President Noynoy Aquino First 100 Days

It was President Noynoy Aquino's first 100 days last October 5, 2010. He had his speech and "Report to the Boss" at La Consolacion College Auditorium in Manila. After his speech, the program allowed different Filipinos from all over the country, even overseas to ask a question to the President about his plans related and other issues which concerns their provinces and regions.

It was an informative program, with the President mentioning his administration's accomplishments in less than four months and other projects in line for the coming days, months and years. His speech was applauded several times and the viewers can see that the audience was satisfied with his speech. In the middle of the program, during the question and answer part, several UP Manila students stood up, held bond paper sized placards and shouted their criticisms on the present government's plans on limiting the budget allocation for education.

UP students are known for years to be activists and militants of current administrations. Together with Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), these schools are training grounds for students who are passionate about their beliefs in politics. They are introduced to organizations who are headed by activists or members of political groups who usually go to the streets and show to the public their protest actions. The Philippines is a democratic country and the government exercise maximum tolerance to protest actions because they believe it is every Filipino's right to express his opinions and beliefs to issues that directly affect his life and the lives of his fellow Filipinos. Personally, I had a block mate before in UP Diliman who was so passionate about politics that he decided to skip his classes and instead join an organization who are known to have protest actions to any current political issue.

It was both good and bad that the students were able to get the attention of the President and all other public officials involved but I would say this time it was really premature. If you analyze the situation, 100 days is a very short time to make changes which could make a difference to the country's situation economically. In about 3 months, the present government had exposed a lot of anomalies with regards to the use of millions of government funds to give unreasonable salaries to Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), the president had a trip to the US and got a millions of grants (not loans) to fund projects in the provinces and invited investors to give jobs to Filipinos. It may not be a big accomplishment, but these things can be a start of something good for the country. We may be a democratic country but we must give the present administration a chance to prove themselves and fulfill their promises made during the election period. 100 days is very short time to give criticisms, judge performances or even go to the streets and blame poverty to the present administration. I would say give Noynoy a year or two and see his accomplishments and then make it a point to inform him and his cabinet members issues that are not given priorities.

Actually, asking the President programs and plans for a certain city or province is like barking at the wrong tree. Each province has a governor, each city or town has a mayor and each district has a congressman. These people control millions of pesos in their annual budget and it is their priority to uplift the situation of their constituents and improve the economic value of their city, town or province. Even here in Metro Manila, you could see which cities are performing good and who are the mayors who use public funds to improve their city or just putting them inside their pockets. For example, Quezon City and Makati, both prime locations for residential and commercial establishments. Can you compare the business districts of both cities? How about slum and squatter areas for both cities? Did both previous mayors bragged about their accomplishments or did the progress of their cities came from private investors and not from the local government? How about the provinces? Which mayors and governors did their jobs? Can you compare the province of Davao to Samar? How about the Negros province compared to Mindoro? Palawan and Bicol? Ilocos and Isabela? Were pork barrels of congressmen used for progress or just for mansions and other properties abroad?

The Philippines need time to recover from the economic turmoil the Arroyo and Estrada administration gave us. The Estrada had 2 years and Arroyo 9 years. That is a total of 11 years. How could you fix it in 100 days? It is like asking a farmer to plant rice in hectares of barren land in a span of 24 hours. Or asking a janitor to mop and wax the floor of a basketball court in 3 minutes. We need time and patience. Sadly Filipinos are known to be very impatient. It is our major flaw and it is one of the reasons why until now, we are a third-world country with a very big population.

Manny Pacquiao Training

Yesterday I got a chance to see the Pound for Pound Champion boxer Manny Pacquiao here in Metro Manila. I just read an article featuring his training with Freddie Roach in one of Elorde's boxing gym in Quezon City. The article stated that Manny trains everyday in the afternoon but will head to Baguio City starting September 26. So yesterday was his last day here in Manila and after his training in Baguio, he will proceed to the United States for his final training days. I have work during Saturdays but it was a little bit light yesterday. I was on fieldwork in the morning so I figured I could drop by the area and catch a glimpse of Manny's workout. I knew people will be allowed to watch since most of his photos and videos indicated that the public is allowed to watch while he trains.

