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I spent the last few days in Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Norte for the validation and impact assessment for my work in AIM's Bridging Leadership program. The Fellows I was evaluating were Col. Gavin Edjawan of the Philippine Army and Gov. Khalid Dimaporo.

The catch: We went around Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Norte in three and a half days. Up the mountains, near the coast, into an MNLF community (with a truckload of soldiers as escorts), and around Iligan and Cagayan de Oro with two awesome escorts with weapons almost as big as I am.  (Photos to follow in another album.)

And I just came back from the trip. Sabaw at sabog, name it. Extremely tired, but very satisfied with the experience. I have a trail of mosquito bites on my left arm, and a couple more on my right. Despite the physical exhaustion, I cannot let this night pass without noting some of the most significant insights I got from this trip.

(1) Research work is only as real as your respondents. And younger researchers take for granted the guidelines on research methodology until they get a taste of the real thing. I've been doing this for a while, but I still get surprised with contextual realities. For this particular trip, it was the issue of language barrier. I, for one, can't speak a word of Bisaya, but most of the interviewees can better express themselves in the native tongue. They are hesitant to use English because they think they will be ridiculed. So we have to reassure them, try to read between the lines, and in worst case scenarios, lambingin ang escort namin para maging interpreter. And it worked out fine. But I did wish I knew a bit of Bisaya. It would have helped a lot.

(2) People are scared of the military, but most of the basis of their grievances against the military are stemming from the Martial Law experience. The perception of the military as berdugo has not significantly changed, and the cases of extra-judicial killings are not helping. The issue of Muslim vs Christians are only a front to the deeply-rooted fear of the military that people hold.

But with the interviews I conducted, it occured to me that people are just waiting for the military to make their move towards peace, reconciliation, and development. Just as any powerful and elite institution (and being members thereof), there is a distance that must be bridged. In the efforts of Col. Gavin Edjawan, it was so clear to me how a little lambing and concern resulting in concrete developmental work can change so much in the grassroots.

They do military immersions. The military group approached the MNLF community to consult with them regarding their concerns. One interviewee said that in one of their "foundation day" celebrations, the military joined the sports competitions, with the MILF and MNLF teams. He said, "Sa basketball, panalo ang military, kasi athletic talaga sila. Pero nung track and field, panalo ang MNLF. Kasi mas mabibilis tumakbo." Then there was laughter in the interview table.

Another interviewee recalled the time when the military had to leave the immersion site after two months. Gusto daw magbarikada ng mga tao para wag lamang umalis ang mga sundalo. Nag-iiyakan ang mga nanay-nanayan dahil aalis na sila.

These are the stories and the developmental efforts that have to be shared and replicated. As with any case of misrepresented groups (in terms of perception), the military has to reach out to the people. One junior officer said, namimiss din daw nila ang encounter, kasi syempre iba yun. Pero pag nabigyan sila ng pagkakataong maging commander na, magiging peace-builder din daw sila.

The fault of a few military generals and their commander-in-chief cannot be generalized to all the soldiers. The situation is more complicated than that. But I also cannot say that all soldiers have the peace-building framework in mind. That is the challenge that the Armed Forces has to deal with. Hindi pwedeng isolated cases lamang ang mga developmental work.

I also hope that Col. Gavin's work can be sustained. As with the case of any military officer, they are assigned to one place then moved to another in a year or so. I hope the situation does not regress in the long run.

(3) Every local government unit executive should have a proper level of education for them to handle systems-thinking. Primarily because they are systems-managers and systems-builders. We all know the history of the Dimaporos in Lanao del Norte. I requested for Gov. Khalid's case because I was interested to get to know how the 'terror' political clans can improve. And my hopes when I began working on his case are not in vain.

I was surprised to know that Gov. Khalid writes his own speeches. He makes his own powerpoint presentations. (Knock knock all you bosses out there!!!) He studied Bisaya because he could not speak a word of it when he was asked by his father to run for the elections in 2007. And he's still bulol sometimes, according to some people in the barangay, but they say this with a smile, and with a lot of appreciation on Gov. Khalid's effort.

He said in one of our previous interviews, the governorship and the political career was something he did not outright choose. But because he is already there, he said he will make the most of it.

In his Indigency Program, he sought to make the health care system in the province into an economic enterprise. The provincial government paid for the initial capitation of the PhilHealth of all people in the province. Budgets and contracts were made to improve hospitals. From two in 2006, there are now five, turning 6 in early 2010. Among many other components of the health care reform..

I envy the people in the province. Seriously. I don't think I have that peace of mind that (heaven forbid) I need to go to the hospital as an in-patient or out-patient, I won't have to worry about where my payment will come from. And that health care they're having now is because a local government official took his job seriously, made the necessary research and studies, and acted like how a local chief executive should be.

It's not a dole-out system. The people have to secure their legal requirements (birth certificates and marriage certificates) for one time, then renew their PhilHealth membership every year. It's their stake. And I was surprised that in some barangays, there are people who do not have birth certificates. So legally, some of the people I talked to were not existing. But there are measures within the program to address that.

Generally, development practitioners are hesitant to use management theories and frameworks to run local government units, because definitely, there is a different between businesses and governance. I suppose, the key element there is to teach public servants to really think (as you would guess, a lot of polticians are all-talk-no-action). Public servants have to learn the sense of urgency required for action since they have term limits. And public servants have to learn to create systems that will place welfare outside the problems of political transitions.

Hindi kami gaanong close ni Gov. Khalid, kahit na may isang taon ko na rin syang binubuntutan at sinusubaybayan at kinakausap. He still refers to me as "Czarina my case writer". But I'm contented with having known what he has done, and to look forward to what the systems he placed could do in the long run.

Of course there's still the argument that he was able to do this because he has the networks to do so. But I can easily argue that, if we count all the politicians coming from political families (and most of them are), we can only count by our hands and feet those who are really doing something concrete that trickles down to the grassroots level.

There are still challenges that the health care system has to face. And I'm excited about how the provincial government will deal with that. Those at least will be things I should be noting for the research.

