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Helping improve road safety conditions through our data stories

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Data stories are not the usual stories people want to read.

Aside from the misconception that they're sleepers, they usually require effort to catch the reader’s attention and keep them interested.

To make these stories easy to relate to, Rappler has been giving importance to creative strategies to make them interactive and easy to understand. A lot of time and effort are invested to produce the reader-friendly charts and fun visualizations.

The whole process includes doing thorough research about a topic or persistently requesting data from government agencies or think tanks. Researchers are lucky when the data needed is available online because it saves time.

As researchers who have experienced handling data requests and filtering excel sheets, our struggle in pursuing these kinds of stories starts as early as when we first try to get our hands on the data.

For Rappler’s road safety campaign, for instance, sending data letter requests requires daily follow-ups with the local police station to make sure such requests are not forgotten. However, the process varies per LGU, with an efficient LGU really making the task less burdensome.

There would be instances when a request would even be passed from one department to another until the office responsible for the data being sought is finally found.

The format of the data we get our hands on is another challenge on its own. It's a good sign when we see it a spreadsheet or in an open format that's easily read by a computer. It's an early indication of the agency having a good data management system. But there are instances when we get data in pdf or even scanned formats that require us to retype and encode everything ourselves!

Processing is the bulk of the work. It's a pain, really. For starters, "processing" involves keeping your database "clean". This essentially means making sure format and terms being used are consistent. This might sound like an easy thing to do but it takes time. A clean database aids researchers like us in understanding how variables relate to each other and how the data can be presented.

After “cleaning” the data, the challenge to make it relevant to the readers is next.

Our data stories do not simply aim to present the numbers. We hope to go beyond that and ask what the numbers mean for ordinary Filipinos.

For the stories on road traffic crashes for instance, we try to move beyond the basic "who, what, where, when, why, and how," and analyze trends and patterns in the crashes. We dig deeper and further question possible causes as they could point to solutions to the problem as well.

This can be seen in our data story in the province of Cagayan where we created a graph on the most common time crashes occur and the age group that is most at risk. We also plotted all the location of Tuguegarao’s crash incidents on a map. (READ: Deadly highways: What makes Cagayan Valley roads crash-prone? )

In another story, where an Angkas passenger figured in a crash, besides reporting on what happened, we also looked into the liability issues surrounding the complex case of the incident. (READ: Angkas passenger in coma after crash: Who's liable? )

Worth it

What makes the whole process worthwhile is seeing the impact of all these efforts.

During the first leg of our Road Safety Forum, for example, we invited leaders, stakeholders, and advocates to discuss the different factors that affect road safety conditions in Metro Manila.

Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte who attended the event said that she was shocked to see the alarming number of crash incidents in the city and decided to take action by spearheading the creation of the Quezon City Road Safety Code.

Another milestone from the campaign was the result of our road safety forum in Tuguegarao City.

After we presented our analysis during the road safety forum in Tuguegarao, the local police discovered the need for pedestrian lanes. Concerned citizens who learned about the lack of such lanes decided to volunteer and donate to have pedestrian lanes painted in a number of school zones.

These are just some of the reasons why we spend hours scouring and cleaning over thousands of rows of data when we know that readers would prefer to read about their favorite celebrities.

We do this because huge databases sometimes, if not always, hide anomalies. Sometimes a mismatch in the way government funds are disbursed can be spotted. Research can also show how trillions of pesos have been lost to corruption instead of being used to improve social services.

Huge databases can also uncover truths that remain untold because they give the government a bad name. Like finding out that three-fourths of the Philippine road network is unpaved or that many barangays around the country have little or no access to national roads which in turn, prevents economic development. This prompts people to ask, "Where are my taxes going?"

It's not an easy task but the public needs to know. By digging through databases and writing data stories, we constantly remind the government that we are watching. – Rappler.com


From the impeachment process to Miss Universe: Why we love to explain things

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The news cycle in the Philippines is so fast that sometimes, a lot of concepts and personalities are left unexplained. With the advent of technology, though, readers can seek the information they want to access, mainly through Google.

The problem with this method is that the information is scattered and unfiltered. At Rappler, we have been striving to fill in this gap through our #RapplerIQ section.

We see the importance of collating and explaining a personality, event, process, or issue, and presenting the information in one article.  This information is often only mentioned in a paragraph or two in other stories and are often missed in a sea of quotable quotes from politicians.

The availability of this information, no doubt, can help people understand topics that seem alien to them. #RapplerIQ pieces try to provide details to readers that may help in their decision-making, or give them a different perspective.

For some, our stories may look like Wikipedia articles. But what makes #RapplerIQ different is that the articles are based on credible and thorough research subject to meticulous fact-checking. 

Of course, the way we research and write IQ pieces are still guided by the highest standard of journalism implemented in our newsroom. 

In short, Rappler IQ are based on facts and facts alone. There are no alternative facts here, regardless of what some may say.

Making it ‘fun’

We acknowledge that sometimes, even if they are very important, facts on their own are very technical and “boring.”  

We often ask ourselves, how do we make explaining facts exciting? How can we make sure that people will actually read our stories?

Rappler researchers strive to explain issues, personalities, and concepts in a manner that is easily understood. Personally, when I am writing an explainer, I try to imagine that I am explaining something to my younger siblings or sometimes, my younger self.  

We try our best to laymanize our #RapplerIQ pieces and do away with jargon that often take the fun out of learning a new concept. Super technical terms in a story on a boring topic may send our readers to dreamland.

For example, the Philippine taxation system is as important as it is very complicated. In 2017, the World Bank reported that it takes about 185.6 hours to file taxes 28 times each year.

So it’s no surprise that every April, the annual deadline of filing of tax returns, Filipinos are often left working on their ITRs until the last minute. 

To make the process easier to understand, we released a story focused on what people should know and remember when it comes to paying taxes. It was also perfect timing as a tax reform package is currently in the works. (FAST FACTS: Time to pay taxes, what should you know?) 

Answering questions

The Rappler IQ section also aims to answer questions that comes with major controversies in the country. We look at the issue from a bigger picture and try to provide another perspective.

Through this, Rappler IQ hopes to let the facts rise above the noise surrounding issues.

An example is when we tried to answer if Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales can be disbarred after former Manila councilor Greco Belgica filed the case before the Supreme Court.  

In our explainer, we cited provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Supreme Court decisions, and also featured an interview with a lawyer. 

A week after we ran our story, the SC junked the disbarment case. It also cited past decisions that have repeatedly affirmed the Ombudsman's immunity from a disbarment complaint while the Ombudsman is holding office. 

Another explainer was on the impeachment process, what happens if a vice president is impeached, and the role of the International Criminal Court.  

We have done fast-fact articles on new SC justices, human rights lawyers, terrorists, businessmen, and members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s family, among others.

Our Rappler IQ pieces do not only focus on politics. We tried to trace the roots of the Philippine terno, uncovered the history of the country’s involvement in the Miss Universe, looked back at how Filipinos celebrated Christmas during the Spanish colonization, and highlighted the role of dogs in therapy. 

One may doubt if our topics are really news-worthy. But check the header of Rappler IQ’s landing page and you’ll see what guide us in our pursuit to explain these things: “Facts, figures, information on almost anything of interest. IQ stands for 'intelligence quotient' but it could also mean interesting, incredible, intelligent, even inane.” 

The internet has its good and bad moments. We try to contribute more to its good side by bringing credible and factual information to our readers. 

What the readers can do with their new knowledge, however, is up to them. But it is definitely limitless. – Rappler.com

Why write about disasters?

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On November 8, 2013, the Philippines survived the strongest cyclone that ever hit the country.

With recorded maximum sustained winds of 235 kph and gustiness of up to 275 kph, Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) washed out cities and killed thousands.

As Yolanda unleashed its fury that fateful weekend, storm surges as high as 7 meters flattened villages in the most unexpected way. Deaths could have been averted if the consequences of a storm surge were properly explained to the public, forecasters said.

It was a lesson that cost thousands of lives.

Back to basics

Understanding the scientific jargon behind these phenomena is a challenge, especially to journalists not trained in the sciences.

But we try. We spend hours of research, training, and practice to be able to translate the jargon into something easier to understand.

Attention to disseminating information about risks and hazards has been the priority of Rappler, not only for typhoons or earthquakes, but for other natural or man-made emergencies as well.

The harsh lessons of Yolanda pushed us to make information related to disaster-preparednessresponse, and recovery more easily understood by the public.

We created a platform that overlays on a map relevant information such as hazards, evacuation centers, and police posts among others. This platform is called Agos which crowdsources online reports to connect those in need.

As a newbie journalist who covered the disaster beat, churning out knowledge pieces and running after local government officials for their disaster management plans were part of the day to day.

We try to combine the hard facts with creative storytelling to engage the reader.

Part of our coverage included discussing the impact of the "Big One" – a 7.2-magnitude earthquake – that could happen when the West Valley Fault Line moves. We published interactive quizzes for the public to easily test if their house can withstand major earthquakes.

We also saw the importance of reminding the public about events such as the sinking of M/V Princess of the Stars or the eruption of Mt Pinatubo to prevent a repeat.

Efficient governance

But all these boil down to governance.

Years have passed since Yolanda struck the country and still, many communities affected by the typhoon have yet to return to their normal lives.

There was a "mismatch" in resettlement requirements as estimated by the housing agencies. Four years later, the backlog in housing is still an issue. 

The Yolanda rehabilitation experience is not an isolated case. The country experiences an average of 20 typhoons and a couple of earthquakes a year, but reconstruction lags behind.

Officials say that it could be attributed to a lack of budget or capacity to implement projects.

That's why we continue to watch. We continue to write. When it comes to rehabilitation, we follow the money trail. We demand accountability.

In Rappler, we don't cover disasters only as they happen. We go back to basics and ask ourselves, "Will the public understand what I'm writing?" "Will this piece avert deaths?"

We write about disasters because it can save lives.– Rappler.com

Bonn climate conference: Thinking local, acting global

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La Vina, Torres, Canivel

Four years ago, in 2013, the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convened for its annual Conference of Parties (COP) in Warsaw, Poland. It was a difficult and challenging time because Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda had just devastated the Philippines. The Philippine delegation was still under shock but we rose up to the occasion. Led by then Climate Change Commission Vice-Chair Lucille Sering and inspired by the eloquence and passion of our chief negotiator, Commissioner Yeb Saño, our negotiators became one of the most effective in that meeting which, among others, produced an agreement on the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage. The Warsaw agreements later paved the way for the adoption of the Paris Agreement two years later, in 2015.

This year’s COP in Bonn, Germany is chaired by Fiji, and it is the first UNFCCC meeting under the presidency of a Pacific Island nation. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has emphasized the need for a global response to the threats of climate change, with governments at every level, civil society, the private sector and ordinary citizens, meeting the challenge head on and together.

Collaboration is a major theme in Bonn. When the United States announced its plans to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and renegotiate its terms, US state governors and city mayors stepped up with pledges to cut their local carbon emissions. Other countries, including large emitters like China and India, have also persevered with their own actions to implement long-term carbon reduction plans. Businesses have likewise pitched in with their own commitments to keep the world on track to limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius.

For vulnerable countries like the Philippines, this united front cannot come soon enough. Already, the threats that climate change poses to the ability of people and communities to access and enjoy adequate food, clean water, safe housing and a dignified life have become all too real. Filipino farmers are preparing for the hot and dry conditions of El Niño, even as fishing communities in the eastern part of the country have yet to fully recover from the floods and storm surges brought by Haiyan/Yolanda.