After my fieldwork in Binondo area, I proceeded to Elorde's gym in Roosevelt Avenue. The gym is situated at the 4th floor of a new building at the corner of Roosevelt and Del Monte Avenues. I arrived at the area with a friend around 2pm expecting a lot of people in the area but to my surprise I only noticed a few media people and a Team Pacquiao pick-up truck. When we reached the 3rd floor, we were stopped by a gym personnel before going up the next floor. We told him we were going to watch Manny's training but he told us only media people were allowed to watch. I told him all excuses I could think of just to be allowed to go up but he apologized that he was instructed not to allow anyone without proper clearance. I understood him but I still hoped I could catch a glimpse of the Filipino champion. I got word that Manny is running late and he is about to arrive in a while. I then decided to stay for a while and wait for him since this will be my only chance to see him up close.

In about 30-45 minutes Manny's vehicle, together with a few security and training people arrived. His vehicle is a black Escalade and it parked in front of the building. Freddie Roach and Alex Ariza, his conditioning coach arrived earlier including Pacquiao's sparring partners. Manny alighted from his vehicle and proceeded to go up to the building to start training. I knew that he will pass by our position and will be just steps away from me. Too bad we do not have a camera to get a photo and we just tried to use a friend's cellphone. He passed by in front of me and I was surprised how short and thin he was. I expected he was a bit bulkier because of his physique but he was just like any ordinary Pinoy. You would not know he was the world's best boxer in this decade if you just pass by him in the streets. Except for his signature clothes and a few security, this guy is so simple considering he is also a congressman. I was thinking I could shake his hands but unfortunately he was talking to his cellphone. Well, at least I got a chance to see him and I could proudly say that once in my lifetime, I saw Manny Pacquiao up close. Hopefully he wins his fight with Antonio Margarito this November so he could cement his legacy as one of the world's best boxer who lived in my lifetime.

Million Hectare Challenge

Join the Million-Hectare Challenge! Haribon Foundation announces its 4th annual event, happening November 21st at McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

The Million Hectare Challenge urges all Filipinos to support the ROAD TO 2020 campaign, which aims to restore 1 million hectares of forests by year 2020 using native tree species.

Rainforests are our primary source of water. Healthy rainforests prevent soil erosion and enhance biodiversity. In the past few years, the Philippines has seen an increase in natural disasters such as killer landslides, droughts, floods, as well as water crises - all telling signs of the state of degradation of our rainforests. To date, we have 22.08% (Philippine forestry statistics, 2007) forest cover left, we need 54% to maintain ecological processes in the country.

Let’s hit the road! Help raise at least 1 million pesos towards ROAD TO 2020. Funds generated from the Million-Hectare Challenge event will be used to support tree-planting activities, promotion of environment-friendly and sustainable livelihood options for local communities, establishment and maintenance of indigenous tree nurseries, awareness-raising and capacity building– just to name a few.

- Join and accept the challenge! You can choose to walk, run at your pace or race to raise pledges (3K, 5K, 10K)

- Registration Fees: 400 pesos; and 350 pesos for Haribon members.

- Pledges are optional but help us reach our fundraising goal and get pledged!

Taekwondo for Kids

Recently I had the chance to meet one of my college friends who is currently teaching Taekwondo for kids. He has been training children since 1998 and his students joined a lot of tournaments over the years. My wife and I have been contemplating to enroll our son to his class for him to have a venue to use his energy other than at home and to learn discipline and sportsmanship at a young age. Coach Stauro Punongbayan has been involved with the Milo Summer Sports Clinic which is also under the supervision of Philippine Taekwondo Association.

