THE DEPARTMENT of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said they have agreed to jointly sponsor a program to supply food to detainees in Tarlac.
The program, known as the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP), will work with four agrarian reform beneficiary organizations (ARBOs) in Tarlac to deliver agricultural products to the BJMP, which will serve as an institutional buyer.
“The DAR will assist and empower the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and their ARBOs to increase their production and engagement in agri-based and related enterprises,” DAR provincial officer Jocelyn O. Ramones said.
The program will assure ARBOs of a steady market, with the BJMP making regular purchases of vegetables and eggs to feed persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
“The project has a two-way benefit, both for the farmers, for them to get better returns of their investment, and for the PDL consumers, who will have access to better-quality food products,” she added.
Ms. Ramones said the DAR hopes to explore more institutional markets, like government hospitals and military camps, in order to forge marketing agreements in support of ARBO products.
The EPAHP is a program of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger, which hopes to provide food security and nutrition to the poor, enhance agricultural production, and establish sustainable agriculture by 2030.
The ARBOs involved are Ginintuang BUTIL Farmers Association in San Juan de Mata, Tarlac City; Bacabac Farmers Producers Cooperative in Bacabac, Camiling; San Sotero PMPC in Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac and San Agustin Agrarian Reform Farmers Association in Victoria, Tarlac. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
CHINA’S reaffirmation of a long-term goal to be almost entirely self-sufficient in pork production means it will keep scooping up global grain supplies to feed the world’s largest pig herd.
The country, which consumes half of the world’s pork, will maintain a target to produce 95% of the protein at home through 2025. It wants to be self sufficient in poultry and egg, 85% for beef and mutton, and 70% for dairy, the agriculture ministry said, adding that they form part of China’s food security goals.
The targets will likely bolster overseas purchases of soybeans and feed grains needed to fatten hogs, cattle and poultry. China is already the top importer of soybeans and corn, and has purchased unprecedented amounts in the past two years to feed a hog herd recovering from African swine fever. The buying binge sparked a global price rally as investors were also worried about supply.
“Imports of feed grain are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future as China begins to prioritize domestic production of meat and dairy,” said Darin Friedrichs, co-founder and market research director of Sitonia Consulting, a China-based agriculture information service provider.
The self-sufficiency goals, which were flagged since 2020 at least, come as the deadly African swine fever outbreak about three years ago destroyed roughly half of China’s hog population and spurred a surge in meat imports and record pork prices. It accelerated a push to modernize hog production and cut costs.
Today the national herd has recovered to a six-year high and is 17% bigger than before the disease struck. Futures in Dalian are down about 50% this year, underscoring the boom-bust cycle China’s pig farming industry is notorious for.
The self-sufficiency targets are part of a series of measures to ensure stable meat supplies and prices. The ministry said China’s consumption of livestock products will continue to grow but there will be gaps in feed grain supply and demand. It also noted that China is “heavily reliant” on imports for soybeans. — Bloomberg
SALARY increases in Indonesia are on track to rebound to pre-pandemic levels next year as the economy recovers and employers beef up their workforce, a new survey showed.
Median pay hikes in Southeast Asia’s largest economy are forecast to hit 6.5% in 2022, well above the 5.3% registered this year, but still slightly under the 6.9% in 2019, according to a survey of 533 organizations conducted by human resources firm Mercer. Indonesia’s results also beat the Asia-Pacific average of 5.4%.
“Employment recovery is gathering pace with the reopening of economic and social activities, and the future for Indonesia’s job market looks bright,” said Yosef Budiman, Mercer career products manager in Jakarta. “Companies are in a better position to hire while employees have more options when they consider switching jobs in this climate.”
High-tech and Internet companies in Indonesia will offer the highest median salary increases in 2022 at 7.3% due to the high industry demand and stiff competition for skilled labor in the field, Mercer said. The chemical and life sciences sectors are eyeing pay hikes of 7% each, followed by the consumer goods sector at 6.5%.
Mining and related services are likely to maintain their pay hikes next year, but may offer the highest payout of variable bonuses of 3.6 months, the survey showed. Indonesian employers paid out about 2.3 months’ worth of bonuses in 2021. — Bloomberg
COVID-19 treatment pill MOLNARZ® of biopharmaceutical firm MSD
THE PHILIPPINE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of the antiviral pill molnupiravir for at-risk adult coronavirus patients, and inoculating children aged 5 to 11 with the Pfizer vaccine.
