Maybe security and crime issues forced Panabo City officials to order the installation of 32 Close Circuit Television cameras in public areas. Panabo has the most number of CCTV cameras in Region 11. Is this proof of good governance or high level of paranoia among officials? (Sa tingin ko medyo exaggerated reaction ang paglalagay ng mga CCTV camera. Eto ba talaga ang solusyon sa pagsugpo ng krimen sa siyudad ng Panabo?)

Another explosive issue in Davao is the cold war between the Duterte and Nograles families. Name-calling, mudslinging, and ad hominems do not promote mature, intelligent, and peaceful campaigning. It is both funny and unfunny. Entertaining but silly.

The most important issue in Mindanao is the power woes experienced by many regions of the island. In Central Mindanao, 10 hour brownouts plague the region everyday. It affects productivity of workers and business operations. When I was in Davao, there was a 1 hour brownout and a minor quake. What should be done? Emergency powers for the president? I don’t think so. Mayaman ang Mindanao sa renewable energy resources. Gamitin natin ito.

24 hours in Davao

I arrived in Davao City airport in the morning. The taxi driver who fetched me will vote the Dutertes and Erap in the elections. Our headquarters is located near Ateneo de Manila. I was happy to see a copy of a limited edition 2010 Kabataan Partylist calendar printed by our Davao Chapter.

We went to Café V where we hosted a media forum about the new hotline of our partylist to gather the complaints of parents and students regarding the non-compliance of many schools to the Ched memo on the flexible implementation of the No Permit, No Exam policy.

After lunch, we proceeded to the city council offices of Councilors Edgar Ibuyan, Leonardo Avila, and Mabel Sunga Acosta. Ibuyan is a former barangay captain. Avila is known for his environment advocacy. Thank you Councilor Acosta for delivering a privilege speech about the need to review and ban the infamous No Permit, No Exam policy.

We went to Barangay Ma-a. It is a huge barangay located in District 1. It is a flood-prone area. Fortunately, Barangay Ma-a is recognized for its outstanding disaster preparedness program. I met the strong-willed barangay captain of Ma-a who identified the various social services offered by the barangay to its citizens. I’m impressed that the barangay is distributing free medicines to senior citizens. People’s Organizations and other NGOs are also actively participating in the affairs of the barangay.

At 4pm, we arrived at Brew Crew café. A dialogue took place between Kabataan Partylist and the Ateneo Moro Youth Organization. I was delighted to see my NUSP contemporary Jun Macarambon. I learned that many schools in ARMM have been converted into evacuation centers. Our two groups agreed to conduct a fact-finding mission next month in Maguindanao. Thank you Amyo for supporting Kabataan Partylist!

We campaigned inside the University of Mindanao – Matina Campus. The college dean allowed me to speak inside the Arts and Sciences Building. We had our dinner at Probinsiya restaurant. At 10pm, I spoke in a concert at Matina Town Square organized by UP Mindanao students.

I stayed overnight at Ponce Suites, a very unconventional center.

Related articles:

Panalipdan
Southern Mindanao

1. Mayor Tommy Osmena vows to go after manufacturers of herbal medicines and “dubious” drugs which give “false hopes” to sick people. If elected congressman, he will investigate firms that sell drugs with no proven therapeutic value. What is his motivation? The family of his major election rival, Aton Guardo, is the owner of Osaka Iridology and manufacturer of Arthro drugs (remember Erap’s Arthro-Arthritis commercial?). Well, ganyan talaga siguro ang pulitika. Candidates always try to find something that can weaken their opponents, especially if business interests are involved.

2. Following the recent ruling of the Supreme Court, Cebu’s appointed officials/consultants who are running in the local elections are asked to immediately give up their posts. But like their national counterparts, some of them refuse to tender their resignations. Ang higpit ng kapit sa poder….

3. It is sad to read about the news of two teachers who were killed inside their classrooms in Argao.

4. Cebu’s major local party, Bando Osmena Pundok Kauswagan, is endorsing the Liberal Party. This is the same party which supported President Gloria Arroyo in 2004.

5. With a population of almost 50,000, Guadalupe is the biggest barangay in the whole Visayas. It is located in Cebu City. There is a proposal to split Guadalupe into 2-3 barangays. A referendum will take place this month.

6. Malapascua in Daanbantayan is being compared to the world-famous Boracay Island.

7. A fire in Sitio Tambisan in Tisa, Cebu City displaced hundreds of residents. Cebu Daily News reported that 500 houses were destroyed while Sunstar mentioned only 100 structures. Ano ba talaga?

8. Cebu City’s Palace of Justice has no elevator. The four-story building also has no clinic. A group of disabled individuals is complaining. Dapat lang.

9. Taxi operators are complaining that there are too many taxi units in Cebu City. There are 6,000 taxi units operating in the city. Baka wala lang pambayad ang mga tao kaya nawawalan ng pasahero ang mga taxi. More than 800,000 ang populasyon sa Cebu City; imposible namang magkulang sila ng pasahero. There is a rumor that Manny Pacquaio and Chavit Singson are the owners of the yellow cabs operating in Mactan Airport. Galit din dito ang mga taxi driver.