Coach Stauro teaches taekwondo to kids at several locations in Metro Manila. Here are the venues and time slots:

1. Dance Theater Arts, 5th floor Walter Mart Makati (beside Timezone) - Saturday and Sunday, 4:30 PM (call 487-6083, 0917-6420123)
2. Kalayaan Badminton Center, Kalayaan Avenue Diliman, Quezon City - Saturday 1 PM (545-9778, 0917-6420123)
3. Higher Ground Baptist Academy, Malabon City - Saturday 8 AM (545-9778, 0917-6420123)
4. State Fitness Gym, Malabon City - Saturday 10 AM (545-9778, 0917-6420123)

Coach Stauro's class consists of kids as young as 4 years old up to full grown adults. Taekwondo is not just for competition but for exercise and self discipline. Here are the benefits of the sport:

1. Enhance Self Esteem by heightening your physical and mental powers.
2. Build Confidence by encouraging you to succeed and to take control of your life.
3. Develop Discipline by thoroughly training your body and mind by the tenets and techniques of Taekwondo.
4. Teach Self Defense by training you to recognize situations in which physical self defense may be necessary and teaching you how to control such situations to your advantage.
5. Strengthen your mind and body through increased physical coordination and mental discipline. (http://www.worldtaekwondo.com)

To learn more about Coach Stauro's class, visit his site at: http://tkdph.com or you may email him at stauro_p@yahoo.com

Hacienda Luisita and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

It was news two days ago that the infamous Hacienda Luisita dispute has been partially resolved. After 21 years of conflict and death of farmers during the Cory Aquino administration, the owners of the land and the farmers have made a compromise giving farm workers two options - to receive land parcels or retain their Hacienda Luisita Inc. stocks (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/gma). Although "only" 1400 hectares will be awarded to the farmers from the total 6453-hectare plantation, i think it is a good compromise, not the best, but a good start.

This issue, which hounds President Noynoy Aquino, even before the start of the campaign period has become a torn to his popularity. Even though Noynoy's share is just a small percentage of the 6453 hectares, his opponents are trying their best to link his name to the death of the farmers who perished during the Hacienda Luisita massacre during his mother's administration. I was too young when the massacre happened and the media nowadays are just highlighting the deaths but not what transpired that led to the bloodshed.

Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, which was enacted by the 8th Congress of the Philippines and signed by President Corazon Aquino on June 10, 1988, and individual cannot own more than 7 hectares of land. If this will happen, the remaining area will be parceled out and will be divided into individual tenants. Such tenant may enjoy a maximum of three hectares of irrigated land, or five hectares of unused land, where the new owners will pay royalty taxes and the computable amount of land to the original landholders for a maximum of fifteen years (http://en.wikipedia.org). This law will make farmers landowners and will prevent them from being just tenants forever by wealthy landowners. It is a good tool for dividing wealth to promote equality among landowners and small farmers.

Hopefully the issue will then be laid to rest and farmers will get a fair share of the land they have been fighting to own for more than 20 years of their lifetime. It is a good sign for Noynoy's administration and a big help to the farmers in Tarlac. The CARP is a good program but farmers should also be aware that there is a limit for lands that will be rewarded to them. CARP may be seen as an unfair law for the wealthy since they can always argue that their parents or grandparents have worked hard to purchase lands as an investment for the children's future which will later be taken away from them by the government and awarded to the farmers who live on these lands. They should also put themselves on the landowners shoes where they will be forced to give up their lands because it is a law passed by government officials and representatives they elected from their communities.

LTO Registration Renewal

I just renewed our vehicle registration today. I am 2 days late because I did not had the time to renew last month (since our car plate ends in 7). I was willing to pay the penalty expecting it would be a relatively low amount but I was proven wrong. Here were the fees I paid today:

1. Smoke Emission - P 420
2. Mandatory Insurance - P 990
3. Vehicle Registration plus other fees - P 2200
4. Late Registration Penalty - P 1000

Total fees paid: P 4610.00

I could have saved 1000 if I registered on the right month but I guess its a lesson for me. I was expecting an amount not higher than 500 but I was wrong. Well, I have to be sure next year that I register on the right month to avoid the late penalty. What aggravated my experience today was the usual slow process of renewing your vehicle registration to the LTO. I was expecting an improved service since LTO leadership was changed but again, I was wrong. Here is my experience.