FDA Director General Rolando Enrique D. Domingo said in a news briefing on Thursday that the emergency use authorization was granted to the COVID-19 treatment pill under the brand name MOLNARZ® by a licensee of biopharmaceutical firm MSD, or known as Merck in the United States and Canada.
Mr. Domingo said several other MSD licensees have pending emergency use applications, some of which are already being dispensed in hospitals under a Compassionate Special Permit.
Molnupiravir, used for the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, may only be given to patients 18 years old and above with “risk factors for developing severe illness” such as senior citizens and those with comorbidities, the FDA official said.
PEDIATRIC VACCINATION Mr. Domingo also announced the approval of the use of Pfizer vaccines, specifically Tozinameran and Comirnaty, for 5 to 11 year olds.
“Upon review of technical documents and evaluation of the US FDA recommendations, the data submitted is sufficient for the EUA approval,” he said, noting the use of the Pfizer shots in the US, European countries, and Canada.
“It is reasonable to believe that the vaccine may be effective to prevent COVID-19 and the benefits of the vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks,” he added. The possible side effects of the vaccine are light fever or slight pain around the injected area.
The Philippines started pediatric vaccination among 12 to 17 year olds in mid-October.
The Pfizer vaccine, Mr. Domingo said, has an above 90% efficacy rate for children. He emphasized that the dosage and concentration of the vaccine will be lower compared to shots used for those 12 and above.
“They will have to order and procure this separately,” he said, referring to the Department of Health.
Procurement will likely start by January next year, he added.
Meanwhile, 6.4 million jabs were administered during the second round of the national vaccination program held Dec. 15 to 22, short of the seven million target as some areas in the path of typhoon Odette cancelled inoculation activities or still unable to send reports, according to the DoH.
In the same news briefing Thursday, Kezia Lorraine Rosario from the DoH’s National Vaccination Operations Center said they still expect the number to increase in the next few days as many areas are unable to submit their complete data due to communication service problems after the typhoon.
She also reported that booster vaccinations rose by about 8,000 from the average 40,000 during the Bayanihan, Bakunahan II after health authorities shortened the interval for top-up shots against COVID-19 earlier this week.
“Local government units are still adapting to the change of directions and are also preparing for the roll-out of booster doses,” she said, noting that the process will likely speed up in the following days.
The DoH earlier said there are around 19.37 million people eligible for boosters. Of these, around 1.2 million already received their top-up shots.
Mr. Domingo reiterated that only adults aged 18 years and above are currently allowed to take the third dose.
Ms. Rosario assured that the country has adequate vaccine supply of different brands for both the first and second dose, as well as the booster shots.
“We will try to allocate more vaccines which allow heterologous combinations,” she added.
The country has been receiving a steady delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, including those purchased by the national government, private sector, local governments, and donations from different countries.
On Thursday, Germany announced that it has sent its fifth batch of vaccine donations to the Philippines, consisting of 1,531,000 more doses of Moderna vaccines from the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator or COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access facility.
The country has received a total of 8,786,600 Moderna vaccines from Germany, which also previously donated 1,638,100 AstraZeneca doses.
The vaccine donation arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, received by German Embassy Manila Economic Counselor Georg Maue and representatives from the health department and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
Ms. Rosario said the Philippine government at the national and local levels are working to ensure equitable distribution of vaccine supply.
The government is targeting to inoculate at least 54 million Filipinos by yearend. There were 46.4 million doses administered as of Wednesday.
CASE TALLY The DoH on Thursday reported 288 coronavirus infections, bringing the total to 2.84 million.
The death toll from the coronavirus reached 50,981 after 65 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 270 to 2.78 million, it said in a bulletin.
There were 9,251 active cases, 480 of which did not show symptoms, 3,204 were mild, 3,393 were moderate, 1,797 were severe, and 377 were critical.
The agency said 84% of the reported cases occurred from Dec. 10 to 23. The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were Metro Manila with 63, Western Visayas with 38, and Calabarzon with 27.
It said 3% of the reported deaths occurred in December, 9% in November, 22% in October, 48% in September, 6% in August, 2% in July, 5% in June, 5% in May, and 2% in April.
