As the new decade dawns, let’s take a moment to appreciate how much we’ve progressed in the past 10 years.

You may not have noticed, but most Filipinos’ incomes and living standards have grown considerably over the decades – to the point that, in the 2010s, at least where the economy is concerned, we never had it so good.

This is not to say, of course, that all is well. We still need to catch up with some of our ASEAN neighbors, and many government policies threaten to undo rather than sustain some of our hard-earned gains.

In this piece let’s track our progress in the 2010s and identify threats to future progress in the 2020s.

Stellar growth

First and foremost, Filipinos’ incomes have grown quite a lot as measured by gross domestic product or GDP per person.

Figure 1 shows that in 2010 the average Filipino earned about P61,572 a year. But in 2018 (the latest data we have) that grew by a sizable 40% to P86,334.

Roughly the same increase can be seen if we use instead gross national income or GNI per person, which includes the incomes of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). 

Figure 1.

Higher incomes were occasioned by stellar growth. In fact, this decade our GDP grew by an average yearly rate of 6.3% – the fastest since the 1950s. This catapulted us as one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and the world.

We care about our nation’s overall income not because we believe it can solve all our problems – it obviously can’t – but rather because a larger national income allows us, at least in principle, to enjoy more goods and services. As Jane Austen once said, “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” 

Higher incomes mean little if prices are skyrocketing. Luckily, in the past 10 years, government managed to keep inflation low and stable – except in 2018 when rice prices and the TRAIN law’s  excise taxes stoked inflation.

As our incomes rose, joblessness and poverty abated. Unemployment and underemployment reached all-time lows this year (Figure 2) and – rather surprisingly – poverty dropped quite steeply: 1 in 4 Filipinos were poor in 2009, but only 1 in 6 were poor in 2018.

Figure 2.

Drivers of growth

What brought about this tide of prosperity in the 2010s? 

Throughout the 2010s our economy was still driven largely by individuals and households’ consumption. This is evidenced by, say, the proliferation of malls and private vehicles.

Such consumption was buoyed by robust inflows of remittances from OFWs, as well as incomes from industries like business process outsourcing (BPO).

But more notably, this decade we spent more on investment goods such as construction machinery and telecom equipment. This is crucial since investment goods fuel future growth.

Industry – which comprises manufacturing, construction, and utilities – also contributed more to growth this decade relative to other sectors, somehow chipping away at the predominance of services.

Our young and swelling workforce has also been a key driver of growth, especially with the so-called “demographic dividend.” With our workforce set to peak in the next 3 decades, the combined productivity of our workers is expected to boost consumption, investment, and saving – hence, growth – for many more years. 

Threats to growth

The 2010s saw remarkable growth, and the main challenge for us in the 2020s is how to sustain – even best – it. Unfortunately, threats to growth abound.

For starters, investment’s contribution to growth surprisingly shrank in 2019, the first time in 7 years.

Foreign direct investments also dropped since middle of 2018, and this could worsen with an impending bill that aims to rationalize investment incentives. The Duterte government’s capricious policies and unreasonable attacks on certain big businesses are also spooking investors.

Severe traffic – especially in Metro Manila – is also taking a huge toll on growth. Government responded by initiating a massive infrastructure program called Build, Build, Build, but so far its projects are far from completion.

Water shortages also loom as the government fails to install new bulk water sources to meet rising demand.

Lamentably, agriculture stagnated in the past decade, and the recent Rice Tariffication Act depressed rice prices to the detriment of rice farmers nationwide.

Abroad, many countries are bracing for an economic slowdown. Escalating trade tensions between the US and China are likely to disrupt Philippine exports and imports, weak as they are.

Lingering tensions in the West Philippine Sea also jeopardize our national security and our plentiful natural resources there like land, oil, corals, and fish.

Beyond growth

Economic growth is not the end-all and be-all of development. Progress goes well beyond having a higher GDP.

Although more Filipinos live longer lives now than ever before (Figure 3), we also recently saw the rise of measles, dengue, and polio outbreaks since many parents hesitate to have their children vaccinated, fearful of Dengvaxia.

Figure 3.

We also have an education crisis staring us in the face, as suggested by the dismal results of the PISA 2018 study. Poorly educated workers may be hardest hit by rising automation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, among other emerging trends.

Duterte signed universal healthcare and free college tuition to improve our people’s health and education, but merely passing these laws isn’t enough. Universal healthcare still lacks funds and many fear free college tuition will be largely regressive (pro-rich).

Key reforms by the past administration – namely reproductive health and K-12 – also produced mixed results. To this day conservative lawmakers are blocking funds for certain artificial contraceptives, and most public schools have been caught ill-prepared for the roll-out of K-12.

Economic growth also failed to lift all boats.

Income inequality – roughly the disparity between the incomes of the rich and poor – is declining but very slowly. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (now formally known as BARMM) also continues to be left behind vis-à-vis other regions. And Duterte’s war on drugs is really a war on the poor (possibly negating some of the government’s key social protection programs).

Finally, climate change threatens all our futures. By 2050, a mere 30 years from now, large swathes of Metro Manila (and other key cities) risk being submerged by rising sea levels. Despite this clear danger, the Duterte government chose to turn its back on all climate change negotiations.

Sustaining growth 

Although we can’t often see or feel the march of progress, there’s a lot to be thankful for in the 2010s.

In that decade lots more Filipinos became remarkably more prosperous and healthy, so much so that the 2010s might be considered our economy’s true “golden age.”

Coming into the 2020s, however, the main challenge for all of us is how to sustain such growth and keep at bay its many threats. 

It’s a daunting task, and we all have our work cut out for us. – Rappler.com

The author is a PhD candidate at the UP School of Economics. His views are independent of the views of his affiliations. Thanks to Jeff Arapoc for useful comments and suggestions. Follow JC on Twitter (@jcpunongbayan) and Usapang Econ (usapangecon.com).

I’ve always wanted to tell stories. 

This has been the dream ever since I was young. 

But I didn’t go to journalism school. Instead, I took a medical course – a decision I regretted for the most part. I thought that pursuing such an endeavor would keep my parents proud of me. 

Back then, I was an achiever – I always received awards at the end of every school year – but I was never proud of my achievements. Yes, I was happy to hold them, but they were not enough to make up for the dream I had yet to fulfill. People would commend me for these awards, but little did they know that I was displeased with myself.

Worse, everyone seemed like they knew where they’re going – except me. 

Then, a year after Super Typhoon Yolanda struck my hometown of Tacloban, I learned about Rappler and its work reporting our nation's stories. I saw how it enabled and built communities of action through it’s civic engagement arm, MovePH. I saw how it was geared towards making an impact and creating ripples of change. 

How I became a mover

My involvement with Rappler and MovePH started when I became a Mover in 2014. (WATCH: Why be a Rappler mover?)

As a survivor of the strongest typhoon to ever make landfall in the Philippines, I found hope in telling the stories of my community through the #StoryOfTheNation campaign. Together with other campus journalists and movers in Tacloban City, we shared the survivors' stories of courage and hope, which we believed must be amplified amid disasters.

I then became a Rappler intern in 2016 while I was employed full-time as a medical technologist at a tertiary hospital. I worked in two different worlds, both far from each other. To me, it was a balancing act between honoring my parents’ sacrifices and pursuing my passion for journalism.  

Even after my internship, I remained engaged with MovePH by writing reports on the commemoration of the super typhoon's onslaught, the visit of Pope Francis to the country, and the local elections, among others. (READ: Rappler movers amplify local voices in the elections) 

Despite the attacks thrown at Rappler in the past few years, it was Rappler’s promise of uncompromised journalism that strengthened my resolve to hold the line. This is the same reason I wanted to pursue journalism and civic engagement even when I did not feel qualified. (READ: This is the best time to become a Rappler) 

I continued to work as a medical technologist and a part-time teacher in college for 3 years. All the while, I kept my hope of someday becoming a full-fledged Rappler. 

It was a constant battle against fear and uncertainty. I thought that pursuing journalism would be impossible, until one day, I got tired of all the doubts and feelings of unworthiness that crippled me from going after what I love. 

Leap of faith

A preacher in church once said, “Do not just step into the open door, walk into the open door. If you’re afraid, then do it afraid.” 

When I heard this, I was reminded of the many opportunities that I could’ve taken back then. But then I thought, I have no bandwidth to cry over spilt milk. I should stop complaining and start believing that things can actually happen. A few hours after I heard the preacher say those words, I sent my resume to Rappler without really seeing any available position to apply for. 

To cut to the chase, when I learned that there was the slightest opportunity for me to be accepted for a job, I filed my resignation at the hospital where I worked. People said it was a hasty decision – to give up the security of my job as a medical professional and the future it promises for me abroad.

My resignation would take effect a month after submitting. I was even given the chance to withdraw it for fear that things may fail. But it was the support of the community around me, of the people who knew that I’d been wanting to pursue this dream for so long, that encouraged me to press on. In fact, they even celebrated with me even before the results of the job interviews were out.

I will never forget that day when I told my supervisor of my firm decision to resign, because a few hours after that, I received an email that I got accepted for the new job.

Sometimes, it’s hard to pursue something when you know you’re going to leave a lot behind. But instead of dwelling on the possibility of what could go wrong, I remained excited and hopeful for the future.

I couldn’t say for a fact that my entire working experience as a medical technologist was put to waste the moment I decided to shift careers. I take everything as a learning experience. In fact, I have always believed that life comes in seasons and unfolds in chapters. There are certain situations in life that I need to get into and circumstances that I have to go through – these are all meant to prepare me for what’s coming next. 

I started working at Rappler. I learned a lot from the people who mentored me at work, and I remain continuously inspired by the communities I've engaged with.

It took me faith to believe that dreams can come true no matter how impossible situations can be. When I left my job at the hospital and pursued my current work, I saw the bigger world out there. There are indeed far more amazing things ahead than any we leave behind. 

I realized that it really takes faith to believe in the greater things in store for every dreamer and a great God to make it happen at the right time. 

Both clarity and courage are important. And the voice inside of us should never be drowned by those around us. 

What makes me hold on to the work I do is not the privilege that goes with the job, but the responsibility to tell stories that matter to the community, to inspire courage and take action, and to create movements with impact. 

It takes courage to pursue a dream. And there’s just so much more that lies ahead.– Rappler.com

To get my daughter out of me, doctors cut me open from the base of my vagina to my anus. Her emerging head tore me up in two more places. My baby’s umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck as she was coming out, so my anaestheseologist literally had to squeeze her out of me, using his arm to crush down into my belly. I felt like I was in a hazing session. I had also apparently pooped.

Giving birth is ugly. It’s bloody, bloody painful, and plain traumatizing for a lot of women, including me. But it’s also beautiful and miraculous. Hearing my daughter’s first cry instantly transformed my world. Having gone through hell, I was inexplicably happy. It’s infinitely difficult to explain why knowing you have brought life into this world makes up for the agony.

The anguish is not limited to giving birth. Pregnancy is also difficult for a lot of women. I loathed my days of mandatory bed rest, when I was cooped up in my house to nurse all sorts of pains – from intense heartburn (like someone lit a lighter in your stomach and squeezed the burning parts) to aching joints and lower back. Internal examinations of my cervix were painful for me, even as I looked forward to the ultrasound sessions during visits to my doctor.

Many times during my pregnancy, I felt I was transforming from my cool, adventurous, brimming-with-potential self into a hermit with no life and no exciting prospects. My condition meant I had to give up days at the gym, possibly career-making field coverage, at times even simple get-togethers with friends all because of a bout of heartburn.

It’s easy to feel trapped when you’re pregnant for the first time because of all the uncertainties ahead. What’s life after pregnancy? Will things ever go back to normal? How will my career be affected? When can I travel again? What’s going to happen to my body?

More than the physical pain and discomfort, it’s the psychological toll of pregnancy that really got to me. A big part of this was the fact that my husband and I never planned for the pregnancy. Up to the moment we found out I was knocked up, we were a pair of yuppies building our careers and planning our next big rock trip. It’s not that we didn’t want kids, but making a family was far from our minds. At that point, we had been married for 4 years and had a vague idea that, if we wanted kids, I had to get pregnant at the age of 29 so it would be a safe pregnancy.

