By Rolo B. Cena
The Gulf Files
Dumaguete Star Informer
24 July 2011
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – After one year from being sworn to office, President Aquino delivered his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) in a joint session at the House of Representatives last Monday. As in most State-of-the-Nation Addresses, that was by far a high profile presentation of figures and statistics vis-à-vis reality that were suggestive of, to say it conversely, achievements of the administration to date.
Philosophically, allow me set my own parameters in assessing his performance: Good governance, public finance and economy, graft and corruption, education, environment, peace and order, and health. To put things in proper perspective, let us objectively tackle each parameter in order to get through the assessment vividly:
Undoubtedly, the President is an example of honesty, pure and good intentions. While the world feasted on his purchase of a “second hand luxury car” early this year, no one from his detractors realized that his intention was pure and simple: Transparency. His overall drive to eliminate these malignant species from the public service is alone an indicator of good governance. Unconsciously, however, he failed to anticipate the negative behavioral responses of the Arroyo people in the service against the young Aquino administration’s reform programs. When he created the Truth Commission, no truth ever came out because he wasn’t able to contain the Supreme Court, a government body majority ruled by Arroyo appointees.
The P11B savings the government announced in the last quarter last year was achieved because his administration spent lower than the budgeted plan. It was an example of sort but truly insufficient to use as key performance indicator. These savings resulted from a narrowed public spending as his commitment to the people. Moreover, business programs like public-private partnership was a copy-pasted, Adobe edited version of the build-operate transfer program of the previous administration.
Holistically, Aquino’s stern drive against graft and corruption became his selling point from day one. Given 10 being the highest, I could’ve rated him 9. However, the rating gradually declined to below median when the questionable appointment of friends, classmates, drinking and shooting buddies became the qualification of appointing officials to sensitive posts.
Along this line, what is new? Aquino’s predecessors did the same: Arroyo appointed a classmate of her husband to the Ombudsman to protect and preserve her greed; Estrada appointed drinking buddies and gambling mates; Ramos appointed relatives, allies, and friends; Cory appointed political supporters and friends in her journey to the Palace; Marcos appointed his allies, relatives and friends to complete his political sojourn. What else is new in the Philippine political system?
This is cronyism expressed in different tone; it is the same dog with different collar.
In addition, Aquino appointed Human Rights lawyer and advocate Leila de Lima to the Department of Justice. The feisty De Lima commenced her works with full support from the President. However, shortly thereafter, Aquino had for several times weakened or reversed de Lima’s recommendations particularly in cases where friends or political allies are severely involved.
Department of Education’s K1 + 1 scheme could have been fairly a good indicator for an improvement. However, the lack of consultations from all stakeholders not only drew negative criticisms from the academic and public sectors; it at the same time thwarted the program’s implementation. More to this, the reduction in the budget for all state colleges and universities added fuel to the fire. These drastic moves caused his rating to decline in this critical area.
In the area of environment, nothing’s changed: No new environmental-friendly preservation programs and initiatives are instituted. Categorically, the same programs are in place since the time Aquino was installed to power.
The peace and order situation of the country has moderately changed from good to bad. Not to mention the situation in the South brought about the Abu Sayaff phenomenon, in August last year, the world witnessed how senior police officer hijacked a tourist bus and killed at least eight Chinese tourists. Sans his demand for reinstatement, the failure of the government to abort the merciless killing affected the peace and order situation of the country. It even sent us to travel ban advisories from various countries. Categorically, the President failed to correct and address this stigma the world associated with us.
Nothing is significant in the area of health yet. The Reproductive Health Bill could have been an indicator, but eventually, this will only address the growing population concern of the country. Health issues have to be addressed accordingly. What fails him in this respect is the absence of a short-term plan to address the rising protests led by the “Pajero-troubled” Catholic Church.
If I may opine, the President’s overall rating is barely passing. Personal biases that governed my judgment may have ruled my process but the reason is obvious: In most areas, he consistently mismanaged to outwit his “path to righteousness.”
Just expressing my eighth wonder: How does Aquino differ from Arroyo, Estrada, Ramos, and (Cory) Aquino from day one of service? How do you rate the President then?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Discriminated!
By Rolo B. Cena
The Gulf Files
Dumaguete Star Informer
24 July 2011
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Travel has always fascinated me. Since I started travelling outside of the country in 1996, I never had done so without making sure my travel documents are ready.
Superstitions have, by certain norms and questionable bases, associated number “13” to bad luck. As I don’t believe in this and have always believed in the providence of God, travelling on the 13th of June 2011 to Jordan was just as normal and ordinary as travel during the April Fools’ Day.
On the instruction of the Management, I, along with my team member, a Jordanian, engaged on a premature seventeen-day business trip to Jordan, one of the countries I dreamed of visiting for three reasons: The Baptism Site of Jesus, the Memorial of Moses and the Dead Sea. It was premature in the sense that as planned by the team, it should have been a week later to make us ready for the activities.
The classy and gigantic Royal Jordanian Airline Airbus A310 took off from Riyadh International Airport twenty minutes past six in the humid evening and touched down the airport of Amman, the Capital City of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan two hours after. Passing through the Immigration officer, I handed my passport, my invitation letter from our subsidiary company in Jordan, certification from the headquarters of the conglomerate, and twenty Jordanian Dinars for my business visa. After examining my papers, he asked me to sit down and wait for his call.
After about ten minutes of frantically waiting, a dark non-English speaking Jordanian ushered me to a small office where I met an Arabic speaking officer. He was asking me for my return ticket. Their order was: fly back to Riyadh for travelling without visa. My heart began to pound and I started to entertain the fear that I had been trying to erase from my mind: denied and banned.
In a scant quantity of Arabic language, I managed to secure the nod of the officer to bring my Jordanian colleague in the same room where I was detained. I prayed and decided to call our Vice President in Riyadh who was himself a Jordanian. He called and negotiated for my visa. After more than two hours of detention, I was granted a one-month visa.
In our conversation wit the immigration officer, I requested my colleague to ask why my entry to Jordan was almost denied when tourists are welcome in the Kingdom. Translated, I come to know that airport visas are not allowed to Indonesians, Pakistanis, Sri-Lankans, Bangladeshis, Yemenis, Hindis (Indians), and Filipinos, among other nationalities mentioned. Specifically for us Filipinos, the reason is: terrorism.
Further the officer made mention of the popular engagement of our Muslim factionalists in the south and the world-watched August hostage taking that claimed lives of Chinese tourists.
What a way to discriminate Filipinos in this area where we used to be favored in the human capital exchange market? What exactitude of reference to this malignant social stigma that has been plaguing the country?
Can we blame them?
Rationally, no! We cannot blame them for placing us parallel with these nationalities. Just as we cannot blame employers in the Middle East and/or Gulf Countries for discriminating Filipinos in terms of compensation packages, workloads and social treatment when most of the overseas Filipino workers abused their positions, the privileges and the responsibilities assigned to them. But still surely, we are far different from them.
But what is it in us?
Undoubtedly, we are world class workers; we are world premier performers. Indisputably though, that favorable review about our race has gone down the drain. It was wasted when the Graham couples were kidnapped and tortured in Mindanao; when the protectors of the country attempted to dethrone a government made by people; when the friendly image of the country was stained by one false move of one officer in August last year; when a lot of Filipinos jump-shipped or toured countries and never come back.
Can we blame them?
Rationally, no! We have been promoting the country as a peaceful country and yet all branches of the government are in trouble with each other; one is trying to out-best the other; one is trying to superimpose over the other. Who shall believe us when our lawmakers are law breakers themselves?
Can we blame them?
Rationally, no! We cannot blame them to believe that we are socially well when one of our congressmen has been in drug mess in the neighboring Hong Kong state. We cannot blame them when the country is still listed in the travel bans of most countries.
And surely, we cannot blame them to enlist us in the roster of terrorists when terrorism and related activities are apparent in our home front.
For as long as we maintain the same perspective in our socio-economic and political life as a nation, we will still become victims of racism or discrimination.
The Gulf Files
Dumaguete Star Informer
24 July 2011
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Travel has always fascinated me. Since I started travelling outside of the country in 1996, I never had done so without making sure my travel documents are ready.
Superstitions have, by certain norms and questionable bases, associated number “13” to bad luck. As I don’t believe in this and have always believed in the providence of God, travelling on the 13th of June 2011 to Jordan was just as normal and ordinary as travel during the April Fools’ Day.
On the instruction of the Management, I, along with my team member, a Jordanian, engaged on a premature seventeen-day business trip to Jordan, one of the countries I dreamed of visiting for three reasons: The Baptism Site of Jesus, the Memorial of Moses and the Dead Sea. It was premature in the sense that as planned by the team, it should have been a week later to make us ready for the activities.
The classy and gigantic Royal Jordanian Airline Airbus A310 took off from Riyadh International Airport twenty minutes past six in the humid evening and touched down the airport of Amman, the Capital City of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan two hours after. Passing through the Immigration officer, I handed my passport, my invitation letter from our subsidiary company in Jordan, certification from the headquarters of the conglomerate, and twenty Jordanian Dinars for my business visa. After examining my papers, he asked me to sit down and wait for his call.
After about ten minutes of frantically waiting, a dark non-English speaking Jordanian ushered me to a small office where I met an Arabic speaking officer. He was asking me for my return ticket. Their order was: fly back to Riyadh for travelling without visa. My heart began to pound and I started to entertain the fear that I had been trying to erase from my mind: denied and banned.
In a scant quantity of Arabic language, I managed to secure the nod of the officer to bring my Jordanian colleague in the same room where I was detained. I prayed and decided to call our Vice President in Riyadh who was himself a Jordanian. He called and negotiated for my visa. After more than two hours of detention, I was granted a one-month visa.
In our conversation wit the immigration officer, I requested my colleague to ask why my entry to Jordan was almost denied when tourists are welcome in the Kingdom. Translated, I come to know that airport visas are not allowed to Indonesians, Pakistanis, Sri-Lankans, Bangladeshis, Yemenis, Hindis (Indians), and Filipinos, among other nationalities mentioned. Specifically for us Filipinos, the reason is: terrorism.
Further the officer made mention of the popular engagement of our Muslim factionalists in the south and the world-watched August hostage taking that claimed lives of Chinese tourists.
What a way to discriminate Filipinos in this area where we used to be favored in the human capital exchange market? What exactitude of reference to this malignant social stigma that has been plaguing the country?
Can we blame them?
Rationally, no! We cannot blame them for placing us parallel with these nationalities. Just as we cannot blame employers in the Middle East and/or Gulf Countries for discriminating Filipinos in terms of compensation packages, workloads and social treatment when most of the overseas Filipino workers abused their positions, the privileges and the responsibilities assigned to them. But still surely, we are far different from them.
But what is it in us?
Undoubtedly, we are world class workers; we are world premier performers. Indisputably though, that favorable review about our race has gone down the drain. It was wasted when the Graham couples were kidnapped and tortured in Mindanao; when the protectors of the country attempted to dethrone a government made by people; when the friendly image of the country was stained by one false move of one officer in August last year; when a lot of Filipinos jump-shipped or toured countries and never come back.
Can we blame them?
Rationally, no! We have been promoting the country as a peaceful country and yet all branches of the government are in trouble with each other; one is trying to out-best the other; one is trying to superimpose over the other. Who shall believe us when our lawmakers are law breakers themselves?
Can we blame them?
Rationally, no! We cannot blame them to believe that we are socially well when one of our congressmen has been in drug mess in the neighboring Hong Kong state. We cannot blame them when the country is still listed in the travel bans of most countries.
And surely, we cannot blame them to enlist us in the roster of terrorists when terrorism and related activities are apparent in our home front.
For as long as we maintain the same perspective in our socio-economic and political life as a nation, we will still become victims of racism or discrimination.
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