10. Marina administrator Elena Bautista has many enemies. Congressman Plaza delivered several speeches against the policies implemented by Ms. Bautista. Visayan shipowners are also unhappy with the recent regulations imposed by the Marina chief. They threatened to conduct a maritime holiday.

Activities

Our team visited UP Cebu High in the morning. We held a dialogue with faculty members about the proposal of the college dean to phase out the high school unit of UP Cebu. Last January, Kabataan Partylist filed a House resolution to inquire about this matter. I am grateful that Cebu lawmakers co-authored this resolution. It seems that the college dean is adamant in his plan to phase out UP Cebu High. The latest text update is positive: the Chancellor of UP in the Visayas is allowing the high school entrance examinations to proceed this month.

After lunch, our team went to the regional office of the Commission on Higher Education to inquire about the implementation of the CHED memorandum on the ‘flexible’ implementation of the controversial ‘No Permit, No Exam’ policy. It is good that CHED will soon monitor if schools are complying with the instructions specified in the memo. It is not good that it may take a few months before CHED can release a report. Paano yan, finals week na ngayon?

Our team paid a courtesy call to Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama and SK Federation city chair Rengelle N. Pelayo. Rama is a direct descendant of the late great Don Vicente Rama. He is also related to showbiz stage mom Anabelle Rama.

Siyempre kumain kami ng dinner sa larshan (unfortunately, commercialized na siya ngayon kaya mas mahal ang mga pagkain). Then we headed towards Barangay Busay and Tops Skyline. We also toured Cebu’s first Zip Line. It’s popular among tourists. Ang ganda ng view. Kita mo ang buong siyudad.

I spoke during the launching of the Youth for Rights group at Outpost bar. The event highlighted the need to inform the youth about their sexual and reproductive rights. Marami akong natutunan. We slept at the famous Talamban Eco-House owned by green crusader and city councilor Nestor Archival.

On February 24 I attended a meeting of our Lapu-Lapu City chapter. I delivered a talk on the 2010 elections at the Virgin de Regla Church in Lapu-Lapu. After lunch, we met some friends at Cebu Sports Club. Finally, I spoke during an assembly organized by the Youth Movement group in Tisa.

Our activities and campaigns were reported by the local TV and radio stations of GMA-7 and ABS-CBN. Thanks also to DYRF-AM 1215.

Related articles:

Naminghoy ming tanan
Cebu ASEAN Summit

Last week, Kabataan Partylist joined the team of Jolo Revilla (who is obviously campaigning for Senator Bong Revilla) in a motorcade rally that covered the central and eastern parts of the National Capital Region. Jolo has been a consistent supporter of our partylist. He campaigned for us in 2004. Last year he participated in the launching of our voter registration/education campaign at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Jolo, or more popularly known today as the new Pepeng Agimat (sorry Jolo but for my generation, your lolo is our Pepeng Agimat), is still willing to endorse us in this year’s elections. Thanks Jolo!

The motorcade started in Greenhills, San Juan around 9:30am. Then we motored to Mandaluyong. We visited Barangay Addition Hills. We also made brief stopovers at Mandaluyong Public Market and Tiangge sa Barangka. We had our lunch at Barangay Burol near P. Gomez Elementary School. From Mandaluyong, we proceeded towards Pasig, Pateros, and finally, Taguig. The final leg of the activity was a community and tiangge tour in Lower Bicutan. The motorcade ended at 4pm.

Obviousy, motor vehicles are required in a motorcade. A pick-up is the ideal vehicle so that a candidate can wave to bystanders. (Usually, dyip ang ginagamit namin). The vehicles must be decorated with campaign posters. A loud sound system is needed to announce the arrival of the convoy and to broadcast the campaign jingle of the candidate. The marshall/traffic enforcer/ must be seated in the lead vehicle.

Volunteers wearing campaign shirts must join the motorcade. They assist the candidate during stopovers. They must have a portable sound system especially if they are inside markets and urban poor communities.

Candidates always distribute election materials during motorcades. What are the popular giveaways: candies, t-shirts, pamaypay, leaflets (usually we give flyers and brochures), calendar, pocket calendar, posters, stickers. Some candidates give small tarpaulins to tricycle drivers, apron for public market vendors, and ballers for young people.

Tips: Because of El Nino, candidates should always drink water during motorcades. Sunblock cream is important to protect our skin from harmful UV rays. Bring extra shirt, towels. Do not go to markets after lunch (walang tao).

Brace for heavy traffic after March 26 as candidates for local elective posts will start to organize motorcades in their territories.

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On the campaign trail 2007
On the rough road
Water runs dry

What are the indicators used in measuring the progress of countries in achieving the UN MDGs? For goal 1, a country has to reduce by half the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day, halve the proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption, and halve the proportion of underweight children under 5 years old. For goal 2, the country’s net enrolment ratio, completion rate, and cohort survival rate in elementary education are measured. For goal 3, gender disparity should be eliminated in all levels of education before 2015. For goal 7, a country has to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, and achieve a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. For goal 8, a country has to develop further an open, rule-based, and non-discriminatory trading and financial system. The debt problem should also be addressed comprehensively in order to make debts sustainable in the long term.

