GPH-MILF FRAMEWORK OF AGREEMENT: A MEETING OF SIMILAR MINDSETS AND COMMON INTERESTS

 The 32^nd round of the Exploratory Talks between the Negotiating Panels of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) finally reached a “Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro”.  A product of 16 years of negotiation, this document was preceded by the GPH-MILF Decision Points on Principles last April, 2012. 

Louder  than before, a global chorus of alleluias is heard from the United Nations, US, Japan, Britain, Switzerland, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Christian and Muslim political leaders, Mindanao business community, the AFP, and the peace movements in the country, with a definitive aura of certainty that peace is finally on the horizon.  UN, Australia and EU called it a “historical leap” to reach a “landmark agreement”. 

With pomp and grandeur, the “peace accord” was formally signed, October 15, at the Malacanan Palace. 

Yes, everyone have long desired for peace in Mindanao.  But any framework for agreement could only arise from the question why war was waged in the first place. At the ground, the ordinary people have long wanted to have peace – free from bombings, displacement, atrocities, and killings. Nobody wanted to become collateral damage of the war – war whose outcome is far from what the people wanted in the first place.
 

The United States, admittedly, plays a role in the Mindanao “peace” efforts. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Special Report 202 in February 2008 had this to say: “Without question, the US government could and must take an active lead role in any peace process in Mindanao.  Apart from its official status and responsibilities, the US government has many more resources at its disposal than does USIP………..the US government wields significant leverage to encourage both the MILF and the GRP to sign and implement a sound agreement. US policy instruments in Mindanao include diplomacy, conditionality of US economic and military assistance programs, and more punitive measures on counterterrorism front.” USIP facilitated the peace process from 2004-2007.
 

Soon enough, the US had struck a level of collaboration with the MILF, as the other negotiating party. A cable released by Wikileaks last August 2, 2011 said that MILF leader Murad Ebrahim “had tagged the US as the ‘only country’ that could help the rebel group solve its decades-long conflict with the Philippine government. By then, the MILF had consciously allowed itself to be an indispensable player in a peace game whose contours are defined by the US. 

The earlier Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) was the best proof of this capitulation.  But the BJE turned to be a fiasco when section of the ruling class (both at the national and local levels) vehemently opposed the scheme. The Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) creating the BJE was finally rendered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. 

In less than a year after the botched MOA-AD, the International Contact Group (ICG) was formed in 2009.  Its members are United Kingdom, Turkey, Japan and Saudi Arabia as well as representatives from Muhammadiyah (an Indonesian –based international Islamic NGO), Conciliation Resources (a UK-based international NGO), Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (a Swiss-based international organization), and the Asia Foundation (TAF). The ICG “exists to complement the work of the Malaysian facilitator, including though giving impartial advise to the parties and accepting tasking from the facilitator or the parties”. (UK in the Philippines, 2012).
 

Undeniably, both the Malaysian facilitator and the ICG provided the mediation normally considered as “external involvement to the talks”.  The participation of The Asia Foundation (TAF) as one of the members of ICG is most instructive. TAF has long been identified and documented as a front of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  TAF came in after the USIP. 

The participation of Turkey came also as no surprise. The US ambassador to Turkey is Francis Ricciardone.  The ambassador  “was principally responsible in asking for MILF clarifications on their position on the war and eventually the State Department came out with the US policy on the Mindanao conflict in response to the letter of Salamat Hashim” in the earlier period. (Ishak Mastura, Geo-political games and why peace talks matter, April 2, 2011). US ambassador to Indonesia Scott Marciel was the “Asean envoy of the US who carried the State Department’s letter to Murad Ebrahim in November 2009 regarding US policy on the Mindanao conflict (Ishak Mastura, ibid.). 

In his speech on October 6, 2012, the President announced that the new political entity “deserves a name that symbolizes and honors the struggles of our forebears in Mindanao….That name will be Bangsamoro”.
 

The Filipino people, in general, and the people living in Mindanao, in particular,  should be  the reapers of the real peace dividends. Unfortunately, they could end empty handed.      

Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) views that honoring the Bangsamoro struggle is, first of all, to uphold and put into place the content of the struggle in the agreement, that is, assertion of national sovereignty.  Bangsamoro emerged out of the anti-colonial struggle during the early part of the Moro resistance in the 1970s.  Its roots can be traced farther back to the 1906 Bud Dajo and 1913 Bud Bagsak massacres of Tausugs who defied the payment of a head tax and disarmament policy of the American troops.
 

The fundamental problem of the ordinary Moro people – the very condition that is created by the long history of neo-colonialism in the country was never part of the agenda of the BJE nor of the new agreement. At best, it only considers peripheral facets of the problem like marginalization, monopoly of land, constricting territory and private interests within the Moro lands. 

The new framework agreement clearly declares that, “vested property rights shall be recognized and respected”.  Without any doubt the new framework could be a mechanism wherein vested interests (of the Moro and non-More elite and of foreigners) will get the best terms. The agreement could very well provide the local ruling class wide latitude in their maneuvers within the new political entity.”   

The key positions of the new state apparatus would again become “prized trophies to be won and plundered”.  The long history of feudal relations n the Moro territories will all the more establish the personal power of the propertied class.  Patronage will again be the main mechanism to integrate the Moro people in the new political entity. 

PNoy has also earlier indicated that the cessation of war, as a logical consequence of the agreement, will pave the way for the unhampered operation of capital in the profitable sections of the new political entity (NPE).  In the whole island of Mindanao, the imperialist plunder is yet to unfold in these areas.   The Liguasan marsh in the heartland of Mindanao has natural gas deposit with an estimated worth of $580 billion. The Sulu and Tawi-tawi Seas are proven to be rich in oil, running also in billions of dollars.  Expansion of palm oil plantations, business process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism are eyed this early. 