And that’s exactly what happened, without us trying any fancy fertility techniques or offering eggs while dancing the fandango at Santa Clara church.

But because getting pregnant wasn’t planned, a lot of things that were planned appeared about to get railroaded. This made me feel like I had lost control of my life. If a pregnancy could surprise me like this, what say did I really have in the kind of life I would lead? What else would spin out of orbit?

That’s why talking to mothers was like a lifeline to me. Apart from the critical tips on staying healthy while pregnant and making sure my baby was developing normally, I cherished like gemstones the advice on life after pregnancy. I took inspiration from sisters-in-law who became super fit after giving birth, or bosses who achieved career successes and traveled extensively afterward.

People are always skeptical about curated social media posts of the rich and famous showcasing their glamorous and perfect lives. But I found comfort in the tweets and Instagram posts of young mothers like Saab Magalona and Isabelle Daza showing how beautiful pregnancy and a life with children can be. I’m well aware there’s more they’re not telling, that some of the ugly realities don’t get reflected in what they post. But the fact that there is something wonderful to post about pregnancy, so many little things to look forward to, so many ways to be happy and beautiful and confident as these famous women show is an important reminder that motherhood is as much a beginning of something as it is an end to something else.

Giving birth was painful but faster than I expected. After hearing of 12-hour labor and emergency caesarean section operations, I was blessed with a roughly 4-hour labor period and normal delivery. After hearing about mothers getting depressed because their breasts were not producing milk, I was lucky that my breasts quickly went on high gear and my baby proved an impressive latcher.

But post-delivery has also proven challenging. Right after giving birth, I had difficulty urinating and pooping (generalized succinctly in medical language as “voiding”). The sewn up tears down there were making themselves felt after the anaesthesia wore off. Now it hurts when I get up from bed or sneeze. I also walk like a very old person.

My breast milk production has been a success so far but in exchange, I have swollen breasts that hurt when I brush my teeth and leak milk through my shirts.

On top of it all, Dru and I don’t sleep very much because our daughter feeds at odd hours during the night. The precious hours when she’s not feeding and I theoretically could rest, I’m kept awake by all the pains in my body.

All this is not new. Every mother has been through some form of this experience. When I complained to my mother, who bore 4 children, she practically rolled her eyes. “Ganyan talaga (That's the way it is). Just grin and bear it,” were her words of comfort.

Her derision is deserved. Of all the new moms out there, I am definitely not the one who picked the shortest straw. You only have to drop by Fabella Hospital where poor mothers make do in packed rooms and even share beds. Mothers give birth on the street, in train carriages, walk miles to get to the nearest clinic while in the throes of contractions. In many countries, women can’t afford anaesthesia or have no access to facilities that provide it.

While there are mothers who give birth without any help or support from their baby’s father, my husband accompanied me to all the check-ups and all the way to the delivery room. I am lucky in so many other ways – from friends and family who gave all sorts of advice and lent or gave us important baby stuff, to bosses who understood what I was going through.

So what’s the verdict? Is giving birth that beautiful experience everyone tells you it is? From what I’ve been through, giving birth is pain and joy inextricably linked. It is both beautiful and ugly, miraculous and traumatic.

The contrasts don’t exist side by side but contribute to each other. Giving birth would not be as joyful if it wasn’t also painful. It’s like climbing a mountain – the tougher the climb, the greater your sense of accomplishment once at the peak.

When I’m holding my daughter, I am lost in wonder studying every eyelash, every small movement of her mouth, her cute little baby coos. But I don’t want to hide the ugly parts of giving birth to her. I want to remember every agonizing bit of it. Because the pain, as much as the joy, is part of a mother’s accomplishment. – Rappler.com

Given our thing about signs, occasions, and fortuity, it should be convenient in the New Year, at least for the partisans of Senator Leila de Lima, to view the American ban on Philippine officials involved in her persecution as the preordained beginning of her rescue. Next month, De Lima will have been in arbitrary detention for 3 years. 

The United States being a favorite place of Filipinos of means in which to spend and park their wealth, in particular wealth acquired by official corruption, the ban does inspire hope for De Lima: by being banned from entering the US, her persecutors are kept from touching their assets there, if they have any; in fact, the prospect has been raised of these assets being frozen, in case proxies try doing it for them. 

And, with other Western democracies being apparently taken with the same leveraging for justice and human rights as the Americans are doing – not to mention the case against President Duterte in the International Criminal Court for his brutal war on drugs – the world is definitely shrinking for him and his regime.

Instantly, predictably, the ban triggered Duterte into an explosion of rants and curses, the precise opposite reaction he had displayed when Chinese immigration authorities turned away former Supreme Court justice and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and former foreign secretary Alberto del Rosario, for no apparent reason other than their being Duterte critics, when they tried to visit Hong Kong. But that’s Duterte, a narcissist explosive or playable depending on the stimulus. 

But again, since the American sanction is aimed at a target that allows for its expansive redefinition – what, in de Lima’s case, constitutes persecution? – not only Duterte officials but cronies, courtiers, indeed all manner of supporters are covered potentially. A number of them have in fact begun to betray their apprehension: some concede the justifiability of the ban, if not expressly its appropriateness, in effect questioning Duterte’s order to counter it with a ban of his own; others, among them known trolls for Duterte, are trying to wash their hands off the De Lima case.

To De Lima’s supporters, indeed to everyone who proclaims comradeship with her, the ban offers a lesson, too, a critical and rather embarrassing one, but, learned well, one that could prove self-redeeming.

De Lima’s persecution, along with Duterte’s war on drugs, heralded our descent into authoritarianism. He had expressly warned that martial law was his preferred mode of ruling, but needed to ease himself into it because the armed forces would not go along without a constitutional justification, although, seeing where we are, a nominal justification of the sort seems to suffice. 

For starters, Duterte declared a war on drugs and began to go after De Lima, portraying her as a drug trafficker. But it’s easy to work vengeance into the picture: As chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, de Lima had investigated Duterte for death-squad murders perpetrated in Davao City when he was the mayor there. A confessed former assassin on the squad testified later that De Lima had been herself marked for assassination and had escaped only by detouring from the ambush site by chance.

The tables now turned on her, she was put through a most savagely personally invasive run of investigations in Congress and, after that, a most shameful exhibition of kangaroo-court proceedings, which have dragged on to this day. On February 24, 2017, 7 months into the Duterte regime, she was hauled to jail. Her prosecutors have downgraded her case from outright drug trafficking to mere conspiracy, but the courts continue to deny her her right to bail. The life-term convicts around whose testimony her case was almost wholly built have been moved from the national prison to more comfortable detention quarters in an army camp, and only because a far better deal – as absurd as it is, parole for “good behavior” is not unthinkable – was thwarted by exposé and has to wait.

At the end of the year, the Duterte presidency brought out a report of “key accomplishments,” listing among these more than 20,000 killed in the drug war (counting from July 1, 2016, the day Duterte took office, to November 27, 2017). But the police owned only 4,000 of the kills, blaming the others on vigilantes – that is, non-police but inspired all the same by the same call for war. 

Before the end of the year, Duterte placed all of Mindanao, one of the archipelago’s 3 main islands, under martial law, although the trouble, caused, according to the official report, by a mixed band of brigands, drug dealers, and separatists, was confined in only one city. Congress rubber-stamped his martial law to give it legal validity, anyway. 

In March the following year, the House of Representatives, taking a cue from Duterte, impeached Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno; she was just too independent-minded for his comfort. But before the case could be sent up to the Senate, her own Supreme Court, whose majority had made no secret of their resentment at being bypassed by her in spite of their seniority, hijacked the Senate’s power to try her. Within two months she was removed, her appointment, by Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, declared invalid due to some unmet prerequisite. 

Even this news organization has not gone unspared. It is harassed  with concocted court cases; its chief, Maria Ressa, has been arrested twice, detained once, and made to post bail 8 times.

In the meantime, China consolidated control over the West Philippine Sea. Just before Aquino’s term ended, the Philippines had won its territorial case  in an arbitral court against China over those strategic and resource-rich waters. But Duterte chose to give the territory away to appease China, which proceeded to stuff onerous loans and other lopsided contracts down Duterte’s prodigious throat. The treason goes on.

With notes written by hand and smuggled from her cell and published online – and in the media, too, sparingly – De Lima has not failed to call out Duterte on every issue, and do so in such a robust and cogent way he must be congratulating himself for having kept her out of the Senate and in jail.

Out here a smattering of protest is all that has passed for righteous resistance. A tipping point is eternally awaited. It’s actually long past. It was Leila de Lima.

Ah, but the proper stars have become aligned in this New Year, and the US Cavalry is coming. Well, I have news for you: National redemption lies neither with the configuration of the heavens nor with any foreign cavalry; it lies with the nation itself – us ourselves. – Rappler.com

“Anak, ano na ang mangyayari sa ABS-CBN?” ‘Yan ang kabadong tanong ng isang lola sa amin matapos pumutok ang balitang nanganganib ang pagre-renew ng prankisa ng higanteng network. Nagulantang siya sa mga binitiwang salita ni Presidente Rodrigo Duterte laban sa network: “I will see to it that you are out” at “Kung ako sa inyo, ipagbili 'nyo na ‘yan.”

Alam nating lahat kung saan nanggagaling si Lola. Kaligayahan na niya at ng kanyang pamilyang manood ng Showtime at ASAP 'pag tanghali, mga teleserye tulad ng Ang Probinsyano 'pag gabi, at mga talent show tulad ng I Can See your Voice kapag weekend. At siyempre, abangan ang mga dramang nagtatampok sa mga sikat na love teams ng ABS-CBN.

Hindi ito biro – para sa mga masang fans ng Kapamilya network, mangangahulugan ito ng pagtatapos ng isang nakagisnang buhay.

Hari pa rin ang telebisyon sa entertainment sa Pilipinas. Simpleng kaligayahan ng marami pagkatapos ng gawaing bahay o mahabang araw sa trabaho at trapik ang manood ng telebisyon. Libre ito – maliban sa kuryente – walang internet charges at walang bayad sa Netflix. At higit sa lahat, nagbibigay aliw ito sa lengwahe at kulturang swak sa panlasa nila.

Mabalik tayo sa Presidenteng hindi nakakalimot. Tatlong taon na siyang nanggagalaiti na na-swindle daw siya ng estasyon noong kampanya ng eleksyong 2016. Ganoon din ang makapangyarihang Speaker ng Mababang Kongreso na si Alan Peter Cayetano na nag-alborotong hindi raw patas ang ibinigay na airtime ng ABS-CBN sa mga kandidato sa pagka-bise presidente (kung saan pumangatlo lamang siya.) Hindi bale na kung may utang na loob ang pamilya niya sa ABS-CBN sa pagsasadula ng buhay ng yumaong ama – at pagpapaalala sa buong bansa na si Pia Cayetano ay anak ni Compañero Rene bago ang eleksyon ng 2004. Nanalo siya bilang senador noong eleksyong iyon.

Sabi ni Duterte, duda siyang ire-renew ng Kongreso ng prankisa ng ABS-CBN. Nagtataka ba tayo na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa natatalakay ang anim o pitong mga pending bills, dalawang buwan bago mag-expire ito? At ano itong patutsada ng chairperson ng House committee on legislative franchises na “hindi karapatan kundi pribilehiyo” ang prankisa?

Tulad ng maraming bagay sa pamumuno ni Duterte, garapalan na naman itong pang-aabuso ng kapangyarihan. Susuwayin ba siya ng rubber stamp na Kongreso kung saan kaututang-dila niya ang Speaker at hawak niya sa leeg ang di kukulanging 200 kongresista rito? 

Kaya’t ang sagot sa tanong ni Lola ay ito: “Malabo po.” At tila hindi naman alintana ni Duterte ang mga tulad nina Lola, Ate, Nanay, at mga OFW sa ibang bansa na mapagkakaitan ng aliw – ang isyu niya ay makaganti sa mga nagmamay-ari ng ABS-CBN. At parang nagmana ng kaharian ang mga kumpare niyang negosyante sakaling magbenta ang mga Lopez tulad ng sulsol niya.