Can the Philippines achieve the MDGs by 2015? According to the latest progress report submitted by various government agencies, the Philippines is confident it can achieve goals 1 (halving poverty), 3, 4, 6, and 7. Improving nutrition and dietary energy requirement (goal 1) is rated as medium probability. It is least likely that the country can achieve goals 2 and 5.

The latest progress report is depressing. Even the positive indicators can slip back as negative outcomes in the next five years. For example, the Philippines claims it has already achieved goal 6 but just recently the Health Department has warned about the rising number of HIV/AIDS cases among young professionals. A doctor-lawmaker described the AIDS situation in the country as reaching epidemic proportion. Underreporting of HIV/AIDS cases also distorts the true picture and extent of the problem.

Goal 3 is listed as an achievement but women’s groups continue to assert that gender discrimination is still rampant. The Task Force on Education and Gender Equality proposes to broaden the targets for goal 3 to include the following: strengthening opportunities for post-primary education for girls, guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health and rights, investing in infrastructure to reduce women’s and girls’ time burdens, guaranteeing women’s and girls’ property and inheritance rights, eliminating gender inequality in employment, increasing women’s share of seats in national parliaments and local government bodies, and combating violence against girls and women.

Poverty reduction is an empty boast. Extreme poverty has worsened due to the continuing deterioration of the global economy. The domestic economy has failed to produce enough jobs and livelihood for the struggling poor. The country was also battered by powerful storms and volcanic eruptions in recent months. The inability of the government to mitigate the impact of natural disasters will reverse the initial gains in achieving the UN MDGs.

The stubborn refusal of church and national authorities to legislate and implement a comprehensive reproductive health policy makes it virtually impossible for the Philippines to achieve goals 2 and 5. Maternal health care is viewed by many church and conservative leaders as a euphemism for abortion. Based on Philippine experience, it can be surmised that a poor country with a fast population growth rate (and high corruption index) will not be able to achieve universal primary education.

The lameduck Arroyo government has lost the credibility (and time) to initiate measures that would fast track government programs related to the fulfillment of the UN MDGs. The next government should identify human development as its top priority. This means the national government should invest more resources in the delivery of basic social services and other essential needs of the people. Local Government Units can adopt the MDGs as indicators of their performance. The private sector, especially civil society organizations, can also contribute in formulating a national blueprint on how to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

Every president wants the Philippines to become a First World nation. The incumbent president believes the country can attain this status in 2020. The next president should concentrate on more basic goals, like achieving the UN MDGs. We cannot be a developed nation if hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and discrimination continue to spread in society.

Related articles:

Poverty indicators
Education for all
Women in legislation
Population explosion

I prepared a speech because sometimes politicians talk too much, sometimes bloggers rant too much, and sometimes activists are carried away by their emotions. Since I’m an activist, blogger, and politician, I’m worried that I might speak for more than an hour….

I started blogging in October 2004, although my first online column was written and published in 2001. Why did I decide to blog? For so many years I convinced myself and others that I became a blogger because I wanted to use this medium to broadcast my advocacies. It was only recently that I began to accept the idea of an unconscious motivation: In October 2004, my wife was five months pregnant and I had no job. Perhaps I saw blogging as a wonderful distraction, an escape tactic to briefly forget my problems. Blogging as an effective stress reliever. Maybe this was also the reason why the very first blog article I wrote was about my parents and siblings who are based in the United States.

Distraction or not, I enjoyed my initial foray into blogging. It was more fun than Friendster because I can criticize everyone without fear of being unfriended.

My first problem was blog traffic. Nobody nobody but me was reading my blog. Even my friends are not aware of my virtual journal. And so I bloghopped from one blog to another, posting comments and hoping that more bloggers will return the favor by also visiting my blog. Luckily, my blog traffic didn’t improve. Lesson: it takes time to build a community of followers around your blog. Readers will return to your blog if you have something original to share. So sana, huwag naman palaging copy-paste ang gawin natin. Don’t repost news items without giving your opinion on these issues. Respect the intelligence of your readers.

My next problem: blog content. What should I write about? An online diary? But I’m old school, I keep a real diary under my bed. If blogging is an extension of an individual’s personality or work, then my blog should be about activism. In 2004 I was already an activist. There were few activist bloggers during that time. And so I became known as an activist blogger.

I do not upload the press statements of our group in my blog. We have a website for the publication of these materials. I write commentaries. Dahil ang mga aktibista ay may opinyon sa lahat ng bagay, hindi ako mauubusan ng isusulat.

I do not blog everyday. An activist has to spend more time in the offline world. We should develop social interaction, not virtual interaction. Besides, Big Brother is always monitoring us in cyberspace. I always tell students that if they really want to change the world, do not simply add causes or twibbons in your internet profiles. Close your computers, mobile phones, and mp3 players; and together with your friends, volunteer, be part of an activist organization. Karl Marx is still correct: Philosophers have interpreted the world, the point however is to change it (and not to blog it).