These actual experiences of communities and people on the ground emphasize the unpredictability of climate change phenomena and the severity of its impacts. But it is also these local experiences, knowledge and analyses that should be amplified in the international arena, and eventually chart the way forward for climate action.  

A focus on forests and communities

The Paris Agreement acknowledges the link between climate change and human rights. In its Preamble, countries are called on to respect and promote human rights in the climate actions that they develop and implement. The rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, persons with disabilities and children, as well gender equality and the empowerment of women are especially emphasized. Because of this, human rights and the rights of vulnerable groups should be a consideration in all climate actions that are undertaken under the Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement Preamble also recognizes the value of forests as sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases It further notes the importance of ensuring the integrity of ecosystems and biodiversity when undertaking climate change actions.

Conserving and enhancing forests is a critical component of climate change mitigation. The Paris Agreement encourages parties to support or implement activities under the REDD+ framework, which should provide incentives for activities in developing countries that reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conserve and sustainably manage forests and enhance forest carbon stocks.

It also affirms the importance of providing incentives for non-carbon benefits, acknowledging that in addition to their value as carbon sinks and reservoirs, forests also provide habitats for biodiversity, sources for community livelihoods and key ecosystem services.

The Paris Agreement also recognizes the importance of avoiding and minimizing the loss and damage that occurs because of climate change. The negative effects of climate change have slowly but inexorably become more and more evident; climate change mitigation actions can no longer prevent climate change, but are now focused on controlling the degree to which it will impact future generations.

Adaptation measures may no longer be enough to respond to extreme weather events (such as typhoons, droughts and heat waves) and slow onset events (such as sea level rise and land and forest degradation). Enhanced action and support are needed to be able to address these adverse effects, especially for developing countries which are often most at risk.

The agenda in Bonn

This year, countries will continue negotiations on the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Questions related to land use, human rights and sustainable development are expected to come up in several discussions.

Some of the issues on the agenda include:

  • Food, Agriculture and Forestry

Agriculture is a challenging topic at the negotiations. The sector is a large emitter of greenhouse gases, but is also critical to achieving food security and economic growth. The Philippines and other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) especially depend on agricultural production for employment and income.

In Bonn, ASEAN member countries can be expected to deliberate common positions on climate change impacts on agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, and food security. These will be guided by the Vision of ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry towards 2025, a strategic plan that was developed in 2016. In line with this Vision, ASEAN negotiators are likely to emphasize equitable, sustainable and inclusive growth, lessening poverty and ensuring food security, increasing resilience to climate change and natural disasters and achieving sustainable forest management.

  • REDD+

The Philippines developed a National REDD+ Strategy in 2010, and was among the earliest countries in the world to do so. Readiness activities have been implemented, focusing on policy research, capacity building, stakeholder consultations and the establishment of pilot and demonstration sites. The National Strategy was recently updated, but there is still much that needs to be done at the national and local levels to move forward with REDD+ and realize its potential benefits for Philippine forest communities.

In Bonn, deliberations on institutional arrangements or the need for potential governance alternatives to coordinate support for REDD+ implementation are on the agenda. These discussions will build on a series of meetings between countries, United Nations bodies, NGOs and other stakeholders.  

  • Loss and Damage

Loss and damage from the negative impacts of climate change are a critical concern for vulnerable countries like the Philippines. We can expect extreme weather events to become more frequent, intense and destructive. At the same time, many low-lying coastal cities are already threatened by rising sea levels that will likely displace thousands.

The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage was established in 2013. It enhances and coordinates approaches to address impacts of extreme weather events and slow onset events in developing countries that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. It is facilitated by an Executive Committee, which has crafted a work plan setting out activities for the next five years.

In Bonn, the annual report of the Executive Committee will be considered. This report will inform conclusions for the COP to discuss and adopt.

  • Gender

Women often face barriers that constrain the exercise and enjoyment of their rights. The norms, practices and traditions in many communities limit women’s access to educational and economic opportunities and participation in social and political affairs. Because of these existing vulnerabilities, women become even more at risk in the wake of climate disasters.

Recognizing this, elements of a gender action plan will be considered at COP23. This action plan is expected to support the implementation of gender-related decisions and mandates as negotiations on the UNFCCC proceed.

  • Reporting and Transparency

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit individual commitments on actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the long term, while taking into account their national circumstances and capabilities. These commitments are considered the countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), or their plans toward meeting the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

The Philippines first submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions in 2015. At the time, the country committed to undertake carbon emissions reductions of 70 percent by 2030, relative to its Business as Usual scenario for 2000-2030, conditioned on the extent of financial resources, technology development and technology transfer that would become available. However, these targets are not yet final and a review process has been initiated to make adjustments to these commitments if found necessary.

Discussions in Bonn are expected to come out with guidance on the features of the NDCs. Such guidance is needed to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding of the information that the countries submit, and to elaborate how the NDCs will be accounted for.

Thinking local, acting global

It is often said that many of the world’s problems can be addressed by “thinking globally and acting locally.” This conventional approach assumes that great and complicated problems can be addressed by understanding that the concerns of individual countries are often interlinked, and translating this understanding into tangible actions that can be executed at smaller scales in countries. This includes, for example, building institutions and developing policies and approaches at the international level, and then applying corresponding solutions in local settings.

Still, international discussions on climate change can feel very distant from the everyday realities experienced by people and communities. The UNFCCC process and all its moving parts are often slow, confusing and sometimes frustrating, in the face of worsening climate change threats that many experience on a day-today basis.

It is thus important to keep people and communities at the heart of all the negotiations – thinking locally and acting globally. Local knowledge, experiences and analyses should inform discussions at the international level. Actions to address climate change and to respond to its threats must necessarily be a collaborative effort. For a country of great diversity like the Philippines, this means highlighting the voices that are usually at the margins: Indigenous peoples, rural farmers and fisherfolk, women, the youth and the elderly and other vulnerable sectors possess a wealth of local ideas, practices and expertise, which should be considered a critical element of, and resource for international policymaking.

“Thinking locally” should drive global action on climate change, and ensure that any decisions reached will benefit real people and communities. By thinking locally and acting globally, this year’s meeting in Bonn can be about more than high-level country positions championed by delegates and negotiators who will make the trip there. Many people and communities with an interest in the results of the COP may not be in Bonn this year, but efforts can be made to ensure that their voices are heard within and outside those conference rooms. – Rappler.com

[OPINION | Newspoint] Presumption of abnormality

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 Harry Roque has set an aggressive and lawyerly tone for his role as spokesman for President Duterte. It’s all very much like him and also not unlike his boss.

On his very first day on the job, Roque threatened to throw “hollow blocks” at Duterte critics, reminding them at the same time that he is “an experienced litigator.”

Among Duterte’s own early pronouncements as president was “I will kill you!” – aimed at illegal drug dealers and users – and an oft-repeated brag is that he was a public prosecutor once, as if to suggest he could make the law accommodate his kills.

Indeed, little is left in doubt about how serious Duterte is: thousands have died, and more continue to die, since he made his death threat. Roque, in comparison, may be blustery, but he seems not likely to use his hollow blocks as a deadly weapon. He may himself do all sorts of tinkering with the law – rationalize around it, bend it, twist it – but chances are he’ll stick with it.

He comes across more as a legal fixer and enforcer than as a spokesman or anything else. For starters, he demands that his client be given the benefit of a “presumption of regularity," a customary concession in law, he instructs us. If this is any indication of the quality of counsel he intends to dispense to Duterte, he is fundamentally mistaken: regular is the precise type his client is not.  

Regularity may be presumed of someone of normal temperament and average means. But, where one's temper is hair-triggered and out of control or where one's means itself constitutes power, a presumption of regularity becomes a high-risk proposition.

Rodrigo Duterte is a notorious example. He possesses such great power as any presumed democracy has ever put in the hands of one man, but, while he may be entitled to it as his nation's duly-elected president, his psychological state, duly certified to as well, does not at all make for a hopeful prognosis for the nation. His "antisocial narcissistic personality disorder" gives him a "grandiose sense of self-entitlement"; it makes him "highly impulsive," hard put "controlling his urges and emotions," and unable to "reflect on the consequences of his actions."

Only on its 17th month, his presidency has been replete with manifestations. His speeches are constantly interlarded with expletives, some probably mouthed out of habit, but the rest specifically aimed – at daughters and sons, no matter whether president or pope, toward whom he displays his displeasure by debasing their mothers in one common cuss phrase. His hands-in-pocket slouch, rolled-up shirt sleeves, and lazy walk, all in apparent defiance of the formalities around him, more or less define his deportment.

But his manners are the least of the nation's problems. His tendency to shortcuts have provoked protests of "extrajudicial killings" (EJKs) from local and international rights advocates. His despotic disposition is revealed not only in his professed admiration for the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and self-comparison with Hitler, but in repeated threats of nationwide martial law. 

He has compromised national sovereignty by doing nothing about China's encroachments on potentially resource-rich parts of the South China Sea to which Philippine territorial rights have been upheld by an international arbitral court.

Where, then, lies the presumable regularity that, according to Roque, has been unfairly ignored? Indeed, a presumption of abnormality would seem, in Duterte's case, more deserved than any presumption of regularity.

But why waste time on legal amenities when the law already has been twisted enough to work in Duterte's favor? Harry Roque must now be engaged in some rationalization of conscience. After all, some of the most egregious Supreme Court's rulings of late have benefited Duterte allies who were among Roque's own prime targets in his previous, right-minded incarnation.

Among these beneficiaries are Marcos’ heirs. For all the murder and plunder of his 14-year authoritarian rule, he was allowed by the court to be buried a hero. There, too, is Juan Ponce Enrile, Marcos’ enforcer who had managed to carry on with his old ways until the law caught up with him; he was arrested, detained, and denied the right to bail, as prescribed by law for anyone accused of plunder; he is now free, the charges against him lightened, thanks again to the court. Similarly accused, President Gloria Arroyo has gotten an even better deal: not only does she walk free, all charges against her have been dropped.

How, indeed, could Roque in conscience take all that? But, then, how could Duterte have enlisted him without him taking all that?

Senator Leila de Lima would seem the consolation. Roque obviously doesn’t like De Lima, although for what reason I don’t know. With Duterte, given his psychological makeup, I somehow understand: when De Lima was chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and Duterte was mayor of his native Davao City, she investigated charges of death-squad murders against him; now, he simply feels compelled to take revenge.

Roque must hate De Lima to a comparable degree, or he would not have joined Duterte’s enforcers in Congress (unless by then he had secretly become one of them) in the gang-rape of her rights at one-sided hearings in both houses. The Supreme Court completed the travesty of justice by upholding a trial-court ruling denying her, her right to bail; in effect, the Supreme Court took the word of life-term, drug-dealing convicts herded by Duterte’s cowboys to testify against De Lima. State lawyers have yet to determine what crime to charge her with; for the time being, it’s taking drug money, although no drug or money has turned up in evidence. In any case, she is now on her 9th month of incarceration.

The law seems to have become (with apologies to Samuel Johnson) the last refuge of the scoundrel.

In fact, the law is supposed to be the final distillation of moral doctrine; it sets down the dos and don’ts that make for civilized behavior. It is supposed to stand on moral principles – moral principles taken from moral philosophy. That’s why every provision of law has to pass the test of reason and rectitude.

But, reasoning being precisely the prize trick in the legal trade, lawyers and judges tend to hold up the law as the supreme standard. They are loath to probe beyond the law, lest they be revealed for their lack of moral conviction. That’s why Enrile and Arroyo are free, while Leila de Lima languishes in jail.

That’s also why Harry Roque wants Duterte given the benefit of a presumption of regularity: it provides an opening into his last refuge. – Rappler.com 

[OPINION] An open letter to millennials: Don’t federalize, organize!