At hindi lamang ito isyu ng pangingialam at lantarang pang-iimpluwensya sa isang prosesong lehislatura, isyu rin ito press freedom. Tulad ng Inquirer at Rappler, tinitira niya ang ABS-CBN kung saan ito pinakamalulumpo: sa negosyo.

Alam ng tusong si Duterte na sa pagpapaluhod niya sa ABS-CBN, umaalingawngaw din ito sa ibang matitigas ang ulo na media na patuloy pa rin sa pagbatikos sa kanya. At bihasa sa laro ng takutan si Duterte.

Alam ng bawa’t PIlipinong mamamahayag na tagos sa buto ang pananakot ni Digong sa media dahil ramdam ng mga journalist ang self-censorship ng kani-kanilang mga kompanya. Ito ang epekto ng tatlong taong pang-aalipusta sa social media at paggamit ng megaphone ng Malacañang.

Nais rin nating ipaalala na habang may responsibilidad ito sa shareholders, may kakambal na responsibilidad din ito bilang tagapagbalita. At bilang network na pinakamalalim ang bulsa at pinakamalawak ang naaabot ng entablado, may kapangyarihan itong kalingain ang kalayaang pamamahayag, gabayan ang mamamayan sa paghimay ng tama at mali, at higit sa lahat, bantayan ang katotohanan.  

Tangan ng ABS-CBN ang kapangyarihan – sa bilyon-bilyon nitong manonood, sa relasyong binuo nito sa publiko bilang “kapamilya,” sa dekada nitong pagkakawang-gawa, sa bawa't halakhak at luhang pinuhunan ng manonood dito.

Sana’y mahimasmasan ang pamunuuan ng ABS-CBN na ang nagpapa-bully, lalong binubully. Sana’y alalahanin nito ang leksyon ng kasaysayan ng mga Lopez na nanindigan (sa bandang huli) sa hagupit ng kamay na bakal ng Batas Militar. Kahit halos ibinigay na lahat ni Don Eugenio ang kanilang mga negosyo kay Ferdinand Marcos at mga crony nito, nanatiling nakakulong si Geny Lopez at nakalaya lamang nang tumakas sa kulungan (na ginawang pelikulang Eskapo).

Minsan nang sinabi ng mga Lopez na sila’y phoenix na muling bumangon at namayagpag matapos silaban at maabo. Higit pa sa alamat nito, kailangan lamang nitong alalahanin ang sariling slogan, ang umano'y “north star” ng estasyon: in the service of the Filipino worldwide. 

Habang nakaamba ang panakot na ipapasara ito, dapat itong gabayan ng aral ng sarili nitong kasaysayan: tapang at paninindigan ang panangga sa harap ng panggigipit. – Rappler.com

We enjoy no 2020 vision on the ultimate consequences of the water concession controversy ignited late last year by President Duterte. The trigger was his order reported on December 4, 2019 to file charges that may include economic sabotage and plunder against those involved in the original 1997 contracts and their 15-year extension in 2009. 

Within a week, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra condemned provisions of the government contracts with Manila Water and Maynilad as “onerous and disadvantageous to the government and the consuming public.” The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) cancelled the contract extension from 2022 to 2037, fueling speculation that other players might take over the Ayala and Metro Pacific concessions. By then, the concessionaires had decided to waive the international arbitration court judgment awarding them nearly P11 billion compensation and to explore the renegotiation of their contracts.

Another week later, both Guevarra and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez disclaimed any thought of canceling the contracts, despite Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo’s allegation that, guided by public officials, the concessionaires “raped the economy for their own personal aggrandisement,” bleeding the country dry “to the outrageous detriment of the Filipinos.” Both justice and finance departments support renegotiation with the alleged rapists. 

MWSS has announced no plans for managing its responsibilities following the imminent termination of the concessions. Claims that contract provisions prevent the state from intervening in fixing contract fees are misleading. Regular review of rate adjustments that Mr. Dominguez advocated is already provided in the original agreements.

Never powerless

Government is never powerless against the private sector, which cannot compel the enforcement of contracts.

Their recourse is international arbitration, permitted in the agreements but also lacking both police powers and popular appeal, especially when the battle is waged in the arena of bureaucratic rules, populist politics, and social media. Where 40% of families consider themselves poor, even mendacious accusations trump reasonable contracts when they promise lower consumer costs.  

Still, no charges have been filed and the dispute might be arguably dismissed as a tempest in a teapot that did produce some good. High-profile hearings focused attention on the water services business, thus exposing the complaints of the Commission on Audit and water districts against PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. for high costs, poor service, and failure to pay franchise taxes. These may also add pressure on transport and communications companies to improve their services. 

But the furor also caused continuing, real-world consequences.

The concessionaires and their investors have not recovered from the P128-billion hit on the value of their shares. Banks have reportedly suspended releases on approved loans and new loan approvals, inflicting collateral damage on concessionaire contractors and consultants. The issue also clouds prospects for mobilizing the substantial, long-term funding to build and sustain the infrastructure for reliable, affordable water and sewage services. 

Increased risk

The controversy cautions private business on the increased risk of ventures into highly-regulated projects covering public utilities. The field is sufficiently fraught and complex, demanding massive investments over an extended period and rarely promising quick recovery of capital and profits. 

Hence, the Philippine privatization of water services in 1997, at a time of severe shortage, gained international notice. One concessionaire dropped the project, an indication that the contract was no sweetheart deal. Manila Water persisted and leveraged the expertise it acquired to emerge as the largest direct foreign investor in Vietnam’s water sector, delivering half of the bulk water requirements of Ho Chi Minh City.

But it was government, assisted by international financial and legal advisers, that crafted the terms of the concession contracts. Offered to the private sector on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, the contracts went to the lowest bidders. If public officials are now deemed liable for onerous provisions in the agreements, two presidents, several of their Cabinet members and the MWSS boards can face charges.

Over the concession period, such projects will encounter changes in technology, market conditions, and even in the natural resource environment that may lead to unforeseen, disastrous losses or spectacular profits. Agreements must provide against such contingencies to protect the public interest –  without denying the rights of the concessionaires. What is their recourse against a successor administration unilaterally revising the covenants of an earlier government to negate rights granted them in the original agreements?

This is the critical question raised by the current water dispute. Without provisions for a credible process to negotiate protection from what is sometimes cited as Material Adverse Government Action (MAGA), agreements might as well be written on water. This issue now threatens, not just the water concessionaires, but other current and potential public–private partnership projects. – Rappler.com 

Edilberto C. de Jesus is professor emeritus at the Asian Institute of Management.

In a study conducted by Prim Paypon, the founder of a philanthropic, volunteer-based organization named The Dream Project PH, a total of 614 Filipino teenagers from different socioeconomic classes were asked if they had a dream in life. Much to Paypon's dismay, he found that 7 out of 10 members in the sample replied that they had no dream, and that they hadn’t discovered and understood their responsibilities yet. 

Additionally, he found that the reasons for this worrisome phenomenon are discouraging words from other people, lack of self-esteem, lack of passion, lack of opportunity, and lastly, poverty. (READ: [ANALYSIS] How well are we measuring PH poverty?)

In a severely problematic nation such as the Philippines – where its sovereignty receives the silent treatment, its compliance to human rights is thrown out the window, and its bright future is constantly threatened by untrustworthy officials – unmotivated citizens will prolong and amplify such problems by creating new generations that have no intention or ambition to contribute to the country. 

Responsibility is what drives a person to crave a productive life. It gives someone a sense of duty that allows them to explore themselves as well as their limits. Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Toronto, provides an excellent summary to this when he said that when we leave out responsibility, we leave out the meaning of life. 

“Pick something up and carry it. Make it heavy enough so that you can think, ‘Useless as I am, at least I can move that from there to there,'" Peterson added.

What this implies is that a well-understood responsibility can give any person something to live for. More importantly, when people know their goals and are wholly dedicated in pursuing them with the intention of helping others, we create a web of continuous development that can build the Philippines into something it should have been a long time ago.

Responsible doctors and scientists create better medicine and technology for the ill. Responsible architects and engineers create better infrastructure. Responsible government officials resist corruption. (READ: Philippines still lags in 2019 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking)

Nothing can be done when we don’t even know what to do. However, how can we know what to do?

The Philippines’ poor are constantly faced with surrounding social structures that preclude them from discovering their ambitions and their responsibilities. The first thing that should be accomplished by the government is heavy investment in upgrading public educational facilities as well as adding more of them. This will ensure that students will always receive quality education, and through this, they can discover their own dreams. (READ: Philippines ranks among lowest in reading, math, and science in 2018 study) 

The Philippines is a problematic country that demands plenty of solutions, and to resolve this, people must be fully equipped with a sense of responsibility that aims to serve themselves, their loved ones, and society. – Rappler.com

Addison Fadrigo is a 12th grade student interested in academic writing, economics, as well as video game development. He is currently pursuing a career in the local video game industry with the goal of making a successful indie game. 

Mass unemployment. Landlessness. Escalating prices of goods and commodities. Severe lack of access to basic social services such as health, housing, education, and insurance coverage. These are some of the urgent problems that plague the Filipino people, and these same problems have remained largely unsolved for decades despite the succession of governments.

Included among these problems and one of the least discussed by responsible agencies of government is energy poverty. Poverty caused by lack of access to electricity is a nationwide problem.

According to a report that came out in 2017, some 2.36 million households in the Philippines are still without electricity as of July 2016. These numbers were cited in the study titled "Accelerating the Deployment of Renewable Energy Mini-Grids for Off-Grid Electrification – A Study on the Philippines." It was stated that in late 2017, the level of household electrification in the country stood  at 89.6%; this translated to 2.36 million households without electricity, and many other areas with a limited service of only 4 to 6 hours per day.

It can be said that this same number of households are denied countless economic opportunities and income-generating platforms because of this lack of access. Through the years, various efforts to call attention to the issue of energy poverty and to address its negative impact on the economic well-being of poor and marginalized communities all over the country have been held back, not so much by the lack of grounded, updated, and solid base of knowledge about effective policies that should inform large-scale government and private-sector interventions, but because the focus has been more on profit-generation instead of social service.

A very important first step towards solving the problem of energy is to muster the commitment to help those who are most greatly affected by it – members of the marginalized sectors, namely the workers based in urbanized centers; farmers, farmworkers, settlers, and fisherfolk in the provinces; the urban and rural poor and those living in GIDA areas which include the indigenous peoples. This is what should guide answers to all other questions such as where to start, and how to go about implementing reforms and changes. Informed policies are those that are backed by the firm knowledge of which interventions are applicable for the majority of these potential consumers, and how these interventions can be put in place in the most effective way.

Again, it goes without saying that access to abundant and affordable modern energy is good for society, but lawmakers, the private sector, and the public remain at odds on the way forward to realize this goal.  Should an energy-poor society invest in more coal power plants, or should it convert to solar power and other renewable energy sources? (READ: Making cleaner energy from pesky water hyacinths) 

The interest of policymakers in creating policies should be to improve lives and living conditions,  especially for those suffering the most from energy poverty. Whether only well-off households purchase solar home systems is beside the point; but if solar home systems can help other, poorer households out of poverty by bringing down electricity rates, then the focus of lawmakers and policy makers should be policies and programs to promote these systems as valuable tools in economic development.

At this critical juncture when the world is severely affected by the effects of climate change, national and even local policies should be guided by measures, methods, and solutions that will not exacerbate these effects. Policymakers and energy executives must decide to make use of the country’s most abundant, clean, and renewable energy resources, and invest government funds to develop and promote these same resources.  For instance, policy makers and executives of government from the national offices down to the barangay level should now buckle down and for the first time seriously eschew coal-fired power plants and encourage the development and use of renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy (RE) is a constantly growing industry in the Philippines, driven to a large extent by the growing adoption and utilization of RE all over the world. And rightly so, because this is one concrete step the country should take to reduce carbon emissions and to fight climate change. (READ: WATCH: Geothermal energy and the Philippines: A match made in heaven) 

Renewable energy resources (geothermal, hydropower, biomass, solar and wind) comprised 25% of the country’s power generation mix in 2017. Renewable energy-based facilities generated 23.19 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2017, up by 5.5% from 2016’s 21.98 million Mwh. This shows that there remains enormous potential for RE development in the Philippines.   