Foreign equities in Mindanao and the rest of the country could be further widened should the constitutional provision of 60-40 Filipino-foreign rule on ownership of land and businesses is relaxed. This provision has been consistently referred to as an obstacle to foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines. 

PNoy admits that the Framework Agreement is “still a work in progress, there are still details that both sides must hammer out”.  But unlike the BJE debacle before, the latest agreement is welcomed with relief and hope by both the local elite and the people, especially the war-weary constituents of the viewed as failure and almost derelict entity, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The new framework is additional feather in the cap of the still popular President Noynoy Aquino who vows to complete the institutionalization of the new regional set-up until his term ends in 2016. The agreement is meant to urgently end the war. If it stops here the new agreement could only mean the perpetuation of a system where the dominance of vested interests (whether Moro, non-Moro and foreign) is accentuated. 

Cessation of hostilities is most welcome. However, what is most important is the elimination of the roots of conflict and war.  The continuing quest for just and lasting peace that has since been through negotiations could only be more real and meaningful to the people if they are the main actors in the process and not those who have monopoly vested interests in the forsaken “Land of Promise”.  The people’s legitimate and fundamental interests -- national sovereignty, national patrimony and genuine democracy—should be the main agenda. 

KPD and its member organizations would stay keenly vigilant to expose and oppose the Framework Agreement for what it is - a structure to perpetuate the system ruled by elite class interests; a disservice to the Christian, Lumad and Moro martyrs who laid down their lives in the long struggle against the colonialism by US imperialism.The hands of the US Armed Forces and government are quite obvious in the whole process of crafting the documents of the “peace agreement”.  

 Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD)October 15, 2012 

Tutulan ang Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012! Ipaglaban ang Demokratikong Karapatan ng Mamamayan!

Inilabas na ng rehimeng US-Aquino ang pangil nito sa sambayanan. Ipinapakita na nito ang lantarang pagiging kontra-mamamayan at hayagang pagsisilbi sa interes ng iilan. Desidido itong mambraso at ipakita sa lahat ang kapasyahan nitong kitlin ang malawak na disgusto ng mamamayan laban rito. At yaon nga ay nasimulan na. Ang pagsasabatas ng Republic Act 10175, o ang Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Layon lamang nito, ayon sa mga nagpasa ng batas na ito ang protektahan umano ang madla sa mga "cybercrime" na nanamantala sa mga kababaihan at kabataan. Di nito umano sisikilin ang karapatang magpahayag. Sa una, isang animo'y napakagandang batas.

Subalit sa huling sandali ay naisingit ang ilang probisyon sa batas na magtuturing sa libelo bilang isa sa itinuturing na "cybercrime". Ang pagpapakalat, paggusto at pagkumento sa isang "malisyoso" at "libelous" na larawan, artikulo't mga kumento na maaaring ipakahulugan na salungat sa mata ng estado o kung sino man ay ituturing nang krimen, at puwede kang kasuhan at ipakulong nang dahil rito.

Ibig sabihin, ikaw ay hindi na maaaring maghayag ng pamumuna sa kahit na sinong opisyal, institusyon at opisina ng gobyerno. Sa ilalim ng bagong batas na ito, may kapangyarihan ang estado na isara ang iyong website, blogsite o ang mismong Twitter o Facebook account mo kapag ito ay nakitang lumabag sa mga probisyon. Dahil rito, ang simpleng pagkumento o pagpapalaganap ng mga artikulo at larawan ay mangangahulugan ng pagkakakulong ng mahigit 12 taon at multa na aabot sa PHP 200,000. Bukod rito ay bawal na rin ang pag-download ng mga pelikula at musika sa internet, gayundin ang malayang palitan ng mga files (file-sharing).

Ang batas na ito ay pinagtibay at ipatutupad sa panahong ang libelo ay hindi na itinuturing na krimen ng maraming bansa. Isa na lamang ang Pilipinas sa mangilan-ilang bansa kung saan ang libelo ay krimen. Ang batas na umiiral sa Pilipinas sa kasalukuyan ukol sa libelo ay mahigit 80 taon nang nakatindig, isang batas na produkto ng pananakop ng imperyalistang Estados Unidos, na kanilang ipinatupad upang gipitin ang makabayang damdamin at paglaban ng mga Pilipino noon. Isang patunay ng pagiging neo-kolonya ng ating bansa.

Ito ay malinaw na pagkitil sa malayang pagpapahayag. Isang layon nito ang gipitin at sagkain ang mga pamumuna sa mga patakaran at polisiya ng estado at pagtakpan ang katiwalian at kabulukan ng sistemang panlipunan at makabayang damdamin, at ilihis ang isyu mula sa mga makabuluhang panawagan ng mamamayan para sa makabuluhang badyet sa edukasyon, mataas na sahod, pabahay at sebisyong pangkalusugan para sa lahat.

Sapagkat ang neokolonyal at elitistang estado ay bingi at manhid sa mga panawagang ito, upang iwasan ang malawakang pagkilos dulot ng disgusto ng marami sa nabubulok nang sistema ng lipunang Pilipino, minabuti nito na busalan ang mamamayan.

Social media: isang larangan ng protesta ng mamamayan

Malaki ang naging papel ng social media sa mga nagaganap ngayong mga malawakang pagkilos ng mamamayan sa buong daigdig. Kasabay ng mga pagkilos at protesta sa lansangan, malaki ang natutulong ng mga social media website na tulad ng Facebook at Twitter at mga blogs gaya ng WordPress, Tumblr at LiveJournal sa pagpukaw, pag-organisa at pagpapakilos ng mamamayan. At naganap nga ang "Arab Spring" kung saan pinatalsik ng mga mamamayan ng mga bansa sa South West Asia (Middle East) ang kanilang mga diktadurang rehimen.