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Dear millennial,

I write to you about two political movements that never fully took off in my generation (hint: I am old enough to be your mother): the federalism movement and the anti-political dynasty movement. Had these two movements taken off, our country would probably be better off today. 

If you read Elyzabeth F. Cureg and Jennifer F. Matunding’s “Federalism Initiatives in the Philippines” published by the Asian Resource Center for Decentralization in 2006, you might be surprised to know that the advocacy for federalism started as early as 1899 when the Malolos Constitution was being framed.

One proposal called for the division of the country into 3 states (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao) and another for 10 states (4 in Luzon, 3 in Visayas, 3 in Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro). Federalism was not adopted at the time because some quarters argued that the federalist form of government would threaten the country’s unification and result in fragmentation.

Since then, there have been several advocacies for the shift from a unitary form of government (where there is only one authority: the central authority) to a federalist one (where citizens will be governed by both the national/central authority and the sub-national/state authority). These attempts were pushed largely by advocates outside the National Capital Region. One of the staunchest advocates was former senator Aquilino Pimentel, who, as the head of the political party PDP in Mindanao during the 1980s, led the said party’s campaign for federalism.

Pimentel is also widely known as “the Father of the 1991 Local Government Code (LGC)” which is said to have paved the way for the increase in mandates of local government units. Before the LGC, a mayor in Mindanao had to get the go-signal of Malacañang for practically everything (including the purchase of garbage trucks – according to Pimentel who, at one point, was mayor of Cagayan de Oro). Pimentel, still according to Cureg and Matunding, had offered the federalist agenda to presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr in 2004, but the latter rejected this agenda.

Also in 2004, another presidential candidate Emilio (Lito) Osmeña – grandson of former president Sergio Osmeña, and, Cebu governor from 1988 to 1992 – advocated for some sort of federalism and ran under a party called Progressive Movement of Devolution Initiatives or Promdi (which, in the colloquial, is short for “from the” or “from the province”). While the former governor did not strictly call for a shift to federalism, he advocated for the formation of the “Republic of Cebu” and for the “decongestion” of Metro Manila.

Aside from these politicians, there were academics and civil society groups that campaigned for constitutional reform – particularly the shifts to federalism and parliamentarism. Most noteworthy was Jose V. Abueva, former president of the University of the Philippines. Any student of federalism would know his work “Towards a Federal Republic of the Philippines with a Parliamentary Government by 2010: A Draft Constitution”. Here, Abueva argues against all possible opposition against the idea of federalism and presents concrete proposals for constitutional changes towards federalism.    

In Mindanao, there was a coalition called a Citizens’ Movement for a Federal Philippines (CMFP) whose membership base included civil society groups like Kusog Mindanao. In Manila, groups like the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD), then-headed by Joel Rocamora (former NAPC Head) and the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms (IPER), then-headed by Etta Rosales and later Mon Casiple  led the pro-federalist, pro-parliamentarist campaign (full disclosure: I once worked for IPD).

Reallocation of power, resources

While the initiatives had varying proposals about the specific elements of federalism, there was a common thread among them: the proposition that (1) the incumbent, unitary form of government concentrated power and development in the political center, Metro Manila and (2) that this territorial-based assymetry in power and wealth was causing poverty and underdevelopment everywhere outside of “Imperial Manila”. Federalism was deemed necessary for the reallocation of powers and resources between Malacañang and subnational “states” – in the spirit of decentralization and devolution. 

I think the abovementioned movements failed to secure the shift to federalism for at least 3 reasons: 

  1. people were always distrustful of “official”efforts (like Ramos’ and Arroyo’s) because constitutional reform was always conflated with (a) the lifting of term limits and for presidents to stay in power (also because charter change proposals were always forwarded by ruling parties toward the end – rather than the beginning – of the president’s term) and (b) the further opening up of the economy through the abolition of patrimony provisions in the Constitution
  2. there was already the 1991 LGC, which, somehow, was deemed challenging enough – especially in terms of implementation
  3. the different calls of the MILF and MNLF (first secession and then later autonomy as Bangsmoro) somehow rendered the federalism advocacy less compelling.

The anti-political dynasty movement, meanwhile, never cystallized in the same way as the federalism movement. This movement never had champions in the same way that the federalism movement did. Several progressive movements – especially those belonging to the Left – were all against dynasties but only “implicitly”, i.e., they were just assumed to be anti-dynasty because they were “anti-capitalist”. 

Most of these movements, however, were quick to de-prioritize the anti-dynasty agenda whenever they had to align with dynasts for either electoral votes, specific policy/legislative issues, or organizational concessions. We all know the story too well by now: Akbayan aligning with the Aquinos and Roxases, and, Bayan Muna aligning with the Dutertes and by extension, the Marcoses.

I think it may be high time to organize movements that are more explicitly anti-dynasty, i.e., where the anti-dynasty call is the top priority and where advocates are clearly anti-dynasty champions. We have never had a group, for example, that insisted during elections: we won’t vote for any dynast!

Of course, it is easy to dismiss such campaign line as being too idealistic – for aren’t all (or almost all) candidates sourced from political dynasties since the non-dynasts can’t afford to participate in expensive elections? But I think that’s precisely why we are where we are right now: we have already been conditioned that dynasts are here to stay. We have convinced ourselves that all we can do is choose good dynasts over bad ones. And dynasties don’t just dominate our electoral exercises, they dominate our entire political culture! Heck, even the Communist Party of the Philippines is led by so-called “power couples”.

That social inequality is what we need to break. Political dynasties are inherently bad because they reflect and at the same time reinforce our societal set-up of privileging a few. On paper, we are ruled by “the many” (our election turn-out is always high; election results are often deemed credible) but in practice, we are ruled only by “the few”.

Patron-client relations

The dynamics of our politics is hinged on the dynamics of our political families and public service delivery is based largely on patron-client relations involving these families. At the moment, for example, our political discourse is dominated almost entirely by the Dutertard vs. Yellowtard narrative and emerging political alliances (like the LP’s Tindig Pilipinas and Sara Duterte’s and the Marcoses’ Tapang at Malasakit Coalition) are being built almost entirely around political enemies.   

Moreover, instead of being merit-based, our government bureaucracy is filled with family and friends of whoever is the ruling party (read: ruling family) at the moment. In the Philippines, whether it’s winning elections or setting up a business or getting a job in government, it’s who you know, not what you know that matters. Perhaps, it is time for this kind of personalism – this kind of social inequality – to stop invading our politics, our economy, and our culture.

The poor do not necessarily benefit from dynasties but dynasties obviously benefit from the poor.

Federalist advocates claim that the shift to federalism (and parliamentarism) could, in fact, weaken dynasties. To borrow the words of Jose V. Abueva, “Moro rebellion and secessionism, as well as government corruption, have been aggravated by unresponsive and unaccountable governance under our unitary system and presidential government. By reforming political parties, strengthening the rule of law, empowering the people, improving governance, and holding leaders accountable, the federal system and parliamentary government will displace local warlords and reduce corruption in government”. But weren’t those the very reforms that the ARMM and the 1991 LGC promised? What is it about the proposed shift to federalism that changes all that? Are there now new conditions – aside from having a Mindanaoan president – that make decentralization favorable? 

Sure, federalism could potentially deliver more resources outside Metro Manila but the question is:  can federalism – under current politico-economic-social conditions – ensure that such additional resources will reach those who need these resources the most? For example, funds were provided for the ARMM but why do ARMM provinces remain the poorest? Visayan and Mindanaoan senators and congresspersons also got pork barrel like the rest of the senators and congresspersons – but were their constituencies any better than those who got pork from Luzon and NCR-based politicians?

The 1991 LGC had already devolved public services like health, agriculture, environment and natural resources, social services and public works funded by local funds – so why are so many municipalities still without accessible health centers or well-paved roads or better evacuation centers?  

Poverty reduction?

The (non)correlation between political dynasties and poverty reduction has, in fact, already been examined. The 2013 study of Ateneo de Manila University and the Asian Institute of Management economists Ronald U Mendoza, Edsel L. Beja Jr, Victor S. Venida, and David B. Yap confirms that political dynasties do not necessarily help in poverty reduction (contrary to claims of dynasties) and that, in fact, dynasties feed on and are strengthened because of poverty.

The ADMU-AIM study defines political dynasties as “members of the same family occupying elected positions either in sequence for the same position, or simultaneously across different positions. The study’s findings show that (1) “political dynasties are not necessarily associated with any more (or any less) poverty reduction when compared to non-dynasties” and (2) “increased income poverty does not induce political dynasties to emerge but it contributes to the expansion of the largest and strongest political dynasties…given that the poor are most vulnerable to political patronage…poverty would be beneficial to political dynasties”. 

In simpler words, the poor do not necessarily benefit from dynasties but dynasties obviously benefit from the poor.

The point is: our problem is not just the distribution of funds or powers across territories but patronage-based politics that results in concentration instead of de-concentration of wealth and power. The distribution of public funds and delivery of public services depend largely on patrons rather than on citizens/”beneficiaries”.

Shifting to federalism or changing the form of “government-to-government” relations will not result in positive change if “government-citizen” relations are not changed – i.e., if patronage-based politics is not replaced by more rational, efficient, institution-based development planning and public service delivery.

What good will a “state of Mindanao” be if public resources will still end up accumulated in the hands of a few Mindanaoan warlords or traditional politicians or mining interests? What good will a “state of Visayas” or “a state of Luzon” be if development will still benefit only the few hacienderos or landlords or big businesses? What good will a “state of NCR” be if political choices will remain limited around the Binays and Estradas and Cayetanos of Metro Manila? What good will all the new“states” be if the decision-makers and powers-that-be remain the same?

If we shift to federalism without breaking the dominance of the political dynasties, I’m afraid we will simply be adding a platform to the many platforms that the dynasts already have. Most likely, we will just be legitimizing and reinforcing what we’ve always had: the possibility of having not just one but two (or more) Dutertes or Aquinos or Marcoses governing our lives – one in Malacañang and another in our respective, prospective “states”. 

Stop them all

I am calling on you millennials, not because I think stopping dynasts from gaining more dominance is solely or primarily the task of your generation. I think we all should do our share. But my generation will not be around for too long. We are good for at least two or 3 more decades. 

You, on the other hand, will be around for 5 or 6 decades. The stakes are thus higher for you. Believe me, your future will be no better if you do not organize movements against personalistic politics that will challenge the dominance of political dynasties squarely – in workplaces, in the Left, in the Right, in elections, in political parties, in social movements, in schools and universities, in rural communities, in urban areas. 

Political dynasties – the embodiment of personalism – need not be the defining element of Philippine politics. They need not be the norm. They shouldn’t be. You can stop them! And please, don’t just stop the Dutertes or the Aquinos or the Marcoses. Stop them all! For the sake of your generation and the next. So that your generation and the next can have real political choices – of how you will be governed, not just who will govern you.    

Sincerely,

A concerned member of Generation X

Rappler.com

The author teaches political science at the Ateneo de Manila University. 

#FridayFeels: Donald Trump is comin' to town

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(Sing to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town")

He's sending out tweets,
without thinking twice.
What he will say here,
may be a surprise.
Donald Trump is comin' to town!

– Rappler.com 

Artwork by Raffy de Guzman
Text by Marguerite de Leon

#FridayFeels is a cartoon series by the Rappler Creatives Team. Cathartic, light, but relevant, it's a welcome break from your heavy news feed! You can pitch illustration ideas by sending a message to the Rappler Facebook page.