Tapping and popularizing the use of renewable energy will help the country meet its goal to end energy poverty. Also, in the last decade, renewable energy technologies have become significantly cheaper compared to diesel- or kerosene-based systems, and cheaper than extending the grid in areas with low populations and per capita energy demand.

Local, clean solutions, like microgrids that run on solar power, can empower poor, small communities to address their own energy needs. The systems are relatively cheap to maintain, and Filipinos who live off their own renewable electricity can stop being vulnerable to volatile fossil fuel prices or the unsustainable demands of the electricity monopolies and unscrupulous electricity providers. (READ: Renewable energy is healthy energy) 

We can end energy poverty by increasing access to clean, renewable, and affordable sources of energy to generate electricity. This will benefit the people, the environment, and the economy in the long run, and with no worries about the potential damage that can be wrought on the country and the planet. There is no denying that increased electricity supplies can contribute to economic growth of communities and the entire country as a whole by bringing down production costs, encouraging innovation, and spurring agricultural and industrial productivity. – Rappler.com 

“Talagang dapat na patayin 'yung mga adik na yan. Hirap lang sa bahay namin, di sang-ayon 'yung nanay at tatay ko. Nabrainwash na ata ng media.”

(I do think those addicts need to be killed. At our house, though, my mom and dad don't agree with the killings. They've probably been brainwashed by the media.) 

It was 1 am, and I was attempting to sleep away the post-U2 concert traffic jam at the Philippine Arena. A pair of fellow concertgoers parked next to our car, however, were talking quite loudly.

“Alam mo, tama ka eh. Malala na talaga, lalo na dun sa province namin. 'Pag hindi pinatay 'yung mga 'yan, mamamatay tayong lahat.” 

(You know, you're right. Things have really gotten bad, especially in our province. If they're not killed, we'll get killed.)

As I tried to go back to sleep, I wondered if they really were U2 fans. Didn’t they know that the band they had just listened to has been exhorting its fans to sign up with Amnesty International and Greenpeace for decades? Didn’t they know that this band draws inspiration from active non-violence icons like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi? More to the point, didn’t they know that many of U2’s socio-political songs espouse empathy, mercy, and compassion? (READ: U2 dedicates 'Ultraviolet' to Maria Ressa, PH women)

Their song “Running to Stand Still” is a case in point. The  phrase “running to stand still” originally came to U2 frontman Bono when he asked about his brother’s business, which was in dire straits in the 80s. Bono then used it to describe the tragic desperation of people who are addicted to heroin.

In Bono’s words, “There was a couple living there (i.e. the Seven Towers housing project referenced in the song), both of whom were junkies. The guy used to pay for his habit by doing what was known as a run to Amsterdam, where he would pick up the heroin and strap it to his body and bring it back. If he was stopped, he would go to jail for 10 years but if he made it, he’d be able to afford his and his wife’s habit...They used to do it by boat, these all-or-nothing runs. The tragedy is he was a decent man at the heart of it, made a slave to his drug of choice.” (READ: U2's Bono to Duterte: 'You can't compromise on human rights')

Why do people get addicted to drugs? The physician Gabor Mate, who has conducted extensive research on addiction for decades, points to emotional pain as the root cause of the problem. Mate asserts that addictions “can all be traced to a painful experience. A hurt is at the center of all addictive behaviors…the wound may not be as deep and the ache not as excruciating, and it may even be entirely hidden – but it’s there.”

At the macro level, the sociologist and philosopher Jurgen Habermas traces contemporary crises like drug addiction to the complexity brought about by what he calls the colonization of  the lifeworld (i.e., our everyday life.) This happens when rules that originally apply to the state and the economy are extended to the lifeworld. Hence, when love and friendship  are treated like commodities and are purchased rather than given freely, we risk the occurrence of countless types of aberrations like addiction and other crises of social integration. Put another way, try fueling a diesel engine with unleaded gasoline. 

Whether we view the ongoing war on drugs from the lens of U2, Mate, or Habermas, clearly, killing drug addicts is tantamount to running to stand still. The body count and the number of buy-bust operations may continue to go up, but we would be nowhere near the solution if we confine the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) of the war on drugs to the number of suspects killed and the number of buy-bust operations completed. (READ: '1 over 100': Robredo calls Duterte's drug war a 'failure')

As we start 2020, my new year’s wish for our government is for it to adopt an inverted understanding of running to stand still. In place of the illusory act of moving forward by keeping score of drug-related arrests and killings, may it embrace this phrase as an invitation to stand still and make time to reflect, discuss, and deliberate with those who hold contrarian views. (READ: Colombian ex-president to Duterte: Force won't solve drug war) 

Better yet, drawing inspiration from the premium that the political theorist Hannah Arendt assigns to the vita activa (i.e. the active life or the activity of discussing issues that concern the community with the community) as a fulcrum for the vita contemplativa (i.e. the contemplative life or the activity of solitude and reflection), may government efforts to wage war on drugs discard the final solution of violence in favor of a communal inquiry that is powered by the unforce force of the better argument. 

I believe that despite the proliferation of trolls and fake news, this communal inquiry is innate in the Filipino. After all, as my philosophy teacher once put it, in the word “katotohanan” (truth) are 3 instructive terms:  “katoto” (friend), “toto” (the abbreviated form of “totoo” which means true) and “hanan” (a pun on “nahan” which means where). In other words, to find the true solution to any problem, one must engage in dialogue rather than in monologue. (READ: UN expert in PH: Punitive measures worsen drug problem)

If this should come to pass, perhaps in the not too distant future you and I might eventually overhear the following instead: “Talagang 'di pagpatay sa mga adik ang sagot sa problema ng droga. Tulungan natin ang media at ang gobyerno para sugpuin ang sanhi nito sa pamamagitan ng repleksyon at deliberasyon.” 

(Killing addicts really isn't the solution to the drug problem. Let's help the media and the government to stem the cause of the problem through reflection and deliberation.) – Rappler.com 

Von Katindoy has been a U2 fan since the 80s. He teaches philosophy at Ateneo De Manila University and does project management work for UBQTY, Inc.

The assassination by the U.S. of Iran's charismatic military figure, Qassem Soleimani, as the world entered the new year, upped the ante between these two protagonists. Since then, the world has been left to await with bated breath if the dire prognostications being peddled by analysts would come to pass.

The world has seen the US project its might in all areas of human endeavors; the same cannot be said of Iran.

What is driving Iran to stand up to the world's most formidable military and economic powerhouse?

Spirit of patriotism

Shirin Ebadi, the first female Muslim Nobel Peace laureate, boldly declared that she would give her support to the theocratic regime in Iran in the event an outside force would intervene and attempt to take control of her country. Coming from someone who gained recognition for her political activism against the present regime in Iran, this patriotic declaration assumed great significance.

The events that led to the toppling of the Shah in 1979, and the subsequent takeover of the US embassy by Iranian university students, made the Iranians feel a sense of empowerment, and rallied them around the country to support the Ayatollah regime. The rural population, in particular, that benefited from a land reform program that broke the hold of the landowning class over them, clearly gave their support to the new regime.

These recent developments strengthened the sense of nationhood that evolved over some 2,500 years in this unique country. Situated along the key trading routes, Iran (Persia, then) also attracted the great army of Alexander the Great, the Roman legions, the Mongol invaders, and the Islamic adherents on their way to Central and South Asia. In the 19th century, Iran deftly played off Great Britain, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire in what has come to be known as the "Great Game."

Throughout its long history, the Iranians have preserved their identity and have managed to choose their system of governance.

Oil and politics

The discovery and development of the highly productive oil fields in Abadan, and the setting up of the largest refinery at the time, brought revenues to the Persian treasury and to the concessionaire, Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The latter was controlled by the British Government after buying 51% of its shares.

The very success of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) gave rise to disagreements over the sharing of profits when APOC ventured into the acquisition of subsidiaries in Brunei, Kuwait, Bahrain, and acquired substantial shares in a valuable concession in what is now Iraq. Things would come to a head when Iran nationalized its oil in 1951.

In 1956, the democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadeq, was ousted in a CIA-hatched coup. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was installed as the new ruler who would squander Iran's oil wealth on military hardware and grandiose projects in pursuit of his ambition to make his country a developed power in the world.

On January 16, 1976 the Shah quietly left Iran for Egypt, accompanied only by his family and a few close servants, never to return to his country.

In February 1980, Ayatollah Khomeini triumphantly returned from exile in Paris to assume the nation's leadership.

Revolutionary gains

The imposition of crippling sanctions against the regime in Iran has not brought down the country to its knees. On the contrary, signs of breakthroughs in critical areas could be observed not only in the capital of Teheran but also in the provincial areas. The system that moves people and goods is showing remarkable improvements. The road network is expansive and well-maintained. The railways efficiently connect major cities and centers of production. The air services, though, manifest the effects of the sanctions in the aging fleets of commercial planes.

Dramatic gains have been made in women's literacy, from 24% at the time of the revolution to 85% in the first decade of the new century. Iran does not suffer from any shortage of the basic food commodities. The pharmaceutical industry makes available to the public medicines at prices ordinary people can afford.

Iran's role in the region

The establishment of the state of Israel ushered in the period of conflict and instability that is still influencing events in the region. Today, the political-military landscape has undergone a radical make-over. Once frontline states, such as Egypt and Jordan, have entered into their particular arrangements with Israel. The second-tier opposition, Libya and Iraq, have been mired in their own problems of survival. Only Syria has maintained its open hostility against Israel.

The issue of territory, particularly, Jerusalem, has always been the lightning rod that has attracted other players, such as Iran. On this issue, Iran has adroitly inserted itself into the main opposition through the support given to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, to the Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to the tottering regime in Damascus. In Iraq, the Shia militias give Iran a strategic opportunity to influence events in the country, thus expanding the system of alliances with state and local militias. Iran has become Israel's most feared adversary.

The nuclear issue

The introduction of nuclear armament in a very volatile region such as the Middle East is the most dreaded scenario of our time. While Israel is widely believed to be possessing several nuclear-tipped missiles, its show of restraint is seen as a show of its high sense of responsibility. Iran's case is different. While denying any ambition to develop the capability to produce a nuclear arsenal, Iran is showing intransigence by resuming its uranium-enrichment program, despite urgent diplomatic initiatives from France, Germany, Russia and China for Iran to adhere to the 2015 agreement.

How the United States and Israel view Iran's uranium-enrichment program can very well determine if escalation of tensions can lead to military intervention.

Economic sanctions

For ignoring the strong international pressure to halt its uranium-enrichment program, Iran was subjected to severe economic sanctions starting the early 2000s. An oil embargo was followed by the blacklisting of banks and individuals, making business with Iran a risky proposition. By the second decade of the century, the crippling effects of the sanctions were beginning to be felt by the general population. Raw materials needed by local industries from outside sources were becoming difficult to procure. Goods were disappearing from the shelves. In 2015, Iran reached an agreement  with the US, France, Germany, Russia, and China, in effect putting on hold its aggressive uranium-enrichment program.

This is highly significant, given the intransigence of Iran in previous rounds of negotiation. Iran may be reaching its breaking point as evidenced by growing restiveness among the younger population. In the light of the bleak economic outlook, what now bears watching are the traders in the bazaar who, traditionally, have served as political weather vanes.

The assassination of Gen. Soleimani may have given the present regime the big diversion it needs to channel the emotions of the Iranian people into another frenzied mobilization against the US.

The evolving alliance in Asia

The geopolitical situation in West and Central Asia bears watching. Russia, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, and India are increasing their cooperation in strategic areas under the Shanghai Pact. New pipelines will carry increasing trade in energy resources, in the process lessening dependency on the shipborne trade that passes through the vulnerable Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Iran is central to this evolving new order as it straddles both land and maritime routes.

