Isang Simpleng Mensahe Lamang

Hello. It's been a long time since I've posted my last entry here.
I have been occupied with many things and to the worst part, my laptop needs to be reformatted.

Meanwhile, I would like to ask you to watch Maala-ala Mo Kaya tomorrow (Saturday) at 9 o'clock in the evening. The featured story is that of Mrs. Rosa Gagnao of Tupi, South Cotabato.

She lived a life of hardship yet managed to let all of her children finish their education. And after finishing his obligation towards her family, she continued and persevered to finish her secondary education at Tupi National High School at the age of 54. Helen Gamboa would play as Mrs. Gagnao.

Education is very important and it does not choose any age.
Happy viewing and thank you for following and reading my entries.

I promise to get back to blogging after getting some important things done.
God bless us all!

On the Marcos and Erap Issue: Are We Dumb or Just Forgiving?

A Critique on the Philippine Educational System

It's enrolment time once again. Gastos na naman.

Many say that education is one’s wealth that cannot be stolen by anybody. I agree that education is the primary opportunity for upward social and economic mobility. In our present society, you cannot get a decent job without having, to the least, a bachelor’s degree.

This thought is also parallel with the human capital theory that “the economic development of a nation is a function of the quality of its education”. This means that the more and better educated the people, the greater the chances of economic development.

I am an educator, I teach history and politics here in Iligan City for more than a year now. Don’t get me wrong if I tell you that I see our educational system a bit far-off from our Asian neighbors. I just believe that pointing out these defects will help us realize more about ourselves and hopefully would provide solutions to our leaders. A senior Department of Education official agree to this as he described the quality of Philippine school education as “failing to teach the competence the average citizen needs to become responsible, productive and self-fulfilling. “We are graduating people who are learning less and less", he said.

Have you met a person not able to read and write? I did. We fondly call him Binig. He is a Tiruray, a lumad from the mountains of Maguindanao Province. My father hired him to work for us in our little fruit farm. He stayed at our house and with this; I grabbed the chance of teaching him his ABCs. I tried to explain to him the advantages of literacy and the joys of being able to read. For a week, I taught him (and the pronunciations) of the letters in the alphabet but after a few days, he gave up. He said he doesn’t want to learn anymore. As he said this, I was able to see truth in his eyes. He was ashamed of himself being taught by someone younger than him. He was 27, I was 19.

People like Binig are not so rare in the Philippines. According to the report of the National Statistics Office, two out of ten Filipinos are not functionally literate. The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, (where Binig is from), has the lowest rate with 4 out of 10 not able to read and write. This would give you an idea that we are not that literate after all.

The main reason why we have a poor education system is the very low budget allocation. Our education expenditure is only 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (2005). Did you know our appropriation’s rank compared to other countries in the world? 158th. And oh, in case you’d want to ask, we’re 12th – in world population.

To give you an idea how small this appropriation is, let’s take the report of Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) President, Dr. Epitacio Palispis: In 2005, the Philippines spent only about $138 (Php 6,900) per pupil. Compare this to $852 (Php 42,600) in Thailand, $1,582 (79,100 PhP) in Singapore, and $3,728 (Php 186,400) in Japan.

The very low budget results to the underpayment of teachers. (I bet my professors in MSU-IIT, as well as teachers in high school would agree to this). In Singapore, they pay their teachers about Php122,000. Here in the Philippines, the basic salary is Php12,026 (excluding mandatory deductions like GSIS, Pag-ibig, PhilHealth, and witholding tax). That's the reason why we definitely have no summa cum laudes teaching in public schools. There should be a fair compensation that would give way for the competent ones to teach. Good thing many of us teachers still see teaching as a vocation and not a mere profession.

Another problem that arises from our measly budget is the lack of proper facilities in our schools. I believe this to be true for I was educated in public schools. I remember in our high school biology class, a bunch of us would take turns peering what's on the glass slides because of the very few microscopes available. Much of the things instructed were left for us to “imagine” as we can’t learn and experience those first hand. (That's the one and only time I've touched a microscope).

In our high school, I was fortunate to be in the “higher section” as we tend to receive “special treatment and better instruction” from teachers. What I worry is for those belonging to “lower majority sections”. Fifty to sixty students clump to poorly-ventilated rooms there. This sight is not exclusive to our school in South Cotabato. This holds true to the other 14 million youths studying in public schools all over the country.