The DoH said two duplicates, which were recoveries, were removed from the tally. The agency said 167 patients had tested negative and were removed from the tally and reclassified as recoveries.
It added that 60 recoveries were relisted as deaths. Two laboratories did not operate on Dec. 21, while 11 laboratories did not submit data.
The agency said 19% of intensive care units in the Philippines were occupied, while the rate for Metro Manila was 20%. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
THE FINANCE department has directed the revenue office to speed up the processing of tax exemptions for imported relief goods intended for areas devastated by typhoon Rai, locally named Odette.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III ordered the Bureau of Internal Revenue to work in shifts to process tax exemptions 24 hours a day so it could quickly release donated goods from foreign governments and international organizations.
Mr. Dominguez, in a Dec. 21 letter to President Rodrigo R. Duterte, said the department is ready to process applications to grant tax exemptions for these goods.
The Department of Finance (DoF), in a press release on Thursday, said it also plans to send guidelines on tax exemptions to the Office of the President and the public.
Mr. Duterte on Tuesday declared a state of calamity in six regions affected by the typhoon to speed up aid deliveries and relief efforts.
These are: Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Northern Mindanao and Caraga.
Government agencies that may apply for the tax exemptions include the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health, and the Office of Civil Defense.
Local government units and government-accredited private and non-government organizations may also apply.
Relief goods that may be tax exempt include food, medicine, equipment and materials for shelter, and vehicles.
These goods must be donated or leased to government institutions and accredited private organizations either for free distribution to communities affected by the typhoon or for use during rescue operations in disaster-affected areas.
The DoF has launched an online registration process for tax exemption applications.
The Customs Modernization and Tariff Act or Republic Act No.10863 exempts from duties and taxes relief consignment goods imported during a state of calamity and intended for the areas and population affected by the calamity.
Earlier this week, the Customs bureau has also ordered ports nationwide to set up one-stop shops that will facilitate the speedy processing and release of goods intended for typhoon survivors.
“The OSS shall be available 24 hours and seven days a week (24/7). It shall be responsible for coordinating with other concerned government agencies in the processing of donated relief goods to facilitate its immediate release,” the bureau said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Foreign Affairs department has also organized a national OSS to handle all concerns relating to donations.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, the President’s acting spokesperson, on Thursday thanked all sectors for initiatives to help in the emergency response.
“We again thank all generous allies in the international community, development partners, organizations, families, and individuals for the outpouring of support and compassion to our people,” said Mr. Nograles.
“We also assure our kababayans that your government continues to work double-time in its relief, recovery, and rehabilitation efforts to aid displaced families in hard-hit areas as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of the most devastating typhoon to hit our country this year,” he added. — Jenina P. Ibañez with a report from Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
FUNDS for P1.44 trillion worth of idle projects flagged by the Commission on Audit (CoA) should be realigned for the recovery of areas devastated by typhoon Odette, a senator said on Thursday.
The CoA has called out 17 government agencies over delayed, abandoned and idle infrastructure projects “which may result in waste of government funds or delayed enjoyment of project benefits.”
This is “a criminal neglect,” said Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon in a Viber message. “We have no funds for the typhoon victims, but CoA finds P1.44 trillion in idle funds? These funds should be immediately re-aligned to provide funds to typhoon victims.”
Officials responsible for the flagged projects, he added, should be charged for causing injury to the public because of their “reckless imprudence.”
Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, Sr. said government prosecutors from the Ombudsman or Justice department as well as investigation agencies should give “utmost importance and attention” to CoA audit reports to address corruption in the country.
“For one, the audit reports provide very good leads in identifying misuse and abuse of public funds and pursuing cases against erring public officials as well as their cohorts in the private sector — including contractors and suppliers,” Mr. Lacson, who is running for president next year, said in a statement on Thursday.
State auditors earlier said the delays in project implementation may have been due to “abandonment by the contractor, inefficiency in monitoring of project implementation, poor planning and workmanship and lack of coordination with local government units and other agencies concerned.”
“So much is lost to corruption,” said Mr. Lacson, when the country is already “neck-deep in debt without seeing the commensurate programs, projects and activities designed to uplift the lives of Filipinos.”
CHILDREN Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian on Thursday said that child welfare and safety should also be given priority in post-Odette relief and rehabilitation efforts.