[OPINION] Asia-Pacific leaders’ trade opportunity

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On Saturday, the leaders of the world’s largest and most dynamic trading corridor, joined by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and newcomers including United States President Donald Trump, will convene in the central Vietnamese port city of Da Nang for their annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting.

Together, these 21 leaders will attempt to align their ideas for making trade between APEC economies work better in the common pursuit of growth and job creation back home, with enormous implications for their 3 billion constituents and the rebounding global economy.

For all the stakes, APEC has over the years lived up to its name as a cooperative forum for tough economic issues, enabled by its enduring focus on voluntary, non-legally binding policy prescriptions for easing trade bottlenecks like tariffs, administrative red tape at borders and mismatching standards that raise costs for businesses and consumers.

Approaches agreed to by consensus are in turn adopted as the vision for technical coordination among the diverse economies of APEC, which, in all, account for half of global trade and 60% of the world’s GDP.

Beyond these sometimes unwieldy deliberations, high drama at the APEC table, as in Bali, Beijing, Manila and Lima most recently, includes what traditional attire the leaders will adorn in their “family photo” at the invitation of the host economy. The custom is a lighthearted display of cultural understanding and partnership. Only these are hardly routine days for trade in the Asia-Pacific or elsewhere.

So where do things stand? On the bright side, after 3 decades of proactive efforts by APEC member economies to improve their connectivity and trade-driven growth, we have seen upwards of a billion people lifted out of poverty in places like China, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines and Vietnam, and into the ranks of the middle class – the biggest achievement for economics in the history of the world. 

This breakthrough is translating into vast new market opportunities driven by surging demand for goods like cars, high-end cosmetics and meat, and, increasingly, services such as cleaner and more efficient energy, higher education, financial services, preventive healthcare, mobile apps, travel and tourism that reflect decidedly middle class lifestyles and tastes.

The potential to take advantage of these emerging growth drivers extends to workers, businesses, and a new generation of digitally empowered entrepreneurs in advanced economies too – whether they are very large like Japan and the United States, relatively small like New Zealand and Singapore, or somewhere in between like Australia, Canada, and Korea. 

All told, these trends are today powering exports and a return to growth in the region, as reflected in the latest forecasts in APEC, and the global economy along with it. There is a flipside to all of this, however. For all the progress unfolding in the Asia-Pacific, challenges in the global and regional trading environment and to the institutions that support it put this momentum at risk. 

The swell of populist misgivings towards globalization in some areas, most profoundly manifested in the Brexit and subsequent events in developed economies over the last year, has brought genuine questions about the fairness of trade and who benefits from it into greater focus.

The potential composition, impact and desirability of new, bigger and more sweeping trade agreements such as the Trans Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership are the subject of correspondingly heavy scrutiny by proponents and detractors. 

The rules of trade as governed by the World Trade Organization, intended to kept markets open and trade buoyant, are showing signs of fraying over dispute resolutions and modernization requirements.

The rapid pace of technological change has moreover raised concerns about automation replacing workers like those on assembly lines, at banks and airport check-in desks, and behind the wheel. And e-commerce and big data has fundamentally revised skills demand and the meaning of security in one fell swoop.

In an inextricably interconnected world, these challenges are not limited to any one economy or group of economies, developed or developing, big or small, market or non-market. They are challenges that all of us now face. But they are clearly proving hard for the trading landscape and the institutions around the world that underpin it to handle. 

APEC’s leaders in Da Nang, traditional clothing and all, are in a position to lead the way forward in dealing with these issues, helped by the flexibility and room for innovation, say, in digitally driven trade, startup promotion and even adjustment schemes and safety nets, made possible by the loose cooperation between them and their economies. Inroads in such areas would make a real difference. – Rappler.com

Dr Alan Bollard is the Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat


ASEAN likes, but also fears, China's economic weight

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Despite China's growing economic footprint in Southeast Asia, the country does not quite have that mammoth clout in the region – yet. But the day it acquires that too much economic weight for comfort – with handy geopolitical weapon to boot – may not be that far away in the horizon.

How it turns out depends on factors that bear watching – the pace and depth of ASEAN countries' regional integration efforts and diversification of its economic relationships, China's calibration of the "quality" of its economic engagement in the region and its trust deficit, and ASEAN societies' response to China's style of economic cooperation.

Recent analyses make the case for why ASEAN's 10 member countries need to work on deepening trade and investment ties among themselves – for their own economic resilience and to maintain precious elbow room in international relations given the likelihood that China will use its economic weight in the pursuit of strategic interests in issues such as the South China Sea disputes.

At present, China is more of a trade power than it is a major player in foreign direct investments (FDI) in the ASEAN region, according to a paper published this month by the Singapore-based ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.

"Although China has leverage in terms of trade, its investments are yet to catch up with those from other developed countries. China can therefore not really as yet be called a dominant economic power in Southeast Asia," said the paper by Sanjita Basu Das, lead researcher for economic affairs at the ASEAN Studies Center, ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. "However, as China increases its outbound investments and completes more infrastructure projects, its geopolitical influence in the region will definitely increase."

"One cannot conclude outright that China is a dominant economic power in Southeast Asia for FDI, which one can do when it comes to trade," Das explained. "Apart from the less developed ASEAN members – Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar – Beijing is not really capable of holding ASEAN countries hostage economically to advance its strategic demands."

Danger: Overdependence

In recent years, ASEAN countries have become much more trade dependent on China. All member economies except Singapore have trade deficits with the world's largest trading nation, meaning they rely on China for much of their imports, ASEAN data show.

The volume of ASEAN-China trade stood at $345 billion in 2015, the second largest after the $543-billion volume of intra-ASEAN trade. After China came ASEAN's trade with Japan, the European Union and the United States, with trade volumes of more than $200 billion. China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner since 2009.

From 2005 to 2015, China's trade with ASEAN grew by the largest margin – 13.2% – among its trade partners. South Korea-ASEAN trade grew by 10.9% over the same period, but ASEAN's trade with the EU, Japan, and the US grew only by 5.4%, 5%, and 3.6%, respectively.

In other words, "the weight of advanced economies in ASEAN's total trade has been declining, while that of China's is on the rise," wrote Das. "As multinational firms undertook single production processes across multiple countries over the last few decades, China and ASEAN economies have become intertwined in a web of regional production networks, thus increasing their mutual dependence."

In terms of FDI, China still lags behind intra-ASEAN investments, which made up 18% of total FDI flows in the region, and those of the European Union, Japan, and the United States. However, the growth rate of FDI inflows into ASEAN in 2005-2015 reached 33.4% from China and 30.3% from South Korea.

Likewise, given China's strategic push in Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Myanmar and the sharp rise in its own outward investments, it is a much bigger investor there than it is in other ASEAN countries. China is the largest source of foreign investments in Cambodia and Laos. As of end-2016, it accounted for close to 35% of Cambodia's FDI. In Lao PDR, China's accumulated investments exceeded $6 billion in 2016.

Overall, the more diversified mix of FDI in ASEAN means that there is no one single dominant source of investments for the region, one that can only be good for ASEAN's economic health. The US is a leading investor in the Philippines and Malaysia, but the EU leads in Singapore. Japan is a major investor in Thailand and Indonesia, while South Korea is the one in Vietnam and Malaysia, as Das' paper shows.

China's growing economic footprint brings with it a new appreciation for the progress ASEAN has made – though it could be deeper – in relying more on its own members through regional economic integration over the past 5 decades.

ASEAN countries are a key source of investments among themselves, particularly in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. But China's growing FDI in the region may actually be bigger, if one considers the fact that Hong Kong is a gateway for investment in the region.

As China's FDI outflows pick up – partly due to the its search for overseas destinations to invest overcapacity in steel and cement – these investment figures look certain to go up in ASEAN. "Moreover, given the huge demand for infrastructure financing among the Southeast Asian countries and China's indifferent attitude towards political systems and human rights, the quantum of investment flows could grow considerably," Das said.

Chinese infrastructure engagement is expected to grow, given its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) Initiative and funding through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and cooperation funds with ASEAN. These come with Chinese workers, equipment, and construction material that have not met with wholesale optimism in countries like Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, or Malaysia because they do not provide local jobs or skills transfer, among others.

China needs to be sensitive as well to the "soft" side of the impact of its economic presence in investments, trade or aid – and where it may well have a learning curve as a regional power compared to, say, the longer involvements of Japan or the United States in the region.

What, then, can ASEAN do? "To mitigate the risks, the ASEAN countries must strengthen their own economic integration," Das wrote. While ASEAN member countries are "already prominent trade and investment partners among themselves," they need to put in place cross-border policies that keep foreign investors coming.

"In addition, the ASEAN countries must diversify their trading basket across major economies," she pointed out. Among others, ASEAN and EU may be restarting talks over an ASEAN-EU free trade agreement, previously stalled by human rights issues over Myanmar.

One major way would be for ASEAN to speed up completion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), one of the ASEAN's deliverables during its 50th anniversary this year. But however much analysts say it is virtually the only regional economic game in town – with the collapse of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) far from being a trade negotiating forum – RCEP is nowhere near completion.

After 19 rounds of negotiations as of July this year, ASEAN-led RCEP discussions have become caught in differences over tariff reduction offers, the degree of liberalization in services and the movement of professionals, reflecting the challenge of building what is to be the largest trade deal encompassing nearly half of the world's population, 30% of global income and 30% of global trade.

When it does bring together ASEAN and its six existing trade agreement partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea – RCEP would be "the most important example of ASEAN Centrality and its benefits for ASEAN states," pointed out Malcolm Cook and Das in an October paper on "RCEP's Strategic Opportunity."

If RCEP gets completed in 2018, the ratification process would likely take one year so implementation would start earliest in 2020, the paper added.

ASEAN countries are well aware that putting too many eggs in China's basket opens them to bullying if Beijing chooses to push economic diplomacy and use its economic power in the geopolitical sphere.

Das' paper has a reminder of how South Korea got a taste of "economic retribution" when earlier in 2017, China punished it for its installation of the US missile defense system THAAD. China's increased scrutiny of South Korea's Lotte Mart led to the closure of most of its stories in China, whose government also advised Chinese tour groups to stay away.

Economics is politics, too

While ASEAN states are drawn to easier access to China's funds, "the OBOR initiative has fueled concern among many Southeast Asia countries about the security risks of economic overdependence on China," said a November paper on "Infrastructure Connectivity and Regional Economic Integration in East Asia: Progress and Challenges," published by the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. "Hence, Southeast Asian countries are cautious of becoming economically over-dependent on China as they fear being forced to adopt a pro-China foreign policy stance."

Given China's assertiveness in the South China Sea, Das wrote: "If the maritime disputes remain unresolved, Beijing may be tempted to use its economic leverage to advance its strategic objectives in the SCS and beyond. It may also try to own infrastructure assets in ASEAN to service its national interests."

This may be similar to China's investment in Sri Lanka's strategic Hambatota port, which has come under scrutiny as a brand of China's economic presence. China is involved in huge infrastructure projects in ASEAN, such as the construction of the Vientiane-Kunming railway.

"China's perceived assertiveness in foreign policy, particularly in relation to territorial disputes in the South and East China Sea, is unfortunately helping to create a negative state image for China abroad," said the LKY School of Public Policy paper on infrastructure in East Asia. "This is not supportive of China's ambition to be perceived as a responsible and friendly power in the region and beyond." – Rappler.com

Johanna Son, a Bangkok-based editor/founder of the Reporting ASEAN media programme, has followed regional and ASEAN issues for more than two decades.

[EDITORIAL] AnimatED: Dapat na bang kalimutan ang 'ASEAN Way'?