Schools in the Philippines are also “commercialized”. More and more parents are made to believe that getting their kids in a privately owned school increases the chance of their children to become of top-notch caliber. Enrolling in private schools are very expensive but we can’t blame these parents. Most private schools tend to have superb facilities and comfortable rooms. Especially in the primary and secondary schools, the private school is a better choice for well-off parents not amenable with the 150 to 1 toilet-student ratio in the public schools. Most of the time, a conducive environment offered by private schools, ushers the better learning.

Because of this scenario, our educational system created a “social divide”. Rich people go to private schools while poor people have no choice. As one Filipino columnist wrote “Education has become part of the institutional mechanism that divides the poor and the rich.”

This very social cleavage gave way to a “knowledge gap”. I remember replying to a forum about the elections: “While many of us here on the internet exchange burning ideas about our aspired leaders, we forget the fact that the non-calculating masses still dictate the elections”. Most people in the grassroots fight for Erap, Villar and Aquino where it should have been a fight between Gordon and Gibo. The recent elections should have been a battle of leadership, intent, and platform; but the results have proven that stellar popularity is the masses' determining factor (thirty percent of a hundred actors who run for office won).

With lack of management competencies and systemic corruption, it’s no question why we have a lot of incompetent graduates yearly. While that is already saddening, add the “human capital flight” where our good technically skilled people have gone outside the country for greener pastures. And what is left is a big gap between the rich and the poor. The learned and the dumb.

Our government should focus on education. It is the key for progress. Our educational institutions should be backed up by opportunities to prevent this brain drain as it’s the only way to bridge the large economic gap. Ito ang kailangan natin nang hindi naman mahiya ang mga estudyanteng nagtapos sa Mababang Paaralan sa Mataas na Bukid. ####


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Being A Good Filipino Citizen: 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country

Election time’s over.
Enough of the mudslinging.
Enough of the reverberating news about the elections.
Enough of the Yellow Submarine.

While it a good thing that we had participated in the 2010 Elections, our share does not end in shading the ovals in the ballot. We, as what I’ve said in one of my entries, need to work together for the common good which is the uplifting of each and everyone’s state.

There’s this book I encourage everyone should read (many of you might have actually read it). This book is a best-seller on its first release about five years ago. I deem it necessary for the book's main points to be disseminated as a post-election eye-opener. I see this book’s points fitting to what I would like to share on this blog. Whoever you are, wherever you are, these are the simple things we need to do for our country.

Long before running for the Senate, Attorney Alex Lacson was able to publish a book entitled, “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country” in 2005. The book became a bestseller largely due to Max Soliven’s column entitled, “A Filipino of Faith” in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The book tells us that it’s not about the people placed on the pedestal. It is us, the Filipino people who holds the country’s fate.

I’ve already made reference on how defective our society is on my previous entries. We need to act now and change our olden and rotten ways. The nice thing about the book is that it opens new insights and remedies on how to make Philippines a better place to live. The book proves the power of little good things that incrementally would help restore our country.





















Below are the 12 commandments (with my annotations).


To help our country, every Filipino should:

1) Follow traffic rules. Traffic rules are the most basic of our country’s laws. Following them meant we are also following our nation’s laws. Following traffic rules is the lowest form of national discipline we can develop as a people. A culture of discipline is crucial to our destiny as a nation, I deeply believe that this is important in a country of trisikad, tricycles, and jeepneys.

2) Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt. Asking for ORs leads to higher tax collections, which means more resources for our government. This could strengthen our economy and (hopefully), lead us to progress.

3) Don’t buy smuggled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino. In a society where a lot of smuggled Chinese products enter our shores, our money should support our own economy. Bayo, Penshoppe, Bench and more are Filipino-made. Buying Filipino means supporting the Filipino. Or, if you read the book, the suggestion there is: 50-50 (that is, if you really have a hard time looking for a quality Pinoy product).

4) When you talk to others, especially foreigners speak positively about us and our country. Many of us fail to do this. Although we may speak of the true problems of our country to other people, letting foreigners have a positive view on the Philippines could surely make a difference. “Every Filipino is an ambassador of our country”, Lacson reasons. Wherever we maybe, we are salesmen of our country.

5) Respect your traffic officer, policeman and soldier. Respect honors and dignifies a man. The Bible, in Romans 13:1-2 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities...”. It compels him to do his job right.