An armed confrontation in a conventional way involving the Iranian military and its proxies against the US and its allies may not materialize as yet, but it may set the stage for deeper cooperation and involvement in the immediate future with the Shanghai Pact signatories. The Asian Century may not be far off. – Rappler.com

Ambassador  Laureano C. Santiago is a retired career diplomat who served posts in Japan, Egypt, Australia, and Iran

When I think about my childhood, I remember not just the endless interactions I had with my playmates, or the dreams I told myself I should achieve. More than anything, I’m reminded of the festivities, of the celebrations, of the Catholic traditions I once embraced. And these include the colorful Traslacion.

I can still vividly picture the jubilant men in my old neighborhood talking about their strategies for getting closer to the Poon (Lord) during the Traslacion – the annual ceremonial transfer of the black image of Jesus Christ from San Nicolas de Tolentino in Intramuros to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo in Manila.

“You should be the lead since you’re the strongest,” one of them said.

“What if we line up this way?” another one added. “Will this work?”

It was intense. It was as if they were going into a war like seasoned gladiators, only that they chose not to bring anything with them. Yes, they would have no slippers or shoes on. Their only weapon was their resilient belief; their armor was their prayers. (READ: Making sense of the Nazarene devotion)

Naturally, I expressed my desire to join the euphoria, but I was turned down right away. I was only 7 years old.

“It’s not for children,” said Mang Kaloy, one of their most vocal members. “Just continue playing.”

But on the day of the festivity itself, the footage of the event on our tv disturbed me.

The cavalcade of devotees. The wiping of the cross or statue's foot with a cloth. Shouting. Crying. Emergencies. Difficulty breathing. Heart attacks. Stretchers. Casualties. (READ: [OPINION] The contradictions of the Black Nazarene) 

Chaos was all over. Everybody wanted to grip the cord of Black Nazarene, and to ultimately reach the graven image flexing its influence as the representation of God on earth.

I felt lost. I asked myself: Is this what my Catholic faith looks like? Is this what God wants to happen?

Hundreds get hurt every time it happens. There are even casualties sometimes. These may just be mere figures for some, but these require a closer examination.

When my youngest brother told me 5 years ago that he would continue our deceased father's devotion to the Black Nazarene, a hole opened up again deep inside me. Suddenly, the horror I felt over this brutal event came rushing back.

“Isn’t it too dangerous?” I told him. “Can you just not join them?”

“No, kuya, (brother)” my brother said. “It’s for tatay (father).”

But is this whole affair even biblical?

I don't proclaim to be a Bible expert, but in Deuteronomy 5:7-9 (King James Version), it clearly says: “Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”

They say holding a procession of graven images doesn't fall under the category of "bowing down" or "serving," but is just a gesture of respect. But do you also hold processions featuring statues of loved ones and friends you dearly respect?

Can these graven images represent the majesty, greatness, and holiness of the God in the Bible? The same God who created the heavens and the earth through his powerful words? If the main basis of the Catholic faith is the Bible, why then are these people continuously transgressing the above commandment? Clearly, the Black Nazarene is a graven image or an idol as described by the holy scriptures.

Not to condone such an activity, but can’t the leadership behind the Traslacion event at least impose stricter guidelines on its participants for a safer execution? (READ: Learning Nazarene devotees' 'choreography' and staying safe) 

Filipinos have the right to observe religion practices, as protected by the Constitution. But in the end, we should as a society open our eyes to practices that may be out-of-control and atrocious. We should continue to search for a better way to do things while respecting human diversity.

A merciful, kind, and loving God does not ask that people lose themselves and physically suffer for the world to see, or that they be catalysts for neighbors to be in agony. To not let Black Nazarene devotees die or get hurt while professing their love of their faith is not just a national responsibility, but a true and pure testament that we empathize and care about them. – Rappler.com

Benre J. Zenarosa is a former Catholic and award-winning essayist. His work has appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Thailand's The Nation, United States Sports Academy's The Sport Digest, Thought Catalog, and others. In 2019, one of his pieces has been included in the "Young Blood 7," a collection of the 79 best essays published in the Inquirer’s Young Blood column from 2016 to 2017. zenarosabenre@gmail.com

Policies ought to be informed by data. But many government officials would rather have us groping in the dark.

Nowhere is this more evident than in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, which started in 2016 and has since killed at least 30,000 people, according to human rights groups.

Even so, there are attempts to put some method in the madness. 

Following her 18-day stint as co-chair of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs (ICAD), Vice President Leni Robredo finally released her findings on the drug war. 

In a nutshell, Robredo’s study brought to light just how little the drug war has quelled the country’s drug problem.

But no sooner had the results been published than Duterte and his minions took turns to attack Robredo and dismiss her report. 

They will do well to remember who appointed Robredo to the ICAD in the first place: Duterte himself. 

Robredo’s report was also based wholly on government numbers, and therein lies its stroke of genius. She held up a mirror that reflected back to the drug war’s principals and agents their dazzling incompetence.

What’s in the Robredo report anyway, and are the reactions valid?

Damning report

The highlight of Robredo’s 41-page report is a graph comparing the total amount of shabu seized by drug enforcement agencies throughout the drug war and the estimated consumption of shabu in the country (Figure 1).

Since the former is always about 1% of the latter, Robredo claimed the Duterte government has utterly failed to dent drug consumption – the ultimate goal of any sensible drug policy.

This comes as no surprise. Many other countries have given up on drug wars since they’re inherently unwinnable. (READ: War on drugs? Other countries focus on demand, not supply)

Figure 1.

But where did Robredo’s numbers come from? Are they correct?

The short grayish blue bars in Figure 1 are straightforward: they denote seized shabu supplies based on data collected by ICAD.

The tall orange bars, meanwhile, are estimates (not actual data) of shabu consumption in the country. They came from various drug enforcement agencies which told Robredo there are about 3 million shabu users nationwide, each consuming at least one gram of shabu per week for an entire year.

My friend, UP School of Statistics Professor Peter Cayton, spotted a small error in the graph: since the 2019 data on seized shabu supplies ranged from January to October only, the corresponding orange bar should also reflect estimated consumption in those months. 

Hence, rather than 156,000 kilos in 2019, it should only be 129,000 kilos (assuming 43 weeks).

But this makes little difference. Robredo’s key point – that the government’s supply interdiction efforts are minuscule compared with the extent of the country’s drug problem – holds.

Groping in the dark 

Robredo’s study should still be taken with a grain of salt because of the questionable data supplied to her by various drug enforcement agencies.

For instance, the one-gram-per-week assumption came from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which has yet to validate their own estimate.

Meanwhile, the 3 million figure comes from the Philippine National Police’s Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG). 

Duterte himself used to tout “3 to 4 million” drug users, and this has since inexplicably ballooned to “7 to 8 million.” Even the police are baffled: they don't know where these numbers came from. 

If we use Duterte’s bloated figures in the Robredo report, the “success rate” of the drug war will appear even smaller (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Crappy assumptions beget crappy statistical analysis, and if there’s anyone to blame for Robredo’s study, it’s the various drug enforcement agencies that supplied her the data. 

But the true value in Robredo’s report lies in exposing the fact that government, all the while, has been groping in the dark. 

Were it not for Robredo’s prodding, relevant drug enforcement agencies would not have been compelled to churn out much-needed numbers, however imperfect. Either these agencies don’t know how to crunch the numbers, or they’re hiding their incompetence and vested interests – or both. 

“Government cannot truly say the campaign is working without these baseline numbers,” Robredo said in her report.

For bringing back evidence-based policy-making into the drug war discourse, Robredo deserves all the praise.

Debunking the reactions 

Rather than embrace Robredo’s findings open-mindedly, a number of government officials instead rejected them flatly and pettily – often using fallacious arguments. Let’s debunk some here.

The PDEA chief unsurprisingly railed against the study, saying Robredo “dismissed and ignored all of our government’s accomplishments and efforts for the past 3 years” in a “mere political attack.” But Robredo’s report did mention the efforts of various drug enforcement agencies. It so happens they’re insignificant next to the problem in our hands.

The PNP’s officer-in-charge, meanwhile, said that the drug war’s success is proven by a recent survey which showed that 8 in 10 Filipinos are satisfied with the drug war. But just because a policy is popular doesn’t mean it’s correct or appropriate.

The PNP spokesperson also boasted there’s no more local manufacturing of shabu, and they consider that a “100% success rate.” But illegal drugs are still being smuggled into the country – mostly from China.

House Speaker Alan Cayetano agreed with Robredo’s wish for better data, but said it’s “very unfair” to blame government since it’s near impossible these days to get accurate drug consumption data.

But that’s just it: Duterte’s drug war is compromising data collection. Virtually nobody today will admit using drugs to a stranger holding a clipboard. 

Some senators also chimed in. Senator Tito Sotto III tweeted, “War vs Drugs fails only when you stop fighting.” Senator Panfilo Lacson minced words by saying, “The war against illegal drugs is a continuing fight and, therefore, I would rather say, it has not been successful enough, rather than call it a failure.” But Duterte’s drug war – like any other war – cannot go on indefinitely, especially if demonstrably futile.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said in an interview with ANC he’s uncomfortable with Robredo’s statements, and he found them off-putting especially if you think of the police risking their lives in the frontlines. But this is an appeal to emotion. Just because the study contains uncomfortable data doesn’t make it any less valid.

Finally, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, a former police officer, said the drug war’s success can’t be measured by statistics. But what’s the alternative? Hunches? Beliefs? Gut feel?

Piercing the veil

Note that Duterte himself said on multiple occasions that his drug war has failed.

Note, too, that most of the criticisms hurled against Robredo are coming from government agencies that risk having lower budgets if the drug war stops, or from allies who need to stay on Duterte’s good side for their own political survival.

For too long Duterte’s war on drugs has hidden behind a veil of fear, lies, and misconceptions. It’s high time for facts and statistics to pierce that veil. Robredo’s report is a step in that direction. – Rappler.com

The author is a PhD candidate at the UP School of Economics. His views are independent of the views of his affiliations. Follow JC on Twitter (@jcpunongbayan) and Usapang Econ (usapangecon.com).

Inside the FX during one of those quiet holiday mornings, a middle-aged woman sat beside me.  

Minutes later, I began hearing murmurs. Every commuter knows we need to be aware of our surroundings all the time. I discreetly paused my music instead of removing my earphones, afraid of looking chismoso. It was only then that I realized the middle-aged woman was shouting at me. My tattoo sleeve was peeking out of my shirt.  

I won’t be able to finish my studies; I will never find a decent job, she said repeatedly. Not yet caffeinated to engage in anything, especially in an argument, I ignored her and played my music again. She was still saying something about the sanctity of the body. About the criminals. About Duterte and drugs. (READ: Stop assuming all drug users are addicts – Ateneo professor)

It was too late when I realized what had happened – I was judged for having tattoos. If I were to compare my experience, it wasn’t as bad or as traumatic as that of folks discriminated against for their gender or disability. But perhaps there’s that common feeling, the feeling of self-denial. 

The English physician Havelock Ellis wrote an essay in the 1930s titled “The Function of Taboos.” According to him, “A taboo, speaking roughly, simply indicates something that is ‘not done.’ The reason why it is not done may be, and often is, unknown to those who observe the taboo.” 

In a positive remark, he mentioned that the existence of taboos is necessary for society because it grounds us to our morality and dignity. Taboo for him is related to discipline. Yet, there are taboos associated with social stigma or discrimination against people with specific characteristics or beliefs.  

In 2019, news sites and social media in the Philippines were filled with posts about different existing taboos and stigmas in our society. These included living-in among millennial partners, gender-neutral restrooms, same-sex relationships, intersex persons, mental health, disabilities, HIV, and speaking out as a victim of harassment. Like tattoos, these are not new issues. 

What’s important to note here is the shifting perspective of people, especially the Filipino youth. A quick Internet search will reveal the increasing interest and attempt to engage in conversations to widen the understanding or knowledge about these issues. Evidence would be the SOGIE Bill being the fourth most-searched news-related keyword on Google Philippines 2019.

But how engaged are we? 

One of the phrases that became popular last year was “OK, boomer.” This phrase is used by the younger generation to dismiss or mock the seemingly close-minded, conservative opinions of baby boomers. This terse retort implies the exhaustion of the younger generation over constantly having to explain the reasons for their actions, beliefs, and choices. (Does this mean that we are the new Beat Generation? Maybe not even close.) However, the response does not contribute to the supposed dialogue, but only allows a generational divide and leaves the old thinking of boomers unaffected. 