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Wala ka bang pakialam sa ASEAN? Tingin mo ba wala itong value-added sa buhay mo?

Kung wala ang ASEAN, hindi ka makakapagbiyahe nang mura at visa-free papunta sa mga templo ng Angkor Wat sa Cambodia, Yogyakarta sa Indonesia, Chiang Mai sa Thailand, at Bagan sa Myanmar. Hindi mo mamamalas nang walang kahirap-hirap ang likas na kagandahan ng Halong Bay sa Vietnam, Luang Prabang sa Laos, o Mount Kinabalu sa Malaysia.

Hindi mo rin matitikman sa maliit na travel budget ang pagkain sa Penang, Malaysia. Hindi mo malilibot ang moderno at malinis na Singapore na parang bumibiyahe lang sa Quiapo. Hindi rin kikita ang mga kababayan nating Pinoy sa dagsa ng turista sa ating mga tabing-dagat.

Kung wala ang ASEAN, walang murang bilihin na inaangkat at ineexport sa pagitan ng magkakapit-bahay na bansa. Maaring hindi naging global brands ang Grab, San Miguel Beer, Jollibee. at Potato Corner.

Kung tutuusin, marami na ring bakod na binuwag ang samahan ng sampung bansa. 

Pero lupain pa rin ito ng 'di pagkakapantay-pantay sa kabila ng pagiging ikatlong pinakamalaking ekonomiya sa Asya at panlima sa buong mundo. Sa Timog Silangang Asya na may 600 milyong populasyon matatagpuan ang pinakamayamang mga pamilya, habang sa rehiyon din matatagpuan ang mga taong madalas hindi kumakain nang 3 beses isang araw.

Ang 2017 ay panahon ng higanteng pagbabago sa geopolitics ng mundo. Humina ang kapangyarihan ng Estados Unidos at sa ilalim ni Pangulong Donald Trump, umatras ito sa Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at climate deal ng Paris. Umaatras na rin ang US sa Asya, habang ang Pilipinas sa ilalim ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ay nagpahayag ng pagkalas sa “Big Brother” at pagbaling sa Tsina at Russia. 

Higit kailanman, ngayong 2017 makikita ang kabit-kabit na bituka ng ekonomiya, pulitika, at kontrobersya ng mga bansa. Iniimbestigahan ang “pakikialam” ng Russia sa eleksyon ng US sa pamamagitan ng tech companies tulad ng Facebook, Twitter, at Google. Dinala sa tugatog ng tagumpay ng mga tech multinationals si Ginoong Trump sampu ng mga kontrobersyal at otokratikong pinuno tulad ni Ginoong Duterte. Social media rin ang isa sa pangunahing sandata ng Tsina at Russia sa pagsakal sa mga umuusbong na sibil na kalayaan sa kanilang mga bayan.

Nang ito’y nabuo noong 1967, pangunahing isyu ang komunismo – ngayon tampok ang terorismo at paglaganap ng ISIS sa Asya. Isang golpe-de-gulat sa ASEAN ang pagsiklab ng ISIS sa Marawi. Ipinakita nito na walang kinikilalang pader ang paglaganap ng virus ng extremism.

Lahat nang ito’y magkukrus ng landas sa ASEAN 2017 sa Maynila. 

Nakaukit sa bato ang dalawang batas ng ASEAN: Una, walang makikialam sa internal na usapin ng isa’t-isa, at pangalawa, walang consensus kung hindi sang-ayon lahat. Tinawag itong isang “outmoded governance system” ng dating foreign affairs secretary ng Pilipinas na si Albert del Rosario. 

Anong silbi ng ASEAN? Lalo na't gumastos ang Pilipinas ng $15 bilyon bilang host country.

Hindi natin tinatanong kung maiibsan ba ang kalam ng sikmura ng mga dukha. Malinaw namang hindi. Mapapaigting ba ang panlipunang pagkapantay-pantay? Hindi rin. Karapatang pantao at kalayaang mamahayag? Huwag na tayong umasa. Pero ‘di ba dapat lamang nangunguna ito sa pagtatanggol ng kapayapaan at patrimonyo ng mga kasaping bansa, lalo na’t “promoting regional peace and stability” ang isang poste ng bukluran ng ASEAN?

Pero mistulang busal sa bibig ang unanimity rule sa simpleng pagpapahayag ng protesta ng mga bansang ASEAN sa garapal na pagtatayo ng mga istruktura ng Tsina sa South China Sea. Ilang beses ding pinatay ng isa o dalawang kaalyadong bansa ng Tsina ang mga protesta ng mga claimant countries tulad ng Pilipinas, Vietnam, at Malaysia.

'Di rin maiiwasang pag-usapan ang pamumuno ng Pilipinas sa ASEAN ngayong host country at chairman ito. Kabaliktaran ng kanyang sinundang pinuno, ayaw ipagmalaki o banggitin man lang ni Pangulong Duterte na naipanalo ng Pilipinas ang landmark ruling sa isang internasyonal na korte na nagbabasura ng 9-dash rule ng Tsina. Pinahina raw ni Duterte ang "centrality" ng ASEAN, ang prinsipyong nagsasaad na dapat stabilidad ng rehiyon ang pangunahing itinataguyod ng samahan.

Makabuluhan pa ba sa 2017 ang “ASEAN Way”? Kung ang ASEAN Way ay katumbas ng pagiging parochial, insular, de-kahon, at mentalidad na solohin-ang-problema – dapat nang tigilan ang sarswelang ito. 

Kung ito’y pagbubuklod para sa ikabubuti ng lahat, pagmamalasakit sa kapit-bahay – oo, napapanahon pa rin ang ASEAN.

Kung ang ASEAN Way ang matalino at maliksing pagtugon sa hamon ng panahon nang hindi nakaposas sa lumang kalakaran – may puwang ito sa Siglo 21. – Rappler.com

[OPINION] How rich are Filipinos compared to our ASEAN neighbors?

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This year we’re hosting the ASEAN Summit for the third time ever, and also on ASEAN’s 50th founding anniversary.

It’s therefore as good a time as any to step back, take stock of our place in the region, and examine how we have progressed compared to our neighbors.

A good way to do this is by comparing average incomes across ASEAN countries, noting that income is one of the best – albeit imperfect – ways to measure and compare people’s well-being.

Figure 1 below compares the GDP (or gross domestic product) per person across all ASEAN member-countries and across time. This graph speaks volumes.

First, while ASEAN countries are generally becoming richer over time, some have advanced faster than others.

The Philippines’ rate of progress, in particular, has been embarrassingly slow. With the exception of Brunei and Singapore, the Philippines used to lead the pack in the 1950s. But Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia have long overtaken us: Malaysia in 1968, Thailand in 1984, Indonesia in 1989.

Fast forward to 2014 (when the latest comparable data is available), only the CLMV countries – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam – are poorer than us. But remarkably, their incomes have caught up so fast that they are soon poised to match Filipinos’ income levels (Viet Nam may have even already overtaken us).

Many say that the Philippines is the fastest-growing economy in ASEAN today. But in truth, that distinction belongs to Myanmar. In fact, it’s the fastest-growing economy in the world. From 2010 to 2014, GDP per person in Myanmar grew at 7.2% per year on average; in the Philippines, it grew at only 4.6%.

For the greater part of the 20th century, Myanmar was indeed the poorest in ASEAN. But by 2014, the average Burmese is richer than the average Cambodian, and is now nearly as rich as the average Vietnamese or Lao.

What explains this remarkable turnaround? The gradual return of democratic institutions and economic openness partly explain Myanmar’s impressive rise from the doldrums. But starting from such a low base also explains much of its recent growth (also called “base effect”).

Wasted opportunities

The Philippines, once the leader in the region, is now the follower. Who’s to blame for the country’s lackluster performance?

Many scholars have looked into this, and one common theme emerging from the corpus of research is this: a combination of external factors and bad domestic policies – compounded by President Marcos’ corrupt and debt-driven leadership – set us up for failure.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, ASEAN countries faced much the same external shocks that led to economic troubles – oil price hikes from OPEC and a US recession that raised world interest rates and reduced export demand.

But only in the Philippines did these external factors result in a permanently lower income growth trajectory, commencing in the 1983 debt crisis. This recession – the deepest since WWII – is manifested in the dip of income per capita you see around 1983.

Back in the 1960s, however, the income path of the Philippines was already flatter than that of other ASEAN countries, especially Malaysia and Thailand.

During this time, our neighbors pursued export-oriented industrialization. But Filipino leaders at the time focused too much on promoting domestic production in what’s called “import substitution industrialization.” In short, this means we boosted local firms’ output and protected them from foreign competition, in the hopes that they would develop their own production capabilities and technologies.

But instead, our industries got used to very high levels of government support and protection and failed to mature vis-à-vis their ASEAN counterparts.

This pattern was largely continued (and exacerbated) during the Marcos regime, whose crony capitalism – characterized by the proliferation of monopolies, special privileges, and damaged institutions – further removed businesses’ incentives to be efficient and productive, leading to the stagnation of manufacturing.

All in all, decades of bad economic policies and politics brought the country down. Using statistical techniques, Manuel Albis and I showed in a previous article that Filipinos could’ve been much richer now had we just followed the growth patterns seen in the rest of ASEAN. (READ: Were it not for Marcos, Filipinos today would have been richer)

New challenges

Unless the Duterte government implements crucial reforms today – especially in foreign investments – our place in ASEAN will continue to be imperiled.

Investments drive future growth. But the data show that the Philippines’ investment rate has been historically low, owing in no small measure to our similarly low saving rate and the many restrictions that have diminished our attractiveness as an investment destination.

Vietnam is becoming an increasingly important competitor for foreign direct investments (FDI). Members of the South Korean Chamber of Commerce, for example, are reportedly moving to Vietnam because doing business there is around two-thirds less costly than in the Philippines.

A recent survey also revealed that US companies are choosing to expand their businesses mostly in Vietnam, Myanmar, and Indonesia. The Philippines is near the bottom of their priority list (see Figure 2).

Our lacking infrastructure is a major investment turnoff. In the latest Global Competitiveness Report, the Philippines lags behind the rest of ASEAN in terms of the quality of roads, railroads, ports, air transport, and electricity supply. (In fact, we scored worst on roads and air transport.)

Aside from infrastructure, investors are also looking closely at prospective growth: they want to invest wherever growth is expected to be faster, not slower.

But the 2017 growth forecasts for the Philippines have been dropping in recent months, and converging toward the low end of the government forecast (see Figure 3). Among other things, this is on account of the slower-than-expected rollout of “Build, Build, Build.” 

Figure 3. From various sources. StanChar stands for Standard Chartered; AMRO stands for the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office.

Way forward

Compared to our ASEAN neighbors, the Philippines has treaded on a deviant growth path. Now, our poorer neighbors are growing faster than us. As we lead this year’s special ASEAN Summit, we might ask ourselves: How can we bolster our shaky standing in the region?

In a sense, the answers are already staring us in the face: we need to step up our investment and infrastructure game – fast.

Although the Duterte economic managers are working hard on this, they have their work cut out for them. Business confidence is at a 3-year low and 52% of surveyed US businesses thought the current administration is “ineffective” in “boosting business confidence and promoting investment.”

The least we can do now is to do business as usual, and not make matters worse. But if our aim is to regain our economic leadership in the region, it’s clear that this alone will hardly suffice. – Rappler.com

 

The author is a PhD candidate and teaching fellow at the UP School of Economics. His views are independent of the views of his affiliations. Follow JC on Twitter: @jcpunongbayan.

Mourning misogyny: Rest in beauty, Isabel Granada

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I've been meaning to write about Isabel Granada. And I am not kidding. Her death affects me in a very peculiar way.

