Blog Title: Views with a Point

Silence kills!

The Philippines is acting on Filipino child survival by launching the Bata Movement with the theme: "Bata: Tamang Alaga". This commenced with the March for Child Survival from Manila Hotel to Museo Pambata on April 11, 2008. The movement is led by the International Society of Tropical Pediatricsin collaboration with UP Manila-National Institutes f Health and the Philippine Ambulatory Pediatric Association. This march for the children and launch of the Bata Movement also coincides with the 8th International Congress of Tropical Pediatrics. The congress aims to discuss how the Philippines can achieve the Millennium Development Goal No. 4 (Improving Child Survival).

The photo also shows that apparently, the Number 1 Child killer in the Philippines is pneumonia.

View the rest of the BATA Movement Photo Docu HERE.


Cross-posted at: INKBLOTS: Life Unraveled.

Redefining Capital

Finally, I have seen my effort come to fruition with the e-book entitled: "Community Wealth Rediscovered: Knowledge for Poverty Alleviation".

The E-book contains six (6) case studies that redefines "capital" and identifying the capital of the "poor". More often, we always define poverty with financial capital, which delineates the "haves" and the "have nots." In these case studies, the writers (that includes me), tries to identify the community capital present before and after the projects were implemented in the areas. It is interesting to note that while we define capital in monetary terms, we tend to relegate to the background the cultural, social, institutional, stakeholder, natural, and structural capital that the people or community already have.

In a way, this effort tries to redefine the "poor" and poverty in general. This shies away from defining the poor on the basis of monetary considerations alone. In the end, we conclude that the "poor" as we usually call them, are not at all poor. They may be poor in terms of financial capital, but they are rich in terms of culture and social interactions. Thus, we take advantage of their strength as a community and start development efforts from there.

The E-book was launched during the "Panibagong Paraan" exhibits and events featuring innovative approaches to development management and poverty alleviation. The e-book was a joint undertaking of Peace and Equity Foundation, and Center for Conscious Living Foundation, Inc. - Philippines. The launching was held last April 9, 2008 at Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. "Panibagong Paraan" is sponsored by the World Bank.



Cross-posted at: INKBLOTS: Life Unraveled.

Not just lip service

After listening to and watching the failed (again!) mutiny of Trillanes and cohorts, it dawned on me that I should stop discussing [read: glorifying] personalities in this blog. If ever personalities would land in my blog, they should be worthy of such mention. After all, I am the writer, editor-in-chief, managing editor, and publisher of this blog. (Guffaws!).

Views with a Point will keep a new track from now on. I would be featuring programs, projects, or initiatives focused on poverty alleviation, public policy and governance, and sustainable development. In that way, I would not only be inviting good vibes, but also take advantage of the power of blogging to showcase initiatives that work for the poor. After all, there are too many blogs that discuss politics. I would just leave it to them. However, I would not also step back when I see some concerns regarding the programs and projects that need my humble criticism or recommendations. In that way, I retain the developmental track that this blog is originally designed for.

It is also a way of educating people on development work. Many are not yet familiar what a development worker [a.k.a NGO worker] does, what an NGO/ or CSO (Civil Society Organization) is, and perhaps, what the government does for poverty alleviation. In my own way, this is also to pay homage to those who work hard for development.

So this blog is reformatting, albeit retaining its title "Views with a Point". After all, they change lives of people, and they build and change communities.

I hope you still join me as I tread the new path.

PCID condemns attack on Congress, calls for resolve and caution

I received a press statement issued by the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID), in the light of the bombing in the House of Representatives which killed Rep Wahab Akbar of Basilan.

I am publishing this in full, as follows:

The Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID) expresses its shock and condemnation over the deaths and injuries resulting from the explosion at the House of Representatives. The attack which initially appears to be a deliberate brutal act is a direct attack on one of the country’s democratic institutions and should be denounced by all peace-loving citizens.

No political end or belief system can justify such dastardly act. We call on law enforcement authorities to exhaust all legal means to put the perpetrators to justice. We commiserate with the families of those who have been victimized by this brutal attack. We particularly mourn the death of a brother in faith, Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar who passed away as a result of the blast.

Occurring on the heels of the Glorietta blast and in the context of current political turmoil, the explosion will definitely add to the political instability the country is currently experiencing. More importantly, we call upon the media, politicians and other concerned parties to exercise caution in assigning blame to a particular group for the attack before a thorough investigation has been conducted. Let us not repeat the mistake of hurriedly blaming, arresting and incarcerating Muslims for all acts of terrorism (as many did after the Glorietta blast). Wrongly labeling or accusing a group as terrorists is as much a cowardly act as the attack on Congress itself.