1. Smoke Emission Test - 10 minutes
2. Stencil - 5 minutes
3. Insurance application and payment - 1 hour (the computers were off line during peak hours)
4. Payment of registration - 30 minutes
5. Release of Stickers and official receipt - 1 hour

Total: 2 hours and 45 minutes

Payment was really slow moving since the La Loma, Quezon City LTO office only has 2 cashiers and the registration forms are piling up. There is no system of lining the registration forms (first in first out should always be observed) and payments are just stapled to forms. Release of the official receipt and car plate stickers are also piling up since only 2 employees are matching the receipts to the forms and issuing stickers. Delays are caused by problems with registration names, vehicle makes, and other minor details to be edited on the official receipt. People who know employees inside the LTO office are given priority and people who do not know anyone will just have to wait for more than an hour. This is the sad state of our Land Transportation Office and you can just imagine how inefficient the system at the Main LTO Office at East Avenue, Quezon City. Hopefully, new leaders will step in and change their system. Filipinos are so fed up with red tape and other "palakasan" system on government offices which is one of the main reasons why graft and corruption is still very visible.

Water Shortage in Metro Manila

Recently, for the past few weeks, major parts of Metro Manila have been experiencing water shortage. Most of the Maynilad water concessionaire's clients are affected since Maynilad's water source is Angat Dam. Manila Water, another water concessionaire, which serves our district here in Quezon City has been consistent in their water supply since they get water from the nearby La Mesa Dam. Maynilad customers which serves several areas in Manila, Caloocan, Novaliches and other heavily populated areas are not that lucky. They started experiencing water shortage, getting just a few hours of water supply in a day for a month now and just last week, since Angat Dam reached its all time lowest water level, Maynilad customers started getting no water supply for more than 24 hours. They have been lucky though, for the past 2 days when Metro Manila experienced occasional rains, they got water supply for a few hours.

Since Metro Manila residents are so dependent on Angat Dam for their water supply, i think its time for the new government to start thinking of new ways to supply water to the millions of residents of the metropolis. Angat Dam, a freshwater source is also the main source of water supply for rice field in central Luzon which supplies rice and other basic food commodities for Metro Manila. A lot of talk has been circulating for the construction of another dam, Laiban Dam which is located at Rizal province. Constructing a dam has major implications on the environment and environmental groups are against it since they believe it is not a long term solution to the water crisis. Besides, getting fresh water as another source is not really a solution since we will still be very dependent on rain to provide water. The El Nino phenomenon has intensified the effects of climate change and we started experiencing hotter summers and destructive typhoons. Hotter summers dry up our water supply and destructive typhoons fill up dams very quickly which was the reason why dams released water during the Ondoy typhoon which was one of the causes why major areas of Luzon were flooded.

The government has been vocal about tapping the Laguna de Bay as an alternative water source for Metro Manila. This freshwater source is located south of Metro Manila which is currently famous as a site for fish pens and other source of livelihood for fishermen. Once Laguna de Bay is tapped as a water source for Metro Manila residents, there is also a possibility that it may soon dry up, just like Angat Dam and hundreds of livelihood will be affected by this. I think its time for the national government to consider constructing a desalination plant or at least a facility which gets water from the sea and sends it to consumers as an alternative water supply besides drinking. A lot of water is wasted in buildings and commercial establishments which uses fresh water for toilets and urinal use. Saltwater can be an alternative and you can just imagine how many gallons of water we can save for drinking and cooking purposes. We can even use salt water for cleaning purposes for floors and walls which also consumes a lot of water supposedly saved for drinking purposes.

Can the Philippine government afford a desalination plant? It is very expensive and uses a lot of energy to operate but we have to think of it as a long term solution. Besides, we really can not afford to depend on rainwater to provide water, a basic need for humans. Water conservation is still a priority for every household, but the government should really think ahead. Water shortage will continue to be a problem for years to come because we cannot stop the increase of our population which in turn increases the demand for water.