Sa mga bansa sa Europa, partikular ang Spain at Greece, patuloy ang malawak at malalaking pagkilos ng mamamayan upang labanan ang pagbabawas ng pondo para sa mga serbisyong panlipunan at paglalaan nito para isalba ang mga bangkong nalugi dahil sa krisis. Sa una, ang mga pagkilos na ito ay maliitan ngunit pursigido, at sa mga gawaing pagmumulat at ahitasyon sa internet ito ay lumawak at dumaluyong ang mamamayan sa mga lansangan ng Madrid, Athens, Rome, Dublin, Lisbon, Paris at iba pa.

Sa Estados Unidos, tagumpay ang mamamayang Amerikano sa paglaban sa SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) at PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) na ang layon ay tiktikan ang komunikasyon sa internet at harangan ang anumang "iligal" na gawain sa ngalan ng paglaban umano sa pamimirata. Sa maagap na pagkilos at pagmumulat gamit ang internet, naiurong ang pagsasabatas ng SOPA at PIPA. At sa ngayong patuloy ang krisis ng kapitalismo sa Estados Unidos tulad sa Europa, patuloy pa rin ang pagkilos ng mamamayan na ang ekspresyon ay ang Occupy Movement.

Ang mga ispontanyong pagkilos na ito ng mga mamamayan na malaking bahagi ang papel na ginampanan ng internet at social media ang siyang ikinababahala ng neo-kolonyal na rehimen sa Pilipinas ngayon.

Tagong layunin: pigilin ang protesta ng mamamayan sa Pilipinas

Di lingid sa rehimeng US-Aquino ang malaking papel ng internet at social media sa mga protesta at pagkilos sa ibang bansa. Kaya naman nagkandarapa ang rehimen at kanilang mga kasapakat na busalan at kontrolin ang komunikasyon sa internet sa Pilipinas. Sa Facebook at Twitter naibubulalas ng mamamayan ang disgusto nito sa rehimen at sa sistema ng lipunang kinakatawan nito. Sa pag-unlad ng teknolohiya sa komunikasyon, ito ay naging isa sa mga kaalinsabay na porma ng propaganda bukod sa mga protesta sa lansangan. 

Ang mga progresibong grupo sa ngayon ay inaasahang matinding tatamaan ng batas na ito. Ito ay ekstensyon lamang ng patuloy na panggugulo at pananakot sa mga masang aktibista na ginamit na ang internet at social media upang makapagpahayag at magmulat sa mamamayan.

Nakakapagtaka na sa panahon ng pag-alis ng maraming bansa sa mundo sa pagturing ng libelo bilang isang krimen, ay ipinapagtibay naman ang batas na ito dito sa ating bansa. Nakakapag-alala din ang ilang mga probisyon tungkol sa penalty sa mga lalabag, na mas matagal at malubha pa kaysa sa nakagawa ng regular na libelo. 

Patuloy ang pagtaas ng insidente ng kagutuman. Walang malinaw na pinatutunguhan ang sinasabing "Tuwid na Daan" ng rehimen. Ang mga serbisyong panlipunan ay patuloy na winawalang-bahala upang ilaan ang pondo sa pagbabayad ng utang panlabas. Ang karapatan sa pabahay ay nananatiling isang propaganda lamang upang lokohin ang masa at patuloy ang mga demolisyon ng mga tirahan ng mga maralita.

Dahil rito, ang pagpapasa ng Cybercrime Law ay isang maagap na hakbang upang solusyonan ang malaking kakaharapin ng rehimen mula sa galit na mamamayan. Niyurakan na ng neokolonyal na estado ang karapatan sa malayang pagtitipon, at para makasiguro na ang lahat ng hibo ng mga porma ng protesta ay mawala, ito ang kanilang ginawa, ang pigilan ang protesta sa pamamagitan ng internet.

Tipikal na sa isang pamahalaang bunga ng neo-kolonyal at mala-pyudal na sistemang panlipunan ang tiyakin na ang paglaban ng mamamayan ay pigilin. Sa halip na magpasa ng batas na maglalatag ng mga batayang industriya, sa halip na pairalin ang transparency at accountablity sa pamamahala, sa halip na paunlarin ang kalidad ng edukasyon para sa pambansang kaunlaran at magsisiguro ng kalusugan ng bawat isa, gagawin nito ang lahat ng paraan upang protektahan ang interes ng iilang nagsasamantala.

Makibaka, huwag matakot! Ilantad ang pasistang katangian ng Cybercrime Law!

Ilang dekada na ang lumipas, mula nung patunayan ng mamamayan na kaya nitong tumindig at lumaban sa diktadura. Wala pang internet noon, subalit sa nagkakaisa at determinadong pagkilos ay tuluyang bumagsak ang diktadura. 

Ngayon higit kailan pa man ay dapat na mas igiit ang ating mga demokratikong karapatan at mga kahilingan! Ang batas na ito ay manipestasyon ng pasismo sa internet! Marapat itong ilantad at imulat itong makabagong uri ng diktadura na nagsasapanganib sa bawat isang Pilipino.

Sa halip na manlumo at mabahala, ay mas pag-ibayuhin ang protesta. Patunayan natin na hindi kailanman magagapi at matatakot ang mamamayan sa layong baguhin ang kasalukuyang sistemang panlipunan.

Marubdob na igiit sa estado ang mas dapat pagtuunan ng pansin ang mas malawak pang suliranin ng sambayanan kaysa pagtakpan ang sarili nitong kakulangan sa pamamagitan ng anti-mamamayang batas na ito.