(4) In an unrelated note. Next time I go field work, I need to bring mosquito repellants, Extra Joss, and Smart Bro. I realized that days without sufficient Internet access can drive me insane. Boohoo. I'm a slave of the modern world. A cyborg. Technologies are appended to me and I seem unable to function properly without them.

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Next month, I'll be in Tawi-tawi. Hello Malaysian barter. Gimme my shopping spree.



This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.

Here you go fellow geeks! (Attachment in Multiply view)

Link also here.

Nope, not mine. At least not yet.

I have two very dear friends getting married soon. One's Mich Orosa, whose engagement video have been circulating all around the Internet (and for a good reason at that... *YOU SHOULD WATCH IT* haha or check out their wedding webpage). And the other's Honey Sumndad, the princess of our hearts in AYLC. She's tying the knot in December.

They're really great "Ate"s of mine. And I feel genuinely happy for the two of them.

I met Ate Mich when I still a freshman in Ateneo. And we've been through the Guidon, BizNews Asia, ABS-CBN. It's just funny now, looking back at it, that I never stayed in where she stayed long to work, but even if opportunities call me away from her, she'll always be one of my college "ate's" I will always try to keep in touch with.

I met Ate Honey some time after the AYLC 2006, in a meeting for volunteers for Starfish Magazine. Back then, the volunteers were still so many!!! And they all fell out, one by one, leaving us in the EdBoard as it is now. Despite that, Ate Honey and I been through so many intense experiences -- late-night phone calls, teary conversations, crazy laughter. And I have to say, Mindanao -- its beauty and challenges -- became so much more real to me because of her influence. And (ehem), guess who's one of the bridesmaids? ME!!!

Having friends preparing for their weddings led me to think about my own. JayR and I have been working on some of the details of the wedding already, but we're not giving away anything until we have the date secured. Right now I have a sense of what it means to march down the aisle with the man of your dreams waiting at the altar. And from how I imagine it, Ate Mich and Ate Honey deserve to have their dream weddings, and their dream love lives. :)

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I always thought of weddings as easy to prepare though. I thought, fairytale weddings would come almost as easily as one dreams about them. But now as JayR and I are asking around from friends how much they have spent on their weddings for an intimate number of guests, if I were an economist, I would say, be damned with it.

In other countries, weddings are as practical as they can get. I know of some who got married, had a picnic with their guests afterwards, and just had fun. Perhaps it stems from the fact that the guest-role is very different in other countries from how it is here. In the Philippines, when one is celebrating his/her birthday, he/she is expected to treat friends to a celebration. I never had a personal appreciation of this logic. Why would the birthday celebrator cast him/herself to poverty on his/her own birthday? It's counter-productive, I should say.

What they do abroad is that the celebrator invites friends to a dinner, provides some of the food, while others chip in for the payment, or observe pot-luck. It screams, "We celebrate your existence in this world and we are willing to pay for the celebration." How I wish it were like that here in the Philippines.

However, we are products of the barangay culture, the fiesta culture, wherein every familial celebration is treated like a celebration FOR the social network. It's not even a personal celebration -- it's a familial celebration. Every birthday, christening, wedding, and even funeral, is a family's social statement to reaffirm their social position, and possibly to gain more social capital. In the eyes of our culture, there is nothing wrong with that, especially in the practical sense that we thrive on a padrino-based mechanism for social and financial capital. Even I understand this in reality now: should we really spend around or more than P200,000 for a wedding and reception? It is not wise to save that much, then spend it all in a day. It's a suicidal stint, if we are to shoulder the entire amount all by ourselves. So the solution is to involve the family, involve the connections -- especially if they're willing to become stakeholders. It is symbolic in this sense, that the stake they build in the wedding (through contributions, for instance) is a manifestation of how they believe in marriage-to-be, and/or how "close" they want their relationship to be with the couple. (It is only every young couple's hope that the families don't interfere with every conjugal decision afterwards... *Insert titles of so many movies with such plot here*)

Given the context, we are challenged to be creative with the way we handle our celebrations. How to spend an appropriate amount for a celebration without being lavish, but making it LOOK lavish (i.e., in a less politically-charged description, "elegant"). And right now this is what's been keeping my mind and JayR's busy. How to raise, wisely spend, and make the most out of the projected budget.

And who knows, around this time next year, you might be helping us out in some of the crazy activities we are thinking about -- all in the name of fund raising, all in the name of love. We don't want to go poor in one day.

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If I remember my Dacanay correctly, the sacrament of marriage affirms, in the eyes of God and people, something that exists prior to the ritual. (It actually provides a perfect case for spending for a celebration: If you can't spend to celebrate your love, then you prove how unprepared you are to marry.)

So if I were to make sense of the irony of spending for "something that exists prior to the ritual" and something to affirm and invest on social capital, it would be this: That all sacraments, all rituals, only become worthy of what they are if, after many years, the meaning that allowed the ritual to exist is re-affirmed by the memory of the ritual itself.

I.e., I would want to have a wedding than no wedding at all because I want to remember, moments before I die as an old lady, how he looks at me as I walk toward the altar. I want to remember an afternoon of happiness of an intimate group of people who have been part of our journey of love. I want to have a wedding so JayR and I will always recall, in future tough times in our marriage (heaven forbid), that we once said "I do" to an Entity we consider sacred. I want my future children to understand romantic love through the story of their parents.

And if the wedding can do all of those things for me, I am most willing to work things out with JayR, and raise the money that we need for the wedding. Preparing for the wedding won't be easy, I can tell, and I know our decision-making as a couple would be further tested -- but I'm not really worried with that. I just know that we want the wedding to happen, and the costs will make sense through the meanings we can construct out of the entire wedding experience.

After all, as Berger and Luckman says, reality exists through the meanings we create. And this love... It's as real as it can be.


This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.

 

I spent the first few hours of this morning drooling over my new planner for 2010. It's stylish, a bit larger than my 2009 planner, but still fabulous! I cannot remember the first time that I took "planning (on a planner, I mean)" seriously. But I can bet it was way back during my primary school days. I often say to my friends and colleagues, if you want to blackmail me into doing something, the only thing you have to secure is my planner. 