That we belong to the same age group is not really what bothers me. I am feeling a bit bad because I had never paid attention to her when I was all about That's Entertainment in the 80s. There was nothing to dislike about her except that in the 80s, too, it was not very cool to be trying too hard in school. And I felt like she had the effect of being that person who tries to too hard.

I remember having a conversation with my cousin about why Melissa Gibbs is more appealing because she would always make it appear like she’s got better things to do than to be singing or dancing in front of an audience. Her body language would always almost read: “This is so baduy (in bad taste) but what the heck, here we go..."

Her reluctance was so appealing. Her superb singing voice was elevated by her cool demeanor. Each performance was rendered with effortless perfection, even her reading from a long list of sponsors was just so attractively ambivalent. She definitely marked a distance between her and her very own performances. She was graceful yet so not invested. 

Isabel Granada would be the opposite. She always gave it her all. She was too earnest for comfort. There was no distance between her and a pop tune, it was almost ridiculous. Her sacred seriousness was almost alienating. She never made it to the headlines of nasty gossip shows as she was perhaps friends with everyone.

One might question how deep those friendships were as they must have been devoid of an “other” or an "enemy" that keeps friendships solid and real. And it is all because Isabel Granada did not look like she was interested in marking people as her enemies. She did not have time for that. Her time did look like it was divided between performing and practicing for those performances. She was just there anywhere and everywhere where compulsion reigns.

So we were not just into her, this Hispanic looking actor who also seemed to represent all too Pinoy values. But not until a couple of years back. Pinoy showbiz would feature her in the most provocative way: "Must see! Isabel Granada beauty and body still explosive after all these years." She created a stir, and it is all true. She embodied what is required of women who are just about "to let go of themselves." 

Contempt against women

If you are a woman of Granada's age (40s), misogyny or that ingrained contempt and prejudice against women demands that you constantly look like you are just about to turn 18.

So for the past few years, what Granada was for women who paid attention to her re-entry into showbiz is a symbol that amplifies an effective value. This is the value of looking like a young girl in middle age. This is not an obsession of women in general but it certainly affects most in the middle and upper classes.  

In a way, Granada as a symbol also became a replacement for a commitment to looking like a young girl. It is actually less an addiction to a physical regiment that could actually make one look like a young girl than a fascination for Granada's ways and means to "stay young and attractive." All of which are on YouTube and her personal Instagram account.

Despite her death, Granada continues to play a role in what seems to be a contradictory phenomenon of being addicted to another person.

Living the game

What the Marxist-Lacanian philosopher Slavoj Zizek would call interpassive delegated addiction is clearly explained by another philosopher in the same tradition, Robert Pfaller. Pfaller points to substitute activities or “interpassive practices - such as bibliomania, photocopying, collecting video recordings” as “forms of addiction that rest on the principle of play (115).” 

These interpassive practices are also called substitute activities because they function as "symbolic, protective measures, (which) serve to overcome an impulse of hatred towards something that is outwardly loved but latently hated (115).” Obsessive-compulsive photocopying, video copying, book-buying function to keep at bay the rising displeasure for reading, consuming television, and so on.

We are supposed to maintain a positive attitude toward keeping fit and healthy through the consumption of organic meatless food and a focused and efficient workout. "Just do it," is Nike's command. Following celebrities like Granada on social media helps us through it all.

This act of following social media accounts of beauty and fitness icons is an activity that interpassives love to stage in order to postpone or avoid carrying out what is to be done to actually look fit and young.

I personally feel ambivalent about this particular activity. On one level, I feel frustrated for wasting away time watching "explosive beauties" instead of actually turning myself into one, which is too insane of a secret wish to mention. On another level, and definitely on a higher plane of intellectual and political maturity, I do think that to make myself valuable under the system of capital is the height of misadventure, and thus delinking from the capitalist value chain is the goal. Of course, doing nothing and eating everything will not cut anyone off from participating in all that capitalist and crisis-driven spiraling.

In all this, I only think it is fair to remember Isabel Granada, the earnest and invested young girl who, to some people's delight and dismay, turned herself into a young girl yet again in her late adult years.

Yes, misogyny’s prescription for women to look perpetually young and attractive has resulted in an addiction. And some of you might have already heard about how psychoanalysis characterizes addiction as a form of play. Yet Granada did not look like she was addicted to this play. She lived the game. - Rappler.com

Sarah Raymundo is an assistant professor at the Center for International Studies, University of the Philippines-Diliman. She is currently a lecturer at the City University of New York (CUNY)-La Guardia Community College and faculty fellow at CUNY-Graduate School’s Center for Place, Culture, and Politics through the Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence Program 2017-2018. She chairs the Committee for International Affairs of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

 

The buried giant embodied in our trains

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It was a blistering hot afternoon when my northbound Metro Rail Transit (MRT3) train stopped at the Santolan station longer than usual. It’s around 2:40 pm. I was on my way to work. The crowd was not that thick.

After 6 minutes, an announcement was made. I did not understand the message because of the static noise coming out of the speaker. Anxious, I closed the book I was reading. It was a holiday because of the ASEAN Summit 2017.

The train doors remained open. I looked outside to know what’s going on. Not again, I said. A few seconds later, the train’s door closed but I still wondered what had happened.

Accident

Later that day, I heard two of my colleagues talk about news on MRT3. After hearing the details, to my horror, I realized that the delay of the train operations earlier that day was not because of another glitch or a technical problem, but because of a serious accident at the MRT3 Ayala station.

Around 2:30 pm. Woman. 24. Fainted. Fell on the railway tracks. Severed right arm. Cut near her armpit. (READ: Woman loses right arm in MRT3 accident

I was shocked. I couldn’t utter a word. (READ: Doctors reattach severed arm of woman in MRT accident

At that moment, I remembered another appalling MRT3 incident that occurred in March this year. I was also on my way to work and about to get into the entrance to buy a ticket when I observed that the train was not moving. It was stuck. The entrance had been blocked. Lines of passengers were nowhere to be found. Confusion and chaos were evident.

Out of curiosity, I asked one of the passengers who was forced to get off the train earlier that afternoon, “Sir, what happened?” He responded, “A man jumped onto the rails.”

Why do such incidents keep on happening

In a 2013 ABS-CBN report, Pinky Webb wrote: “MRT general manager Al Vitangcol said they initially planned to put up screen doors only in 3 MRT stations, namely Taft Avenue, Shaw Boulevard, and North Avenue, by the end of the year...However, because of the recent incident, they will eventually construct the platform screen doors in all 13 stations of the MRT.”

Four years later, not a single station has been installed with a protective barrier. 

How many lives have to be lost for the MRT management and the government to seriously act on this? How many more limbs or arms should be injured for those in power to act on commuters’ safety? 

Another point to consider is the psychological impact of witnessing a suicide attempt or a gory accident. What if there are children on the scene? What if they become traumatized? There is also the concern that such suicide attempts or accidents would happen too often that they become considered as part of the normal. 

We’ve gone through a lot to be deprived of quality services from the government. We have all felt defeated at one point. 

The buried giant 

I understand that there’s no shortcut in getting funds for platform screen doors or other security and safety upgrades for our trains. But, isn’t it just a matter of prioritization, political will, and accountability?

It has been said that the transport system of a country is a reliable barometer of its advancement, growth, and prosperity. We should aim to be a model of efficient and safe transport systems and services like our other neighbors in Southeast Asia. (READ: MRT and the violence of our mass transport system

 

But while waiting for that time to come, I hope that we don’t forget our frustrations and challenge those in power to make a difference for the future of our country and for the prevention of suicide attempts and accidents involving our trains. 

As what Kazuo Ishiguro write in The Buried Giant, which was holding inside the train at the Santolan station:  “For in this community the past was rarely discussed. I do not mean that it was taboo. I mean that it had somehow faded into a mist as dense as that which hung over the marshes. It simply did not occur to these villagers to think about the past – even the recent one.”

Let’s all recognize and courageously face our society's buried giants one mist at a time. – Rappler.com  

Benre J. Zenarosa is the recipient of the 2016 Lasallian Scholarum Award for Outstanding Published Column Article on Youth and Education in a Nationally Circulated Publication. He was a nominee for the Gray Hawk Leadership Award and was a two-time public speaking contest winner for Filipino and English in the TUP System. He loves writing stories and letters in his head while riding a jam-packed train on his way to work.

Marawi and imperial Manila

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Everyone wants to rebuild Marawi. Everyone has an opinion. And the most vocal are in Manila.

There are experts who say that Marawi must be rebuilt in the image of world-class cities like Dubai or Geneva. They also want to turn it into a tourist destination that features the unparalleled beauty of Lake Lanao. In the spirit of Hiroshima, a proposal has been raised too that the ruins be left as such as a compelling reminder of what violence can do.

There's no denying that I too am Manila-based. But it's time that we paused for a minute and took at what experts say with a grain of salt. The intention to help is clearly there but it should not stop us from engaging in quality conversations about the future of Marawi.

The goal of course is not to add to the noise. What we want is a clearer, more hopeful vision.

Marawi's future, after all, is the future of the rest of the nation.

Technical problem?

To be sure, nobody wants what happened to Tacloban to happen once again in Marawi. It is unfortunate that while some residents in Tacloban have fully recovered, many others are still in shelters that are meant to be temporary – 4 years after Yolanda.

But rebuilding Marawi is not only a technical problem. This means that approaching reconstruction as a question of urban planning is inadequate. There are two reasons.

The first is that there is an elephant in the room: violent extremism. The Maute Group clearly exploited the vulnerabilities of the community to advance its intention. The region is the poorest in the country. Many of its youth are out-of-school, displaced, and undernourished. They are all growing up in an environment where conflict is normal.

What this means is that the reconstruction process cannot take for granted the possibility that violence would be repeated. I am fully convinced that Islam is a religion of peace. But like any other religion, it has taken on violent modes with ideologies that feed off people's frustrations and anger.

Reconstruction should thus ask a far bigger question: how do we make violent extremism irrelevant? 

The second reason is that Marawi is not an object. Marawi is so much bigger than the destroyed buildings we often see on television. It is the sum of its rich history, fascinating culture, and warm people. 

Rebuilding destroyed roads and its broken infrastructure, no matter how crucial, will not bring back the lost dignity of its displaced families. Its Maranao residents lost their livelihood, homes, and memories. To top it all, they lost relatives.

Restoring their lost dignity is going to be a difficult, if not impossible, feat. And so the least experts could do is to first listen to its people and give due respect to what they believe they can also do.

The unfortunate reality is that when Manila-based experts talk about Marawi, you will never hear in their accounts the aspirations of its people. The danger is this: Haironesah Domado, a Maranao Muslim, suggests that at the rate things are going, authorities "run the risk of making Maranao returnees feel they are being treated by actual outsiders as strangers in their own homes."

Social distance

The physical distance between Manila and Marawi is not the problem. Social distance is. Sociologists measure social distance in terms of the frequency, intensity, and quality of interactions between groups.

There is a social distance that exists between Manila's experts and Marawi's affected families. Erudite knowledge and technical expertise make it difficult to listen to local voices. What do the locals know after all about reconstruction?

Widening the gap is corruption and the presence of gatekeepers like politicians and other policy elites. Experts may also have interests to protect, either their own profession or the very class they belong to.

Social distance is the unquestioned assumption whenever technocrats appear on television to talk about what needs to be done in Marawi. There is no denying that they have extensive experience in urban planning. They are aware of global benchmarks, the technical details of which are elusive to the everyday audience.

But if we could only listen to the locals, we would be amazed at the issues they know they have to confront.