Taboos and stigmas exist because we allow them to. We dismiss instead of enlighten. It sounds like a huge responsibility, but aren’t we also the ones who claim to be “woke?" The aim is not to change our society, but for our society to become a progressive one. Remember that instance when Joey De Leon got schooled by Maine Mendoza about suicide? Remember Greta Thunberg’s speech to world leaders at the UN? Remember the many causes led by the younger generation these past few years?  

The youth spoke out about how they understand the world in the conditions that they are part of and exposed to. In effect, there is magnification and shedding of light on these issues. Their brave acts became social movements.  

W. Lance Bennett, a political scientist, argued that new media has transformed the very nature of protest movements. Unlike in the early protests where there were leaders like Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, and Rosa Parks, protest in new media have become "polycephalous," which means "they are no longer represented by a central leading figure, but have many local representatives.” Protest movements have also changed in the sense that they, as Bennett mentioned,  are no longer about ideology and ideological differences, but are “more about personal and fluid forms of association.” 

By setting campaigns through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, people find people with whom they share the same situation and have conversations. For example, in “The Role of Social Media in Reducing Stigma and Discrimination” from The British Journal of Psychiatry, it is mentioned that there is an increased awareness of mental health because “people with mental health problems share their experiences in online public spaces and challenge mental health stigma.” 

We need to educate and replace stereotypes with factual information and figures, correct misinformation, and refute negative perceptions through user-generated content. This means we also need to enlighten ourselves heavily about the matter. We need not only participation but active engagement. We don’t want to be tagged as “clicktivists” whose activism is only limited to computer clicks without real action. “If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger,” says the artist Ai Weiwei. 

Improvisational theater has the “Yes, and…” principle. “Yes” suggests that the participant agrees and accepts what the other participant mentioned, while “and” means the expansion of that idea. But outside the theater, when the statement is something we cannot relate to, something we find unacceptable, it’s difficult to apply this principle because it’s like subjugating to the old beliefs we don’t agree with.  

So, instead of saying “OK, boomer,” why not say “Yes, but…?" “Yes” means we’re accepting the older generation’s statement, although not necessarily agreeing to it, and “but” suggests that we too have our take on the matter. This is our improv game with hope, with a reason, to improve and contribute to the dialogue. Call it “improv-ment.” After all, in a Shakespearean sense, “All the world’s stage.” But not to the point that it’s all for a show.  

I wish I realized earlier what had happened during that FX ride so I could’ve tried to “Yes, but…” the middle-aged woman. Yes, we must respect our bodies, but we also have a choice to do what we wish. Yes, tattoos are associated with criminals, but not all of those who have tattoos are criminals because many are in the professional field. Yes, taboos and stigmas exist, but we’re not complacent. One’s skin is never a limitation to achieving anything, the same with one's gender, the same with one's disability. – Rappler.com

Jose P. Mojica, MA, teaches communication and media at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters under the Department of Communication and Media Studies. He is a resident fellow of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies.

Pakinggan din sa: Spotify | Apple Podcasts

MANILA, Philippines – Akalain 'nyo, 2020 na? Bagong dekada, bagong simula.

Uso na naman ang New Year's resolutions, na maaaring matupad o maaari ring hindi.

Pero hindi rin natin mapigilang mag-reminisce sa highlights ng nakaraang taon at nakaraang dekada.

'Ika nga sa kantang "Closing Time," "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Kasama nina Michael at Chito sina Bea at Tristan mula sa Hustle team ng Rappler para sa unang episode ng Laffler Talk sa 2020. – Rappler.com

Dahil malapit ang apartment ko sa Quiapo, ngayong kapistahan ng Itim na Nazareno, gumising akong walang pumapasok na notification, ni hindi ko mabuksan ang social media account ko. Alam kong hihina o tuluyang mawawala ang signal ngayong araw na ito. Taon-taong nangyayari itong security protocol dulot ng malalakas na signal jammer sa paligid ng Quiapo. Ibig sabihin, walang data ang modem, walang signal ang smartphone. Wala kahit pantawag. Walang maipadalang mensahe kahit pa ang primitibo na ngayong SMS. Ibig sabihin, mistulang nag-iisa ako’t nagdidildil sa nakalulumbay na katahimikan sa birtuwal na mundong pagkaingay-ingay.

Iyong ginhawang iniaasa mo sa teknolohiya, lalo sa walang hanggang balon ng kaalamang kung tawagin ay internet, sarado ngayon. Wala akong internet. Wala ang dating ginhawang associated sa immediacy ng pag-Google kung may hindi maalala, kung gustong may balikang impormasyon. Wala ang manaka-nakang pagpukaw sa ginagawa dahil may mga notification na dapat tugunan agad. Wala ang panonood sa viral videos, mga pusang kumakanta at mga asong pagulong-gulong. Wala ang mga kalokohan ng memes na lagi nang dahilan para tumigil sa ginagawa, pag-aralan ang retorika ng larawan, font, layout, at context ng virality.  

Wala akong natatanggap na ulat sa kung saang legitimate news and media platform na gusto kong puntahan at paghugutan ng kaalaman. Ang mayroon lamang ay ang aking kakarag-karag na AM radio, na nakatutok sa Traslacion ng Nazareno, at FM band na built-in sa mga smartphone. Nasabi ko na ito noon pa: sanhi ng ilang pansariling polisiya, wala akong telebisyon dito sa Maynila mula pa noong 2007. Oo, alam ko, sad life.  

Hindi naman talaga walang-walang signal. Kailangan ko lang lumabas at lumayo sa apartment, mga isang kilometrong lakad, at naroon na uli ang signal. Magdadatingan ang mensahe, bilin, pakiusap, emoticons. Pagkabili ko ng tanghalian sa labas kanina, nalaman kong hindi pumasok sa trabaho ang asawa ko, masama raw ang pakiramdam. Sa ilang nakaw na sandali palabas sa aking pagiging virtual exile, nagawa kong kumustahin ang aking pamilya, sumagot sa ilang online inquiry, mag-check ng social media account. Saka ako bumalik sa apartment. Ngayon ko na lamang naalalang hindi ako nakapag-check ng email. 

Sa ganitong estado ng aking virtual isolation, at bunsod na rin ng mga sabi-sabi hinggil sa pagsisindi ng mitsa ng digmaan sa Gitnang Silangan, kaya ko ito isinulat. 

Wala namang kakaiba maliban nga sa wala akong internet habang isinusulat ito. Na hindi rin naman magtatagal dahil kailangan kong mai-email ito pagkatapos. Internet pa rin ang kailangan. Ang gusto ko lang sabihin, at palawigin, ay ang sensation na wala nga akong maaasahang sasalukan ng kaalaman, walang internet-based na libangan, at dahil magdadalawang taon na akong hindi naninigarilyo, kaya wala akong deviation sa monotonong gawaing tumipa ng keyboard maghapon.

Oo, mukhang OA, wala lang namang internet access, napakaarte. Eh babalik din naman iyon kinagabihan o kinabukasan. Sabihin na nating hindi na ako sanay. Kailangan ko ang internet tuwina para sa aking pakikipag-ugnayan, para sa aking pansariling kapanatagan lalo’t kailangang makibalita sa pamilya. Kailangan ko ng internet mula sa maliliit na gawain, gaya ng pagtunghay sa memes ng mga pusa dahil sa pagkainip, hanggang sa malalaki – buhay ko – gaya ng pag-alam sa estado ng aking pamilya sa probinsya. Nasa internet ang financial management plan ko, naroon ang isa sa dalawang journal, nasa social media ang mga update sa proyekto, at napakaraming iba pang aspekto ng aking pagkatao.

Isinusulat ko ito habang walang internet para pagnilayan kung kakayanin ko bang wala. Kaya ko naman, kinaya, wala namang masamang nangyari sa akin maliban sa technological anxiety at, siguro, ang FOMO, isang kinikilalang makabagong sikolohikal na suliraning ang ibig sabihin ay fear of missing out.  

Kaugnay ng sentimyentong ito ngayon, nitong nagdaang araw, muli kong nakasama ang isang kaibigan. Naging panauhing tagapagsalita siya sa isang event tungkol sa pamamahayag sa matandang kampus kung saan siya nag-aral at kung saan ako nagtuturo ngayon. Si Francis TJ Ochoa, ang kasalukuyang sports editor ng Philippine Daily Inquirer, ang tinutukoy kong kaibigan. 

Sa pagkakataong iyon, gaya ng magkaibigang matagal na hindi nakita, nagkuwentuhan kami nang matagal over brown bottles of bitter fluids. Napadako ang kuwentuhan namin sa buhay-buhay namin noong nasa kolehiyo. Noong kailangang makinilyahin ang term paper, noong wala pang delete ang keyboard. Noong wala pang Google at kailangang pumunta sa uugod-ugod na estrukturang tinatawag na library kung gustong makakalap ng impormasyon. Nagkakaisang tanong namin: Paano namin na-survive ang panahong iyon?

Sa pagitan ng bote-botelyang binubuksan at iniinom, binalikan namin ni Francis ang alaala ng transisyon mula makinilya hanggang electric typewriter hanggang Wordstar 4 at Word Perfect. Hanggang ngayong tinitipa ko ito sa institution-issued document software sa aking laptop. Napag-usapan namin ang mga sports personalities noong panahong kailangang gamitan ng correction fluid ang mga dokumentong mahirap nang maulit. Noong kailangang tupiin, length-wise, ang papel at bilangin ang characters ng pamagat, divide by two, kung ilan ang sagot, ganoon karaming backspace ang pipindutin gumitna lang ang pamagat. Samantalang ngayon, ilang command lang, naka-layout na. 

Saan nanggagaling ang ganitong agam-agam ng pagtawid sa nakaraan? Agam-agam sa kawalan ng ginhawang dulot ng internet signal? Simple lang: dahil nakasanayan. 

Nakasanayan. Comfort zone. Dahil nakasanayan, kasi narito na ang lahat ng magdudulot ng kaayusan, ng ginhawa. At ito ang delikado lalo’t kailangang mag-deviate sa comfort zone na ito. Ito ngang kawalan ng internet ang sa akin ngayon. Pero nakasanayan namin dati ang makinilya, nakasanayan ang primitibong document processing application; nakasanayanan namin dati nang hindi umaangal ang kung anong mayroon noong panahong iyon. Ten years ago, sanay naman lahat ang marami sa atin sa kawalan ng mobile internet. Pero dahil nakamit natin ang ginhawa, kaydali nating iasa ang buhay sa teknolohiya. Kaydali nating masanay, kaydaling makasanayan. Kaya naman parang kaylaki ng kawalan kung, isang araw, aalisin ang inaasahan. 

Hindi na naman ako bumalik sa Word Perfect habang isinusulat ko ito. At wala na rin naman akong pangarap pang magbalik sa Wordstar. Mas gugustuhin ko pang isulat-kamay ang artikulong ito. Pero dahil mabilis pa rin naman ang laptop kong nakakaisang buwan pa lang sa isang taong paghuhulog ng bayad, kaya dito ko ito isinulat kahit walang signal. Kaya kinabukasan ko pa ito mai-email. 

Sa totoo lang, nakakasulat pa naman ako nang longhand. Marami akong pansulat. Novelty na halos, at kapritso na ang pangongolekta ko ng fountain pen. Bumabalik-balik ako sa dating paraan para hindi masanay nang lubos sa lahat ng ginhawang hatid ng panahong itong, huwag naman sana, baka biglang mawala sanhi ng kaguluhang likha ng mga pinuno ng mundong karahasan ang pangunahing polisiya. – Rappler.com 

Bukod sa pagtuturo ng creative writing, pop culture, research, at seminar in new media sa Departamento ng Literatura at sa Graduate School ng Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas, Research Fellow din si Joselito D. De Los Reyes, PhD sa UST Research Center for Culture, Arts and Humanities. Siya ang Coordinator ng AB Creative Writing program ng Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas.

Count me, please, among the Filipinos who welcome this new year with hope.  But my hope is not because of Duterte’s presidency, but in spite of it.