Ang teknolohiya ay nilikha ng tao, at marapat na makatulong sa tao, at di sa kapakinabangan ng iilang mapagsamantala.

Aming mga kapwa kabataan at estudyante, tayong mga mas may panahon at kakayahang makapag-online ay dapat pangunahan ang labang ito. Ang labang ito ay para sa lahat sa kasalukuyan, at para sa mga darating na henerasyon!

Ika nga ng isang prominenteng lider-estudyante: Kung hindi tayo kikilos, sino ang kikilos? Kung hindi tayo kikibo, sino ang kikibo? Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa?

TUTULAN ANG CYBERCRIME PREVENTION ACT OF 2012!

DEMOKRATIKONG KARAPATAN NG MAMAMAYAN, IPAGLABAN!

ANG TEKNOLOHIYA AY PARA SA MAMAMAYAN, HINDI PARA SA IILAN!

REMEMBERING THE DAYS OF MARTIAL LAW: An Open Letter for the Filipino Youth

Most of us remember Martial Law as a painful turmoil that the nation ever experience.  A national situation associated to all forms of violence from killings, enforced disappearances, lifting of the writ of habeas corpus, massive human rights violations and grave abuses of military and politicians against the people’s civil liberties and democratic rights.  Other than all of these, who would forget to associate the former fascist dictator President Ferdinand Marcos to Martial Law?  It was a decade-lasting of political situation affecting all aspects of the country’s social system.  In fact, one of the 2 remarkable changes to the country’s political system ever known, 1^st to GMA’s legacy. We don’t mean a good and exemplary legacy but a traumatic, unashamed and decadent legacy. 

What then do we need to understand about Martial Law as a mark to our history, after 40 years of declaration?

The generation of today had not been born during the period, rather use as an excuse to have known how Martial Law impact our country’s social system, the generation of today is too fortunate to have the rich resources of information and the advancement of technologies to know the realities and become more aware and informed.

To start with, let us answer the question how did it all begin?  Some of you probably would answer that the attempt to assassinate Former Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile made it all possible, a big NO!  It was a manipulated and orchestrated incident to justify the declaration of Martial Law.  The reason behind the declaration has a deeper reason from the point of view of the reactionary politicians in the period, a move to mitigate the spread of their topmost fear: the growing vigilance of the Filipino people for genuine societal transformation.  You might wonder what is there for them to fear that democracy is in fact the power of the people!  That is exactly the reason why, they fear the power of the people heightening!

Important events of the economic and political situation globally and nationally happened before the declaration.  To cite the most important:  The state visit of former US President Nixon which craft policies for globalization, the approval of the bilateral state agreement on the IRRI rice research funding, the global siren of socialism spearheaded by the People’s Republic of China, the First Quarter Storm described as the height of the dynamic, vigilant and heroic social movement of the youth, the radical peasant movement at the countryside, the uprising of the Muslim-Filipinos against Marcos’ manipulation on the issue of Sabah, Marcos ending term as 2-termed President (1965-1972) and the global people’s movement of social change as the response of the people of the world to the massive and intensifying crisis of hunger, unemployment and inequality.  For your information, it wasn’t only Marcos who took the path of Fascism as a form of rule; it was a global trend amongst the governments at that period of time, an imposition of the USA’s foreign policy against the empowering people of the world.  A global call among the reactionary government to shove aside all possible results favoring the oppressed people of the world against the global crisis systematized in the campaign of Low Intensity Democracy.  These were the CONTEXT.

The big question is, why aren’t these written in our history books? Well, they wouldn’t want us to learn from it, they wouldn’t want for the new generation to learn from the past that indeed the response to an oppressive and exploitative situation can be answered by the people’s movement to change it!  This is however, to put it on a direct and straight-forward point of view.

As the state of Martial Law progresses, in real sense didn’t serve its purpose.  The vigilance and the heroism of the Filipino people with the important role of the youth at that period, intensified.  Student-youth who formerly did not believe on the idea of radical change became part of the movement for radical change.  Who wouldn’t be?  When hundreds of people are charged of cases whether criminal or political are pursued, when hundreds of people are gone missing without a trace, when pure and peaceful assemblies become a massacre and amidst all these no justice is achieved.   To add, the state of hunger, inequality and the global crisis of uncertainties remain and the governments are more antagonistic, manipulative and exploitative!

We believe you knew how the Martial Law ended and how Fascist-Dictator Marcos was put down in power.  You would answer the famous “EDSA PEOPLE POWER or the EDSA REVOLUTION” made it that placed former Pres. Cory Aquino as the next president of the Republic of the Philippines.  To put it on record she did not contribute nor spearheaded the MOVEMENT TO CHANGE THE FASCIST-DICTATOR RULE.   She went into hiding at the whole duration of the Martial Law.  There is nothing wrong with it, we can understand why she needs to but for her to be attributed all of the efforts that culminated to the end of Martial Law and the ousting of Marcos is wrong.  IT WAS THE NAMELESS, FACELESS, VIGILANT, FEARLESS AND HEROIC FILIPINO PEOPLE AT THAT DECADE, our grandparents, parents, sisters, brothers who stand against oppression and exploitation made it all happened!

Do you see now, what is there to learn from remembering the days of Martial law? It is not the declaration, it is why Martial Law was declared in the first place and how did the people respond to it. 

VIGILANCE AND HEROISM SUCCEEDED!  It proved again that when people stand their ground for what is true, right and just, nothing is impossible to achieve.  No brick walls can’t be broken and no distant dreams can’t be achieved.