 

It's not a diary. It doesn't have intimate secrets or random scrapbook entries. It is as it is -- a planner. And though technology has opened up various possibilities for me to transfer my planning to my phone or my laptop (or my email options), it's still more manageable for me to have my handy-dandy planner.

I blame it on my alleged OC-ness. Or maybe I just easily forget the ideas that cross through my mind. But having a planner that's insanely full of entries works for me.

 

I get to keep commitments. There are two kinds of people in the world that deeply piss me off: (1) People who do not show up on time without a valid reason, and (2) People who promise things and not deliver them (on time, or at all). And because I am consistent with these, I would like to be consistent too on how I deliver on social expectations. If I promise someone something on this day, I want to be able to keep my word. And within a day, I observe that we can make so many commitments that, at the moment of saying it, we actually mean. But because of the complexity of the lives we live, most people just forget about their commitments, hence, letting people down.

Being unable to deliver commitments put strains on relationships. Our trust and faith on people (even on the smallest aspect of them keeping their word) have limits. And right now, I have a couple of people in mind who I absolutely do not believe when they say they'd do this on this day. And I'm never wrong about them now. True enough, as much as possible I avoid working with them.

 

I don't think it's narcissistic. I simply understand that nothing productive can ever come out from strained relationships. Or perhaps I am a hopeless romantic and a frustrated humanist (at least in this sense). I continue to paint pictures of people at their best, even when, most of the time, my expectations of them are simply ideal.

 

So my planner enables me to NOT become the kinds of people who piss me off. I respect people's time and energy. I assume that everyone's as busy I am, and that everyone's as craving for rest and relaxation as I am. At the very least, I can say that having a planner allows me to a dependable, stable working partner.

 

Aside from this, my planner helps me keep my integrity. Seems shallow, but I don't think so. The worst thing I can do to myself is not to keep my own promises to myself. If I write on my planner that I should finish this task on this day, I should be able to do so. It keeps me focused, it keeps me organized. I seldom cram. It gives me time to go over my work and rethink about most of the things I do. So keeping a planner allows me to continue trusting myself, because I know, no matter how much work I dump onto myself, I can always get through.

 

And it gives me time to rest. If I schedule a Sunday off, unless it's a life-or-death matter, nobody can drag me out of my house or make me do online work. This age has expanded the workplace, such that there is so much work (and money) that can be acquired online. Of course there's always the argument that we can do work in the comforts of our homes, and I am an advocate of that too. But the accessibility of work goes both ways. We can get work done where and when we can. And work can chase after us whenever and wherever it can. A lot of times, it can be psychologically unhealthy. In a literature I read recently, that can be part of the definition of "cyberbullying".

 

So my planner gives me some sense of balance. There are things and moments I acknowledge that I cannot plan for, but because I can easily modify the "entries" in my planner, I can make time for the unexpected. Sometimes too, I write, "DO SOMETHING CRAZY TODAY" in my planner. And I do that too.  

 

It allows me to MAKE time for people I love. It allows me to have fun without compromising my commitments. 

 

But for now, writing this blog entry proves one thing: I am extremely obsessed with planners. Planners = Titillating Love! haha

SPECIAL THANKS to Hane mah Hane Emily for helping me pick out my 2010 planner yesterday during our quality time. You're my bestfriend in the www (world wide world)! haha

 

This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.

Matagal-tagal din akong absent sa blogosphere. Sinadya ko yun dahil kinailangan kong gawin muna ang mga dapat gawin sa offline world bago ako manggulong muli online. Ngunit ngayong natapos na (o patapos na) ang hell months ko, siguro marapat lamang na i-process ko ang banality of the information and tasks na dumaan.

Masabaw-sabaw pa ang utak ko. Kaya wala munang analytical framework. Wala munang analysis. Processing of take-away learning muna.

(1) Sige lang nang sige. Mind over matter. Sabi nga nila, the mind is a muscle. Pag hindi ginagamit, rumurupok. Kaya dapat exercise your mind. At matagal-tagal ding exercise ang ginawa ng utak ko. Research. Conferences. Conferences. Exam. Exercise. Sulat. Frameworks. Talks. Lectures. SPSS. SPSS. At SPSS muli.

(2) Ayos lang namang magreklamo basta't walang nasasaktan o sinisiraang iba. Hindi naman maiiwasan na magreklamo dahil sa puyat, pagod, stress, kulang sa kain, kulang sa aktwal na pagmamahal. (At ang masaklap dito, nagrereklamo lamang tayo para may verbal outlet ang ating frustrations, pero ginagawa pa rin natin ang dapat gawin dahil wala namang ibang choice.)

(3) Kailangan kilala natin ang timpla ng ating katawan. Kelan ito pinaka-productive. Anong oras pinaka-gumagana, anong oras nagtutukake. Kailangan alam mo kung kelan kape ang titirahin o Extra Joss (Grape flavor masarap). Kailangan alam mo kung anong pwesto ka pinaka-nakakapagtrabaho. -- At may na-diskubre akong bago... Mas nakakapagtrabaho pala ako kapag naka-Indian-Sit.

(4) May iba't ibang timpla ang multi-tasking with technology. Sa akin, sa tipikal na araw na may tipikal na work load, kaya kong may nag-pe-play na DVD (House, Fringe, etc), naka-connect sa Internet, at nagtatrabaho pa rin. Hindi ko kayang music lang ang tumutugtog. Kasi pag mga kanta, napapakanta ako. Nawawala sa concentration. So ayun. Wag kayong basta-basta maniniwala sa mga taong nagsasabing di dapat nakikinig sa music o di dapat naka-Internet habang nag-aaral. Take some insights from them, but don't be a victim of their violent brainwashing. Kanya-kanyang diskarte yan. Ikaw lamang ang pwedeng maka-diskubre kung ano ang perfect fit for your study-work habit.