Drieza Lininding of the Moro Consensus Group has spoken out on looting and human rights violations during the conflict. Maylanie Boloto, a Maranao sociologist, decries corruption among officials and how tourism will benefit only a few – wealthy business owners and politicians, in particular.

Left unchecked, it can also create more displacement. Septrin John Calamba, a sociologist at MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, has also brought up to me the problem of temporary housing. According to one of his Maranao students, "Okay lang kahit wala kaming McDo as long as makakauwi kami sa totoo naming tahanan." (We can forego McDo for being able to return to our true homes.)

Listening

Social distance creates more social distance. Experts may have the noblest intention of helping Marawi. But without listening to its people – in particular the poor – they inflict technocratic violence. In their hope of restoring Marawi's dignity, they in the end continue to take it away.

I have written this piece not to pull anyone down. After all, we need to be united as a people. But unity also calls for critical engagement.

The point is clear. To reconstruct Marawi is to bring back its people's dignity. In this sense we must become instruments of peace and not of imperial violence. We thus need to be more mindful of what affected communities have to say.

What does imperial Manila sound like? When its experts want to turn Marawi into a tourist destination. And they call it their patriotic duty.

For the sake of Marawi, we need to stop talking and start listening. – Rappler.com

 

Jayeel S. Cornelio, PhD is the Director of the Development Studies Program at the Ateneo de Manila University. He was a visiting a professor in the Department of Sociology at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology. His new work is on religion and violence, a project funded by the National Academy of Science and Technology as a recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Young Scientist Award. You can find him on Twitter @jayeel_cornelio.

[OPINION | Newspoint] From disingenuous to delusional

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 If only for the rate at which he has been opening his mouth, Harry Roque must be earning his keep as presidential spokesman. But, by persisting to go headlong for his boss, he could end up joining him on the same mental plane, a not exactly healthy prospect.

That prospect emerges from the way he conducts his new relationship with the news media. He opened with a threat to throw hollow blocks at Duterte critics; then, all too suddenly, he transforms from violent to biblically benign, switching from hollow blocks to bread.

After all, by revealing "the weaknesses of the past administration," the media, Roque says, helped Duterte win the election. While the media would only be wasting their time dwelling on his insult, they would be remiss if they didn’t set him straight for being selectively simplistic and intellectually dishonest.

The past administration in fact produced some of the best socio-economic results the nation has seen in the 30 years of its restored democracy – notably in productivity, investments, poverty alleviation, and crime control. In fact, it left an inheritance in reserves and unused credit lines that would have made for a strong head start for its successor. Duterte’s own finance secretary admitted as much only recently.

More credibly, Duterte won the presidency by exploiting a popular weakness for shortcuts to prosperity through a campaign of misrepresentation and outright falsehoods that employed an army of bloggers and trolls, a campaign carried on to this day to disguise the utter lack of achievement of the Duterte regime. For his part, Roque, having to lead as chief disguiser, picks his own tales from the air in self-assured hopes of being able to palm these off by dint of intellectual salesmanship. Anyone who does anything like that constantly is at risk of going from disingenuous to delusional.

I must confess not having at all detected in Harry Roque any proneness to delusion until he went to Congress; I had known him as a man of law, a militant defender of freedom and rights. It was as a member of the House of Representatives that he began to betray an allegiance to Duterte that was to become more and more barefaced. Consenting to be an alter ego of Duterte could only have been a closely considered decision for him; he made it even after Duterte had become fully exposed as the erratic, volatile, despotic, and generally deviant character that he is.

If Roque shows reservations, these are nothing more than an attempt to be seen as redeeming some part of his conscience and not having wholly sold out. He makes a big thing, for instance, of a resolute opposition to the death penalty and the lowering of the age of criminal liability. 

Well, no one should be fooled. It is a perfectly timed and perfectly safe reassertion of an old conviction. Duterte has in fact abandoned both advocacies, though surely only for the time being, because his proposed laws providing for them face certain defeat in the Senate.

Roque, to be sure, has a problem common to many turncoats: he is disliked on both sides. In fact, party-list colleagues had felt betrayed much earlier – for aligning himself with Duterte's House majority – and had begun denouncing him publicly. Now a full-fledged Duterte enforcer, he can expect further alienation. 

But neither is Roque fully accepted in the Duterte camp. One particularly bellicose Duterte blogger has called for his resignation. The blogger, apparently not sophisticated-minded enough to grasp Roque’s tricks, took his attitude toward the media as conciliatory; actually, it’s patronizing.

Resignation is definitely out of the question for Roque, he says so himself, and I can think of no stronger motive that may have driven him to such a desperate deal than ambition. He has made little effort to conceal his covetousness of high public office even before he became a party-list member of the House. He eyed other Cabinet appointments before. 

He told me he had passed up an offer for the United Nations ambassadorship, giving the impression he did not intend to get that close – which I took to mean officially or, at any rate, unmistakably, close – to the Duterte regime. Apparently now, the offer simply did not fit into his political plans; it would not raise his national profile enough to make him a contender for a Senate seat in the midterm polls. 

Who was it who said ambition is “a proud covetousness...a dry thirst of honor, a great torture of mind...a gallant madness...a pleasant poison"? – Rappler.com


#FridayFeels: Tapos na ang petmalung bakasyon

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I-bookmark ang Kdrama

Linisin na ang kama

Labhan ang uniporme

Pabalik na ang klase

– Rappler.com

Artwork by Shellette Gipa
Text by Don Kevin Hapal

#FridayFeels is a cartoon series by the Rappler Creatives Team. Cathartic, light, but relevant, it's a welcome break from your heavy news feed! You can pitch illustration ideas by sending a message to the Rappler Facebook page.

[EDITORIAL] #AnimatED: Tragic rides, drastic steps for the MRT

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There is something disturbing about the fact that we, commuters and social media users, could laugh off the latest horror on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT). After a few curses and condemnation of we’re-now-confused-which government, it was countless memes and witty posts that defined how most people would remember the sudden detachment of a carriage, forcing the train to stop between stations and giving commuters no other option but to walk on the tracks to the next stop.

Just the day before that, a female commuter, fainting right after alighting from the train, fell between the cars; her arm was cut off. But after less than 24 hours of being appalled by the incident, we were feeling good as we got wind of news about the victim’s arm being put back and about the medical intern having the presence of mind to attend to her during the emergency. 

Now, we await how the story will progress – no different perhaps from a teleserye – because a transportation undersecretary has said government agents are investigating the possibility of the uncoupling of the trains being done deliberately by some insider or former insider to put the government in a bad light. Remember that the Duterte government has just cancelled the maintenance contract of the unqualified but favored consortium of the Aquino administration. 

 
Just days before that contract termination, commuters were unloaded after smoke emanated from one of the train's coaches. In fact, a couple of months back, the operation of the MRT3 train on EDSA was temporarily stopped because a seat caught fire.

This is no laughing matter anymore. This is an issue where government should not be allowed any more slack because we let the Filipino trait of finding humor in problems take precedence. We forget easily. And we get distracted easily by the blaming and the finger-pointing

For this year alone (and the year's not over yet), the MRT3 line has had an average of 10.33 glitches and technical problems a week, data analysis by Rappler showed. This is worse than last year's 8.5 incidents a week.

Several proposals have been proffered by various camps: (1) government takeover of MRT operations (decisions are quickly made and solutions are immediately carried out); (2) complete stoppage of train operations (to once and for all assess the fitness of the trains and come up with strict regulations for its operations); (3) regulating the number of cars manufactured and sold every year and taxing vehicle owners (because they cause the traffic that drives commuters to take the MRT that’s already beyond capacity). 

Let’s not settle for just long-term solutions of metro subways and more road networks. They will take years to build, and in the interim, compound already hellish traffic. By the time these projects are completed, the population of Metro Manila and its surrounding environs shall have already exploded some more. 

The breakdown of the MRT system is the consequence of willful bad decisions and incompetence by past administrations, worsened by every subsequent one. There are interests at play but it should be government, not private groups or citizens, hauling those responsible for the MRT mess to court.

This was a campaign issue exploited by the mayor of Davao more than a year ago to make Mega Manila voters rightfully indignant toward the president then and the latter’s party and standard-bearer.

It’s about time that President Duterte proves the empathy he claimed he had for weary commuters in Metro Manila is real. He needs to demonstrate the same political will he showed in the fight against illegal drugs – this can be done with bullet train speed given the right people who have the expertise and technical knowledge.

This is a problem that needed solutions yesterday. We should demand they be delivered today. – Rappler.com 

Christmas? Bah, humbug!

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It’s that time of year again. Most Filipinos know what I am talking about though the rest of the world might find this puzzling. But Filipinos have the longest Christmas season in the world.

And I am officially declaring myself a grouch. I am not going to get into the Christmas spirit. I will not make public declarations of happiness about it. Nope. I won’t. Just won’t. No. Uh-uh. Let me tell you several reasons why.

Buy! Buy! Buy!

Many of my friends and I are truly irritated by stores playing Christmas carols in August. Actually, I am starting a movement right here and now that should unite all Filipinos across the extremely polarized political divide: next year if you hear stores play Christmas carols in July, August or September – march straight out the door and do not buy. I would personally extend my boycott to October. (I know this is controversial because, some Filipinos think it is appropriate to declare Christmas in October.) 

I do not know if their market studies show that playing Christmas carols as early as August causes people to buy more. Regardless. We should protest against this cynical manipulation of our good cheer for commercial purposes. I especially object to the manipulation when the carols are sung ala Stars on 45.

The stores will of course continue to play these carols with more frequency as we get closer to Christmas. And I know they are still doing it out of the cynical manipulation of our good cheer. But hey, I can excuse them for trying to capture the good cheer around this time of year towards consumerist spending. What I cannot forgive is manufactured good cheer for the sake of their bottom line.

Lost magnificence

Besides, by this time, any good cheer I might have developed has been drowned out by the mediocrity of Stars on 45. The way I understand it, my Christian dearies are celebrating the birth of the Son of God, the lamb whose sacrifice has paid for all our sins. I  love the lyrics that reach to this height of magnificence:

The heavens sing, “Hallelujah."

“Hallelujah,” Earth replies.

Such majestic sentiments about the mostest, over-the-topest, earth-shakingest event, ever ever, are best sung in Cathedrals that reach up to the sky by a thousand joyous voices in a choir. Well trained voices. Voices disciplined into unity by the choirmaster. That I can enjoy. These songs of utmost praise sung in a genre that I personally believe represents the nadir of popular culture – dislike, down-vote, yuck.

Dear reader, I am not Christian. Like 6% of the Filipino people I belong to a different belief system. I am very happy for my friends and other loved ones who are celebrating their god. It is their good cheer I wish to tap into. But since this is vicarious enjoyment, it can spoil very easily.

A plea for sensitivity

Perhaps I would still not be such a grouch if the only ones raining on the parade were the merchants. Unfortunately, sometimes it can be the insensitivity of Christians themselves who are supposed to share their goodwill.

Recently I reposted a meme that said, "Some people don’t want to take part in your religion. That’s called ‘freedom’ not ‘A War on Christmas’.” So when I receive a message from some FB friend that says, “use Merry Christmas and not Happy Holidays” well...I drink a gallon of polite juice to quiet the legion of grouches within me.

So I do ask my Christian dearies to decide whether they want me share in their wonderful celebration or not. I am very respectful of these deeply held beliefs. And I do want to show respect – join or stay away – I can do both. But the assumption that I am a Christian when I am not, that is well..polite juice, please!

Yet all these reasons for grouchiness I can overcome. I could be less of a grouch if it were not for my work with bipolar mood disorder and grieving.