We appeal to everyone to exercise sobriety and resolve. If the intent of this act is to sow fear, let us not be afraid. If the motive is to derail our resolve to fight corruption and injustice, let us be steadfast in our convictions.

A poor kid nation

THE TRAGIC DEATH of 12-year old Mariannet Amper of Ma-a, Davao City drew various reactions. Reactions ranges from anger and disgust to the government, pity for Mariannet and the family she left, left-leaning organizations using this incident to drumbeat their anti-Arroyo slogans, and perhaps for some, even confusion and indifference.

The outpouring of assistance and is already expected. The Filipinos are known for its virtue of pakikiramay or showing sympathy and condolences. At least something good has come out of this tragedy. The death of Mariannet has become a new symbol as a new face of poverty. A few years back, President Arroyo made and exposition of a new face of poverty using the melodrama of “bangkang papel” (paper boat) boys of Payatas during her SONA. Unlike the two Payatas boys, however, Mariannet is now lifeless.

It is clearly irresponsible a statement and an oversight of the glaring truths that the government itself has known. In fact, the government is merely talking about one side of the coin. Are people in Malacañang are not even aware of the real stories behind death because of poverty—especially among children? Definitely, they are not aware of how it means to be poor and hungry!

The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) has issued a press release in its website, openly admitting and declaring that children account for the largest poor population in 2003. The press release said that 14.1 million children are poor in 2000, and 13.5 million in 2003. The sector is also the third poorest sector with a poverty incidence of 42.5% in 2000, and 38.8% in 2003.

In real numbers, we are talking about 13,469,849 poor children. In Region XI alone, where Marianette lives, there are 737,496 poor children, which have increased by 78,421 from CY2000 to 2003. Who says the case of Mariannet is just an isolated case?


Children are dying a slow death

Children are a very vulnerable sector in our society. We do not have to wait for deaths to say children are dying. Dying children are in our midst!

1. Children are working in the worst forms of child labor
2. Children are neglected and abandoned
3. Children roam the streets begging for food and some loose change
4. Urban poor children, particularly the boys, engage in substance/drug abuse and violence
5. Girl and boy children are victims of sexual abuse and suffer from sexually transmitted infections
6. Children are caught in the crossfire between the rebels and the government troops
7. Children are suffering from various mental and physical disabilities
8. Children of indigenous peoples are neglected
9. Children are dying of poor nutrition and preventable diseases
10. Poor children have very little access to quality education

As the society continues to neglect the needs of the children, another tragedy is looming to happen. Unless the government and the civil society organizations, and even individual persons act on poverty, children who are most vulnerable will continue to lose their dignity/personhood and including the potential capabilities for their future.

Hope for the kids

Like Mariannet, children continue to dream of a better future for themselves and their families. I have known real people rise from their sorry state into a more comfortable and better quality of life. All they need is an opportunity, a firm set of values, a grim determination, and prayers to succeed.

Mariannet has become a revelation for me. I have children, but had never paid attention to the Rights of the Child. To close this article, it is fitting to reiterate and know them by heart:

1. To be born.
2. To have a name and a nationality.
3. To have a family who will love and care for me.
4. To live in a peaceful community and a wholesome environment.
5. To have enough food and a healthy and active body.
6. To have good education and develop my potential.
7. To be given opportunities for play and leisure.
8. To be protected against abuse, exploitation, neglect, violence and danger.
9. To be assisted and defended by the government.
10. To be able to express my own views.

Arroyo, Estrada, and the zarzuela in Malacañang

Finally, I am breaking my silence regarding the plunder case of Joseph Estrada, which I followed for the past months. I opted not to write about this in deference to the blog action I initiated for the Glorietta victims, then the Halloween break.

It was also necessary for me not to react immediately, as this article has to be well-thought and carefully written. So here I am, still writing on this issue. Read on....

Pardoning former president Joseph Estrada has created not only quite a stir in the Philippine political arena. More than ever, it has created havoc in the Philippine justice system.

Needless to say, there was undue haste in pardoning the biggest and the most controversial crime ever recorded in the Philippine history—that is plunder by no less than the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Be that as it may, had Estrada admitted his guilt, it would have been a different story. Watching and listening to him on national television, telling the whole world that corruption was a crime he never committed, was more than an insult to the entire nation. Again, his kind of rudeness has attacked the dignity and the very heart of the justice system only a few hours after the People of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers of the President of the Republic, has freed him.