(5) Tanggapin lamang ang trabahong may kabuluhan at relevance sa short-term at long-term goals. Oo mabuti ang volunteerism, pero kapag sobrang saklap na ng buhay-trabaho mo, maghinay-hinay sa pag-volunteer. Kapag nakaluwag na nang konti, balikan ang mga isyung panlipunan. Ang sabi nga ni Dr. Saloma sa presentation nya noon sa PSS, ang problema ng mga kabataan ngayon ay hindi apathy. Their problem is that they cannot match personal interests with larger interests, backed up with the capacity to make it happen (something like that, wala akong kopya ng study eh). Kaya dapat defined. Ano ang personal interests, ano ang public interests, ano ang personal capacities. Pag naghalo-halo yun, problema nga naman. Prioritize.

(6) Mag-allot ng oras para sa reflection. Pag mala-Ondoy na ang schedule at gagawin, hindi pwedeng walang time to process. Hindi ko rin mabilang kung ilang beses kong sinabi ang "Jesus Take the Wheel" sa mga buwang nakaraan.

(7) Related sa #3, kailangan alamin din ang iyong comfort food. Halimbawa, hindi ako pwedeng mag-junk food kasi sumasakit ang ulo ko. Hindi rin ako pwede mag-softdrinks dahil inaantok ako. So ang naging comfort food ko ay chocolates, ice cream, Yakult. Ibang set na ata ito kumpara nung college days. Di ko na maalala ang comfort foods ko noon.

(8) At related muli sa #7, kailangan alamin din ang pagkaing pampatulog. Ang pinaka-miserableng maaring mangyari ay sa sobrang pagtatangkang magising upang magtrabaho, kapag natapos na yung trabaho, hindi ka naman makatulog para ipahinga ang utak. Nangyari yun sa akin nung isang gabi. Kulang na lang mag-tumbling ako sa kama para lang makatulog. Pero naisip ko, pag nag-tumbling ako, magigising ako lalo, kasi matutuwa akong nag-tumbling ako.

(9) Maghanap ng kadamay sa hirap at ginhawa. Masarap din naman sa pakiramdam na alam mong may iba ring nagdurusa katulad mo, na hindi ka nag-iisa. At masarap lalong malaman na may mga taong nag-aaalala na baka magkasakit ka na, baka di ka na makapagpahinga, baka wala ka nang energy parang ngumiti. At kapag natapos na ang panahon ng paghihirap, huwag kalimutang pasalamatan sila.

(10) Magplano ng gagawin pagkatapos ng hell times. Tipong, celebrate small and great victories. Katulad nitong weekend, matapos lang ang appointment ko bukas nang umaga, magluluto ako ng nilasing na hipon. Bubusugin ang sarili hanggang sumakit ang batok sa high blood.

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Hanggang sa susunod na kabanata.



This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.

The floods brought about by Ondoy flooded my mind with more questions and concerns. Right now I don't even know where to start. And because I'm expecting incoherence in tying my ideas into one big essay, I'd rather but them in bulletted format:

(1) I saw choices. Of people to save lives up to a point where some gave up their own. Of unaffected people shelling out money and time to give. As Monchito Mossesgeld, our tatay in Ayala Young Leaders said, "Give until it hurts".

(2) I always told my students that money is the dominant language of the world because there hasn't been an anti-thesis to challenge it. And in the aftermath of Ondoy, I saw bits of my theory happening. There was massive consumption of goods -- either for donation, or for panic-buying of supplies,such that in the grocery stores near Ateneo where a massive relief operation is being held, there were but a few basic goods to buy. No more water, no more noodles, no more rice and even ground pork and chicken cuts. But there was money. Everybody had money to shell out. But no goods.

How are we to find goods then? If typhoons continue to ravage our agricultural lands, where do we get the goods? Do we import (again, like when the rice crisis struck)? How are we to feed our people?


(2) For the longest time, school buildings and facilities have been used for elections, evacuation, medical operations. And look at them now. DepEd and CHED shouldn't just be focusing on re-scheduling classes. These institutions should be using their budget where it matters -- to make sure that every school building in the country is ready to perform all the arbitrary functions it does. Right now I really don't care if every school building is named after the incumbent local government heads, if they are the ones who can give the funds. What matters is that the buildings are sturdy and ready.


(3) Don't tell me that the developmental strategy for the displaced people is to rebuild their houses. Until another storm hits them hard? This is the concern especially for the informal settlers who makeshift houses have been un-made and shifted in all directions. Housing. Where do we house them? (Sure, in schools.)


Time to step up PAG-IBIG. Show us the love. Collaborate with civil society groups to create programs and packages for the poor.



(4) Dr. Emma Porio of Ateneo's Sociology-Anthropology department, one of my mentors, once said that in times of crisis, the ones who are least to be given attention to are those with low social capital. And true enough, those without connections to organizations who can immediately respond to them have been stuck on their roofs for days. Imagine the annoyance of Christine Reyes' neighbors, when public attention was focused on her. She was saved, sure, but what about the others? According to my friend, "I bet everyone of those rescuers wanted to have their hands on her, LITERALLY."



So whereas it is inevitable that some victims would be prioritized than others, we should be conscious to check out on our househelpers, drivers, labanderas, taga-plansta, and their families when disaster strikes. We are their only social connection.


(5) And of course, some of our politicians have gone oh-so-kadiri once more. Nevermind that there are arguments that some groups might have done these to tarnish their campaigns. See for yourself:



They should be immersed in the floods until crocodiles and snakes bite them.

----------------------------

But then again, the story does not stop here. Another one's right at our doorsteps (or maybe more of them)..



I hope the story does not repeat itself.

(Entry to be continued)


This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.

Tsk tsk. Ano ba yan.

Nanggaling dito ang larawan.

Randy David's column reminds us of the patronage politics that has crippled our government. Except:

"This culture of patronage so pervades our political life that elections are seen as nothing more than contests to determine who can give more and promise more in the short-term. Accordingly, the image that candidates assiduously cultivate is that of approachability rather than competence, and compassion rather than wisdom. It is personal traits that are projected more than concrete programs of social reconstruction. These are the things that make our politics traditional rather than modern."

Winnie Monsod's column questions Noynoy's statemanship. Excerpt:

"Is it because Noynoy 19s handlers want to milk the Cory magic and show that Noynoy is doing the same thing that Cory did 14and not only that 14but also time his 1cdecision 1d to be made on the 40th day after Cory 19s death? If that is the case, shame on them all. Because that not only reflects the cynicism of the ultimate, exploitative 1ctrapo, 1d it is also a disservice to Cory 19s memory, and all that she stood for, as well."