I do not, and never have, taken it against the millions of Filipino voters who voted for him during the 2016 presidential elections that they decided to give him the chance to prove himself worthy of the Office of the President.  

Like all Filipinos, they had their own daily problems to deal with, their own views on what are the most pressing issues and problems facing society and, naturally, their own idea on who they think would be up for the task of leading a nation of more than 100 million Filipinos of varying economic, social and cultural standing in the next 6 years.  He promised to solve the drug problem and the traffic problem in 6 months! Who could blame the Filipinos for voting for that?

If anything, their choice deserves respect, and it is on their behalf that most of my feelings of indignation are stemming: the man they chose to trust to solve their problems has not only failed them in so many ways, but has created – and is continuing to create – multigenerational problems for the country. 

From an ever-growing level of foreign debt, to the incursions he has allowed to happen against our sovereignty and national territory.  

That is why he is desperate to silence critics like myself, and why he would lash out at anyone who dares open up the political and civic space to free discourse of issues.

Worse, he would do it at the expense of anyone and everyone, but primarily the Filipino people he is supposed to serve.

Take, for instance, the threat to impose entry visas for Americans.

When Malacañang made that threat, it was not doing so from a position of careful thought and consideration about what is best for the country – not in terms of its adverse effects on the national economy, or on our international position in terms of foreign relations.  It was doing so from a position of a maladjusted adult throwing a tantrum because he was, again, at the receiving end of valid criticisms that he neither has the maturity nor the factual or legal foundation to adequately defend against.  

That the criticism is coming from people he cannot kill or bully merely limited his options to making threats against innocent bystanders: not the American people – who have plenty of alternative options as to where they could take their business in this highly globalized economy – but the Filipino people, who stand to lose their jobs and livelihood, and possibly even meaningful contact with family members holding American passports.

In other words, Malacañang made that threat without thinking it through.  It is a classic knee-jerk reaction from a tyrant: why constructively engage with others on important issues, when you can just lash out and throw your weight around and prove your machismo in the most primitive manner?  Once again, he proves he does not serve the public, but himself and his own ego.

And it is a sign of the times that many were not even surprised by it.  Least of all myself.  

This government has expelled a nun for defending human rights.

This government has made it explicitly clear that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is not welcome.

This government has red-tagged the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples because it is much harder to deny entry to a Filipino citizen.

This government has explicitly stated that International Criminal Court officials and investigators will be made human targets by the Philippine military if they attempt to come to the Philippines to investigate extrajudicial killings.

This government has bullied media outfits who dare exercise their freedom of the press.

This unconstructive reaction is, sadly, quite predictable and par for the course for this administration: it is destructive, it solves no problems, and is even impotent in soothing Duterte’s ego because, as the reaction from the US senators have shown, committed defenders of human rights don’t bow down before bullies and their tactics.

And that’s precisely when tyrants fail: when they are confronted with their sins and made to fix their mess.

And that’s the most important thing to remember when we hear about the actions being taken by US policy and lawmakers: They came about because of the Duterte administration’s utter failure to address the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines.  They are the product of not just a lack of concrete action to remedy human rights abuses, but the blatant attempt to normalize attacks on human rights, democracy and the Rule of Law.

These did not suddenly come about.  They did not suddenly take interest in the plight of a falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned Senator from the Philippines.  

The US Senate Resolution and the amendment thereto, which seeks to impose the Global Magnitsky sanctions, and even the earlier US entry ban provision included in the 2020 US Appropriations Act, merely recognize that my unjust detention and continuing persecution is intrinsically linked to my vocal criticism of the bloody – yet failed – so-called “War on Drugs,” and to my attempt to shed light on issues affecting the free and democratic way of life of Filipinos, including disturbing encroachments into our sovereignty and national territory by a bullying neighbor state.  Same as in the case of Maria Ressa, which is also another case of persecution that concerns defenders of democracy and press freedom all over the world. Our cases are not the most concerning; they are, however, the most chilling.  If women of our public stature could be oppressed and persecuted – with impunity! – for standing up against the Duterte government, it sends a chilling effect on others who are inclined to stand up for what is right.

As is made clear in the language of the Senate Resolution and even the appropriations provision, the ultimate goal is to give back to human rights victims, human rights defenders, champions of Democracy and the Rule of Law, and all Filipino citizens alike the free and open space to speak their minds, to appeal for redress from their government for wrongs committed against them, and, in general, to participate in political and civic life without fear of persecution.  

The US State Department Report on the Philippines has been mentioning these concerns for the last two years.  You can, thus, view the US Resolution and the appropriations provision as merely the next step that the US is taking to urge the Philippine government to address these global concerns.  

And the US is not alone. The UN has spoken about these and about my case. Same with the European Union, Canadian and Australian parliaments.

My case was featured by the Inter-Parliamentary Union as one of the most concerning examples of Parliamentarians At Risk Around the World.

Groups like Amnesty International and Parliamentarians for Global Action, among others, have recognized my situation as that of a Prisoner of Conscience.

All these developments did not come from a vacuum. On the contrary, it comes from a deep understanding across national borders that a threat to democracy, rule of law and human rights anywhere in the world is a threat to them all over the world.

For my part, I am filled with hope to see that there is a growing momentum for demanding accountability, as more and more allies committed to defending human rights, democracy and the Rule of Law are making themselves heard.  Whether those allies will take up my case as their own, or whether they want to focus on bringing attention to the human rights situation in the Philippines, or to other particular cases of political persecution – that is their call.  

I am fortunate that my long and consistent track record for defending human rights, for fighting corruption and for championing Democracy and the Rule of Law speaks for itself; and so does the utter lack of credible evidence against me.  I do not really have to do anything but continue my fight to convince people of my innocence.  As I have said before, if my continued detention is the price I pay for standing up for human rights, I am prepared to continue making this sacrifice until the human rights victims are vindicated and their abuses brought to justice.  

So, whether or not similar acts of support are coming, I will continue to fight. And 2020 seems to be off to a great start for human rights warriors and victims of persecution alike, such as myself. – Rappler.com

Senator Leila de Lima, a fierce Duterte critic, has been detained in a facility at the Philippine National Police headquarters for nearly 3 years over what she calls trumped-up drug charges.

Hindi na kami magpapaligoy-ligoy pa. Natulala kami na isang heneral na pulis – hindi isang hamak na SPO lamang – ang nanghablot ng cellphone ng isang mamamahayag na kumukuha ng video ng isang debotong kinuyog ng mga pulis at inilampaso sa kalsada.

Opo, nang-snatch na parang snatcher. At dinig na dinig sa mismong video – na tinangka niyang, ngunit nabigong, burahin – si General Snatcher na nag-uutos na “Burahin mo, burahin mo. Kuha ni Jun Veneracion. Putangina nagku-kwan eh.”

Ang unang tanong: bakit pina-delete ang video? Guilty ba sila ng police brutality? Bakit ayaw nilang makunan ng camera ang insidente? Kung panonoorin ang video, mukhang ginamitan ng “unnecessary force” ang pobreng deboto ng Nazareno.

Pangalawang tanong: bakit nagsinungaling si General Snatcher, este, Brigadier General Nolasco Bathan, na hindi raw niya namukhaan si Jun Veneracion ng GMA7 gayong dinig na dinig siya sa video?

Pangatlo: Sabi ni Bathan sa kanyang paghingi ng paumanhin sa GMA reporter (hindi sa publiko na nagpapasweldo sa kanya), “I mistook GMA reporter for a threat.” Sabi pa niya, pagod na sila. Excuse ba ‘yan sa asal kriminal?

Ang sabi nga ng boss nila sa Interior Department na si Eduardo Año: "He shouldn't have done that even if that person wasn't Jun Veneracion. Even if he was just an ordinary person, you can't just get and snatch a phone. That shouldn't be done by a police officer.”

Pang-apat na tanong: Naglunsad nga ng imbestigasyon si acting Philippine National Police chief Debold Sinas pero bakit hindi man lang sinuspinde si General Snatcher? Maliit na bagay ba ito sa mata ni General Sinas? Hindi ba’t bilang isang opisyal, higit nga ang tungkulin ni Bathan na maging ehemplo sa pagdakila sa batas?

Merong sarkastikong nagkomento na ano raw ba ang mas malala sa snatcher na heneral? Ang sagot: ang heneral na pumalpak burahin ang video sa cellphone na inisnatch nya.  Sinungaling na nga, pulis patola pa.

Pero ang mortal na kasalanan ni Bathan ay hindi incompetence o pagsisinungaling – ito ang pagtataksil sa sinumpaang tungkulin at pagyurak sa pangalan ng kapulisan.

Pero sa totoo lang, wala na yatang malinis na sulok sa kaluluwa ng kapulisan na pwedeng marumihan – dahil tila nanggigitata na ang buong kabahayan.

Matagal nang tumahak sa landas ng pagkawasak ang pulisya natin— ang road to perdition sa wikang Ingles. Andiyan si Oscar Albayalde, ang protektor umano ng ninja cops. Andiyan ang pagpatay sa loob ng headquarters ng PNP ng isang Koreanong kinidnap-for-ransom ng mga pulis. Andyan ang kaso ng pangre-rape ng isang kinse anyos ng isang pulis para sa ikalalaya ng kanyang mga magulang. At higit sa lahat, andyan ang pagpatay sa mga tulad ng 17 años na si Kian delos Santos na umano'y nanlaban – pero walang habas na pinatay – sa gyera laban sa droga.

At isa lang ang kahulugan niyan: hindi natin mapagkakatiwalaan ang mga bantay-salakay, ang mga baluktot ang prinsipyo, at mga walang dangal na alagad ng batas.

Hindi kami naniniwalang sakit lang ito ng kalingkingan at hindi ng buong katawan.

Dahil iyan ang ehemplo at pamana ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte: kapag sinasabihan niyang, “Kill bishops, all they do is criticize.” Kapag nagbibiro siya sa mga sundalo, “If you had raped 3, I will admit it, that’s on me. Kapag sinasabi niya sa mga nagtatanggol ng karapatang pantao na, “I’ll kill you along with the drug addicts.” Kapag sinasabi niya sa mga biktima ng extrajudicial killings, “You enjoy your human rights there in heaven because God promised you that victims of EJKs go to heaven.” Kapag sinasabi niya sa lahat ng nakikinig, pati mga bata, “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself.”

Ano ba naman ang pang-iisnatch ng cellphone? – Rappler,com 

We express regret when we realize that we can no longer change our past actions. As moral beings, we are filled with remorse when we do something wrong, or when we fail to do what we should have done.

While it is impossible to undo past actions, we can, however, reconfigure how we remember it. Selective amnesia, for instance, can make individuals forget traumatic experiences while keeping intact the memories associated with it. People who experience post-traumatic stress sometimes modify past recollection by suppressing specific unwanted memories and controlling the ability to remember them.

Meanwhile, others tend to believe and promote an alternative narrative of the past. These people cling to such recollections as if their life depends on it.

The latter is undoubtedly the case with Bongbong Marcos.

While it is hard to move on from the traumas of the dictatorial regime, it must be realized that demanding a public apology from the Marcoses or asking them to admit to their crimes will achieve nothing. How can we expect regret and repentance from someone who consciously alters the past? Basing on the past and current activities of the Marcoses, we should know by now that a complete admission that their wealth was ill-gotten will never happen. Thus, what we must do instead is direct our energies toward making the Marcoses accountable by ensuring that any forms of historical revisionism will never vandalize our national history. (READ: [EDITORIAL] #AnimatED: Marcos, Duterte, and burying our history)

On this end, Sandiganbayan is not helping either, as they added insult to injury last December by dismissing the P200 billion civil suit filed by the government against the Marcoses. 

The government so far has lost 5 ill-gotten wealth cases. As we witnessed last Friday, January 10, Bongbong Marcos capitalized on these victories as he asserted that history textbooks have long been involved in the production and proliferation of their opposition’s “political propaganda.” The son of the late dictator claimed that children today have been learning “lies” as they continue to read textbooks that portray their family as plunderers of national wealth. To him, the dismissal of several forfeiture cases against them should be taken as an indication that it is high time for our history books to be revised. 