Is this the kind of payback we expect from a person who has received a guilty verdict and who has been given freedom by the very institution of Filipinos?

Arroyo’s move has only aggravated the situation. There were insinuations that Malacañang was covering up for its foibles. The Glorietta 2 Blast which was earlier attributed to the military, failed to obscure the NBN-ZTE Deal controversy as it has has fizzled off in a matter of one week. Was it a ploy to redirect the attention of the critical Filipino masses? Perhaps, yes. Maybe, no. But what was apparently favorable to Arroyo was when she visited the relatives of the victims in Makati MedicalCenter, or after she has roamed Glorietta mall days after the incident.In fact, I found it admirable for a President, at her stature, to stoop down and bend her knees to comfort a mother. However, there is no way that the Glorietta blast could sustain the diversion from the real and burning issues.

If, indeed, they intended to cover up the issues with another issue, the issues only become more complex and compounded. Malacañang can always deny it is a diversionary tactic. However, it is unfortunate that anything or everything that is bad that is happening is being attributed to the Arroyo Administration. Is this a classic case of a boomerang effect?

Where now, Philippines?

“It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered.” - Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

What healing and reconciliation is Malacañang talking about? Pardoning Estrada has even widened the gap of the already divided nation, leaving the country in a disarray of sorts.

At this point, we can only be spectators of this grand zarzuela being played at Malacañang.
However, as in any television or movie show, we now play a vital role—how the show should be run, the kind of plot we would like to see, who the actors and actresses should play, and who would be directing it.

With this, I would like to leave some quotes for you to ponder:

Civilization is built on a number of ultimate principles...respect for human life, the punishment of crimes against property and persons, the equality of all good citizens before the law...or, in a word justice. Max Nordau (1849-1923)

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr.1929 - 1968)

If it were not for injustice, men would not know justice.Heraclitus (540 BC - 480 BC)

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. Martin Luther King Jr.

Glorietta 2 Mall Blast: A week after

Full, free and unconditional pardon

AS A FOLLOW THROUGH of my previous blog about this issue, I always make it a point to watch the news regarding the conviction of Former President Joseph Estrada for the crime of plunder. While watching him on the news yesterday, I realize once again that he did not only make himself lesser credible, but made him rather pathetic as he has, again, brazenly demonstrated his rudeness and audacity.

If my memory serves me right, he made a pronouncement last week that he is going to fight it to the hilt—that he is not guilty of plunder because they have a strong case.

Earlier the Estrada camp talked about filing a motion for reconsideration citing that Erap is not guilty of the charges, and citing that there was an error on the filing of the case. From what I gathered from the news on TV, they were saying that instead of [4] plunder cases, the prosecutors filed only one (1) which includes all the charges, and why the prosecutors did not file charges to those co-accused of plunder.

Earlier, Estrada brazenly said:

Absolute pardon: Absolutely ridiculous?

We have followed the case for the past 6 years. The plunder case against the deposed President Estrada was not only monumental. More than ever, it is a test of the Philippine judicial system.

It not an easy case to handle even for the most distinguished men of the law. Yet the government prosecutors, who have the most honest and truthful intentions to show that they will be unperturbed despite the threats in their lives, chose to burn the midnight oil and vowed they would fight it to the hilt. Many advocacy groups saw through the process, and ensured that no one gets in the way for an honest trial. Last September 12, the Philippines literally stopped [for at least 10 minutes] just to watch or listen to the proclamation of the verdict. However, even before the government prosecutors could say they could rest their case, and take a much-needed holiday, here comes another issue to contend.

Presidential pardon has been dangled even months before the verdict has been read by the Sandiganbayan. And now, it is openly spoon-fed to the Estrada camp, which finds it a welcome gesture, after all. Earlier, the Estrada camp staunchly stood up against pardon—declaring to the whole world that accepting the Presidential pardon is tantamount to admission of guilt by the deposed President. For some reasons, it has suddenly softened its stance.

What could have softened their position? We do not know. However, what is clear to us right now is the absolute pardon that the Arroyo Administration is allegedly offering to former President Estrada.

Definitely, if the former President will accept the [Absolute] Presidential Pardon allegedly offered by Malacañang, he regains his freedom and can exercise his political rights again. Does absolute pardon free the former President from the indemnity of the plunder case in which he was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt? That is debatable. Many law experts say otherwise. According to them, the civil indemnity should not be part of the pardon. If he would be freed from his civil indemnity, what does this tell us? Simply put, “A President can rob a bank, and gets away with his stash.”

Why is the Arroyo government so gung-ho about offering a presidential pardon, and absolute at that?