Fast forward to 2010. I’m still a blogger. I’m still an activist. I’m still married. I’m now a congressman, but my wife is the Speaker in our house. Blogs are no longer the major internet medium to broadcast advocacies. More tools are available like facebook, twitter, plurk, google earth, youtube. The convergence of mobile phones and internet is also good for activism. How do I use these tools in my work?

Let me share my internet habits. I blog at least once or twice a week. I use twitter to follow news updates and to find recommended web links. Facebook is essential in organizing events, especially reunions. I read online newspapers, magazines, blogs – if time permits it. I check email in the office. Although most of the time, I open my email to delete emails in my inbox.

Before I discuss the importance of using social media tools in my work as an activist legislator, let me highlight the value of reading blogs and even online newspapers. There is a dangerous tendency in the internet to build a community of like-minded individuals. We read the email and facebook status updates of friends who share our interests, opinion and even biases. We follow twitterers and plurkers who are the same people in our limited circle of friends. We are comfortable with the familiar. This is not wrong. But it may lead us to think that the worldview of this community is the only correct interpretation of the world. It may prevent us from tolerating a difference of opinion. It may hinder us from exploring the wonderful possibilities of the internet. By reading blogs, by reading online newspapers, we can stumble upon new topics that might be of interest to us. We can appreciate the creative opinion of our adversaries. It can remind us about the original goal of social media – of empowering individuals, of giving voice to ordinary netizens.

I recommend the Global Voices website. It is a citizen media group powered by more than 200 bloggers around the world. It is my source of global news. It complements the work of mainstream media by highlighting the outstanding output of citizen journalists. By reading Global Voices in the past week, I learned that the water buffalo was banned by the Indonesian government in rallies because the president was likened to the animal in a protest action last month. I learned that Valentine’s Day was first celebrated in Cambodia in 2000. I learned about the pantyless movement on Valentine’s Day in Malaysia.

We should join the global conversation. Hindi lang dapat tayo nagbabasa tungkol sa kalagayan ng ating paaralan, komunidad, at bansa. When we upload something on the internet, it can be read by everybody in this planet who has access to internet. The next time we write about the nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura ad of Manny Villar, we should add a sentence or two about the issue for the benefit of our global readers.

Now back to my work as an activist legislator. I blogged my first week in congress, my committee memberships, my first time to interpellate a colleague, my first privilege speech. I even blogged about the food we are eating inside the members only lounge: Last February 2, we were offered cream of mushroom soup, pasta with bolognese pinoy style or roast vegetable and tuna, southern fried chicken, steamed buttered corn in cob, tacos with cheese tomato salsa, sour cream, beef, roast beef panini sandwich, cheese puff, banana coffee cake, sweetened banana

Ofcourse there is twitter. There is free wifi in the plenary. I tweet plenary proceedings. But I cannot tweet, I cannot blog if I am speaking on the floor. Sometimes, livetweeting does not help because instead of mingling with my colleagues, I’m surfing the web. So I try to balance my internet activities and my offline parliament duties.

Why do I blog and tweet my legislative work? Because it promotes transparency. Because it is both a public service and public duty. Because it allows me to articulate my views about progressive legislation. By inviting conversation, I can hear the views of my constituents about good governance. Blogging reminds politicians like me that an informed constituency can serve as an effective watchdog.

I have the advantage (or disadvantage) of being able to rub elbows with different ‘lords’; I might as well use this position to report, write, and blog about their activities or political plans. I can access public documents, I must write about them. I can roam inside the plenary, inside the members only lounge; I must write from that vantage point. Not to blog is to disappoint the blogging community of which I am a member. Not to blog is to waste the unique opportunity given to few individuals like me.

But being a politician blogger can be frustrating. There are only few legislators who maximize social media tools. Some of them include Representatives Biazon, Casino, and Golez. Many politicians hire other people to open their emails and facebook accounts.

There are more than 17,000 national and local politicians (barangay leaders not included). Why do we only have few politician bloggers?

First, there are politicians who do not know how to open a computer. They reached a certain age when learning new things and adopting new habits can be very tiring for them. They don’t care, and they are not afraid, if they know nothing about RSS, laptops, and facebook. Now that we have younger candidates in the coming elections, will this mean that more politicians will use social media tools? I hope so. But I don’t think so, especially in local politics.

For many local politicians, their presence or non-presence in the cyberspace does not affect their winning chances in the elections. Their constituents are not online anyway. Internet penetration, even if it is improving, is still concentrated in the urban and educated areas of the country. Improve internet connectivity, develop internet education, involve more people in the cyber conversation, and maybe, we can add more politicians who are using social media tools. But right now, most politicians are not motivated to join us in our online activities.

This is a lesson for individuals and groups which want to influence policymaking by promoting internet activism. We may be noisy and aggressive in cyberspace but most likely our politicians are not aware of this noise or clamor. The best way to harass a politician is to talk to them, write them hate letters (not just solicitation letters), text them. Directly engage them in their offices.

Dagdag: Politicians are guided by this thinking – “less talk, less mistake”. Less facebook status updates and less twitter posts, less mistake.

That we have few politician bloggers can also be explained by what I perceive as a mutual feeling of hatred between bloggers and politicians. Bloggers can be very critical, and sometimes they show their low regard for politicians in all their online postings. Meanwhile, politicians can be very sensitive. They are used to journalists attacking them; but they are not prepared to accept criticism from anonymous bloggers. Bloggers are viewed by some of my colleagues as angry citizens with no credentials who have access to internet.

Many politicians surf the web to google their names. And most likely they will find blog articles which are not favorable to them. Since politicians believe they are well-loved in their provinces, they feel insulted if they read negative articles in cyberspace. When I defended a blogger who is facing a libel suit, some of my colleagues hinted that it is only right that irresponsible bloggers should be made accountable in the courts.

Perhaps this should jolt us to action to try to enlighten our politicians about role of social media in promoting a better relationship between leaders and their constituents. We should correct their wrong impressions about the blogging community.

Some politicians also don’t have enough time to socialize with us in the cyberspace. Some are too busy with their work in their districts. Some are on the campaign trail already. During session days, we have committee meetings in the morning and afternoon. There are days when I’m unable to open my email or access the internet, especially when I’m travelling. We should try to understand politicians who may not be active in the internet but are competent and devoted public servants.

Having said that, I still believe, and I will still insist, that politicians should blog. Politicians should use social media tools. It is free. Imagine we can upload our video ads on youtube for free. Second, the internet infrastructure will continue to expand in the country. It will reach more people. More tools will be developed that can be useful in advancing our campaigns. Internet campaigning is now essential. It will be mainstream in the future. Blogging can make politicians accountable to the reading public.

Let’s stop talking about politician bloggers. Let’s now talk about you. Even if I’m an advocate of blogging, I have no problem if politicians will continue to ignore the cyberspace. The sky will not fall if they will not open a twitter account. But it is a big problem if our citizen journalists will ignore the government as a social media subject. Politics is not a major theme in the local blogosphere.

I can blog, I can tweet, I can use facebook, youtube. But there are hundreds of social media tools. Hundreds of projects that can be developed to promote good governance. The work of politician bloggers is limited. Citizen journalists should step up. Citizen journalists can demand transcripts of plenary proceedings and upload them in the web. You can record committee hearings. You can track the voting record of members.

I am inspired by the works of Ishki.com in Jordan, Vota Inteligente in Chile, and Mzalendo in Kenya. According to the Technology for Transparency Network,

Ishki.com is a complaint brokerage which collects and organizes complaints from local citizens about the public and private sector. Vota Inteligente uses technology to provide Chilean citizens with more information about their elected officials. Mzalendo tracks the performance of Kenya’s Parliament by documenting votes, publishing records, and providing analysis and context.

Let us develop an appropriate internet project that can promote accountability in the country.

Last Friday we joined the Cavite sortie of Nacionalista Party. Cavite is the most populous province in the country. It is definitely a vote-rich province. Is this the reason why the ‘transformers’ duo kicked-off their campaign in Cavite?

It is a good time to be a politician in Cavite these days. In 2007 the province was divided into three legislative districts. Today it has seven districts. Local tension has been defused. Fierce rivals are now ‘friends’ because they won’t have to face each other anymore in the local polls.

Where did we campaign in Cavite? We arrived at Island Cove Resort around 6am. After breakfast, we went to Rosario fishport. Rosario is a famous enclave – the Cavite Export Processing Zone is located in this municipality. It has 60,000 voters. Kabataan Partylist has a chapter in Rosario.

Then we motored to Tanza, a town with 78,000 voters. It used to be a popular beach resort town in Cavite. An hour-long program was held in Julugan, Tanza. Manny Villar, Loren Legarda and the senatoriables of the Nacionalista Party spoke in the program. I was briefly on the stage when I was recognized by the emcee.

Next stop: Naic. Candidates attended a mass service at Immaculate Concepcion Parish Center. Our team had our lunch at a nearby eatery inside a tricycle terminal. From Naic, the Kabataan Partylist team proceeded to General Trias and Langkaan, Dasmarinas. We did a brief handshaking and palengke tour in these places. I was quite surprised that there are still agricultural areas in Dasmarinas. But many are idle or idled. Perhaps a better land use code is needed. Our last stop: General Mariano Alvarez. The Cavite sortie ended around 8pm.

Our team is satisfied with our campaign sortie in Cavite. It allowed us to reach many barangays where we don’t have a presence or chapter. We met several youth groups and local leaders of the province. We also learned some new campaign tips, or tactics that need to be improved. For example: during a sortie, we need to identify not just vote-rich villages but also the location of big schools. We need more energetic volunteers who will distribute pamphlets, leaflets, and posters. A megaphone or portable sound system is essential when conducting a house-to-house campaign.

The Cavite sortie was the first time I participated/witnessed a presidential campaign rally. Miriam Santiago was the best speaker. Perfect soundbytes, great delivery: “Pagkatapos mabigyan ng trabaho ang mga Pilipino, magpapagawa ako ng mas malaking kulungan para sa mga kurakot.” Adel Tamano sang ‘Bakit ngayon ka lang?’ Loren chose a song by The Carpenters. The son of Ariel Querubin sang Harana. Toots Ople’s slogan is interesting: “You can’t spell People without Ople.” Pia Cayetano biked her way to Cavite. Liza Maza interrupted her speech by reading a txt message about violence against women. Villar asserted the truthfulness of the words used in his very memorable ad (nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura…)

Check the Flickr page of Bikoy for more pictures of our Cavite sortie.

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2007 election notes
2007 candidate survey
Rosario EPZA

This year we started our re-election bid by using new and old forms of campaigning. Aside from revamping our party website, we also launched an online postering campaign. I also appealed to my Twitter, Plurk, and Facebook Filipino friends to support and vote Kabataan Partylist on election day. On the eve of the campaign period, we already have more than 10,000 Facebook fans.

We planned to conduct a Balagtasan in Plaza Miranda but Erap’s party had already set-up a stage in the venue. We moved to Liwasang Bonifacio. The Balagtasan has a twist: partylist leaders will recite a Balagtasan piece in the traditional manner while invited rappers will perform a different kind of Balagtasan. Thanks to College Editors Guild president VJ Alquisola for writing the Balagtasan piece about the platform of Kabataan Partylist. The Balagtasan rap was performed in front of the Far Eastern University main building.

We held a motorcade in Manila. From Liwasang Bonifacio, we proceeded to Taft Avenue. We made a stopover in front of De La Salle and Philippine Christian University. Then we motored towards Morayta, Rizal Avenue, Mendiola, Legarda, and finally, Bustillos. I saw the Edjop historical marker near Bustillos Church. (Mayor Lim seems to appreciate and recognize the importance of celebrating historical events and personalities – aside from the Edjop signpost, he also unveiled historical markers on the Filipino-American War, Crispin Beltran, and Cory Aquino).

Our Quezon City chapter also conducted its own motorcade. Because we are a national party, our regional chapters also kicked-off the election campaign with various activities:

“In Baguio City, members held ‘KABATAAN Fest’ at the Malcolm Square. Meanwhile, KABATAAN Party-list in Panay released doves and balloons while Southern Tagalog, Negros, and Davao City chapters held grand caravans to declare KABATAAN Party-list’s intent to continue its service to the people…”

I gave a lecture on the 2010 elections in two nursing schools yesterday. I was impressed with the big crowd (800 students) that greeted me at Makati Medical Center nursing school in the morning. I also enjoyed my lecture at Southeast Asian College (UDMC hospital in Welcome Rotunda) where I addressed a group of 200 senior students.

The Pulse Asia January 2010 survey on partylist is quite distressing. I’m elated that Kabataan Partylist is assured of one seat. But the report also mentioned that majority of Filipinos are unaware of the partylist system. This means we have to step up our voters’ education campaign. We also have to develop a separate information dissemination program about the partylist system.

That Poctoy is the midpoint of the republic is a legacy of Spanish colonialism. If Spain didn’t invade these islands, Luzon could have been part of Taiwan or Mindanao a member of the Malaysian Federation. But because of Spanish colonialism, and the subsequent resistance to it, we were able to imagine and build a nation out of these 7, 107 islands.

Another Spanish legacy can be seen in the surnames of Romblon citizens. The most common family names in the province start with letters F, M, G, and R. (I am related to the Fabriquiers of Odiongan).

Romblon is an island province. It has island barangays. It is composed of 20 islands. There are 7 major islands in the province. A banca or motor boat is used by politicians if they are campaigning in the province.

Tablas is the biggest island of the province. Odiongan, the economic and trading center of Romblon, is located in Tablas. Tugdan airport is also in Tablas. It used to be the entry point to Boracay in the 1980s. It is only 30 minutes away from the world-famous island resort. But Caticlan beat Tugdan in the 1990s. An international airport is being built in San Jose Island in Romblon to transport Boracay-bound tourists.

Romblon Island is the political capital of the province. The first-class marble deposits of Romblon are mined on this island. Black marble is found on Alad Island. Sibuyan Island is simply one of the most captivating islands in the country.

Romblon is part of the Southern Tagalog Region – MiMaRoPa. But it used to be part of Region 6 – Western Visayas. It was transferred to the jurisdiction of Region 4 in the 1980s to make regional administrative coordination more efficient. The case of Romblon illustrates the arbitrary classification of provinces and regions in the country. Masbate is officially a Bicol province but it can pass as a province located in Southern Tagalog, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas or even Western Visayas. Mindoro and Palawan can be described as Visayas provinces.

Romblon is a mineral-rich province; it is blessed with abundant and unique natural resources. The sweetest atis in the country is harvested in Nagoso. This atis variety can’t grow on other soil in other islands.

Romblon is a ‘rich’ province but its people are poor. Romblon is one of the poorest provinces in the country. Is it poor because its size and (voting) population are too small to capture the interest and attention of national politicians and big entrepreneurs? Is it poor because of its remoteness and detachment from the Luzon mainland?

As an island province, Romblon is also dependent on fishing. The province supplies the marine products required by the many restaurants and resorts in nearby Boracay. Imagine the economic impact of the three-month ban imposed on Romblon marine products when the MV Princess of the Stars sank off the coast of Sibuyan in 2008. It destroyed the livelihood of small fisherfolks. It worsened the poverty and hunger incidences in the province.

Marble quarrying is a major economic activity in the province. But marble dollar profits are deposited elsewhere. Decades of marble quarrying didn’t improve the lives of Romblon citizens. Romblon’s experience disproves the national government claim that the Philippines can become a First World nation by aggressively promoting mining exploration in the islands.

Romblon is a microcosm of the Philippines. It is an island paradise. It has charm, mystery, and warmth. But poverty is like a plague that spreads quickly in the islands. It is a beautiful place but why are the people suffering? Is it fate? Curse? Truly, Romblon is a province of contradictions.

Did you know?

1. Manila-Tablas daily flights are available through SEA Air and Zest Air. PAL used to operate in the province but it left due to the financial non-viability of the route.

2. Odiongan comes from the word odiong, which means harrow. Harrow is an agricultural tool.

3. Romblon comes from the word lomlon, an act of a hen nesting to warm her eggs. Again, blame the Spanish colonizers for mistaking the word as the name of the island.

4. There are almost no private schools in Romblon. Meanwhile, majority of schools in nearby Mindoro Island are privately-owned.

5. Asuran is an Asi word which means tulungan.

6. When the Catholic Church abandoned the province, particularly Odiongan, during World War II, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente stayed behind to provide religious service in the islands.

7. According to a local source, marble quarrying has barely scratched the surface of marble deposits in Romblon.

8. There are 46 varieties of cassava in the country. Romblon State University is cultivating 40 varieties. Congratulations to Romblon State University for being recognized as a state university last October.

9. The late great writer and activist Julius Fortuna hails from Odiongan, Romblon.

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It is easy to dismiss the ‘Renewable Marriage’ proposal as a publicity stunt; an outrageous idea in aid of elections. But this unique proposal, however ridiculous it seems, deserves a rational public discussion. It has been enunciated already; its novelty should be recognized. We can debate its philosophical register without committing to promote it in the legislature.

According to the proponents of ‘Renewable Marriage’, they want an escape option for women who are trapped in loveless relationships. They decry the expensive annulment cases which discourage incompatible couples from filing annulment petitions in the courts. The group’s intentions are laudable. It’s time to make annulment proceedings more accessible to the masa. It’s time to review marriage laws which are unfair to women in society.

Maybe the group came up with an insanely radical solution to protect women’s rights because it is up against an insanely stubborn institution: the all-powerful Catholic Church. Maybe the ‘Renewable Marriage’ idea is a response to the strong opposition of the Church to the legislation of divorce or any related measure that seeks to promote the interest of women. The first act of provocation was not the ‘Renewable Marriage’ bill but the feudal behavior and thinking of Church authorities.

The loudest argument against the ‘Renewable Marriage’ proposal is directed against the proponent’s statement comparing marriage license to a passport and driver’s license. A marriage license with an expiration date? A marriage license which can be renewed every ten years? Indeed, what a bold proposal! For many sectors, this unmentionable idea is anti-family, anti-Filipino, and anti-women.

Bold, yes it is. But it is a 21st century idea which reflects the norms of a postmodern (oh I hate this term) world that we inhabit. Aren’t we opposed to everything that claims to be infinite? Aren’t we the species that worship the finite in the planet? Aren’t we political subjects who desire and accept values, things, and ideas which are measurable?

The original sin is not ‘Renewable Marriage’ but marriage itself. Love is supposed to be infinite, timeless, eternal, free. Isn’t marriage the imposition of finite form over an infinite concept? Isn’t marriage a bourgeois institution which legally binds a woman to her husband – a modern and acceptable form of slavery? It is telling that critics of ‘Renewable Marriage’ invoke the welfare of kids and the complications to property relations if the bill is passed into law. It reveals that marriage has been reduced into two related affairs: parenting and husbanding (ironic term, indeed) of properties. A couple is recognized as truly married if they have children and if they have properties. It seems 21st century marriage has nothing to do anymore with free love, real love.

‘Renewable Marriage’, therefore, is not genuinely radical (definitely not revolutionary). It is an innovation. It seeks to amend the terms that govern the marriage institution.

What it affirms is the temporal character of human relationships. It is an appropriate proposal in today’s material world, a ‘throwaway society’. We prefer objects and ideas that can be discarded after some time. We measure a person’s worth through his/her paycheck. We are capable of loving and supporting an idea only if it is a time-bound, limited affair. We do not want to surrender, sacrifice, and risk everything to an unknown, unfamiliar event. We are afraid to lose; we do not want to commit forever; we have lost the capacity to embrace the infinite. We deserve absurd proposals like ‘Renewable Marriage’.

When I first heard the ‘Renewable Marriage’ bill, I ignored it. I rejected it. I laughed at it. Then I realized its appropriateness, its grim familiarity with the dominant political behavior in our society. We practice risk-free politics; we reject political projects that demand long-term commitments.

Through the ‘Renewable Marriage’ proposal, we can discuss the philosophical and political link of love and marriage, life and family, revolution and state, politics and elections. They are categories of infinite and finite.

Love. Life. Revolution. Politics. Infinite. True love is possible if we grasp eternity. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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a. absent (nasa district? nasa isang official trip? nagbabakasyon?)
b. late (dumarating ang marami after 5pm)
c. somewhere in batasan (inside the office entertaining guests and constituents, speaker’s office receiving or asking for official instructions, mitra hall participating in an extended committee hearing)
d. inside the members only lounge

The south wing lounge is an exclusive room for members of congress. It is a mysterious place. It functions as the ‘other plenary’ where legislative and political matters are discussed. This is also the room where lawmakers take their merienda or light dinner. There is also a smoking room and wash room inside the lounge.

My constituents are curious about the food we eat inside the lounge. Below is the list of food items we consumed in the past month:

December 15, 2009 Tuesday – pork barbecue, chicken barbecue, molo soup, puto binan, pansit guisado, fresh lumpia ubod, hamon, bibingka, spanish sardines, keso de bola, puto bumbong

January 18, 2010 Monday – pansit guisado, tuna panini sandwich, fried lumpia, chicken barbecue, pork barbecue, chicken and shrimp molo soup, assorted kakanin, buko pandan

January 19, 2010 Tuesday – roasted pumpkin and sweet potato soup, lasagna beef, bolognese sauce, chicken lollipop, potato chips, honey mustard sauce, tuna and cheese sandwich, herb garlic bread, ham and cheese sandwich, chocolate cake, fruit salad

January 20, 2010 Wednesday – pork siopao, pork siomai, chicken siopao, chicken siomai, westlake soup beef and tofu, chicken and mushroom efu noodles, lumpia sariwa, banana fritters, pichi-pichi

January 25, 2010 Monday – lugaw, ox tripes, bami guisado, vegetable ukoy, tokwa’t baboy, empanada, halo-halo, cheese rolls

January 26, 2010 Tuesday – frankfurt sausage, chili con carne, chicken sausage, fish and chips, chicken asparagus soup, spaghetti noodles, putanesca sauce, three mushroom sauce, blueberry cheesecake, mango crepes

January 27, 2010 Wednesday – beef brisket, chicken soup stock, seaweeds with century eggs, seafood rolls, lumpia shanghai chicken, tuna asado, lumpia shanghai pork, bacon asado, brazo de mercedes, almond with lychee

February 1, 2010 Monday – chicken macaroni soup, pancit malabon, pork chicharon, camaron calamares fritos, lumpiang bacolod, mini pandesal, spanish sardines, pork dinuguan, puto binan, suman pinipig, ginataang halo-halo, sago at gulaman.

February 2, 2010 Tuesday – cream of mushroom soup, pasta with bolognese pinoy style or roast vegetable and tuna, southern fried chicken, steamed buttered corn in cob, tacos with cheese tomato salsa, sour cream, beef, roast beef panini sandwich, cheese puff, banana coffee cake, sweetened banana

February 3, 2010 Wednesday – miso soup, chap chae, vegetable kakiage, grilled chicken teriyaki, japanese chicken siomai, sushi and maki, japanese pork siomai, caramel cake, avocado ice cream, vanilla ice cream

Everyday, there are fresh fruits (banana, pineapple, watermelon, papaya, manga) and mixed greens with italian, thousand island, or caesar dressing. Members can ask for coffee, tea, soda, bottled water, and red wine (even brandy). I think red wine is available only during the last few days before the end of regular sessions.

The normal procedure in the lounge: A lawmaker will select his/her preferred food items. Then the lawmaker will look for an unoccupied seat in the lounge. The food will be delivered by a waiter. Members also have the option to get the food directly from the food table. This allows us to eat in one sitting our desired food serving.

A special dinner is offered before Congress goes into recess (June, September, and December). A sample of the special menu: tuna or salmon sashimi, egg caviar salad, steak – medium rare, well-done with mashed potatoes, lechon, babyback ribs, maya-maya steamed fish, mixed slices of meat.

Lunch is provided by the speaker at the conference hall during the president’s annual state of the nation address. Sometimes, lawmakers celebrate their birthdays by contributing a few native delicacies in the lounge food table. During budget season, the lounge is open and lunch is available for members and special guests.

Since a perfect attendance is rarely achieved, what happens to the excess food? I believe it is distributed to Congress offices. Or in the case of kuripot lawmakers like me, I bring home some food items. After session is adjourned around 7:30-8pm, I always ask one of my staff members to accompany me in the lounge.

I thank the waiters, cooks, and helpers who provide us with excellent and gracious service inside the lounge. I hope to see them again on May 31 when Congress resumes session to canvass the presidential election results. I wish them well knowing that they don’t get paid when Congress is not convened.

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