I do not discount the angle that Mar and Noynoy genuine feel for the country. I actually am openly supporting the two primarily because of their dedication to make the Philippines better. But with tonight's announcement, a different card has been put to the table.

So let's talk plainly.

Noynoy said he needs to discern first before announcing if he will run for the presidency. I am acknowledging the fact that the burden is not easy, and I believe he is sincere in this discernment. But through it all, NOYNOY WILL RUN. Why? He cannot possiby use any excuse not to.



Possible Excuse 1: "I am not ready."
He has a pool of supporters coming from the groups of the great lady Corazon Aquino. With Mar Roxas making a very impressive decision, the Liberal Party is sure to back Noynoy up as well. Although his senate performance is not as sparkling as Mar, he cannot use the excuse that he is not ready. His supporters would simply say, "But we'll be here for you every step of the way." And the argument ends with that.

Possible Excuse 2: "I might not win."
It's highly contentious if Noy would have been asked by his supporters to run if Cory Aquino did not die. But with the Cory aspect into play, Noynoy cannot use the said excuse. And since he is sincere about serving the country, and being consistent with Mar's decision, he will have to deal with the argument of, "It doesn't matter if you win or lose. What matters is that you make a stand against evil.. Plus, you know, you might actually win." And the argument ends with that.

Possible Excuse 3: "I don't have enough money"
In a showbiz twist, Kris Aquino revealed to the world during her mother's funeral that she has to "adopt" Noy and shoulder some family expenses because Noy earns very minimally (well, at least compared to her). So with Kris' contribution, Noy cannot give money as an excuse. Excluding the fact that he comes from influential, rich families -- Conjuangco, Aquino -- he still has his supporters to contribute to his campaign money. He WILL have money to spend for the campaign. And the argument ends with that.



But there are things he has to contend with, on the likely chance that he will run for president:

(1) Proving himself beyond the influence of his parents' name
This is the main contention on Noynoy. For in the first place, he would not have been considered to run for president if Cory Aquino were still alive. He will be asked to run again for a lower position, i.e., he was eyed as vice president of Roxas initially for the Liberal Party, but not for president if Cory were still, again, alive.

So he has to prove that he can be a president beyond the Cory magic. The 2010 election is months away. If he'd be up for the challenge, there's plenty of time.

(2) Proving himself beyond his age
Quite interestingly, the Facebook reactions of those adamant to vote for Noynoy as president is "because he's too young". Of all the arguments against Noynoy, this is the most interesting for me. It just shows how conservative some voters are in terms of choosing the "age bracket" for those vying for the presidency. And in the profile of traditional Philippine politicians, old age is one of them (see The Rulemakers, Shiela Coronel).

On a personal note, I don't like the argument in lieu of progressive thinking. It's not consistent with the "change we want to see" attitude. If Noynoy will be criticized, people should look beyond an "age" argument.

----

So will I be voting for Noynoy?

As consistent as my previous entries on the presidentiables have been, I am still on a wait and see attitude. I have a deadline for myself when to create my list of people to vote for. It's too early to do that now.


Photos from here and here.

This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.
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If I got the audio correctly, the amount Obama paid for is less than $30.

Compared to the $15,000 and $11,000 Gloria and her crocodiles paid for their dinners.

And Malacanang says the president doesn't deserve to eat hotdogs?

Bakit, dahil maliit sya ang dapat sa kanya yung cocktail-sized hotdogs? Yung hot puppy?

The Matrix 1 was the mother of contemporary science fiction.
The Matrix 2 was hot because of Monica Belucci.
The Matrix 3 sucked, except for the soundtrack.

But Animatrix was wonderful!!! Especially this one.

(This is from boredom from waiting for an interviewee who wouldn't show up, or so it seems...)

I am in Davao right now, unfortunately not enjoying the week-long local festival, but listening to stories of local leaders who are facing the fundamental development struggle: breaching the macro-micro levels, transcending the spheres of government, culture, and religion, facing the challenges of personal limitations and social demands.

But the catch is, I am here not just to listen. But I am meant to write some of these leaders' stories. And I am facing a challenge that I never thought I'd have to deal with, at least as of now.

How do I write about something so alive? How do I capture the words that will give justice to the human struggles? How do I give due credit to depth of their experiences?

From my academic training and work experience, I have become accustomed to analyzing issues. Issues. Not dynamic persons as persons. Sociological analysis, no matter what paradigm is adhered, requires a certain distance from the subject. Qualified objectivity, as it is often called. But now, I am not just asked to analyze issues. Framing and analyzing issues is only one part of the assignment. I am to embed the issues with the lives of the people making social change happen. I need to attach to souls and personalities, and see the discourse in their words. I need to find the uniqueness in their personal experiences. And it is, right now, a different yet welcome writing battle.

I am reading moving texts. I am reading scripts moving without a definite end. From a philosophical view, understanding is an epistemological process of categorization. From the sea of Life, we pick and choose some aspects of it to form Concepts, and concepts in themselves are "defined". In forming definitions, we form boundaries of meaning. What this means is not what another word means. So in the process, understanding is really a process of limiting Life. Because the human mind does not have the capacity to understand everything at once. Somehow, understanding is cheapening of the entire experience of Life into something process-able by the mere human mind.

I don't want to cheapen their experiences. But I am up for the challenge. This is not something I am backing out on. It takes hard work and a lot of reflective writing. But the philosopher in me struggles. It's so hard to box the story of admirable persons into a beginning-middle/analysis-end structure.

Makes me recall what a good friend said long ago. "Ang hirap isulat ang isang karanasang buhay na buhay."

And so I'll play it by the ear. Play it by the hand. Play it by the mind. Play it by the heart.

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Photo downloaded from here.

In celebration of one beautiful, wonderful weekend.. :)

Kindly forward to those who might be interested. Urgent hiring.

Designation:      Marketing & Operations Assistant, STARFISH MAGAZINE

Professional Fee:  

P15, 000 monthly salary; Full – time position from Aug.15 – March 15;

With performance subject for evaluation by the Executive Board for renewal of contract;

Must bring in FIVE (5) full – page advertisers per issue;

10% commission per additional advertiser per issue;

Tasks and Responsibilities:

ü  Assist the Marketing & Promotions Manager of Starfish Magazine through the following key tasks:

o   Send proposals, follow – ups, set appointments (if needed)  and secure contracts of each advertiser , both for new clients and renewal of advertising packages

o   Assists the Marketing & Promotions Manager during presentation to sponsors, clients, and the like

o   Send subscriptions, follow – ups, and secure subscription forms of Starfish Magazine subscribers, both for new subscribers and renewal of subscription

o   Coordinate and follow – up progress of declared accounts of freelance marketing and advertising agents, should there be any.

o   Coordinate essential details pertaining to event tie – ups and other partnerships of Starfish Magazine

ü  Assist the Editor – in – Chief in some production tasks, specifically the following:

o   Coordinates with various printing press companies for the bidding process of magazine printing

-- Follows-up on the processing of printing press's down payments/payments during the production process, in coordination with the Managing Editor

ü  Perform the following tasks for the Operations of Starfish Magazine

o   Submit bi-monthly status report addressed to the Marketing & Promotions Manager, copy furnish the Editor in Chief and Managing Editor.

o   Compile proper documentations of the profile of Starfish Partners, Sponsorship & Advertising contracts, Subscription forms, and profiles of printers for bidding

Job Qualifications:

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ü  Computer Savvy; Knows basic MS Office Applications

ü  Well – verse in written and oral English

ü  Knowledge in Photoshop, and InDesign is an advantage

Editor-in-Chief, Starfish Magazine, Ayala Young Leaders

This is the first video: Since the succeeding videos' embedding are disabled, you may follow the parts through these links: Second part Third part Fourth part Fifth part Sixth part Seventh part Eighth part Last part

I didn't think I had the capacity to write something about Cory Aquino, primarily because I wasn't even born yet when the EDSA 1986 happened. I was too young to remember any of the coup attempts several years after that. And for a couple of years my family was in Singapore. But part of my name is attributed to her. So I feel obliged to share my thoughts.

I won't even dare to say Cory taught us the meaning of democracy. It's hardly her fault Filipinos still are in the dark of what democracy entails. Our brand of democracy is still at the level of criticism, and we have hardly learned the kind of collaborative action that democracy demands. Perhaps it's more politically correct to say that Cory inspired us to dare whisper the word. Democracy is so fragile that when you say it out loud, it almost always disappears. And yet we still believe no matter how vague the word might be. That I would wholeheartedly give to her.

So if my future children would ask me what Cory was like, I would say that her life was a celebration of the human spirit. That spirit is the fragile hope that arises from the condition of being squeezed to desperation. But at the end of it all, that hope still remains.

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But the more contentious part for me now is, how are we to proceed? The protectors of democracy are passing away, one by one. Cardinal Sin went ahead. Now Cory. I am thinking along the lines of Chief Justice Davide. Or the likes of Jun Lozada. I dare not choose among those who aspire to be our next president. And that saddens me.

Is there no one else? Achilles said that in the movie Troy. That's the question for us now. Is there no one else?

Of course there's the post-structural approach of looking at "each one of us" to become beacons of hope for each other. That's good and fair. But this country needs national icons whose voices would echo through the peninsula, much like how Cory did. This country needs people whom Filipinos can believe in.

But perhaps the requisite of the emergence of heroes is the existence of the human condition earlier mentioned. This country needs a moment wherein we will be pushed to the level of chaos so that those with strength of heart can rise up to the challenge. I do not doubt that if we had something resonant of Martial Law, Filipinos would be able to relive the miracle of unity and hope. We would once again find the icons of hope and democracy that our country are currently in short supply.

I am not praying for anarchy. But maybe to a certain extent I am. The Filipinos simply need that opportunity to show that they are made of tough spirits. Maybe the 2010 elections will post such a challenge to us all.

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But the democracy we have is contentious. For one, the brand of democracy in 1986 does not work as much as it did before. More and more Filipinos no longer believe in rallying on the streets. We want to put our hopes on the modern institutions, and yet at the back of our minds we are certain that conspiracy happens, depriving us of our confidence on the very institutions that should be protecting what we believe in.

Cory, for instance, joined the rallies to keep the American bases here in the Philippines. But the Senate at that time voted on the negative. She respected the decision. We know that does not happen nowadays. Even without tangible proof, we know how the current president has won the members of the Congress and would definitely not respect if the Senate votes against her wishes. Look back at the SONA (which has been forgotten in lieu of Cory's death). All she said was along the lines of, "Congress I wish for this, Congress I wish for that".

So where do we go from here? Do we put our confidence on the institutions, knowing that some hocus pocus happens beneath our noses? Do we go on the streets as checks and balances to mitigate these institutions, knowing very well that our protests would be futile?

What do we do? Where do we go from here?

So if there's a lesson that we should get from Cory, it's not about "how" she made things happen during her time. Their techniques in upholding democracy are almost outdated. But we can remember this:

During Cory's time, street protests was the out-of-the-box option. Students would hold politically-charged plays and concerts under the bridges. People would assemble without permits. And in February 1986, toppling down a dictatorship through mass mobilization was the innovation.

So they imagined possibilities. And it proved effective for them at that time. What this country has to learn is precisely that -- to imagine possibilities of expressing public agenda and forward action outside of the templates handed over to us by recent history. We need to make this incoming decade a milestone in our history once more. And in the process of generating new ideas for action, we can remember how Cory inspired our fathers and mothers to hope for the country.

We can do that. In time. We should be able to do something resembling a miracle once more.


This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.

I spent the past nights loading one Youtube clip after another of the Disney movies I used to watch as a child. And it dawned on me that some of the songs are incredibly haunting, for good and bad reasons alike.

In no particular order:


Frollo's "Hellfire" (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Key lines: "But she will be mine, or she will burn". Full lyrics here.