He called on the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health, and Department of Social Welfare and Development to provide child-friendly spaces and address the health, nutritional and psychological needs of young survivors.
With the DepEd eyeing the expansion of limited face-to-face classes in January next year, Mr. Gatchalian said the safety of schools in typhoon-hit areas should also be prioritized.
Around 15 million learners in 35,698 schools were affected by the recent typhoon, while 671 schools are being used as evacuation centers, according to the senator. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) on Thursday said it has allocated and delivered more than €2.83 million (P 160.69 million) worth of humanitarian assistance to the Philippines, where central and southern areas were devastated last week by typhoon Odette, internationally known as Rai.
“This initial assistance is on top of important contributions of the EU and its Member States to the emergency funds of multilateral humanitarian institutions that have responded to the needs created by the typhoon,” it said in a statement. “Some other Member States are redirecting funding or contributing to those institutions.”
The European block said its partner humanitarian organizations will also strengthen healthcare services, including hygiene promotion to mitigate the spread of waterborne diseases.
Israel, through its envoys in the country, has also provided assistance, initially to the badly-hit provinces of Cebu and Bohol.
Among the items delivered were solar energy systems, food packs, and hygiene kits.
“The solar panels will be useful for areas which don’t have power supply yet. This technology is ready to use and low-maintenance,” Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss said in a statement.
“Aside from the issues on power supply, we noticed that typhoon hit areas also experiences shortage of portable water. This Israeli-made portable water purifier will give them access to clean drinking water,” Deputy Chief of Mission Nir Balzam said.
The Israeli embassy is also donating one unit of portable water purifier, four solar energy systems, food packs, and hygiene kits to Siargao.
The Japanese Embassy also announced the delivery on Thursday of disaster relief goods, including generators, camping tents, and water containers, among others.
Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko said apart from these relief items, Japan is also looking into the provision of financial support to the Philippine government.
RECOVERY PLAN Meanwhile, Tzu Chi Foundation has sought the help of leading technology and communication firms for planning a recovery assistance program.
The humanitarian organization also called for the cooperation of other industries that are critical in the rehabilitation of typhoon-hit areas, including logistics, real estate, financial services, payments, and retail space.
Among the companies that joined a planning forum on Thursday include Globe Telecom, Inc., Digital Pilipinas, GeiserMaclang, Air21, Microsoft, Coins.ph, MAPUA, and Etiqa.
Most of these firms have already been delivering various forms of assistance to the typhoon-affected areas.
“Tzu Chi is not rich. But what we have are dedicated volunteers who are doing everything they can to help,” said Peggy Sy, a Catholic nun and member of the foundation. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan and Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan
THE NATIONAL Housing Authority (NHA) will provide P100 million worth of assistance to survivors of typhoon Odette in Dinagat Islands who lost their homes, as instructed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Wednesday.
Typhoon Odette, internationally known as Rai, made its second landfall on Dec. 16 in Dinagat, a cluster of islands in the northeastern side of Mindanao. It has a population of 128,117, based on the 2020 census.
Provincial officials estimate that up to 95% of houses were affected.
Caraga Region, where the Dinagat province is located, has so far recorded a total of 8,661 damaged houses, with 6,628 partially destroyed and 2,033 completely devastated, based on the report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Thursday.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said on a Thursday that the President met with evacuees and local officials in the area, where he vowed to provide the means to speed up clearing operations and help residents reconstruct their homes.
The President also directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to provide financial assistance to affected families, while the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will monitor and supervise its distribution.
The DSWD financial aid will be on top of continued provision of food and other relief items. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
TRAVELERS by land from Luzon bound for the eastern side of Mindanao — except those transporting relief goods and other essential perishable items — will not be allowed entry to any port in the Eastern Visayas Region as the Liloan seaport is currently congested with stranded passengers and vehicles.
The regional disaster management council, in a memorandum to port and transportation agencies, said the suspension will be in effect 12 noon of Dec. 22 until further notice.
“This proactive measure aims to prevent further build-up of passengers and vehicles at the Liloan seaport which was also hit by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette,” said Lord Byron P. Torrecarion, chair of the regional council.
The Liloan port in Southern Leyte serves as a jump-off point to Mindanao for passenger ferries and roll-on, roll-off vessels.