Indeed, there were cases in the past when history books were involved in the circulation of propaganda. An excellent example would be the state-sponsored Tadhana: The History of the Filipino People, which was “penned” by the late Ferdinand Marcos. 

It is also true that revisionism can reconstruct history through an intensive and sustained proliferation of alternative narratives of the past. Such activities can be observed in Marcos-sponsored or pro-Marcos blogs, Facebook pages, and YouTube channels. (READ: [EDITORIAL] #AnimatED: Selling our memory to thieves)

When a past event is retold or historicized, inconsistencies, discrepancies, and gaps are to be expected. National memories are highly selective and subjective because culture, politics, and ideologies generally influence what societies choose to remember (or forget). Different historical conditions and biases affect the nature of primary sources which historians use to write about the past. More so, historians’ narratives of the past are influenced by the ideologies they subscribe to. Hence, when we access a past event through their works, what we read are historians’ reconstructions of the past; it is not necessarily or exactly the past event as it was. 

However, these limitations of national memory and history should not be misunderstood. While historical narratives manifest historians’ biases, we should bear in mind that these texts are products of an academic discipline. Academically acceptable history textbooks are products of rigorous archival research and scholarly peer review. They are not based on hearsays or accusations but facts and evidence. Scholarship prescribes specific measures that ensure the quality and credibility of history books. 

Bongbong Marcos is wrong to dismiss the value and credibility of history textbooks too quickly. Considering the rigors of academic writing, it is not difficult to conclude that it is not the textbooks that promote propaganda, but rather the blogs and Facebook pages that circulate misleading and unverifiable “historical” texts and narratives. (READ: Networked propaganda: How the Marcoses are rewriting history) 

While it is true that historical works are subjective, we must be vigilant when a politician calls for its revision. Politically motivated revisionism does not serve the purpose of the people; history teaches us that it only satisfies the desire of those who promote it. – Rappler.com 

Fernan Talamayan is a doctoral student at the Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. He received his MA in Sociology and Social Anthropology from the Central European University, Hungary, and his MA in History from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Suddenly, the world is plunged into all kinds of natural disasters, from fires in Australia to volcanic eruptions in Japan, Mexico, and now my beloved Philippines. In an effort to help out and alleviate the pain and suffering of all victims, present and future, allow me to share a few words from informed hindsight, formally and informally.

There is much to talk and write about when it comes to disasters, but I will merely focus on the fundamentals for brevity. These basics almost always bear out the heaviest impacts eventually on both planners, responders, and victims of disasters. I must also add that besides these fundamentals, cultures likewise impact the effectiveness of disaster management for better or for worse. Such disaster management basics include planning and preparation, response, and post-disaster activities and programs. Almost unspoken but definitely there in every stage is the cultural environment in which these basics are executed.

I will cut to the chase and highlight the ongoing eruption of Taal Volcano near Manila to illustrate my point. Contrary to the misconception by some, government plans to deal with disasters do exist. They only need vigilant and prompt execution by concerned stakeholders at every stage. The Philippines is an archipelagic country of 7,107 islands. Home to numerous volcanoes, the nation is not unfamiliar with their management and have dealt with such over the centuries. Taal, for one, has been erupting every now and then over the years. People now only seem taken aback by the seeming suddenness and severity of the eruption not to mention the sensationalism created by it on social media (for good or bad).

Planning and preparation is the most critical, yet unglamorous, stage in disaster management. Unable to prevent the hand of nature, human goals and objectives then focus on how best to mitigate the adverse impact of disasters on lives and property, in that order. Almost unseen and unheard of (probably contributing to ineffectiveness), planning and preparation activities nevertheless determine the success or failure of disaster management when the actual disaster strikes.

Many Filipinos say they have not been aware of any government announcements or drills prior to the eruption. Taal is an essential ingredient in the lucrative tourism and leisure industries of Tagaytay City, Batangas, and Laguna and perhaps public managers did not want to alarm visitors and investors too much.

But planning and preparation are the most critical in mitigating disasters. They are complex and take time to be properly addressed. Since they involve numerous stakeholders from almost every government department and relevant private sector players, the efforts must be centrally led and executed by public disaster managers from the defense and local government departments. Once plans are completed and updated, their simulation in terms of drills and exercises must be aggressive but balanced with the economic and social concerns of other relevant stakeholders, local and national.

In fact, a congested weekend and holiday destination like Tagaytay City which is right next to Taal overlooking it, is already a prime market for disaster mitigation, especially the residents who live right on the volcanic islands. The fact that people are even allowed to live there bogs me. I once sarcastically posted that we are overwhelmed to inaction and helplessness by massive greed on the one hand and extreme poverty on the other that we simply let things be.

Inadequate planning and preparation is tantamount to not being prepared at all. Even with exercised plans in place, people still perish. How much more with none? Or with plans that have holes in them? Or well-laid out and detailed plans that have not been drilled? With stakeholders who do not know their roles when the disaster comes? With planning and simulation activities that have not been fully supported by resources? With ineffective or non-existent communications issued to the public?

To be quite honest, the continued presence of residents right on the active volcano over the years is the most illustrative manifestation of the state of our disaster preparedness as far as Taal is concerned. Perhaps the unusual form of Taal, being a system of small volcanic islands and islets, and its interspersed and usually undramatic eruptions, has lulled us all into complacency. Still, it speaks much about how disaster management is heavily challenged especially by our culture. Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems hard to imagine Japan doing the same.

Disaster planning and preparedness also include the peripheries away from the center. For instance, flights from and into Manila were suspended for days due to near zero visibility. Thousands of passengers were suddenly stranded in airports across the country. Chaos was everywhere and witnesses bemoaned the lack of order and effective contingencies to alleviate the confusion in the terminals. Such disorder likewise aggravates the already adverse impact of disasters on people exaggerating their fears and magnifying their stress. Social media technology does the rest. People suddenly need masks to protect themselves from contaminated air.

Response is the offspring of disaster planning and preparedness. Effective response in terms of preventing or minimizing deaths and injuries is in fact the only goal of planning and preparedness. If the first stage did its homework, it means that all line stakeholders (i.e. NDRRMC, AFP, PNP, DOH, LGU, DSWD, etc.) will be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice by the quickest and safest means possible to rescue endangered lives to pre-identified safe havens. The responders themselves must survive in order to sustain other survivors.

Taal volcano is still raging. Much of the feedback is on the severity of the explosions reaching level 4. Phivolcs announced that Taal may reach up to the highest level of 5 in the coming days or weeks. Massive evacuations of people within a 10-km radius have begun. We are not receiving much yet in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of all-around response. Given the seriousness of the explosions and tremors, evacuation and response seem sluggish. The suddenness of the eruption appears to have stunned us more into disbelief than jolted us to resolute action. It is only now that people are gathering their wits, recovering from stupor after realizing what has happened, and running away for dear life.

And the disaster is only intensifying. Phivolcs expects a level 5, meaning that the evacuation radius may escalate along with Taal’s intensity. For weeks or maybe months. Hopefully not. By this time, visible responses aside from the government’s are those from the private and religious sectors offering shelters to the displaced. But even they may soon need to evacuate if the eruption escalates.

One thing good about disasters is that they may ultimately reveal our unpreparedness (or lack of it), catch us divided and bickering by their suddenness, but also tend to bring out the best in the human spirit: uniting each one to a common purpose that is survival and inspiring even the selfish to help another.

Post-disaster activities and programs include rehabilitation of victims, restoration of damaged property, and recovery of entire communities impacted by the disaster back to pre-disaster conditions. Lessons learned from the disaster experience by all stakeholders are likewise a key ingredient moving forward. And if I may add: factoring in the cultural nuances wherein the positive elements are maximized and the negative factors minimized. But that is for later. Today, we are still responding to the now exploding but once serene and beautiful Taal. – Rappler.com

Col. Dencio Acop (Ret), PhD, CPP, AMBCI graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1983. Managing with disasters was part of his job in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and later as Business Continuity Manager at Wyeth. He had attended Cranfield University’s course on Disaster Management in 2000.

Kapag ang ating pamahalaan at media ay may balita tungkol sa sakuna, kadalasang gumagamit ang mga ito ng mga siyentipiko at teknikal na salita. Sa pagkakaalala ko noon sa Super Typhoon Yolanda, ilang beses ibinalita sa telebisyon ang salitang “storm surge” – subalit maraming kababayan natin ang hindi nakaunawa at hindi pamilyar sa terminong ito. Ang akala nila ay humahagupit na bagyo at malakas na pag-ulan lamang ang maaaring dumating at mawawala rin ito. (READ: 'Storm surge' not explained enough – PAGASA official)

Dapat mas simple at madaling maunawaan ng lahat ang isang salita, dahil ang lengguwahe ay hindi lamang dapat para sa iilan kundi sa lahat ng mamamayan. Dapat ay epektibo ang ating sistemang pangkomunikasyon tuwing may sakuna upang maiwasan ang pagkaulit ng malagim na trahedyang katulad na lamang ng sa Bagyong Yolanda.

Madaling sabihin na pamilyar na tayo sa mga sakuna, subalit sa scientific at teknikal na mga salitang kadalasang ginagamit sa agham, pamilyar ba tayo? Ang sagot: hindi. Kaya dapat paigtingin ng pamahalaan ang kakayahan nitong gawing epektibo ang sistemang pangkomunikasyon sa panahon ng kalamidad. Hindi lamang bahay at ari-arian ang mga nakasalalay, kundi buhay din ng tao na hindi na maaaring palitan nang dahil lamang sa isang salitang hindi tayo pamilyar. (READ: Tsu-balod or tsunami? Making disaster terms understandable)

Kaya ngayon, sa pag-alboroto ng Bulkang Taal, tungkulin ng Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology at ng Department of Science and Technology ang ipaliwanag at ipaunawa sa lahat ang kahulugan ng mga salitang katulad ng “phreatic explosion” at “dust mask.” Kung sa mga termino pa lamang na ginagamit sa tuwing may bagyo at lindol ay hindi na tayo pamilyar – halimbawa: "aftershocks" o "tremor" – paano pa kaya sa mga terminong ginagamit kapag nag-aalboroto ang bulkan, na minsan o bihirang-bihira lamang natin mararanasan sa buong buhay natin?

At paano na rin kaya sa mga susunod pang sakuna? Kaya malaking bagay sa ating lahat na malaman at maunawaan ang scientific terminology, dahil milyon-milyon pang mga buhay ang maaaring mailigitas nito mula sa kapahamakan. 

Kung may magsasabi man sa akin na may Google naman, ang tanong ay, may wi-fi at signal ba ang lahat upang ma-access ang website na ito? Paano ang ating mga magsasaka, mga mangingisda, mga nasa kanayunan na wala namang wi-fi at signal? Paano ang mga hindi nakababasa at hindi nakasusulat, na ang tanging paraan lamang ay pakikinig sa radyo o panonood ng balita sa telebisyon? Kaya kapag may sakuna, hindi lamang dapat ang sarili ang iniisip.

Maaaring i-search ko lang iyan sa Google at mauunawaan ko na, pero paano naman ang ating mga kababayan na hindi masyadong nakasasagap ng balita? Kung may masagap man silang balita ay ilang araw nang huli. Huli na ngang dumarating ang balita sa kanila, hindi pa nila nauunawaan ang mga terminong ginamit. 

Dapat isipin nating hindi lamang tayong mga nasa siyudad ang kawawa, kundi iyung mga malapit sa kalamidad, kagaya na lamang ng mga nasa bukid, nasa dagat, nasa mga pagkalayo-layong pook. Hindi namimili ang salitang “trahedya,” at hindi rin dapat namimili ang salitang “kaligtasan.” 

Kaya nang dahil sa pagkakamaling ito ng pamahalaan, dapat itong maging bukas sa puna at pagkatuto. Kapag dumating man ang sakuna, dapat handa itong magbigay-abiso – sa wikang nauunawaan ng lahat. – Rappler.com

Si Eugero Vincent G. Liberato ay laking-San Juan at nag-aaral sa University of the East. Kumukuha siya ng Humanities and Social Sciences Strand. Natuklasan niya ang hilig sa pagsusulat nang siya'y nasa ika-9 na baitang.