421995noreply@blogger.com4