The alternative port in San Ricardo town is non-operational due to damage from the typhoon. — MSJ
MPCALA Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), on Thursday said that it expects a 10% increase in vehicle volume on its expressway from Dec. 23 to Jan. 24.
The company placed the operation of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) “on heightened alert status to guarantee safe, secure, reliable, and convenient toll passages for travelers during the holiday rush,” it said in an e-mailed statement.
The CALAX project is a 45-kilometer expressway running from Kawit, Cavite to Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.
“As of today, CALAX operates from Biñan, Laguna up to the east of Silang, Cavite and services about 18,000 vehicles on weekdays and experiencing a high of 32,000 on the weekends at the start of December,” the company said.
MPCALA Holdings President and General Manager Roberto V. Bontia said roadworks on CALAX will be suspended from Dec. 23 to 25 and from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2 “to give our motorists unobstructed access.”
The company also said it will continue to render 24/7 patrol and security personnel for motorist assistance.
It will also place emergency medical service team, towing service provider, and incident response team “on optimum level.”
MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin
It could have been one of Warren Buffet’s biggest opportunity losses, that deal with See’s Candies. “I almost blew the See’s purchase. The seller was asking for $30 million, and I was adamant about not going above $25 million.” Fortunately for Buffet, See’s seller agreed to his price. Buffet’s investment has given him over $2 billion in pre-tax income. With his investment, the chocolate factory has increased its annual earnings from $30 million in annual revenues to more than $380 million in sales and $80 million in profits.
In more meaningful ways, public spending on education, health, social services, is an investment in people and society, and every peso spent should produce returns many times over the sage of Omaha’s cumulative $2 billion plus. It is public spending on soft and hard infrastructure that could help develop the mind and brawn to establish the capital base of future growth. Public spending has a bigger footprint because it also mitigates poverty, hunger, and disease. If done properly, it also creates inclusive and sustainable, peaceful and climate-resilient communities.
In the same category, relief operations in the aftermath of the killer Typhoon Odette deliver corrective measures on infrastructure, emergency support to life and health by way of food and water, medicine and medical treatment.
Of course, it is easier to account for every peso investment in chocolate factories than to measure people’s ascent from poverty, illiteracy, and calamity. It breaks our heart to see young boys and girls helping their parents in Ubay, Bohol dig through piles of wooden and concrete piles of debris “to find anything they can use to rebuild their homes destroyed by Typhoon Odette” last week. Attending school and learning the three Rs will be their lowest priority; survival is the greatest. The greater Bohol area is a sad scenario of devastation, of the riverside Loboc area and its ancient churches, Chocolate hills, and even the small population of tarsiers.
Loss of tourism income is easy to estimate, but the value of lives lost and hopes dashed is priceless. Something as basic as water is non-existent in Bohol, food is dependent on donations. It was feared that looting might ensue as the food supply runs out, while water could not be pumped up because of loss of power. Cell coverage is not available. It is good that several candidates for national positions have announced the suspension of their political campaigns in favor of stepping up on relief operations, rallying their respective supporters to channel their support to the highly damaged areas in the Visayas and Mindanao. Bohol is just one painful example of Odette’s fury unleased in the Philippines like Surigao. This is not the time to court votes, this is the time to ensure voters could still survive to vote.
What else could the government do but declare a state of calamity in 31 provinces in six of the country’s 17 regions — Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga. Our weather authorities documented that Odette was the strongest and most destructive typhoon this year, causing the death of around 400 persons and displacing over half a million Filipinos. Damage to infrastructure and the agricultural sector was placed at nearly P3.6 billion.
This Odette feels like déjà vu.
Very timely, this broadsheet came out yesterday with an extremely instructive chart on the 22 costliest and deadliest typhoons in the Philippines. Typhoon Yolanda of November 2013 topped the list with an estimated damage of more than P95 billion. After eight years, many parts of Tacloban, Samar, and northern Cebu remain scarred. The others in the top five were Ompong, P43.2 billion; Pablo, P39.95 billion; Glenda, P38.62 billion; and Pepeng, P27.2 billion. The least destructive on the list was Tisoy of November 2019, causing damage worth nearly P6 billion.
Yolanda also topped the list as the deadliest of these tropical cyclones with 6,300 deaths in its wake. Nearly as deadly was Uring which claimed 5,101 lives; Nitang, 1,363; Sendong, 1,268; and Pablo, 1,248. Kading was last in the deadliest list with 444.