We are confronted by a context now, similar to the context of martial law; will you respond the same as our heroes?  We should be.  It only takes the Will to DO IT.  Start off by knowing the facts, draw truth from it, form your conviction to pursue what is right and COMMIT your life to COURAGE AND JUSTICE. 

LONG LIVE FREEDOM!

LONG LIVE THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE!

Youth for Nationalism and Democracy-Cebu

September 20, 2012

Mobile phone number: 0923-960-4108/Facebook account: YND-Cebu

The Current State of Philippine Education

Written and delivered by Francisco “Ka Dodong” Nemenzo Former President University of the Philippines during the Action and Solidarity for the Empowerment of Teachers' 

(ASSERT) Conference 

Knowing my professional background, I suppose you expect a reaction to Department of Education (DepEd) discussion paper from the standpoint of a university. Since my experience is limited to tertiary education, I gauge the quality of basic education by the kind of students we get. I can do this with confidence, because, as the President of UP, I constantly monitored our student profile to check how those who entered as freshmen performed in later years.

Despite passing a tough and highly competitive entrance exam, many of them are not prepared for college work. Their mathematical and communication skills leave much to be desired, and they lack intellectual curiosity and the capacity for critical thinking. For this reason we require them to take courses they should have already taken in high school. This cuts down the period for specialization since most degree programs are designed for only four years.

We therefore have a vested interest in upgrading basic education, especially in the public sector. I favor the addition of two years to the secondary curriculum, for reasons cited in the DepEd discussion paper. But before this is fully implemented, some fundamental changes have been made. Two more years of bad education will not improve its quality. It will just saddle the parents with unnecessary financial burden. In this paper I shall discuss what changes ought to be instituted to prevent the proposed, “Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program” from going the way of previous reform efforts.

Recruiting teachers

The DepEd discussion paper gives incontrovertible proof and arguments that the present Grades 1-10 scheme is inadequate both as a preparation for work and a preparation for college. But this is not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is the lack of teachers who have mastered the subjects they are teaching, who are strongly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic. This shortage of good teachers should be tackled first before putting into effect the K+12 plan. If we are serious about improving basic education, this is where to start.

Natatandaan ko na nuong ako’y estudyante pa, mas magaling ang faculty ng public shools kay sa private schools. They attracted some of the best and the brightest. Although teaching was never a remunerative profession, it offered psychic rewards. Teachers enjoyed professional pride. Kaya ang pinakamagaling naming mga kaklase ay galling sa public high schools. Sa umpisa siga-siga ang galling sa elite high schools katulad ng Ateneo dahil mahusay silang magsalita ng English. Pero paglipas ng iilang semester, kulilat na sila. Ang mga student leaders, Collegian editors at honor graduate kadalasan produkto ng public high schools. Hindi na ganito ngayon.

Alam ko na mayroon pang magagaling na guro, pero tumatanda na sila dahil ang kabataang graduado ay umiiwas sa pagtuturo sa elementary at high schools. The remaining few are demoralized by dismally low salaries and the low public regard. Good teachers are insufficient to cope with the enormity of the basic education sector. Worse, their ranks are being depleted because of the Americans are actively recruiting the better ones for their schools in depressed areas where white teachers do not want to go. Hongkong is also pirating Filipino teachers on a massive scale. Many Filipino domestics in Hongkong are veteran teachers who were recruited on the basis of their English proficiency because Chinese families prefer maids who can double as English tutors for their children.

The DepEd discussion paper has ignored this trend. It has no plan for reversing this. Unless, we provide incentives for them to stay, the decline of basic education in the public sector will continue because the recruiters target the best we have. Seguradong papalpak na naman itong K+12  plan kung hindi mapigilan ang exodus ng mahuhusay na guro.

The first time I examined the UP student’s profile, I was delighted to note an increase in the number of students in the College of education. However, my enthusiasm diminished when I learned that when most of them entered as freshmen they opted for the most coveted degree programs; they shifted to education because they failed to maintain the required averages in engineering, economics, business administration, etc.

Since they are nonetheless doing well in the College of Education, I wanted to believe that they have, at last, found their true calling. But I soon discovered that very few of them go into teaching after graduation. They just want a UP diploma to pursue other careers, or go abroad.

How can we attract and retain good teachers in basic education? Besides raising their salaries and restoring their professional pride, we should also upgrade the normal schools and colleges of education: these are our primary fields of recruitment. Pero tila mababa rin ang kalidad ng mga ito. UP professors have complained that the knowledge levels of BSE degree holders who are taking graduate courses is pathetic. They seem to have mastered the techniques of teaching but not the subjects they are supposed to teach.

The language issue

The DepEd discussion paper laments the miserable performance of Filipino students in the TIMMS surveys. TIMMS is (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is a US-based research organization that conducts international countries of elementary and secondary students’ competencies in mathematics and science. In 2003 the 4^th grade Filipino pupils ranked 23^rd out of the 25 participating countries in both science and mathematics; in other words, we are 3^rd from the bottom. Our 2^nd year high school students fared no better. 43^rd out of 46 in science and 34^th out of 38 in mathematics.

Some experts attribute this to the use of the English language as medium of instruction. They seem to forget that English has always been the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science. They also overlook the fact that, in the TIMMS surveys, the countries where English is the medium of instruction lag behind the Asian countries that use their own languages for teaching.

I put forward the hypothesis that the use of English for teaching Science and Mathematics has been counter-productive. It might even have contributed to our poor performance in the TIMMS survey. We should also reexamine the assumption that the Philippine languages are inappropriate for teaching science and mathematics because they lack the equivalents to English terms.

In my view, the important thing is not the terms used but how they are explained. Just as biology borrows Latin terms, we can use English terms but explain them in language the students are most familiar. This is how the Japanese do it. My son, a professor of Mathematics at U.P who did his Ph. D in Tokyo, told me that in his field (i.e., number theory) they use Japanized German terms because it was the Germans who introduced number theory to Japan in the early 20^th century. They did not bother to translate the German terms, but in the classrooms and textbooks they explain the concepts in Nihonggo.

The exponents of English constantly point out that the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Thais, etc. are now learning English, suggesting that English is the language of progress. It is true the progressive Asian countries encourage their students to learn English as second language. The Japanese even require English in their Senior high school curricula. But none of these countries have shifted to English as medium of instruction. They use their own languages for teaching.

I am not proposing that we drop English altogether. In several occasions I have articulated my stand on the language issue. Please allow me to reiterate it here: Filipino students ought to be bilingual or trilingual. They should master English as the international language, Tagalog as the national language and, if they are non-Tagalogs, they should also be proficient in their regional languages.

is this asking too much of our young people? Hindi ko mapaniwalaanna mas bobo ang Pinoy comparer sa mga Dutch at Scandinavians. As anyone who has been to Europe can attest, the Dutch at Scandinavians speak English, French and German besides their native languages. The Filipino talent for languages is demonstrated by the case with which the OFWs in the non-English speaking countries pick up the languages of the host countries.

The role of the mass media

The objective of education is not to pack young brains with facts, but to arouse their curiosity so they will be driven by thirst for knowledge. Teachers who can instill the habits of questioning, of reading and forming intelligent opinions of their own must themselves possess these habits. Judging by the freshmen we get in UP, these habits are getting rare.

Computers, videos and televisions are often cited explain why young people today do not read as much as those who grew up before the advent of these technologies. But rather than cry over the degradation of youth culture, the better course of wisdom is to learn how to use these new technologies for education. These technologies are not bad per se. They are good or bad depending on how they are used and for what purpose.

What we should deplore and fight against is their commercialization, the fact that the mass media (especially televisions) are operated for profit. They thrive on advertising revenues. Commercialized television is responsible for idiotizing or mis-educating our people. They cancel out the values taught in school. They nurture intellectual laziness; the unthinking acceptance of what they see on television and read in the newspaper.

But we should not overlook the positive side of audio-visual technologies. They are potentially a powerful instrument for education. Instead of banning them, DepEd should encourage the teacher training colleges to teach the future teachers how to use visual teaching. These technologies have opened up the prospect of realizing the ideal of a learning society where education occurs not only in school. They make possible life-long learning.

We have media professionals who have actually produced excellent educational programs. Unfortunately their works, if utilized at all, are broadcast in the most inconvenient times, or broadcast in cable channels that are accessible only to subscribers. The leading television networks, in their relentless drive for profit, reserve prime time for telenovelas and other inane shows.

Since the mass media have virtually dislodged the schools in shaping the hearts and minds of people, they have become in fact an integral part of the educational system. Just like the private schools, they should be regulated by the state; and turned into an extension of the classrooms.

Vocational courses in the Curriculum

I agree with DepEd discussion paper that the prevailing concept of secondary education as a preparation for college is too narrow and misdirected. Ideally, high school graduates should be adequately prepared to gainful employment or, if they have the capital, to embark on entrepreneurial ventures. I would even go further: let us persuade the prospective employers to drop the requirement of college degrees because, in fact, a wide range of jobs do not really need a four-year college education.

            In 1991 the EDCOM (Joint Congressional Commission on Education) put forward a bold proposal to convert the substandard and politics-ridden state universities into community colleges offering two-year intensive skills development cour4ses. I don’t know what happened to this proposal. I agree with EDCOM report that excellent community colleges are less expensive to establish and maintain than full-blown universities. With such institutions it is easier to adapt skills training to the requirement of the job market.

Social Studies in the High School Curriculum

            In striving to promote science and mathematics, we should not neglect the social studies. While preparing young people for jobs, they should also be prepared to understand and cope with the realities of Philippine Society, and the global village. To imbue them with the spirit of Nationalism, they should have an adequate grounding in history, economics, political science and sociology. A critical mind is absolute necessary for life in this age of Information Technology, and the social studies, if properly taught, are the most powerful catalysts for critical-thinking.

            Everyday we are bombarded with information and misinformation in media and the internet. Without critical minds, our people are prone to relegate to media the task of thinking. We have often heard, even among supposedly intelligent UP students, statements like “it must be true because I saw in television…or I read it in the newspapers.” This reduces one of our most precious chartered freedoms- the freedom of thought- into a mockery. For democracy to be meaningful, the citizenry should be equipped with the capacity to process information, i.e., to read between the lines and see beyond TV images. This is why the social studies are crucial in basic education.

           

            Intellectual lassitude lies at the roof of widespread apathy among the present crop of students. They do not seem to care about the country; and their adulation of affluent countries like the United States is disgusting. This is reflected in their choices of degree programs in the university. Nursing, physical therapy, hotel and restaurant administration, tourism etc. draw the largest enrolment because these are perceived as pathways to self-advancement.

            I do not condemn our compatriots who seek greener pastures abroad. Insofar as those who leave because they want to forget our country are concerned, I am only too glad to see them go. Floaters who have no sense of national identity tend to cause problems whenever they live. We can offer them as a gift to the United States. The Mexicans have a nice word for them: venganza bilogica”- the biological revenge of the Third World.

            But there are also many who leave and settle in foreign countries but retain their patriotic commitment. Their departure is not necessarily a brain drain but a brain gain. Some countries owe their development to their overseas nationals. India is one example.