At least Frollo's character and subplot was true to Victor Hugo's novel. But still. Hello children, welcome to the reality of priest-as-men (in the testosterone aspect of the word). I doubt if children would really "understand" the meaning of it all, but imagine how awkward it would have been for parents accompanying their kids to the movies, as the child asks, "What does mean Daddy? Priests aren't supposed to like women right?" Great time to discuss the birds and the bees... in the movie house, with a hunchback singing.


Esmeralda's "God Help the Outcasts" (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Key lines: "God help the outcasts, hungry from birth, show them the mercy, they don't find on earth". Full lyrics here.

For us "older" people, it's haunting for its social relevance. But the awkward moment happens when the kid asks, "Daddy, Mommy, why are gypsies outcasts? What are gypsies? What are outcasts?" Time for a history of the Catholic Church moment. Again in the movie house, with a hunchback singing.


Lumiere's "Be our Guest" (Beauty and the Beast)
Key lines: "Ten years we have been resting, needing so much more than dusting." Full lyrics here.

This particular time order-slash-age dilemma occurred to me only when I watched the movie again. The spell says, the Enchanted Rose will bloom only until the Prince's 21st year. So that means that the entire Belle-incident happened more or less when the Beast/Prince was 21 or 22 years old. But Lumiere says, they have been resting for 10 years. Does this mean the prince was cursed when he was 11?

It cannot be that the "sleeping spell" from Sleeping Beauty would work here -- wherein the entire kingdom (their respective ages, included) are frozen until the Princess wakes up. Because if the Prince/Beast's age was frozen, then he should have been 11 years old all the while. Or if he was already 21 when he was cursed (assuming the spell paused their ages too), then what's the use of saying "the rose will bloom until his 21st year.... years have passed, he fell into the spell and lost all hope, for who can ever learn to love a Beast"?

It's a magic with math problem, I know. And it's disturbing that way.


Gaston's "The Mob Song" (Beauty and the Beast)
Key lines:

[Belle:]        No! I won't let you do this!
[Gaston:]       If you're not with us, you're against us!
                Bring the old man!
[Maurice:]      Get your hands off me!
[Gaston:]       We can't have them running off to warn the creature.
[Belle:]        Let us out!
[Gaston:]       We'll rid the village of this Beast. Who's with me?

Full lyrics here.

Easy... George Bush, is that you?

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I'd have to watch the other movies again to find more. And when I find others, expect an update on this blog... or a continuation.

This work by Czarina Medina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.

How they think -- this is what I want to know about the presidentiables running for the 2010 elections. And the FVR-RPDEV lecture last July 16 is one of those opportunities wherein I was able to listen to six of the presidentiables and ponder on what they thought about the presidency, and how they would proceed given circumstances. For that day, they presented their six-year socio-economic-peace program for the Philippines. There's the usual blabber too -- those motherhood overarching statements that make them look good.

The organizers said that the presentations of the presidentiables will be uploaded in this website: http://www.rpdev.org/Default. But as of writing of this blog entry, the presentations have not been posted. I invite everyone to be on the look-out for the presentations, and think about what the presentiables have to offer.

Here are my thoughts on the presidentiables, and these I regard as temporary. Opinions change, propaganda can sway us, and so many events can happen between today and May 11, 2010. This might be the only time I can write something like this, before the Right to Reply Bill is passed (and hopefully it would not).


SEN. MAR ROXAS
He said he didn't want to present an N-point agenda, rather he explained how he envisions the role of the government would be. He viewed the government as an "activist government" -- striking a balance between the demands of the government's role in a free, globalized market, and the role in delivering governance to the people. Roxas said that the decisions that a government should make must take into account self-reliance and interdependence with other nations -- through an "open but not weak" borders of eco-jurisdiction. He talked about weak institutions and weak execution, and wanted to address the low response time of government institutions because of the lack of systematic executive procedures. (He also described the people as working together, as an "army of people" in the "activist government", but I was not able to take much notes on that point.)

There is no denying that Roxas has a deep and rooted understanding of the discourse regarding the role of governments in balancing its own national interests with the international community. If we take the discourse and ground it in the Philippine context, economic development is a two-faced entity -- there are macro institutions dealing with the indicators of development (GDP, GNP, etc.), while there are micro institutions trying to respond to the micro, on-the-ground developmental issues of the people. This has been the weakness of the Philippine government as a facilitating institution; so far the government as we know it cannot breach the gap between what they claim as improving indicators of development and what we as a people experience on the ground. Roxas understands this dilemma. I would like to know, for the next months, how he would make decisions and apply his framework in key developmental issues in the country, aside from those laws attributed to him.


SEN. LOREN LEGARDA
Sen. Legarda presented a roadmap of the Philippines towards achieving peace and development. (I was not able to copy her presentation, and the powerpoint operators did a poor job in facilitating her presentation while she was speaking. The slides were going here, there, everywhere.) But from what I was able to note, Legarda approached the issue of poverty through solving unemployment and underdevelopment (i.e, entrepreneurship opportunities for OFWs and their families, modernizing agriculture, combating corruption, giving rural credit for the farmers and focusing on the AFMA and Agri-Agra Laws). She approached the issue of peace through delivering services and development to Mindanao, focusing on our resources in Mindanao, and promoting culture and heritage. She also advocated necessary steps to address climate change.

Legarda's approach is an attempt to unify the rather sporadic development efforts in the Philippines to achieve a set of goals. She made this clear in the open forum that the problem with tying up the actions of the national government and the LGUs is the lack of a roadmap. The presentation is clean and decent, but Legarda revealed nothing more of her plans and decision-making aside from what we already know about her.


SEC. BAYANI FERNANDO
BF presented a diagram identifying the challenges, strategies, and outcomes that he envisions as agenda -- all based on the premise of a "political will". This "political will", in various points of his presentation, he referred to as, "trust and faith in the decisions of the government", and "the law as collective wisdom". Very MMDA-like, I should say.

He identified: (a) Challenge of low respect for the laws -- Strategy of political will wherein people should obey laws -- Outcome of sustained high economic growth and development. (b) Challenge of lack of greater economic opportunities (e.g., manpower drain, unemployment, low income) -- Strategy of high productivity, which he called a "Workplace" model -- Outcome of well-functioning institutions. (c) Challenge of threatened sovereignty -- Strategy of simultaneous peace ad massive development efforts -- Outcome of Peace and prosperity. His explanations, aside from the political will explained in the previous paragraph, are what we are to expect.