There is nothing radical about the uncertainty of typhoons hitting the country’s area of responsibility. The ASEAN Disaster Reduction Center advises that there is an average of 20 typhoons in the Philippines every year, five of which are usually destructive in terms of damage to property and infrastructure as well as on human lives. This is something that should not surprise anybody, especially those in government. The Philippines is located along the typhoon belt in the Pacific. In fact, even earthquakes and volcanic eruptions should also be in the equations of the authorities because the Philippines is in the Pacific Ring of Fire. We are in the middle of a few oceans and we are therefore prone to periodic storm surge, sea level rise, landslides, flooding, and, yes, drought.
Any government worth the votes of the people should never be unnerved, or appear clueless, when it comes to the need to institutionalize emergency responses in terms of funding and logistics, national and local government coordination, and sharing of resources. Like a school exam, key parameters are known.
As a voter, the first question we should ask of all presidential contenders is how they intend to manage the Philippines’ unique vulnerability to the weather and climate change, from relief operations to rehabilitation efforts to reconstruction. If one candidate suggests a formation of a study group, serious voters should immediately strike that candidate out of consideration. If the candidate is very specific about the steps to be taken, complete with indicative timelines and budget, that candidate should lead us in the next six years.
While abstracting from the fundamental qualifications of presidential material like moral integrity and honesty, competence and good education, experience in public service — we should note that we have had presidents of outstanding intellect, unquestionable integrity, and distinguished public service. But today, we are still challenged to set up more efficient disaster management even as the disasters are virtually predictable — they will surely come. No different from a risk management system, it should be able to anticipate the ultimate appearance of calamities. We deserve a system that avoids scrounging for funds, rallying international support and donation. We are virtually reduced to mendicancy when we can afford to lose billions of pesos to corruption and bad governance.
Institutionalized disaster management will allow us to really treat the corresponding public spending as insurance against typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other similar acts of nature. A quick look at the proposed 2022 national budget shows a P20 billion appropriation for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Calamity Fund. In previous years, the fund was increased from budget transfers coming from overall savings. There were also continuing appropriations for capital outlays.
Obviously, these numbers are not enough because the government itself encourages the international community to lend a helping hand with cash, and donations in kind like food, water, and medicine. That is why, on top of its proposed loans from both the ADB and the World Bank for vaccine shots, the national government also signed a €250-million loan from France to fund local governments’ decentralized disaster response. Given the extent of the damage, it is safe to say the recovery will take years to complete. Relief is still most urgent; rehabilitation and reconstruction will not start until next year and perhaps beyond. Marawi is an excellent example of glacial progress.
With Omicron and Odette staring us in the face, and the economic recovery still uncertain, we could hardly have Chris Trapper’s black and blue Christmas. Relatively few are black and blue from shopping in the mall and braving the horrendous traffic.
Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former deputy governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was alternate executive director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.
Only two out of five people can identify the three branches of government. Hardly 30% know how many years are congressmen’s and senators’ terms of office. A low 25% can name the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. Only 50 to 60% of eligible voters vote during elections.
The claim has been made before: Filipinos are dumb and clueless and hardly deserve the enjoyment of such democratic rights as that of choosing their leaders in free elections. Jose Rizal, whom the Spaniards executed on Dec. 30, 1896, did, after all, assume the ignorance of his countrymen in arguing for the need for education in the making of a free Philippines.
No, the above numbers are not about Filipino voters; they refer to the American electorate. No study has made similar information available about the Philippines. But anecdotal evidence suggests that not only could those numbers be even worse in the Philippine setting. What most Filipinos don’t know, or are misinformed about, could also include a range of areas in governance, politics, and society about which knowledge is crucial in the election of their leaders.
The mass of voters who decide the outcome of this country’s elections vote on the basis of who can best smear their rivals by revealing the most sordid details about their personal lives, who tell bad, misogynist, tasteless jokes, or who’re ready to sing and dance to their amusement.
Only the organized have ever understood what the party list system is all about, and the rest defeat its purpose by choosing those groups that further tighten the hold of political dynasties on the legislature.
It is the names of those candidates that are frequently mentioned over radio or television that they vote for. Neither candidate track record nor program of government figure in their decisions.