6) Do not litter. I’ve spoken of Singapore as one of the best model for us to emanate. Let us dispose our garbage properly. We need to segregate, recycle, and conserve. As one of my profs in MSU-IIT said, “The debt of a country’s poverty can be seen on their sanitation”. We should make Philippines a beautiful country. (The Municipality of Linamon, Lanao del Norte’s Model on Solid Waste Management is a good example to all local government units).

7) Support your church. When we help our church, we help The Almighty in His works on earth.

8) During elections, vote. Last May 10, we witnessed the historic poll automations in the Philippines. By doing our solemn duty, we fight for our right to make our own destiny both as a people, and as a nation.

9) Pay your employees well. While it is true that a business’ main purpose of existence is for profit, a company must bring prosperity not only to its owners but also to its employees. Paying them well helps their families, too.

10) Pay your taxes. Tax is the bread and butter of the government. It is what builds our public schools, hospitals and roads. It is what pays our teachers, soldiers and other public servants.

11) Adopt a scholar or a poor child. Once in one of my Comparative Politics class, an American teaching at MSU-IIT gave a talk about his hometown in Eastern Europe. After the pep talk, personal questions were asked. He was asked if how many children he has. All chuckled with his answer that he’s got SIX children. But all of us were enlightened with his answer why he had a lot of kids. He explained that after his second child, he has intentionally undergone a vasectomy. He then adopted four different orphans of different racial backgrounds to be his legitimated children.
His story deeply left a mark in my heart. There are many rich people in this country, wouldn't it be nice if they would use their resources to help poor but deserving students? Investing on our youth is investing on our country’s future.

12) Be a good parent. I remember the passage in the bible that says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 King James Version). We should teach our children to follow the law and love our country. If we start planting seeds of patriotism in the hearts and minds of our youth today, they would become patriots of our country in the future. Families are the core, the basic unit of the society, we need to make the foundation strong.

If we try to compare, the peoples of the most developed countries of the world, most if not all of them, are good citizens. They are good citizens because they know how to follow their laws and they know their duties to their governments. They know their responsibilities to their fellowmen. If we aim to be like Singapore, Korea, or Japan, we need to be good citizens. We can by doing simple things.

The thing that would compliment to a successful government is the people. We may do more than 12 little things for our country, Lacson's pamplet is a nice way of letting us realize that we can change our country. As Lacson put it in his book: “The answer is in us as a people; that hope is in us as a people.” It is a must. It is a need. ###



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A Rare Moment in Philippine Elections History: Men Accepting Defeat

The people has spoken. By that, I meant the non-calculating masses have spoken.

Noynoy Aquino got the highest votes for the presidential seat. Despite the complaints currently filed by former President Estrada, it is apparent that Noynoy’s got the sure win with 13 million votes in the lead compared to Estrada’s 8 million-plus votes.

Noynoy Aquino will be our 15th president. That is pretty obvious at this point in time.

After the automated elections, we have just witnessed one rare moment in Philippine election history. Not Noynoy’s installment, but because of the four people showing the exemplary attitude of being able to accept defeat honorably.

What these people have gone through was never easy. Manny Villar, Sen. Richard Gordon, Councilor JC delos Reyes, and Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. braved the months of hard-fought campaign, few hours of sleep, and showing up to different fora and debates in the different islands of the country. Kapoy pud na oi.

But I salute these people. They have showed us that there is nobility in defeat after all. They have left a positive mark for the nation’s present and next generations. Defeat is not easy to accept, but they did it valiantly and they have fought a good fight.

These citizens deserve our adulation for they have even invited the whole nation to unite and work with peace and harmony rather than "the usual" protest and rally. May this be the start of our candidates being statesmen enough to accept the electorate’s will in all succeeding elections.

Let us remember that the May 10 election was the first-time we had the polls automated. Despite the long lines and breaking down of PCOS machines, the results from the Automated Elections came out fast and become more credible. I believe this prodded the candidates to concede early on and not throw claims of cheating. Senator Dick Gordon, if you happen to stumble in this blog, I tell you this: You are also a winner. The automation elections was part of your legacy. ###

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To my fellow Filipinos:

It has been a few days after the elections.
Our responsibility does not end today. Even if the majority have elected Noynoy as our president, it is still us, the Filipino people who must make the difference for our country.

This is definitely not just about putting an individual on the pedestal and wait for him to change our poor status quo, Each one of us should do what we ought to do. All hands should be lifting the country up.

Let us pray for our country. Let us pray for our leaders. And let us pray for each other.
May God bless our beloved country.