I am not the only counselor whose work increases during Christmas. The frenzy often induces mania in my patients. Or the manufactured and automatic assumption that we are all happy, causes isolation and deeper unhappiness for those struggling with grief or depression. One of my gauges for what is wrong with the way some people celebrate Christmas is that many do not find peace but frenetic stimulation during the season.

Surely we are not getting the right message across if instead of the resounding and deep joy the season should bring to most Filipinos, what comes across is the enforced cheer of a fascist summer camp.

So I have my Christmas routine. In the middle of December I bring out my Christmas carol collection – you guessed it, all sung by the best choirs. Closer to Christmas I am already enjoying Handel’s Messiah. Then my mostly agnostic nuclear family joins my Catholic in-laws for Christmas Eve. Then we go off on Christmas travels or stay at home and chill.

I join the Christian world in its joy for these two weeks. I celebrate in solidarity for many people I love and respect are Christians. But I do it quietly.

But for the sake of my patients and others who deserve my support, I am an official grouch. I am a walking one-woman beacon to all those who find this season difficult. I am the great petitioner for sensitivity from the Christian majority.

Please remember that some of us are not Christian. Though that may not be a problem for those of us who have learned to be generous to the presumptuous, please be aware that you are not entitled to such generosity though we are entitled to your sensitivity. Indeed, perhaps we could get into a nice cycle of reciprocal generosity and sensitivity.

More importantly a number of those who are your fellow human beings, many of them your Christian brethren, cannot be happy at this time. And perhaps for these people you must show them the compassionate face of a more reflexive joy that the birth of Christ brings. – Rappler.com

Sylvia Estrada Claudio is a Doctor of Medicine and a PhD in Psychology. She can usually be found sowing in the fields of academia. She is normally a happy sower except during Christmas.

Unspeakable tragedy as Rohingya refugees flee to safe

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Nurus Samam and his wife Sanjida only wanted to raise their son, two-year-old Abdul Hamid, in peace. But when violence erupted in Myanmar, they were forced to abandon their home and brave a dangerous journey to find safety in Bangladesh. 

Caught in a storm while setting sail across the Bay of Bengal, their boat broke up. The family was thrown into the sea, along with around 100 other refugees. (READ: The Rohingya and the port of last resort)

Nurus survived, but his wife and son did not.

“I keep hearing him crying out ‘Papa, Papa!’ when I shut my eyes,” says Nurus, one of the 24 survivors of the tragic wreck.

As thousands of refugees continued to stream into the border last October, I met Rozia, who came alone - injured and crying. For two hours, we wended across the paddy fields to the nearest village in Bangladesh. 

I held her cold, trembling hand and carried her whole life in a plastic bag. My arms were aching and I almost passed out from the heat. I could not imagine how Rozia managed to walk 7 days to find safety here.

In the last nine weeks, more than 600,000 Rohingya refugees have fled their homes. Each one a testament to incredible strength and resilience. Like Nurus and Rozia, they face unimaginable losses.  Illness, injuries, and trauma as a result of extreme violence, torture and sexual abuse exacerbate the hardships.

Many have lost family, relatives, and friends. 

DEVASTATING CRISIS. The Rohingya humanitarian crisis has been the 'most desperate and devastating thing' that the author has seen in her 15 years of working with refugees. Photo by Roger Arnold/UNHCR

‘The most desperate and devastating thing’

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar.  As a consequence, they have faced discrimination and extreme poverty for decades. The new arrivals have joined an estimated 300,000 refugees who were already in Bangladesh before the crisis.

While heading to a refugee camp in Bangladesh soon after violence broke out last August, we passed a beach in Shamlapur. We saw dozens of boats on the sea and people just streaming off them. They were exhausted but they were also relieved. Some of them just collapsed on the beach.

ROHINGYA EXODUS. The voyage of the Rohingya refugees from northern Rakhine state in Myanmar to Bangladesh takes 5 hours in rough waters. Photo by Roger Arnold/UNHCR

This was the most desperate and devastating thing I’ve seen in my 15 years of working with refugees.

It reminded me of photos I’ve seen of Vietnamese boat people in the 1980s. But this is 30 years later. How can it be happening again?

Currently, thousands more refugees are arriving daily across several land border points.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working around the clock in Bangladesh to support the thousands who continue to arrive, often exhausted, hungry and deeply distressed. (READ: Myanmar has failed to protect Rohingya from atrocities – UN)

Some walked for up to two weeks just to reach safety, trudging through jungle and even crossing a swampy marshland and a river in the border area. They claim many other families are on the run and UNHCR is quickly preparing for additional arrivals in the coming days, including the establishment of a transit center to try to deal with the sudden influx. 

EMERGENCY APPEAL. Rohingya refugees and host communities urgently need more clean water, healthcare and other supplies. Photo by Roger Arnold/UNHCR

Your help is urgently needed 

As more refugees arrive every day, there is an acute need for emergency shelters and other forms of aid. Infrastructure and services continue to be overstretched, so your help is urgently needed.

To lessen the risk of waterborne and airborne diseases, refugees and host communities urgently need more clean water, healthcare and other supplies. Pregnant women, young children and the elderly are especially vulnerable. 

Meanwhile, UNHCR continues to boost its presence on the ground. We have deployed nearly 80 international emergency staff to the operations and has already recruited over 40 new national staff on the ground to support the operational needs in Bangladesh.

We have also taken up our leadership of the Protection working group and have begun a quick participatory needs assessment.

UNHCR requires an estimated USD 84 million to support the emergency response requirements from September 2017 to February 2018 in Bangladesh, which was already coping with devastating floods before the refugee influx. 

DONATE. Your donation will help shelter refugee families and provide them with life-saving assistance. Graphics courtesy of UNHCR

 

Healing the scars

Bangladesh has been handling the crisis in the best way possible not just today, but since the 1970s when it opened its doors to Rohingya refugees escaping persecution. It’s being humanitarian. It’s looking at human rights and people’s needs first, before politics and anything else.

As Bangladesh shoulders the full extent of this new crisis, UNHCR calls on all countries in the region to show solidarity and do their part in keeping their borders open and protecting refugees who are fleeing discrimination, persecution, and violence in Myanmar. 

“Bangladesh is not rich country and these are not rich people giving this aid. Once again, a country with few resources is giving a very positive example in terms of solidarity with refugees to many countries that have many more resources and have restricted that access,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, after visiting the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar last September. 

As UNHCR’s emergency response continues, one important thing that stands out from this crisis is the trauma carried by those who have fled what Mr. Grandi said was “really exceptional and extraordinary” violence.         

“Of the scars which Rohingya refugees carry, the most difficult ones to heal will be those that violence has caused to their hearts and minds,” he said.

In 2015, Filipinos have expressed solidarity with the Rohingya when no other country would like to take them in. At the time, UNHCR has lauded the Philippine government for being the first to offer shelter and protection to thousands of refugees whose lives were at risk while drifting aimlessly at sea.

This expression of support has inspired and catalyzed other nations into following suit.

Two years hence, we at UNHCR hope we can count on you to stand with Rohingya refugees once again in their time of greatest need. – Rappler.com 

Vivian Tan is the Senior Regional Public Information Officer of UNHCR, the UN Refugee agency.

Beyond sardines: The quest for sustainable fisheries

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Growing up in the landlocked municipality of Malungon, located in what is now the Province of Sarangani, I came to regard canned sardines early on as a luxury that we bought in the market after selling the free-range chickens raised on our farm. It didn’t matter if the contents of the can were milkfish or mackerel – to us, they were all sardinas and reserved for celebrations in the household.

When we moved to Davao del Sur, I got my first taste of the ocean, which was just a one-peso ride away. I learned to spot shells in the shallow tidal pools. I helped my father catch fish for food after his farming chores.  observed how people exploit the sea, and even found myself guilty of using illegal fishing gear such as fine-meshed nets and poisonous substances in our waters. (READ: Diving with a million sardines

Years later, I began to study the oceans and immerse myself in conservation issues, eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries degree. I started working as a volunteer and before knowing it, my professional journey had taken me to various marine and fisheries management projects in almost 200 coastal towns and cities across the country.

Challenges 

What I discovered was that the biggest challenge in Philippine fisheries is our belief that marine resources are infinite. This may be attributed to our good fortune in living at the center of marine biodiversity, as marine scientist Kent Carpenter and his colleagues found, making most of us think the seas and its resources are inexhaustible. (READ: Want to feed the world? Save oceans first) 

The mystery of the oceans is lost to many Filipinos, who believe that fisheries issues are only for fishers and their dependents, as well as conservation advocates.

They do not realize that the open access system – with everyone given free rein to fish wherever and whenever they want – leads to competition and unregulated harvest among fishers. This situation has resulted in what used to be very rich fishing grounds becoming among the most heavily exploited in the world, according to the landmark report, "Philippine Fisheries in Crisis."

After 18 years of working in coastal and fisheries management, I had been hoping that the list of issues facing our oceans would be shorter. We have won some battles: The Fisheries Code and its amended version, for example, has imposed stiff penalties that are making it more difficult for illegal fishers to continue their destructive ways.

However, Filipino ingenuity and the quest for a comfortable life have given rise to persistent issues that affect our marine resources.

MILLIONS OF SARDINES. Moalboalâ€'s millions-strong sardine schools sustain many kinds ofanimals, like tuna, dolphins and even seabirds. Photo by Danny Ocampo

 Until now, dynamite fishing remains a problem in some coastal areas. Exploitation patterns are adapting to the demand for seafood or reacting to government regulations. For instance, when fine-meshed nets were banned, fishers simply folded nets that met legal requirements for mesh sizes to double or triple their effective mesh sizes.

New challenges are also cropping up. We never talked about climate change or coral bleaching or disaster risk reduction when I started working in 1999; now, these are trending as the biggest threats to the ocean’s sustainability. There’s also the rising interest in seafood, with many Filipinos experimenting on dishes for all types of fish and all their parts from head to tail – from edible species to poisonous ones, from fish eggs to larvae to giant creatures. And commercial exploitation always follows consumer demand.

What we can do 

The question now is, how do we achieve that delicate balance between marine conservation and the wise use of our fishery resources?

Decades of government and non-government interventions have raised public awareness about the need to fish responsibly in Philippine waters. However, social scientists will tell you that knowledge is not equal to behavior change. Awareness has to be translated into practice, which should become a community norm. The only way forward is to make the quest for sustainable fisheries everyone’s business.

Whenever I discuss the fisheries crisis with coastal communities, I often emphasize that it is an emergency that has no single cure. Small steps from each Filipino citizen could help bring back the abundance of our oceans. We already have very good laws that simply need to be enforced, and this is being done in many localities. We have good government agencies and very productive NGOs – it’s just a matter of bringing everyone back to the drawing table and talking about how we should move forward in making sure we don’t run out of fish.

We have many great lessons from more than 40 years of implementing programs for coastal and fisheries management. It's time to harvest the scalable ones, update the obsolete items, and do away with assumptions and strategies that are no longer applicable.  

Whether you’re a restaurant owner, an operator of a fish processing plant, a fishing boat maker, a fish buyer, a nutritionist, a farmer, a housewife, or simply a diner who loves seafood, it’s time to think about where your fish comes from and how it's caught.

As we celebrate World Fisheries Day on November 21, I am hoping that the message of sustainable fisheries reaches the widest possible audience. There’s more to fisheries than the humble can of sardinas – we need to work together to ensure that we will have fish forever. – Rappler.com 

Roquelito Mancao is the senior director for technical operations in the Philippine office of the international conservation organization Rare, which is promoting sustainable management of municipal waters and responsible fishing behavior among Filipino fishers.

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