            In the boom days of Silicon Valley several Indian Scientist and engineers immigrated to the United States. It turned out that they contributed to India’s fantastic leap from a backward nation to a super-power in the IT industry. When they left India for lack of opportunities at home, they brought with them a strong sense of nationalism, a strong commitment to lift their native land out of backwardness. Over the years they passed on to the Indian Institutes of Technology the most advanced knowledge and skills they learned in America. And when the Silicon bubble burst, they persuaded Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. to relocate their research and development facilities to Bangalore and Hyderabad where there is an abundance of world-class scientific and technological manpower.

                        That is the kind of overseas Filipinos we should be cultivating through the social studies component of our educational system. Fired by a strong sense of nationalism, they will not only keep our flagging economy afloat with their remittances; they also serves as channels for technology transfer.

Summing up    

To summarize the points I made earlier: If we truly want our youth to get the education they deserve, we should restore the dignity of the teaching profession. We should make teachers’ salaries competitive vis-à-vis the other professions. The curricula of teacher training colleges should lay greater emphasis on subject matter content. We should fix these essential flaws to prevent the Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program from going down the path of previous educational experiments. And we must act now before the General Agreement on Trades and Services consign our youth to the margin of our own labor force.

On the Philippine-Australia Status of the Visiting Forces Agreement

“Di na Natuto”- We haven’t learned

This song title best describes the nation’s leaders who are pushing for the ratification of another Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), that with Australia.

Only a few years ago the controversial Subic Rape Case showed the nation how the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) saved a convicted US soldier from serving term in Philippine jail.  Now, the president and some senators are courting disaster by allowing another agreement that explicitly exempts foreign soldiers from accountability to our domestic laws.

SOVFA that guarantees protection for Australian troops, it can greatly increase Australian military deployment to the Philippines.  It can hold more joint military exercises to enhance “interoperability” to muster effective collaborative force against US’ enemies it calls “non-traditional threats”.  

The VFA did not make the AFP a force that can truly defend the country’s territorial integrity.  But here is the Department of Defense extolling SOVFA’s benefits for the AFP.

The VFA and the MLSA were instrumental in making US troops presence permanent and not merely visiting.  Now, Senator Loren Legarda says the SOVFA with Australia has safeguards.

Shall we allow ourselves to be fooled yet again?

The timing of the ratification is instructive.  The US is now reasserting its dominance in the region, its defined frontier for recovery and growth, part of this is to contain China, a rising power. Re-balancing its troops in the Asia Pacific region, including 2,500 troops to Darwin, Australia is part of this tact.

Kilusan sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) believes that Australia is working for this agreement not for the mutual benefit of the two contracting parties but primarily to project its power in the Asia Pacific, playing a supporting role to the US.

In the past, Australia has always relied on another power to augment its defense capabilities. Phil-Aus SOVFA is one of the instruments to reinforce US’ Pacific wall against China.

The Philippines and our Senate should not fall for an old ploy, and should learn its lessons well. By taking sides, the danger of being reduced to collateral damage between two colliding powers becomes a certainty. ####

Historic Moment in the Continuing Quest for Truth, Justice and Genuine Democracy

May 30,2012 

More than two-thirds (2/3) of the senators have convicted Renato C. Corona. He is now to be removed from the post as chief justice and be permanently barred from holding any public office or position. 

The present House of Representatives and Senate have done their sole duty and authority to initiate impeachment and to try and decide on impeachment complaints against an impeachable official. This one against Corona is the first-ever impeachment process that reached conclusion. 

The judgement, which is indeed momentous and have wide and far-reaching implications, was not only expected but was demanded by the people even before the House of Representatives initiated the impeachment of Corona. 

This small and partial victory of removing Corona from the post, which was arrogated for him by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and which he assumed, is still to be pursued into its finality. Until Corona and his ilk comply and submit to the Senate’s decision, this episode is not closed. 

We should remain vigilant. The actuations and latest statements of Corona and his lead counsel are doubtful and suspicious. Corona has said that he accepts the verdict “if it would be for good of the people”. But before accepting the verdict, Corona first denounced the impeachment process as having been dominated by political manoeuvrings and re-asserted that his conviction is product of a conspiracy. 

His acceptance of the verdict is doubtful and betrays ill intentions. He has earlier filed a petition before the Supreme Court to stop the impeachment process. His walk-out last May 22 also proclaimed that he does not recognize the impeachment court and actually wanted to lord over it. His lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas has also declared before the verdict was handed down that should Corona is convicted they would protest the verdict before the Supreme Court. 

Corona’s pending petition and the expressed plan of filing a new complaint before the Supreme Court are designed to hostage not only the Senate’s verdict but the principle of “check and balance”. Should they pursue this and should the SC act on it could lead to a constitutional crisis. 

The removal of Corona from the highest post in the Judiciary is now demanded by the people to proceed to major and fundamental reforms of the judicial system. 

The Aquino administration is urgently called for to fulfil its promise to bring to closure all the pending charges against GMA and her ilk. The more urgent ones include the human rights violations particularly the numerous extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and cases of illegal arrest and detention; the fraudulent 2004 and 2007 elections; the ZTE deal, Fertilizer Scam, etc. 

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” 

The ouster of Corona from a stolen post maybe the end of an episode but is also the beginning of a new chapter of more arduous struggle for truth, justice, freedom and democracy that would require heightened vigilance of the people. For the people, the most important lesson in the impeachment trial is vigilance and resoluteness for a just cause. 

The twenty senators who voted for Corona’s conviction may be commended but they may not claim victory for the people because they have to prove more as being their “representatives”. Although the senators may 

have acted and spoken in political grandstanding ways they have said a lot that have meaning to the people. 

But the people should not be misled by words of promises and place their hopes at the hands of leaders who do not genuinely represent their interests. Instead, the people should follow-through their other major and basic demands. That all public officials be accountable to the people by declaring the true state of their assets, liabilities and net worth is just one among the demands of the people to check graft and corruption. Public officials would all fail if they would be measured with the liabilities and promises they owe the people. 

One senator has expressed their other liabilities to the people: “impeaching poverty and hunger, unemployment, etc.” But he failed to air the need to repeal laws that are causing and exacerbating these symptoms of crisis. Among others the most urgent ones are Oil Deregulation Law, Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), Mining Act, the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement. A Marcos legacy that is the Foreign Currency Deposit Act belong to this ranking. 

President Noynoy Aquino is particularly being called to prove that his Matuwid na Daan is meaningful to the people. Other than arresting GMA and Abalos and ousting Corona his campaign against graft and corruption must redound to real and concrete benefits of the people that would pave the way towards fundamental economic, political and social reforms. 

The people’s historical and continuing struggle for truth, justice and democracy will certainly proceed from this one episode. It is for the people to decide the next chapters not only through the coming elections but in pursuing their struggle relentlessly. 

##### 

CJ IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: UNVEILING OF HOW THE ELITE DISPENSES JUSTICE

The executive, legislative, and the judiciary are the major branches of elitist rule in the country. They operate within the framework of maintaining such rule over the Filipino people.

Existing factions of the ruling class hold elections as part of the “constitutional process” - how to share among themselves the reins and spoils of political power stamped with the people’s imprimatur. They also have the impeachment again as a “constitutional process” - how to “discipline” erring members of the ruling class and their representatives for abuse of  exercise of such power.

The zeal and fervor of the present regime in going after CJ Corona, ex-COMELEC Commissioner Abalos, and the former President Arroyo spring from the fact that these accused  have almost destroyed the workings of the three pillars of the government with the potent combination of electoral sabotage, corruption, abuse of power, and  impunity. Perceived enemies of the state were either jailed or killed.

The nine years regime of Arroyo made a mess out of the “legitimacy” of the elite as well as the operation of the whole system. Using his popularity, PNOY has to fix this so as to not to isolate further the government from the people. Thus, it came as no surprise that judicial reform is one of the main agenda of the US government for PNOY.

The so-called “wheelchair approach” of practically all the accused, cannot be solely blamed on them. With all callousness, all of them wanted to illicit pity from the people they have oppressed.  The kid-gloves handling of the present government makes it a current fixture on our political landscape.  They have the best hospital doctors and facilities.  It is their right because they are part if not representatives of the ruling class.  Their rights should always be respected.

In contrast, what about the 871 deaths of ordinary inmates since 2010 from cardiopulmonary arrest and pulmonary tuberculosis while behind bars? What about the inmates sleeping on floors and corridors because

the jails operate at an average of 400 percent over their designated capacity.  They have no rights because they are non-entities and simple numbers.

CJ Corona’s performance last Tuesday, May 22, 2012 was without equal.  He was allowed to make an opening statement for three hours without questions coming from the prosecution and the senator-judges. He was never censured for his harsh and gutter-like language.  As one reporter said, he had conducted a press conference inside the session of the impeachment court. His walkout has rendered the impeachment court speechless.  Senators who had the nasty habit of battering lesser mortals in the witness stand have suddenly become inflicted with acute sore throats that no voice managed to come out from their mouths.  Enrile’s order of closing the gates of the Senate saved the day for them.  CJ Corona was forced to come back in the session hall.  Sulking in a wheelchair, the chief magistrate of the land looked like a disheveled god with a shattered ego.

CJ Corona’s apology last Friday, May 25, 2012 on his attempted walkout was unanimously accepted because of health reason. As a Senate that stuffed the public consciousness with materiality and relevance of facts and the pursuit of truth, it softly challenged CJ Corona’s premeditated walk-out. This was in sharp contrast with the Senate censuring of Atty. Aguirre that clasped his hands to his ears to signify his protest over Santiago’s berating tirades against the prosecution.  The attempted walkout was an affront against the whole Senate yet it was simply erased because of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.

What a zarzuela! Among the ruling class, an illness can be a passport for condoning misdemeanors much less crime.

CJ Corona has run the whole judiciary as his personal fiefdom (read Integrity of the judicial system) – insulating Gloria Arroyo as his main patron from further cases, interpreting the law for their own interests and using the court to grab properties from his wife’s relatives.  The rule of law even of the ‘burgis’ was undermined.

Recognizing the fact that impeachment is also a political process, CJ Corona tried to sway public opinion in his favor. Through his loyal stooge, Midas Marquez mobilized the whole judiciary to rally behind their embattled chief magistrate.  Rallies and masses inside the Supreme Court premises were  held and court holidays were declared so that court personnel can join these  mobilizations whose sole purpose is to  accentuate CJ Corona’s  innocence”.

Court personnel forgot their real boss, the sovereign people. How CJ Corona has inflicted the whole judicial system with his character and mindset is truly a remarkable feat for any bureaucrat.  Even the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has proven to be one CJ Corona’s avid supporter.

These court holidays only serve to further deter the already exceedingly slow wheels of justice. We know for a fact that the backlog of court cases exceeds 600,000. This does not include those who have been incarcerated yet no charges have been filed against them.  CJ Corona has turned the judicial machinery into his fans club rather than a swift dispenser of justice. Never mind, ordinary inmates come from the ranks of the masses.

The impeachment trial is about to wrap up its task and will render its verdict hopefully this week. Let us wait how the ruling class will put their imprimatur on this “constitutional process”.      ####

KILUSAN PARA SA PAMBANSANG DEMOKRASYA         May 28, 2012