He did mention some things which I could not help but note down:
(1) Address education through implementing the "already well-designed curricula", and one of the main strategies is to "finish the textbooks" so that we can be assured that that the children have to learn at a certain level would be studied
(2) Purchasing "superior technology for warfare to suppress violence"

I do not know where to start on his point on education on the both points phrases I quoted. But to be concise, there is much to improve on our curriculum, and finishing the textbooks do not guarantee a quality education. A full paper can be written on both points. On the other hand, saying that purchasing superior technology to suppress violence has good and bad points. Our military technologies are indeed in need of massive upgrading, but "to suppress violence" is not exactly a long-term peace solution. I suppose he is trying to be consistent with this definition of a "political will".

Fernando, no doubt, has done a marvelous work in Marikina. MMDA, though, is another question altogether. But the challenge to Fernando is to look at the Philippines as a more complex institution than simply comparing it to an entity that can be compared to a "workplace". Governing a city is one thing, governing the country is another. And his approaches to Marikina, which he always cited in his presentation, would not be enough to address the systems-complexity of the Philippines. I would like to see him go beyond his framework for Marikina and make it more responsive to the layers and layers of problems faced by Philippine society.


SEC. GILBERT TEODORO
Sec. Teodoro pointed out four key areas in his presentation, following the initials of his nickname, GABO:

Good government/governance: covered restructuring central and government units, improving tax administration, higher compensation for public sector workers, strengthening of the judicial system. (In his presentation, it is hard to miss that he is pro-CHA-CHA immediately after getting elected). Infrastructure and technology: covered developing new sources of power,  continuing services for agri, tourism, and industrial sectors, developing technology and management information systems, and encouraging innovations. Better health and education: improving social services, and reforming the educational system (e.g., more technical subjects, more foreign languages, tertiary student loan program a.k.a. study now pay later, increasing teachers' compensation), participative comprehensive health systems, and greener communities. Order in civil society: covered development capacity building management, such as disarmamant, demobilization, and reintegreation. (He included agriculture somewhere in between the B and O, saying it's too bad there isn't an A in his name).

His presentation was decent enough for me. But something happened:

He had sparkling credentials. Topped the bar; Philippine and New York lawyer. But I almost fell off my chair when he said, when asked in the open forum, that he did not know any of the Millennium Development Goals. He moderator said it was a breeze of fresh air for honesty to come out, but it was frustrating for me.


SEC. RICHARD GORDON
Sec. Gordon's presentation was a discussion of the problems we are facing as a people, and how -- in both insitutional and cultural aspects -- we are lagging behind. His introduction was to revisit history, that our first hero, Lapulapu was actually a Visayan Muslim. His point was that have forgotten to listen and pay attention to the needs of those outside of the power center.

I was not able to comprehensively jot down notes, because his speech was like a mental stimulus that kept me reflecting in my seat. But the ones I have noted were: the Philippines does not need a president who tells them what to do, but someone who can motivate the people; developing an "enabled and ennobled" culture and systems; addressing lack of governance; disaster risk reduction; eliminating graft and corruption; raising the standards of public service.

Of all the presidentiables that day, Gordon was the only one who substantively addressed the issues from the ground going up. Perhaps it's his experience with the Red Cross and peace issues in Mindanao, or maybe his stint at Olongapo a decade ago. It was easy for me to understand why those who have worked with Gordon are really working hard with Gordon, because he excuded this image of a mentor with thoughts that would keep you intact with the vision that has been set. And this could work for Gordon's advantage.

The challenge to Gordon is to push his approach further and make it more macro-institutional in approach. The issues that he is addressing are always contextualized on the ground, which is good in its own ways, but there has to be a way for Gordon to link these ideas and practices to the larger, global context. He is not without experience on this, and his track record would show that he is able. I am looking forward to how he would make his campaign stronger in the next months.


SEN. CHIZ ESCUDERO
First, I didn't appreciate how the moderator kept on referring to him as the "idol ng kabataan", because that is propaganda in itself. Was the moderator aware that the second and third floors of the RCBC auditorium were filled with students and representatives from the youth? I don't think the moderator was conscious that for those youth who were not really listening (as I saw some of them making "chika" and massively texting while the presentations were going on), referring to Escudero as the "idol ng kabataan" is brainwashing. But then again, that's just me.

The things I have noted in Escudero were: new jobs, increase family income, good governance, to develop trust in politicians, for politicians not to display wealth, speedy enforcement of laws and punishments for a sense of closure to social issues, paying the public sector how much they should be earning if they were working in private sectors, strengthening financial systems, pursuing the interest of the youth (education -- books, teachers, classrooms). These are all decent in themselves.

He presented this in his usual style -- using the Tagalog language (which is good in its own ways), and implying to statements which the youth would love. The one that I remember the most is, when asked during the open forum and the phrase "kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan", he replied that he doesn't believe in that because "may magagawa ang kabataan ngayon, na hindi tayo pag-asa lamang" etc. It was pleasant to the ear, but not enough for me. Perhaps he banks on his young age in the "idol ng kabataan" image. It has credits and his achievement is commendable, but the challenge for Escudero is to go beyond his excuded "opposition" character (which seems to be working these days in gaining popularity), and, sociological framework-ally speaking, merge the conflict perspective with a healthy dose of structural functionalism.

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If ever I'd be able to attend other presidentiable talks, I would be writing reviews again. I wasn't able to go to the Plaza Miranda event late this week because of the heavy rains, but it should have been interesting because some othe presidentiables went there, such as Gov. Panlilio. (And I just noted, does Sen Villar ever show up? He also did not go to the presidential talks of ANC.)

For now, I am keeping an open eye and adopting a "wait and see" attitude. Things will change. These presidentiables will make decisions and create headlines that should be grabbing attention. And those we do not "like" now might be likeable later, or maybe even more un-likeable. But maybe, also, some of them would rise up to the challenge and make the 2010 elections meaningful in substance, as the elections who would define us as a people.