Human rights violations and abuse of power are as arcane to them as global warming, and they dismiss as mere trouble-makers those who call attention to them. Instead, they focus on the gender and the mannerisms of candidates rather than the issues. One is dismissed as “too soft” because she’s a woman, while another is hailed as decisive, strong-willed and “man enough” to destroy his enemies, and therefore worthy of support.
They see themselves in, and approve of, such characters as a movie actor whose most frequent role was as a vigilante disdainful of the law, and a provincial despot clueless about the arts of governance but who is prepared to kill anyone who dares stand in his way.
Meanwhile, even some of those who claim to be educated — they have a degree from one of the faux universities that proliferate in this country — dismiss corruption in government as of no moment because the offender “nevertheless did something” (may nagawa naman). To justify their plan to vote for his son, some are indeed saying that of Marcos Senior: that he might have been a thief, but he built roads and bridges, anyway.
This is not just an indication of how even some of the seemingly more educated decide on who to vote for on the basis of who among the candidates is the lesser evil. It is also a symptom of how corruption has become so much a part of Philippine culture — the ways of thought and of doing things dominant in this society — that it is no longer a cause for outrage or even concern.
It shows in the ease with which bribing voters has become pivotal in winning elections. Far from being offended, the corrupted welcome their votes’ or their presence in a political rally or motorcade’s being bought and paid for. Some do excuse themselves by saying they won’t be voting for their corruptors — in the process revealing the rot in their own moral universe. Corruption is not only an issue in Philippine elections. It is also one of the deciding factors in their outcomes.
All of the above have long been evident during the frequent elections in this rumored democracy. But they do not validate claims that Filipinos are inherently stupid and corrupt. There are huge pockets of ignorance and corruption even in such supposedly “mature democracies” like the USA. Despite the science behind it, for example, various groups in that country oppose the wearing of face masks, thus contributing to the surge in COVID-19 infections. As for corruption, nothing in the Philippines can equal US officialdom’s waging multiple wars in 2003 on behalf of the oil companies in which they have interests.
In this troubled archipelago, the deficit in mass knowledge of such fundamentals as the Constitution and of government policies and their implications, as well as corruption’s enshrinement as acceptable, are the consequences of the complexities of a feudal culture that goes back to the Spanish colonial period and after.
The colonized learned how to avoid forced labor by feigning illness among others, thus making cheating a legitimate means of self-protection. Colonial rule also kept them ignorant not only through its idealization by both Church and State but also through the cultivation of such racist notions as their supposed inferiority. But as US colonials and junior partners, the power elite later learned the intricacies of ward politics through their US overlords, and have since become masters of it.
Today as in the past, the culture of corruption is the creation of, and is sustained by, the corruptors. Meanwhile, what currently feeds the continuing deficit in information are schools that teach conformity and blind obedience to authority while hardly imbuing their charges with any sense of what happened in history, much less what it means. And then there are the media, whether old or new, with their emphasis on trivia, mindless entertainment, and disinformation.
Thankfully, and despite formidable odds, there is a continuing campaign — a cultural movement, if you will — that is focused on combating disinformation and mass ignorance as well as the corruption that has metastasized in Philippine governance, politics and society.
A diverse conglomerate of youth and student groups, artists and writers, academics, professionals, journalists, progressive church people, and worker and farmer leaders, it has provided the information and moral compass this country sorely needs to pull itself out of the morass of poverty, injustice, and mass misery in which it has been foundering for decades. They are the very same individuals and groups that the corrupt and hopelessly ignorant oligarchs and their minions demonize and condemn and label “red” because they fear the loss of their power and their access to public funds.
What the counter-culture movement is aiming for — a society of justice, freedom, prosperity, and authentic democracy — will not be achieved overnight. But if this country’s own history is any guide, it can still happen. Despite the colonial press and Spanish control over the schools and the whole of Philippine society, the novels of Jose Rizal, whose 125th death anniversary the country will mark next week, and the writings of other patriots nevertheless nurtured the consciousness that led to the founding of the Katipunan, and the founding of the first Asian republic.
Among the signs today that real change is still possible even in this country of arrested development are the focus by some media organizations and journalists in examining the track records and platforms of the candidates for various posts, the growing demand among voters for better, real choices during elections rather than “the lesser evil,” and more and more Filipinos’ refusal to abide corruption. Perhaps things are not as hopeless as they seem in these isles of despair.
Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).