The Presidential pardon, while allowed by constitution, is so soon! The man has not even made to suffer the consequences, and yet we are pardoning him from his crimes? Did he show the entire country that he is worth the pardon? Compare it with an ordinary man who has shown remorse after languishing in jail for some loose change he took from his employer, and takes years before a pardon could be given to him. Pardoning Estrada is also a welcome development for the sake of national unity and healing. However, does he show any form of remorse. Is that kind of law-breaker worthy of a pardon?

What is the bottom-line of this fiasco? Could it be about the Legitimacy of the Arroyo Administration? We know that the Estrada Camp and Fernando Poe supporters continue to question the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration. If Estrada accepts Presidential pardon, it is tantamount to succumbing to the present leadership; ergo, the Arroyo Administration is legitimate.

However, the Arroyo Administration may be short-sighted in this case—putting off the possibility that this act would have a long-term negative impact to the country’s judicial system. The judicial system is already in shambles since time immemorial. Now that it has made a significant leap with the conviction of former president Estrada it is, again, put to a test. It becomes a precedent that any government official can commit plunder! After all, they can be pardoned and get away with their stash. This is terrifying!

The presidential pardon, which is SO SOON, does not exist in a vacuum. It would have a negative impact not only in the judicial system. If PGMA is boasting about the economic development that the country has gained, she should think twice. While the foreign and local investors may have lauded the Estrada verdict, they might also be having second thoughts again, and might eventually lose their confidence on the government. While she appeases the masses that support Estrada, she is also neglecting the middle and working classes, which want nothing but justice. She should remember that the middle and working class are the ones who brought Estrada to trial, which put her into her seat now, and lastly, she should not forget that the middle and working class are the ones making this country move forward.

Cross-posted from:

Caught in a red tape

I received a morning greeting which says: “Sana maganda ang araw mo.” Sadly though, I do not have a good day! It is because I simply am pissed off from head to toe.

Who would not? Here is the reason why:

I am moonlighting in one of the institutions where I do a study. Some of the information I need can be found in my previous work. Expecting that my name still rings a bell among my former colleagues in my previous work (a private institution) or name dropping our former boss (who requested this information) would do the trick. So I got in touch with the point person, and expected that being one of them in the past or pakikisama would make it easier for me, so that I would not have to go through the formalities of sending an official letter, and so on. The information I was asking them was not exactly a public document. However, I believe that, practically, it becomes a public document once you work with the public. I was just asking them some information on the progress of their anti-poverty program.

It was just so upsetting when the point person told me to write a letter to their boss. So I made a draft letter to be sent by my client. But my client deems it would be unnecessary. Being a colleague in the same industry, he called the “smaller boss” who told the former that we can go directly to the “boss” of the point person.

Ecstatic with this development, I immediately called the “boss” today, but unfortunately, he is not around. As a usual recourse and not waste my celfone load, I told the lady who answered my call about my objective, who in later turned me over to another lady. Again, I narrated the “historical account” why I called their office, only to be told she could not decide on the matter because only the “boss” can decide. The best action would be to talk directly to the “boss” so I asked for his mobile number, but she refused to give me the number and reasoned out that her “boss” does not take calls from unknown callers. Duh! Again, I asked for the “boss’” direct email address so I can thoroughly explain my request. With some reservations in tone of her voice, she gave me the e-mail address. So back to square one—write an official letter, albeit not to the “big boss” anymore (which is, at least, one step further).

I do not know when the “boss” would reply to my e-mail. The first informal e-mail I sent to the point person was left unanswered. Would the "boss" do the same to me (being an "unknown person")? What are e-mail addresses for, anyway? Again….duh!

This experience is a far cry from NEDA’s efficiency and high concern for client relations. To think that it is a government agency, which is supposedly to be bureaucratic, I immediately got a response from them. A section chief whom I talked to even gave me a snack during our short meeting, personally accompanied me to different departments just to look for the information I needed, and gave me other names and numbers of contact persons in other agencies and partners where I could get some information I need. Sweet life!

And here is the lesson for the day:

Bureaucracy and red tape is not the monopoly of the government. Now that government agencies are always under the watchful eye of the discerning public, they are always trying to become more efficient and effective in their delivery of services. Primarily because they owe the public.

I feel sorry for private institutions, which are not bound by any civil obligations. The least they could do, I think, is uphold their moral obligations, especially when their intention is to work for and with the poor. What if the information I requested from them is a matter of national security or of life and death? We would all be ashes by now.

Sometimes, private institutions must also learn from government agencies when it comes to reducing red tape.

Cross-posted from: