Teacher as Visionary

By admin | October 7, 2011

Speech delivered in Miriam College during the International Conference on Learning and Teaching. The other panelists were Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani and Ateneo President Jose Ramon Villarin

I salute all our teachers this morning (special mention to my elementary math teacher and philosophy teacher in college who are both here). Thank you for the gift of knowledge. Congratulations to the organizers of the conference, our participants, our speakers, all of us who are gathered today as we affirm our commitment to share the power of learning and dignity of teaching in the world.

I’m often introduced as a blogger, activist, and legislator. But before that, I was an educator. To teach was my original dream in college. Mr Fermin, the Principal of Miriam High School and one of the core initiators of the conference can attest to that since he was my blockmate and seatmate in college. Through this conference, my desire to be a teacher was rekindled. So thank you Miriam College.

Today, the world mourns the death of Steve Jobs. We pay tribute to a man who gave us Apple, Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Most of all, we are thankful for all the revolutionary ideas and dreams that he had shared with us. Jobs was a school drop out. So is Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Bill Gates of Microsoft, and Joseph Estrada of San Juan. Except for the last person I mentioned, these individuals are hailed by almost everybody in the world for inventing things and ideas that change the way we live and work.

So should we all drop out from schools? Of course not. But the story of Jobs and other superstar drop outs should force us to re-examine the schooling process. Schools will never lose their relevance but the learning process can either improve or deteriorate depending on our efforts to make it work. Then and now, we try to answer these questions: Do students always learn better through formal schooling? How do we harness and integrate formal and informal learning? How do we make education responsive to the needs of individuals, families, and our communities?

Teachers play a big role in motivating students to experiment with ideas and to believe in their abilities. They make it easy for us to accept, understand, and even change the present conditions of the world. But if students stumble along the way, teachers are often the first to be blamed by arrogant bureaucrats, clueless commentators, and shallow scholars. If students get low grades in national examinations, teachers are criticized for failing to educate the youth.

When Soviet Russia launched the Sputnik satellite into space in the 1950s, policymakers blamed the U.S. education system for causing the United States to lose to Russia in the bid to conquer space. No less a statesman than former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote then: “Educators, parents and students must be continuously stirred up by the defects in our educational system. They must be induced to abandon the educational path that, rather blindly, they have been following as a result of John Dewey’s teachings.”

Dewey was the foremost American educator and philosopher during the first half of the 20th century. He criticized the methods of teaching in schools and successfully required the inclusion of play, vocational studies, work and leisure in the curriculum. His works became a bible for educators disillusioned with the ravages of industrial ideology over education. Experiments in pedagogies concerned with encouraging the experience of the learner as a first step in learning became widespread.

Of course Eisenhower was wrong to blame Dewey. But the president and military strategists found a convenient scapegoat for America’s failure to send the fist satellite into orbit. The U.S. government used Sputnik to justify widespread reforms in the education sector. Sputnik suddenly created a high demand for scientists, engineers and technology experts. The United States started producing thousands of PhD academicians in weeks.

The obsession to beat the Russians forced U.S. schools to abandon the educational reforms proposed by Dewey and other radical philosophers. A decade later, students from major U.S. universities criticized the undemocratic character of American schools. On the other hand, many insist that the focus given by the government and academe on science, technology and math after the launching of Sputnik has allowed the public to own and enjoy their laptops, cell phones and the Internet today.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama said that he hopes for another ‘Sputnik moment’ that would spur American education. He clearly saw the direct link of education in revitalizing industries that will not only create jobs and livelihood but also contribute to the economy’s competitiveness.

But the view that education should faithfully sustain the imperatives of the corporate economy is not universally embraced. Radical educators of the 1960s like Jonathan Kozol, Paul Goodman, and Ivan Ilich criticized the dehumanizing set-up in our schools. Instead of enriching humanity, schools are systematically redirecting the creativity and passion of the youth to strictly conformist and conventional directions.

Paulo Freire, author of the book ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’, emphasized the value of dialogue, reflection, and action in schools to help the oppressed articulate their oppression, break the culture of passivity, and begin to understand social reality and how to change their present condition. In order not to be tools of oppression in a very exploitative society, teachers should consciously adopt a democratic teaching method that respects the ‘cultural capital’ of the learner.

Resistance Theorists like Henry Giroux, Peter Mclaren, and Michael Apple warned against the creeping invasion of conservative and corporate ethos in the formal schooling system. Under the guise of promoting efficiency, schools are transformed into mass-production assembly units producing graduates who possess skills and the right attitude required by the corporate and global economy.

There was a time when schools trained students to become responsible citizens. Today, schools mold students to be competitive in the job market. But education should be more than just job preparation. The liberating power of education shouldn’t be misused to convert students into mere consumers who are interested on how to increase their purchasing power instead of their real power to change the world.

In the 1990s, school reforms were justified to promote globalization. While I support the globalization of research, the healthy exchange of academic discourse, the improvement of communications and distance learning, I’m against the globalization of education-for-profit which translated into reduced state subsidies for schools, anomalous partnerships with big business, and attack on the democratic rights of teachers and students.

As schools scrambled and competed for dwindling public funds, they instituted reforms that conform to the narrow standards of business efficiency like non-unionized teaching workforce, market-driven academic programs, and depoliticized student body. In short, what deteriorated in the past decade was not merely the quality of education but also the fighting capacity, the democratic potential, of our schools.

And maybe we didn’t notice the transformation because we got distracted with the ubiquitous emergence of Information Technology. We immediately recognized its varied pedagogic applications. Somehow, we expected it to be a solution to some of our problems like rural-urban education gap, shortage of resource materials, and inequality in schools.

Indeed, it initially made teaching a little bit easier. Communication is now faster, news and information are instantly available, and teachers can share experiences through virtual means. Classroom teaching can be more fun if IT is effectively utilized. So many web and mobile applications, including interactive teaching modules, can still be developed to address the needs of the academe. IT is still in its infancy and schools should continue to embrace the wonderful opportunities offered by this technology.

But IT also created new problems for teachers. For example, the digital gap has contributed to inequality in society. But the biggest challenge is how to properly motivate the new generation of students, the digital natives, whose worldview, attitude, and behavior were already shaped by the rise of IT in society.

Thanks to the internet, many students today are obsessive fact-checkers who expect instant results for the little effort they exerted. They equate googling with research while Wikipedia is seen as a reliable online library. There are students who do not even rephrase what they copied from websites. Thanks to texting, online chat and microblogging, many students are incapable of expressing beyond 140 characters. Reading is reduced to monitoring the status updates of their Facebook friends. Multitasking means opening several tabs on the internet browser. Good citizenship is accomplished by signing online petitions or supporting advocacy pages.

IT didn’t render teachers obsolete. On the contrary, we need more teachers who will guide students on how to maximize the learning potential of IT. It isn’t the capacity to absorb information that counts but the skill to filter the relevant data from trash or spam. Students must learn how to effectively organize, interpret, and use the data he receives from the web. IT is useless if students don’t have the basic communication skills. IT is just empty entertainment if not linked to other meaningful and offline activities of students. Teachers will continue to be relevant despite the laughable prediction that robots will replace teachers in the classroom. Didn’t they predict the same thing when TV was invented?

The internet can make a person a walking encyclopedia but not necessarily an enlightened or educated individual. One can be obese with excessive data intake but it doesn’t instantly make him a better person. The role of schools and teachers is still to educate a new breed of ‘total’ persons, critical thinking persons, who can contribute to the advance of civilization.

But enhancing the skills of students is only one of the duties of our educators. Part of their mission should be to cultivate individuals with a strong sense of social responsibility. Students must see themselves not as individuals competing against each other but as members of the same community. The spirit of solidarity must be promoted in schools so that students will be inspired to stand up for the rights of the weak and minority. It’s a necessary antidote to the dominant thinking which reinforces individualism and unhealthy competition.

Teachers are political creatures and schools are political institutions. Teachers must realize that they can’t completely hide their own biases inside the classrooms. Instead of denying it, they must admit in the open their political standpoint. They must be encouraged to participate in the social struggles of the day. Why? Because political solutions are needed to fix education problems because the organization and distribution of knowledge in a society has always been a political question. And teachers are most credible in articulating the essential issues that confront the schooling system.

At the minimum, schools must be cultural sites where there is “contestation and struggle for meaning,” where student resistance is positively analyzed, where conflict is theorized as a step in completing the project of democracy. But it shouldn’t stop there. Schools are not autonomous sites that operate in an uncorrupted social universe. They mirror the imperfections of the community. They reproduce the values, habits, and know-how that are required for the survival of our social institutions. Therefore, we cannot sincerely advocate a better education system without yearning and fighting for a better social set-up. If we really desire good schools, we should build a more progressive society. Therefore, the democratization movement inside schools should not be divorced from the struggles of various social forces. If we refuse to recognize the political character of education issues or the relationship of the struggle for meaningful schooling with the broader socio-political process, all conflicts inside schools would remain parochial concerns with no power to alter the educational landscape. De-politicized school conflicts pit teachers, students, and administrators against one another while the real enemies of the people are unscathed. Political school struggles should involve everybody in the campus against the unequal social order and those who defend and control it.

Teachers as ‘organic intellectuals’ who recognize the humanistic value of the teaching process, the political impact of their work inside schools, and the imperative to speak, organize and act for genuine social change.

Che Guevarra said that “a true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.” Teachers teach because they believe that it’s a noble thing to do. They teach because they are dedicated to the idea of sharing the power of life and love. They teach because they continue to believe in humanity and progress. Teachers are therefore among the genuine revolutionaries of society.

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Philippine Realities in Google Maps

By admin | October 6, 2011

Batasang Pambansa, the so-called House of the People, where the President of the Republic delivers his annual state of the nation address, is symbolically close to Payatas dumpsite. Batasan is also surrounded by urban poor communities and exclusive subdivisions. Chaotic zoning? It’s urban planning, Philippine-style.

Payatas, which was recently converted into a controlled dumping facility, is adjacent to residential communities. It’s also close to La Mesa reservoir which supplies Metro Manila’s water needs. Our drinking water can be called Payatas Juice.

Ayala Alabang, the home of the filthy rich in Philippine society, is located near the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. Bilibid houses the country’s most notorious murderers, rapists, and other criminals (both guilty and innocent). Are there criminals in Ayala Alabang like tax evaders, smugglers, drug lords (plus other ‘lords’), and bosses of organized crimes? Maybe it’s an extension of Bilibid?

Quiapo Church, an important and famous Catholic institution, is a few blocks away from Metro Manila’s Golden Mosque and Cultural Center. It’s funny that google identified the place as Quiapo DVD. Protest actions are often conducted in the busy intersection of Legarda-Mendiola. But this is because police forces are preventing the militant groups from staging a rally in front of the Malacanang Palace near Gate 7. But rallies should be allowed in the freedom park in San Miguel near the presidential palace and Malacanang Park beside the president’s bachelor house in Bahay Pangarap.

Ever wonder why PUP sometimes suspends classes even if there is no typhoon or flooding? It’s because of the gas leak from the oil depot in nearby Pandacan. The oil depot is surrounded by residential communities, schools, churches, and commercial centers. It poses a security threat even to Malacanang.

Smokey Mountain, Manila’s poverty symbol during the Marcos years, is now known as ‘Former Smokey Mountain Dumping Site’. It’s part of Tondo, the city’s working-class district. Near Smokey Mountain is the country’s busiest port. Tondo General Hospital is also in the vicinity. Navotas Fishport operated near a dumping site?

Demolish San Roque community because it’s now a commercial zone? But on the left side of Edsa in the same area is a residential subdivision, Philam. Will they demolish it too? There is enough space in the ‘triangle’ area to build a medium-rise housing complex.

Ayala has no problem if residential subdivisions like Dasma, Urdaneta, Forbes exist within Makati’s central business district. Today, Ayala wants to demolish San Roque in Quezon City to expand the Makati world (Trinoma means Triangle North of Makati). It’s easy to propose the eviction of the poor from their homes but the rich, it seems, are safe in their ancestral domain because city planners are afraid to antagonize the propertied classes. Meanwhile, the poor are reprimanded for blocking the progress of the community.

This is Hacienda Luisita, the biggest family-owned farming estate in Southeast Asia. One of the owners is President Noynoy Aquino. His family still refuses to distribute the land to small farmers which was a commitment made several decades ago.

Panglao Island in Bohol is the next Boracay. But aside from being a famous tourist destination, it’s also a marine sanctuary. The government will build an international airport in this small island to attract more visitors. It could destroy the natural beauty of the place. Why not just expand Tagbilaran airport?

Apparently, this was the mining site of the company which was recently attacked by NPA rebels. The satellite image shows what could probably be the extent of environmental destruction in the mountain because of mining activities

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The Right to Strike!

By admin | September 28, 2011

Privilege speech delivered last September 26, 2011. Thanks to @kabataanpl and @adarna for helping me in drafting this speech.

Mr Speaker I rise to defend the right of our youth to participate in political activities. Last Saturday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte urged the students to focus on their studies instead of participating in rallies. The remark was issued a day after the successful staging of a nationwide strike of students, teachers, school officials and members of concerned sectors who forged a strong unity to defend of our State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). The strike was organized for three reasons: 1) To protest the budget cuts and insufficient funding for our state schools; 2) To demand the realignment of the budget bill so that more funds can be used for the expansion and improvement of public higher education; 3) To urge the Aquino government to review its higher education policy.

Instead of belittling last Friday’s protest action, Malacanang should properly address the demands presented by the students. Instead of discouraging the youth to actively engage our political leaders, Malacanang should welcome the participation of young people in politics.

Ms Valte and other Malacanang propagandists should not underestimate the students who joined the strike. They might be surprised to discover that the strikers are among the most committed scholars of our schools. The students must be commended for finding time and sacrificing so that they can link arms with other iskolars ng bayan in collectively asserting their legitimate demands to the government. They skipped classes not because they are abandoning schooling but because they wanted better education. They marched on the streets not because they are school delinquents but because they wanted to remind the government that its policies on education and funding priorities are forcing many young people to drop out from schools. It is precisely out of supreme dedication to learning that motivated the students to organize the strike.

Malacanang should know better that students are capable of performing well in schools while taking an active role in campus and even national politics. To speak and act decisively on various social and political issues are among the important duties of our young citizens. These are part of the youth’s learning development; these are essential components of citizen education in a democratic society.

Valte and the other propagandists seem to forget that from time to time, Malacanang itself is organizing public assemblies and even rallies where student participation is often made a school requirement. The President himself has been very consistent in his appeal for active youth participation in the public affairs. In a recent speech, the president even reminisced about his involvement in the student movement during the Martial Law years.

It is wrong for student activists to organize rallies but it becomes acceptable if approved by Malacanang? Public assemblies and rallies are not beneficial to society but they become an integral component of citizenship if endorsed by Malacanang? Our elders did the right thing when they marched on the streets in their youth, but students today are irresponsible if they skip classes to attend protest actions?

Encouraging the youth to study better isn’t wrong. What is unacceptable is the refusal to recognize that the youth become better educated if they are also immersed in the social and political affairs of the country. We need more student strikers, not less.

Malacanang shouldn’t limit the capacity of young people to perform great political actions. It shouldn’t reduce youth political engagement into wearing of yellow ribbons and posting comments on the President’s social network pages. Young people today, like the earlier generations, are willing and capable of creating history.

Last week’s strike was something we should have anticipated. We cannot reduce the funds for social services without provoking the anger of our citizens. We cannot impose budget cuts and allocate insufficient funds for social services without generating public unrest.

Mr Speaker, distinguished colleagues, we live in dire times. Domestically and globally, budget cuts, price hikes, continuous rights violations and social strife continue to inspire countless young people to rely on the collective wisdom and power of the oppressed to build a better and more humane, progressive society.

Youths all over the world are up in arms. Youth and student riots in London, Chile, Spain, Madagascar, Columbia, Germany, Malaysia and elsewhere in the world are testament to how volatile the present global economic crisis is. Youths 17-25 years old are jobless, students are protesting against budget cuts and tuition and price increases. The whole world is in debt.

The Philippines is not an exception. Our conditions are not different, if worse, from other countries. And as in other countries, the youth and student movement is undeniably a moving force in the fight for substantial social reforms.

Indeed, the string of massive student protests that erupted during the past few months were only a logical response to the aggravating crisis brought about by the disarray in the current global economic order. Economies that once seemed unscathed are now experiencing economic recessions. In order to curb their impending decline, countries intensify their privatization, deregulation and liberalization schemes—the three essential components of the current dominant economic framework notoriously known as neoliberalism.

Malamang ay nagtataka rin kayo: Di hamak na mas mahirap na bansa ang Pilipinas kaysa mga bansang nabanggit ko, pero bakit hindi pa nagra-riot ang mga kabataan dito?

Mr Speaker, distinguished colleagues, we have our youth and student movement to thank for. Kailangang maunawaan ng marami na mapagpasya pa rin ang organisasyon ng mga kabataang aktibista sa paghikayat na magkaroon ng pagkakaisa sa ating bansa. Kung ano ang mayroon tayo at wala ang iba – ito ang buong kilusang kabataan at estudyante na naninindigang hindi riots at hindi anarkiya ang sasagot sa krisis. Sa kabila ng lahat, namamayani ang disiplina at matibay na organisadong pagkilos ng ating mga kabataang aktibista. Sa ganitong diwa, dapat pa nga natin pasalamatan ang mga organisasyong tulad ng League of Filipino Students (LFS) at iba pang mga makabayang organisasyon ng kabataan na nakikibaka para sa mas magandang bukas para sa ating bayan. Kung kaya’t ang pahayag kamakailan ng Pangulo kung saan hinambing niya ang Executive Committee ng LFS sa diktaturya ay hindi makatwiran at lalong hindi katanggap-tanggap.

The social policies of the Aquino administration, clear as clear can be, nourish the ground for critical dissent. What the Palace is telling our youth now is to be silent while their right to education and social services is continuously violated. Reports early today contain a statement from DBM Secretary Butch Abad saying that our youth should make do with insufficient funds for our public higher education. It is this kind of utter insensitivity of the Aquino administration that forces our youth and people to heighten the struggle for their basic rights.

More strikes, not less, will definitely rock the nation as the youth and people fight for their future.

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‘Filipinos belong to geography’

By admin | September 25, 2011

Camiguin is no ordinary island. It’s a small island province dotted with several volcanoes. Its five towns are sitting on top of ten volcanoes. One of the volcanoes is Mount Hibok-Hibok whose catastrophic eruption in the 1950s forced the government to establish the Phivolcs. But life in mystical Camiguin is as ordinary as the other volcano-less islands of the country. Perhaps the people there have learned to accept the permanent presence of the volcanoes which allowed them to confront the other vicissitudes of life. Or maybe it’s the threat of the next big explosion (the next big one) that spurs people into action. This alertness to disasters – the constant anticipation of tragedies – is the stuff of life.

This makes Filipinos a special breed of human beings since they are living in the most disaster-prone part of the world. Situated inside the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines manages to withstand a record number of strong typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions every year. (We eat disasters for breakfast). Indeed, the land is blessed with abundant natural resources but everyday is a struggle to survive the violent elements of nature. Filipinos are trapped.

Many foreigners find the Philippines majestic and enchanting but it’s actually a difficult place to live. President Gloria Arroyo described it as a “densely populated, rocky archipelago with relatively few sources of fresh water.” Gregorio Brillantes thinks it’s made up of “strange, incompatible islands amid ambiguous seas.” Only the blind and clueless like Standard and Poor’s would hail it as an ‘island of calm’.

Here lies the uniqueness of this place and the people who inhabit it. In these ‘sand-and-coconut-tree’ islands of volcanoes, giant crocodiles, and exotic coral reefs, the people are too busy to be bored with life. Hence the feasting, the merrymaking, the fighting, the taming of the terrain.

To borrow some words from Alexander Herzen, Filipinos belong to geography rather than to history. And as E.H. Carr reminded us, beware of people without history because they are potentially revolutionary.

Manila’s vulnerability

Manila is an easy target. Colonial powers were able to subjugate it by attacking from the seas. Limahong, the English, the Americans, the Japanese – all of them invaded Manila through the western corridor. Even today, foreign powers and aggressors are able to terrorize us by sending their nuclear warships and oversized quasi-military fishing boats near our shores.

Corregidor served as Manila’s first line of defense against invading forces but other than this ‘rock’ fortress, our colonial masters have failed to establish a solid naval defense system to protect the capital. Maybe because the colonizers, after imposing military hegemony in the city, were too busy fighting the barbarians, pagans, and other disobedient indios in the mountains that beefing up the coastal defenses became a secondary priority for them.

Bonifacio was certainly not the country’s first guerilla but he provided the blueprint on how to invade the city from the suburbs and mountains. From the vantage point of his rebel base in Montalban, he directed his troops to attack Manila from several key locations: From the east, the San Mateo and Marikina forces will attempt to shut down El Deposito in San Juan which at that time controlled Manila’s water supply. From the north, Caloocan and Tondo forces will attack Binondo churches, hospitals, and the telegraph and railway lines. From the south east, Taguig, and Pateros forces will cross the Pasig River, establish a base in the hills of Hagdang Bato (Mandaluyong) and Guadalupe (Makati), and proceed to attack Pandacan and Sta. Ana. From the central suburb, Sampaloc forces will attack Sta Mesa and Quiapo. From the south, Cavite forces led by Aguinaldo will attack Ermita, Luneta, and finally Intramuros.

Based on this plan (details provided in Zeus Salazar’s book, August 29-30, 1896: Bonifacio’s Battle for Manila), we now know that Bonifacio was also an outstanding military tactician. He understood the strategic value of maximizing the mountainous terrain around Manila to attack the capital. In the second phase of the revolution, Bonifacio’s idea of establishing a mountain rebel lair was successfully realized in Biak na Bato.

Combine the attack route used by the colonizers and Katipuneros and what emerges is an enduring formula to effectively dominate the capital, at least from a military perspective.

Will the ‘Nice People Around’ who are exercising Red Power in the boondocks grab this attack recipe as a gift from History? Or maybe, after four decades of waging a people’s war, they might just surprise us one day with a demonstration of their updated and hopefully, upgraded version of how ‘political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.’

Island Dynamics

The central part of the archipelago of what has come to be known as the Philippine state is composed of small and medium-sized islands. These islands are Palawan, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Samar, Leyte, Bohol, Mindoro, Romblon, and Masbate. Island mentality is most evident in these places. It’s political, economic, and social manifestations deserve to be probed further.

The current system of classifying the islands into various provinces under different political regions blurs the existence of what we call island mentality. Decades of gerrymandering and Imperial Manila’s desperate but egotistical aim of pacifying the islands have almost severed the organic ties of these islands.

Palawan was made part of Luzon when just two generations ago it was still part of Minsupala (Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan). In fact, the Moro people consider it as part of their ancestral domain. Panay was subdivided into six provinces. The case of Masbate is interesting: It’s officially part of the Bicol region but geographically, it’s within the Visayas range. In fact, there are towns in the province whose dominant languages are not Bicolano nor Masbateno but Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and even Waray.

Estancia in Panay is nearer to Roxas City than Iloilo City but it’s part of Iloilo Province. Roxas is known by everybody as the country’s seafood capital but nearby Estancia in a neighboring province prides itself as the ‘Alaska of the Philippines’ because it supplies the fish needs of many provinces. It gets more complicated. There are many Estancia college students who come from Masbate. Asked about the direction of Masbate, residents will just answer ‘over there’ or ‘one lantsa ride away.’

More examples: Despite being part of Western Visayas, Boracay buys its seafood supply from Romblon, a province of Luzon. Dumaguete is a university town in Negros Oriental but many of its students come from north and west Mindanao, particularly in Dipolog and Dapitan.

Negros Occidental is Western Visayas while Negros Oriental is Central Visayas. But there are towns in Negros Occidental which are literally and figuratively closer to the Central Visayas region. During a solidarity event with Escalante City farmers in north Negros which I recently attended, most of the student participants didn’t come from Bacolod but from Cebu and Bohol. I learned that the northern and eastern sides of Negros Occidental are actually closer to north Cebu than to Western Visayas. There are ferry rides that transport residents of north Negros to north Cebu and vice versa.

Island mentality is neither good nor bad. Arroyo successfully cultivated and benefited from this political dynamic when she received the support of Cebu’s ruling political families and parties in 2004. Isn’t it tragic that one person (Big Boss Danding) seems to control the present and future of Negros Island?

Then and now, the wealth and resources of the islands are monopolized by a few families. The money is siphoned off to Manila where absentee landlords hideously spend their idle time on non-essential goods and services. We are unforgiving to poor migrants who are swarming like rats in Manila yet we seem to forget that the city’s wealth is based on the ruthless accumulation of capital by despotic families in the rural islands.

The dominant attitude in Imperial Manila is to maintain and widen the division of the islands. This is a legacy of the colonial era. What is needed is a revolutionary force capable of uniting the islands to challenge the tyranny of the reigning political blocs.

Perhaps this is the reason why at one point in the 1980s, the Visayas Commission of the Communist Party generated so much fear and respect in the region. Maybe for many people, it allowed them to imagine a different future.

Archipelagic warfare

Even his critics admit that Jose Maria Sison’s Specific Characteristics of Our People’s War is an outstanding contribution to Marxist literature. The document affirmed Sison’s reputation as an original Marxist thinker but more than that, it comprehensively discussed the appropriateness of using the innovative path taken by the victorious Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong. At the same time, it underscored the particularity of the Philippine People’s War by identifying the challenges and advantages of launching a nationwide guerrilla war in an archipelagic country like the Philippines.

This is a must-read for all students of politics. It can explain why the rag tag Red Army of peasant rebels has managed to survive in the past four decades. It’s also a brilliant exposition of the link between geography, military warfare, and revolutionary politics.

Sison noted that in launching the People’s War, the more important considerations are population, forest area and the country’s mountainous terrain. But is guerrilla warfare applicable in an archipelago?

“In the long run, the fact that our country is archipelagic will turn out to be a great advantage for us and a great disadvantage for the enemy. The enemy shall be forced to divide his attention and forces not only to the countryside but also to so many islands. Our great advantage will show when we shall have succeeded in developing guerrilla warfare on a nationwide scale.”

“If on one hand the archipelagic character of the country has a narrowing effect on our fighting fronts, its mountainous character has both a broadening and deepening effect.”

The narrowing and broadening effect of the terrain led Sison to describe the war in the Philippines as “intensive, ruthless and exceedingly fluid.” He required all fighting fronts to practice self –reliance by reminding them that the rebels have no “powerful rear” to retreat unlike the rebels in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos which shared land borders with Red China.

In the 1970s, Sison anticipated the building of a central revolutionary base in north Luzon

“Amidst the twenty guerrilla bases and zones already in existence and on the basis of the experience gained in creating them, the central leadership can proceed to establish the central revolutionary base somewhere in the well-inhabited mountainous area of Northern Luzon. The guerrilla bases and zones of Northeast Luzon, Northwest Luzon and Central Luzon can stand as the future terminals of regular mobile forces that are to arise at the central revolutionary base.”

Since the Communist Party will never publish the current status and other details of the People’s War, we can only speculate that this central revolutionary base has yet to be established.

Meanwhile, Sison echoed the attack formula of Bonifacio

“On the eve of the nationwide seizure of power, Manila-Rizal shall be caught in a pincer between regular mobile forces from the north and from the two regions of Southern Luzon.”

Sison also mentioned the need to develop sea warfare.

“Because our country is archipelagic, it is a matter of necessity for us to develop guerrilla bases and zones along the seacoast.”

“Within the Visayas, boating is as common as trucking in the Luzon or Mindanao mainlands. If we take lessons from Southwestern Mindanao, especially from Sulu archipelago, we can further develop sea warfare, a form of guerrilla warfare making use of small bancas (boats) and big as well as small islands. This would constitute a good support for our guerrilla warfare on land.”

Rejecting Sison’s strategy, the controversial Popoy Lagman mocked the emphasis given by Sison to geography in advancing the revolution: “So this is what is specific to the Philippines: its terrain!”

But the intellectual Lagman should know better that Sison had more than adequately written about the ‘paritcularities’ and ‘specifics’ of the Philippine revolution. His ideological differences with Sison must have blinded him from recognizing the other salient points raised by the author. But I’ll put forward an even more daring idea: Even if Sison’s only output is this document which I have summarized in this article, his stature as a Marxist intellectual is assured.

Because after the political line is established, and if the fighting forces are already positioned, the next important consideration is the discussion of the terrain. It’s the terrain, stupid.

Related articles:

Bundok, dagat, pulitika
Labanan sa Tubigan
Rice Revolution
East-West
Power dynamics in the islands

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Myanmar’s ‘prisoners of conscience’

By admin | September 22, 2011

The plight of Burma’s political prisoners was among the principal issues raised by Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, after his five-day mission to the country last month.

Quintana, who has visited Burma four times since 2008, noted the positive steps taken by the government ‘that have the potential to bring about an improvement in the human rights situation of Myanmar (Burma).’ He also welcomed ‘what seems to be an opening of space for different actors and parties to engage in the political process.’

But while recognizing the efforts of the government to implement reforms, he also underscored the ‘serious and ongoing human rights concerns that need to be addressed.’ He also specifically cited the continuing detention of a large number of ‘prisoners of conscience.’

The military junta-dominated government continues to deny the existence of political prisoners in the country, but activists believe there are more than 2,000 people in the country who are in prison today because of their political activities. Burma is notorious for handing out insanely long sentences to captured dissidents. For example, Gen. Hso Ten of the Shan State Peace Council is serving a 106-year sentence for high treason. Hla Hla Win, a video journalist for the Democratic Voice of Burma, was detained for using an unregistered motorbike, but her jail sentence has been extended to 20 years.

Burma has more than 43 prisons and around 100 labor camps, but the majority of political prisoners are held in Yangon’s Insein prison. Even democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi spent time in this top security prison.

In his statement delivered at Yangon International Airport, Quintana shared the testimonies of ‘prisoners of conscience’ in Insein Prison. ‘I heard disturbing testimonies of prolonged sleep and food deprivation during interrogation, beatings, and the burning of bodily parts, including genital organs. I heard accounts of prisoners being confined in cells normally used for prison dogs as means of punishment. I also heard accounts of inadequate access to medical care, where prisoners had to pay for medication at their own cost.’

Quintana also mentioned the continuing allegations of ‘torture and ill-treatment during interrogation, the use of prisoners as porters for the military, and the transfers of prisoners to prisons in remote areas where they are unable to receive family visits or packages of essential medicine and supplemental food.’

Insein Prison has a total prison population of 10,000, but it has only three doctors. The prison overcrowding is blamed for the spread of illnesses in the detention facility.

Quintana’s report validates the claim of human rights groups that Burma prisoners suffer regular physical and psychological abuse from officials. It also affirms the notorious image of Insein prison as the ‘darkest hole in Burma,’ where 300 political prisoners are currently detained.

After witnessing the conditions of the ‘prisoners of conscience’, Quintana immediately called for their release on humanitarian grounds. He also reminded the government that their release would be a ‘central and necessary step towards national reconciliation and would bring more benefit to Myanmar’s efforts towards democracy.’

If the Junta generals are serious in their commitment to promote democratic reforms, and if they want the approval of the international human rights community, they would do well to follow what Quintana has outlined in his latest report on the state of human rights in Burma. At the minimum, releasing the ‘prisoners of conscience’ will boost the democratic reform movement in the country.

Written for The Diplomat

Singapore’s Happy Maids?

A survey released this month by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower suggested that most foreign domestic workers are happy and satisfied to work in the prosperous city state. The survey was undertaken by a private firm hired by the Ministry to conduct face-to-face interviews with 900 randomly selected foreign maids. The study also involved 450 employers.

Singapore has more than 200,000 foreign maids who came mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. According to the survey, 9 in 10 foreign maids said they were satisfied with working in Singapore, while 7 in 10 have expressed an interest in continuing to work in the city after their contracts expire. Almost 9 in 10 would like to continue working for their current employer. Meanwhile, 3 in 4 employers said they were satisfied with their current maids, and 6 in 10 intend to continue employing their current maids after their existing contracts expire.

The survey also revealed that the maids have sufficient food (99 percent) and adequate rest (97 percent) while slightly more than half of them (53 percent) said they were given at least one rest day per month. While it’s comforting to learn that the basic needs of most foreign maids are being addressed, it’s a little alarming that 47 percent of them weren’t being given a day off by their employers. Why has the Ministry failed to point to this finding as a serious issue of concern?

As expected, 25 percent of the foreign maids cited homesickness as their main problem, while 16 percent of them said that they had initial difficulties communicating with Singaporeans, and 11 percent said they were unable to cope with their work. Curiously, 22 percent claimed they experienced no problems at all when they came to work in Singapore. It’s hard to believe that such a large number of maids didn’t encounter a single problem in their work. Meanwhile, the survey didn’t mention potential physical or other types of abuse.

Maybe one reason for the rosy assessment was a communication problem during the interviews, which prevented the maids from expressing their real feelings and thoughts. Were they interviewed in front of their employers? Were they informed that their answers would be kept confidential? Were they allowed to speak in their native language?

Even Singaporean writer Au Waipang questioned some of the ‘unreliable’ and ‘dishonest’ conclusions in the surveys. He found it incredible that more than half of the interviewed maids gave a perfect rating when asked about their work situation and welfare. He noted, for instance, that Singapore maids earn less compared with maids working in other rich countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Singapore government should obviously be commended for trying to probe the conditions of foreign maids working in the country – it’s a move that should be replicated by other rich nations, which are too focused in studying the situation of foreign employees and managers while ignoring the plight of foreign maids.

The survey confirms the perception that the welfare of most Singapore maids is protected by both the employers and the state. But the survey methodology also has flaws, which appear to have generated some unbelievable and maybe inaccurate results. The survey should inspire the government to continue formulating policies and programmes to help promote the work conditions of maids in Singapore since the ‘happy’ maids in the real world could simply be hiding their real dissatisfaction and loneliness.

Written for The Diplomat

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Unhealthy Health Budget

By admin | September 13, 2011

Speech delivered on September 12, 2011 during the plenary budget deliberations. Thanks to @kabataanpl and Diane for drafting the interpellation notes.

1. The president, through the budget message, reported that in order to improve maternal health, and the well-being of infants, the government has allocated P5.1 billion for the implementation of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program. But what he failed to mention was that the funding was actually reduced from the current P7.1 billion to the proposed P5.1 billion. I hope that the reduction will not seriously affect the delivery of maternal and infant healthcare in the country.

2. In the 2010 budget, under Healthcare Assistance, the government allocated P36 million for ‘Subsidy to Indigent Patients for Confinement in Specialty Hospitals and for the use of specialized equipment.’ In 2011, the budget was reduced to P16 million; but at least there was a subsidy intended for indigents because the item was completely removed in the 2012 budget bill. I’m worried that this fund scrapping will deprive the indigent patients of health services that are unavailable in government hospitals. Is this the government’s latest poverty reduction measure? Eliminate the poor by denying them access to appropriate healthcare and service?

3. It’s unfortunate that the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses item of several hospitals was not increased. In fact, 5 of the 12 Metro Manila-based special hospitals, and 18 of the 54 local hospitals nationwide didn’t receive an increase in their MOOE allotment. Because of this limited MOOE budget, hospitals have implemented an increase in the rates of health services they are offering to our people. Also, mandatory discounts like senior citizens’ and government employees’ discounts remain unfunded thereby competing for limited MOOE allotment.

While we welcome the P94 million token increase in the MOOE of our specialty hospitals or Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation hospitals (Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and Philippine Heart Center), it’s important to highlight that the hospitals have not regained the P970.6 million cut in their MOOE since 2010.

4. We learned too from the president’s budget message that the government has allotted P224 million to fund programs against HIV and other infectious diseases. I have two suggestions to the Department of Health with regard to this allocation: 1) Specify the amount to be used to address the particular diseases. How much from the P224 million will be used to combat HIV? How much for dengue? And how much for food and water borne diseases? 2) The DOH should also allot more funds to address HIV/AIDS. This is now a youth problem and I hope the government will realize the urgency of strengthening our health system to curb the rise of this dreaded disease.

5. At the proper time, this representation will be proposing amendments to the budget bill so that social service institutions like the DOH will receive more funds from the government. The UN prescription is that at the minimum, 5 percent of the country’s GDP is allotted to health service.

It’s quite disturbing that our health agency doesn’t receive the high fund support that it deserves to get from the government.

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Year of ASEAN Opposition?

By admin | September 12, 2011

Since last year, opposition parties across Southeast Asia have achieved varying degrees of electoral and political success.

The opposition Liberal Party dominated the 2010 Philippine elections and defeated the ruling party, which had been in power since 2001. The opposition victory reflected the unpopularity of former President Gloria Arroyo, who was accused of electoral fraud, human rights violations, corruption and plundering state coffers.

Recently, the opposition Pheu Thai Party defeated the ruling Democrat Party in Thailand, which led to the election of Yingluck Shinawatra – the country’s first female prime minister. Yingluck is the younger sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was forced into exile after he was overthrown in a military coup in 2006. During the campaign, the opposition highlighted the culpability of the Democrat Party in the violent crackdown of anti-government protests last year, the worsening insurgency in the southern part of the country, the hostile relationship with Cambodia over a border dispute and the rising economic difficulties experienced by ordinary Thais.

Meanwhile, the People’s Action Party (PAP) is still Singapore’s dominant political coalition after it won the most seats in the general election last May. Also, the candidate the party endorsed won last week’s presidential election. But the opposition scored some significant victories this year after it managed to win a few but strategic parliamentary seats. The PAP, which has dominated Singaporean politics since the late 1950s, also suffered its worst electoral performance this year, which according to analysts has permanently altered Singapore’s political landscape.

As in Singapore, the ruling coalition in Malaysia still has more than enough numbers in parliament, but the opposition is gaining ground. The disenchantment of the public with the country’s political leadership is also rising as seen in the massive participation of ordinary Malaysians in the Bersih democracy march in July. Organized in support of electoral reforms, the Bersih has since then evolved into an opposition political movement following the overreaction of the government, which violently dispersed the peaceful march. Bersih is expected to bring more votes to the opposition.

Moving on to Burma, many analysts were surprised to learn that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed to meet President Thein Sein of the military-controlled government. They are now asking if the global democracy icon has decided to work with the people who imprisoned her for more than two decades. But it could simply be an opposition tactic for outmanoeuvring the generals. Just a few weeks ago, Suu Kyi was allowed to travel to the north of the country for the first time since she regained her freedom, and she was warmly greeted by the people in the streets. The opposition hasn’t yet ditched the prospect of revolution, but it seems to be quietly maximizing the limited democratic space afforded to it by the Junta.

The new Southeast Asian leaders aren’t simply getting younger – most of them have also come from opposition ranks. The success of various opposition parties and movements in articulating the sentiments of the people, and harnessing them into a potent political force, has produced a new generation of leaders who are aware of the need for immediate political and economic reforms. Of course, opposition victories aren’t a guarantee that conditions will now improve, but at least it proved that the emergence of a genuine opposition can foster democracy. This trend should be welcomed and promoted across the region.

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Support our State Universities and Colleges

By admin | September 7, 2011

Speech delivered on September 7, 2011 during the plenary budget deliberations

In lieu of an interpellation, this representation will be making an appeal to the leadership of the House, and to all Members of this Chamber to challenge the budget priorities of the Aquino government, as far as the funding of the education sector is concerned. Unfortunately, the government, through the Department of Budget Management, adopts the policy of gradually decreasing the subsidies for State Universities and Colleges.

If the Executive refuses to recognize the importance of substantially increasing the budget of our public higher education institutions, then Congress should make a stand today.

Instead of accepting a budget proposal which reduced the Personal Services and Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses of SUCs, Congress should restore the cuts at the minimum and allot more funds so that SUCs can hire more teachers, accept more students, and expand their research programs.

Instead of zero capital outlay, Congress should allot funds for the building of new facilities, upgrading of laboratories, and modernization of school infrastructures.

It was Congress which approved the creation of the country’s SUCs. It is the duty of Congress, therefore, to guarantee sufficient state funding for these institutions who play an important role for the national development agenda.

But the government seems to ignore that. By giving low funding priority for our SUCs, the government deprives young people of the chance to access higher education. Our SUCs, which are barely surviving, are expected to produce quality education and provide assistance to their local communities. Despite this expectation from our SUCs, the government refuses to invest heavily on higher education.

Concretely, Congress should return the budget for unfilled positions to the SUCs. In return, SUCs should be requested to ensure that such funds will not be used in anomalous expenses similar to what was discovered in the military. Additionally, Congress should infuse more funds to SUCs by reducing the funds of other questionable, if not unproductive expenses like the bloated budget for CCT, intelligence funds, and debt servicing.

More funds for SUCs mean enhanced capability to implement programs that are vital to the progress of the nation. Investment to higher education is good politics. Support the SUCs, support the future of the Filipino youth!

Transcript of press conference with Senator Koko Pimentel

Rep. Raymond Palatino: Nandito po ang Kabataan Partylist kasama ang PASUC (association of state universities in the country) at Anakbayan, si Mr. Vencer Crisostomo at nagpapasalamat tayo kay Sen. Koko for hosting this presscon to express our concern sa pagbawas muli ng budget ng state universities and colleges. Ngayong araw po na ito ang simula ng budget deliberations sa lower house, sa plenary. Tomorrow po pag-uusapan ang budget ng state universities and colleges at ang ating demand po ay itaas ang budget ng state universities. Ang hinihingi po ng ating mga state universities ay 45 billion. Ang binigay lamang po ay P 21.8 million and this allotment is almost P200 million lower compared to last year. Para sa atin, ang makatwirang demand ay at the minimum ibalik po yung kinaltas. Pangalawa, lagyan po ng capital outlay ang ating mga state universities. Tulad po last year, wala pong mga capital outlay ang ating mga state universities. Ito po ay napakahalaga para sa upgrading of laboratories, modernization of facilities, pagtatayo ng mga building. Last week sinabi ni Pres. Noynoy na ang kanyang love life ay parang Coke from regular to light to zero. Sa totoo lamang, ang mga state universities ang dapat gumamit ng metaphor na yun. Ang kanilang capital outlay dati regular. Nung panahon ni Pres. GMA ay light. Since 2011 and the proposed budget ni Pres. Noynoy, zero capital outlay. Ano po yung impact ng pagbawas ng budget sa state universities? May impact sa access in terms of higher tuition, then impact din sa quality kasi (ang mababang badyet ay may negatibong epekto) sa operations. Yung survey po kahapon na lumabas sa top 300 universities sa mundo, walang lumabas sa Pilipinas. Nakakalungkot po yung survey na yun pero hindi na po surprising kasi ito na yung direct consequence ng reduced subsidies for reduced higher education. Our appeal is to reverse and rethink the policy (of reducing subsidies for public higher education institutions). Ang problema sa kalidad ay may kinalaman sa underinvestment o weak spending of the government for public higher education. – September 6, 2011 Padilla Room, Senate.

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Pnoy’s Pantawid Pamilya Program

By admin | August 29, 2011

President Noynoy Aquino’s expanded Conditional Cash Transfer program is an unimaginative program to solve the country’s intergenerational poverty. Giving subsidies to the poor isn’t wrong but it shouldn’t be in the form of insulting dole-outs. Isn’t it pathetic how the obscene distribution of petty cash is being presented as an innovative fulfillment of Pnoy’s overrated people-oriented and pro-poor development agenda?

Pnoy’s CCT (dis)empowers the poor in many ways: It inevitably creates a false hope among the poorest of the poor that the nominal increase in their monthly incomes is a cure-all to their deprivation; it directly promotes feudal gender stereotypes since it narrowly equates women empowerment with greater participation of mothers in the administrative implementation of the program; it inexcusably widens inequality in society because of the utter failure of the program planners to consider the dynamics of varying cost of living in the regions and rural-urban disparity.

The government has repeatedly claimed that the CCT is an investment in human capital and a necessary intervention to help the children and poor. In reality, however, it’s a wise but insincere political investment for the 2013 and 2016 elections. Pnoy’s political operators are probably aware that cash giving is an effective electoral tactic that can mobilize the support of the desperate poor and other ‘fundamental nobodies’ in society.

But the poor’s visible enthusiasm in supporting the CCT should be seen in the context of their situation which progressive educator Paulo Freire described as an “everlasting present of hopelessness and resignation.” Freire added that the poor who are “tired and anesthetized, (and) in need of everything, (are) easy prey for aid-and-assistance policies that further immerse them in a mind-narrowing daily existence.”

Instead of mocking the poor, we should encourage them to resist oppression including policies that weaken their fighting resolve. Freire emphasized that “one of the main differences between assistance policies and those that assist without “assistencializing” is that the former insist on the suggestion that the great big problem with the oppressed lies in deficiencies of nature; the latter, on the other hand, underscores the importance of the social, the economic, and the political: in sum, power.” The CCT is the latest sophisticated weapon of the ruling party in seducing the poor to ignore power and class struggle.

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The CCT places the poor under constant state surveillance or monitoring. From selection, accreditation, compliance, and up to the last day of the program, the poor must sacrifice their privacy. They must welcome the CCT implementers who are deployed by the state to investigate and confirm if the poor are really poor and if they are complying with the program conditionalities. It normalizes the intrusion of the state into the private lives of citizens; and maybe the intended effect is to force the latter to submission and reject radical politics. The desire is to influence the behavior of the vulnerable poor and dominate their thinking. Through the CCT seminars (non-attendance could mean expulsion from the program), the reactionary state hopes to prevent the poor from imagining that it’s still possible to attain complete liberation from poverty through revolutionary action.

For the first time in Philippine history, the state is now able to identify the precise location of the poorest of the poor. Its enhanced targeting system which can detect the presence of potential CCT beneficiaries (or victims) in every village in the country mirrors the efficiency and capability of the precision smart bombs of the U.S. military. The CCT it seems is a social welfare program which functions like a militarized operation.

The CCT inventory in the hands of a welfare state will improve the delivery of basic social services; but it becomes a deadly political and even military hit list in the hands of a state ruled by oligarchs and puppets. Beware of Third World governments that use deceptive and World Bank-designed programs like the CCT because their real intent is to liquidate the fighting poor.

What if we reverse the framework of the CCT registration system? Instead of aggressively registering the poor, we identify the richest families in every town. Today, we know that Concepcion in Tarlac has 663 poor families but maybe through a reverse CCT we will be able to identify the number and location of the richest landlords there. After we register the richest families in Makati, maybe we can persuade them to help the CCT-determined 2,204 poor families residing in the same city. But this remains a wishful thinking for now since only a revolutionary government can have the political will and motivation to devise and implement a program that seeks to disturb the quiet and anonymous lives of the mega rich.

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The CCT accomplishment report contains a reference to the number of families which were delisted from the program. As of last month, about 155,944 households have been removed from the list of CCT beneficiaries. The agency recorded 203 fraudulent acts, 3,643 inclusion errors, 436 duplicates, and 150,000 families which failed to attend the CCT seminars and assemblies. Curiously, 61 families were removed from the program because they were ‘no longer poor.’ There were also individuals who opted out of the program.

The unusual high number of delisted households highlights the inherently politicized character of the CCT selection process. More than the unwelcome meddling of porky politicians, the flaw in the registration process could lead to the possible exclusion of the legitimate poor from being enrolled in the program. What will happen to the CCT drop-outs? After being expelled from the CCT, are they still eligible to participate in other social welfare programs? What about the poor who suddenly became non-poor? Their situation is quite strange: they are still poor, but they don’t deserve to be included in the CCT because they are not very poor.

Because of the arbitrariness of the selection process, the CCT could trigger a vicious competition in the grassroots. As local governments vie for a bigger share of grants, the higher allocation of some towns or provinces could be questioned. The poor will outdo each other in trying to prove that they are poorer than others. Animosity could erupt between the delisted and the CCT enrollees.

By publishing the number of delisted beneficiaries, the agency seeks to prove its commitment to transparency and the rejection of partisan political influence. But the numbers also refer to the structural defect of the program. The number of inclusion errors is insignificant but its existence reflects the anti-poor bias of the CCT.

Who are the people who had been initially included but now excluded from the CCT? Not the privileged few or members of the affluent society but the poor, the moderately poor, the former poor. Duplicate registration is the least of the sins committed by the poor but it seems that it’s enough to deprive them of the chance to benefit and take part in poverty reduction schemes.

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Former Prime Minister Cesar Virata once said that 90 percent of the wealth of the country is in the hands of 10 percent of the population. If Robin Hood were alive today, he would have robbed the 10 percent rich and distribute the loot to the 90 percent poor. Definitely, Pnoy’s CCT doesn’t subscribe to the Robin Hood principle.

The cash transfer won’t reverse and disrupt the unequal distribution of wealth and power in the country. In spite of the CCT, the rich will continue to accumulate more money at the expense of the poor. The sad fact is that the CCT is merely a tool to hide the continuing greedy appropriation of society’s wealth by a few individuals, families, and corporations.

The government is ready and willing to expand the CCT since it seeks to distract the attention of the poor from revolutionary politics. The government, in truth, is afraid of its own people. Here lies the difference between a reactionary state and the revolutionary struggle of the people. The state prefers docile victims who can be rescued through the CCT while the revolution seeks to transform the victims into active and fighting subjects of History.

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Singapore’s Transport Woes

By admin | August 22, 2011

Singapore may be a global city known for its superior quality of living and efficient public services. But its mass transport system isn’t something to be envied.

The overcrowding on buses and trains is the visible manifestation of the city’s transport mess, and the main transport operators SMRT (train service) and SBS (bus transit) have acknowledged that there’s a problem. However, their proposed solution of raising fares has angered commuters.

In response to the petition of the SMRT and SBS for a fare hike, the opposition Workers’ Party has proposed the creation of a ‘not-for-profit National Transport Corporation,’ which would aim to provide ‘safe, affordable, accessible, efficient and reliable universal public transportation services, on the basis of cost and depreciation recovery.’

They blame the lack of genuine market competition in the transport industry for the apparent absence of interest of SMRT and SBS to innovate, raise standards, improve productivity, and keep prices low. Gerald Giam, a member of parliament from the Workers’ Party, has questioned the government’s decision to allow a public utility to be ‘and operated by what are effectively private monopolists earning monopoly rents.’

Giam added that nationalizing the transport sector ‘wouldn’t necessarily mean higher subsidies or a loss-making endeavour. If competently run, the National Transport Corporation could reduce costs associated with the duplication of functions and roles.’

Despite the country having one of the most open economies in the world, the Singaporean government is actually subsidizing several public services like schools, hospitals, clinics and housing. Therefore, the idea of infusing public funds into the transport sector to improve its operations isn’t unusual, even for Singapore.

But Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew immediately dismissed the proposal of the Workers’ Party by praising the benefits of allowing the private sector to manage the transport sector. He also warned against the ‘downsides’ of nationalization, which would mean, among other bad things, more taxes and higher costs in the long run.

Mr Lui, however, recognizes the need to raise the quality of service provided by both the SMRT and SBS. In particular, he wants the two transport operators to immediately address the overcrowding on buses and trains by improving the frequency and reliability of their services. He also assures the public that the government will thoroughly review the petition of SMRT and SBS for a fare increase.

Mr Lui has vowed to alleviate the hardships experienced daily by Singapore passengers, especially after riding the trains several times. In fact, he posted his ordeal on Facebook, writing: ‘I have experienced the discomfort and frustrations that commuters faced because of the congestion and the sometimes unreliable service and I share your desire to see improvements to our public transport.’

It’s true that nationalization isn’t a guarantee in solving Singapore’s transport woes, but it certainly is a better alternative to the current set-up, where private corporations are allowed to amass huge profits while the riding public is left to suffer from poor service.

Written for The Diplomat

Abhisit’s Farewell

In his televised farewell speech on August, former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva summarized the key achievements of his administration which, according to him, could help newly proclaimed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in building a more stable and progressive Thailand. But Abhisit also indirectly admitted his shortcomings when he outlined the immediate challenges that his successor should address.

It’s to Abhisit’s credit that the feared post-election violence didn’t materialize in a deeply divided society like Thailand, largely because of his gracious acceptance of defeat in last month’s general elections. He may have his share of faults as a leader, but at least he was successful in overseeing an orderly transition of power that turned out to be his last great act as a statesman. Also, the peaceful turnover could prove immensely helpful in stabilizing Thai politics by restoring public confidence in the electoral process and democratic institutions.

It’s quite interesting that Abhisit chose to highlight in his speech what he called the ‘stable and sound financial standing’ of Thailand because the rising economic difficulties experienced by ordinary Thais was actually one of the reasons cited by analysts for his poll defeat. In fact, Yingluck garnered popular support during the campaign period when she promised to double the country’s minimum wage. But Abhisit seemed firm in setting the record straight about the correctness and effectiveness of his economic policies.

He proudly reported that: ‘When I first came into office, I used to say that our economic situation was like a “house on fire”. Now, we have put out this fire, made progress in looking after people living in the house and also made our house stronger.’

To bolster his claims, he cited the country’s foreign reserves, which are now the 13th largest in the world, the reduced debt-to-GDP ratio, the low unemployment rate, and the stable Oil Fund that protects consumers from fluctuating oil prices.

Abhisit acknowledged his failure to provide a comprehensive social welfare system, but he explained that his government originally planned to complete the programme in 2016. He also said the disparities in Thai society were a structural problem. He emphasized, though, that social assistance is now being implemented through the offering of free education and free healthcare for the poor and the provision of care for the disabled and the elderly.

On the other hand, Abhisit was candid enough to mention some of the problems he will pass to his successor, like the strained relations with Cambodia over a border dispute, the continuing violence and insurgency in Southern Thailand and bitter political conflicts that need to be resolved through judicial processes. He particularly advised new members of parliament to help tackle the drug menace.

Abhisit’s speech was brief, but it amply summed up his successes and failures as a leader, including his unfulfilled dreams for Thailand. It was also noteworthy for the issues that Abhisit refused to mention, like the violent protest crackdown last year, attack on media freedom and other civil liberties, and corruption in the bureaucracy.

Abhisit is now a private citizen, but we shouldn’t disregard the prospect of a political comeback – especially since he was recently re-elected as leader of the Democrat Party.

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