Moral lessons in arithmetic

Is our government morally corrupt? I do not think so; and it is untenable perhaps for anyone to feel it really is. Judgement prudence dictates a dichotomy of the institution itself and those individuals within it. Our government institution is standing on solid grounds formed by perdurable sound political theories. Only that some, surely not all, of those individuals within it are morally bankrupt. It is the individual either who has a sense of moral mandate to preserve the integrity of the institution or has the audacity to tarnish the sanctity of the institution by which he works for his living.

Over the past weeks we heard the news. We heard scandals involving overpricing of government contracts or projects; we saw the left-leaning groups, hooligans or mobs marching along the main thoroughfares of Metro Manila, insensitive always as they are causing inconveniences to the motorists. We heard calls for moral revolution from head honchos, especially politicos - who by the way let their sons, daughters, and kins shrewdly participate in government biddings or secure government contracts notwithstanding of the prohibitive provision of law. This is a sham call for moral reformation. Finally, we heard the bomb blasts in Glorieta 2 and Batasan Pambansa; the seat of one of the most important elements of our government was not spared from shenanigans.

I am quoting this email I received last Friday, November 23, 2007. I am not sure if this is a joke or a serious thing. Whether it is meant to traduce certain politicos or give credit to a putatively moral person turned politician. The title is “A Lesson in Arithmetic”.

I'm 100% sure this income disparity is replicated in all the provinces of the Philippines.

If we had more Ed Panlilios in our government, we would be just like Singapore in a short time. Read on......

We hope we are witnessing what will be a sustained revolution in good governance in the Province of Pampanga , under its newly elected governor, Fr. Ed Panlilio.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer of August 26, only one month after Fr. Panlilio assumed his gubernatorial duties, the province's income from the quarrying of volcanic ash from Mount Pinatubo had reached P29.4 million. (Haulers pay a fee of P300 per truck of volcanic ash that they haul from the quarry.)

By contrast, during his predecessor Mark Lapid's term as governor, the province's income from the same quarrying operations amount ed to only P29 million a year.

This gaping variation in official incomes from the same activity should inspire a new set of textbooks in Arithmetic, especially for the school children of Pampanga.

There is nothing like local color and local situations to cultivate comprehension in young minds.

Sample problems: If Fr. Ed's provincial government can collect P29.4 million in 26 days (we assume no quarrying on Sundays), how much does it collect in one day?

Answer: An average of P1.130 million.

If Fr. Ed's provincial government collects an average of P1.130 million a day from quarrying operations, how much can it collect in one year of 313 days (365 days less 52 Sundays)?

Answer: P353, 690,000, or P354 million.

If Fr. Ed's provincial government can collect P354 million a year, and Mark Lapid's provincial government collected only P29 million a year, what is the difference in their official yearly collections?

Answer: P325 million a year.

If Mark Lapid was governor for four years and his provincial government's annual collections from quarrying amounted to an average of P29 million, how much did his provincial govt. officially collect in four years?

Answer: P116 million.

If Fr. Ed manages to remain as provincial governor for four years, and his provincial government's annual collection from quarrying were to average P354 million, how much will his provincial government collect in four years?

Answer: P1.416 billion.

What is the difference between P1.416 billion and P116 million?

Answer: P1.3 billion.

Where did this P1.3 billion go? Answer: Only God and the Lapids know. ('Lapids' is in plural because Mark, as a second generation political dynast, succeeded his own father, now Sen. Lito Lapid. We don't know how much Lito's provincial government officially collected from quarrying operations during his watch. Should be a good investigative project for media.)

If Gawad Kalinga spends an average of P75,000 per low cost house, how many low-cost houses can P1.3 billion build?

Answer: 17,333 low-cost houses.

If the average Pampanga family were to consist of five persons (father, mother, three children), how many people would be benefited by 17,333 low-cost houses?

Answer: 86,665 persons.

End of Arithmetic lesson.

Fr. Ed is to be congratulated for setting a high benchmark for collection from quarrying operations against which his predecessors have a moral obligation to explain why their collections were so low, and against which future governors will be judged by the people of Pampanga.

Volcanic ash, by the way, is a superior building material. Many of the buildings, aqueducts & monuments of the Roman Empire that have survived for almost 2,000 years are known to have been built with volcanic ash, quarried from the environs of Mount Vesuvius after it erupted in 79 AD.

We don't expect Fr. Ed's moral victory in Pampanga to be remembered for the next 2,000 yrs.

We would be happy with five, ten or 20 years, enough, we hope, to spawn a moral-revolution- by- example to save the Filipinos from their worst enemies – themselves.

GOOD LUCK Philippines !

“Therefore, the primary cause of poverty is not overpopulation of the Phil! It's because our county is overpopulated with corrupt officials.”(emphasis mine)

This lesson is formulated with impressive bravado. And yeah it maybe a lesson that does not draggily contain a dabbling joke. Neither do we simply dismiss it as mere trivial innuendos.

I might say it is a serious demonstration of truth. And the truth hurts indeed! Isn't it?

Just two weeks ago, according to an insider, a team from the Kalinga Provincial Government, mostly from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office and other officials, visited Pampanga to observe and learn the quarry operations there. We just hope that the educational trip would not be just another waste of people's money. And by the way in Kalinga there are projects that just became white elephants and building constructions implemented by the provincial government that remain unfinished despite the fact that about tens of millions of people's money were already spent.

Murder in Tabuk might rouse tribal grudges

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Local police investigators are looking into the possibility the tricycle driver found dead on the driver's seat of his tricycle at Purok 7, Bulanao, this city, 8:10 AM of November 8, was killed because he was mistaken to be a member of the Naneng tribe. Tabuk City OlC-Chief of Police Romulo Danglose said that according to their initial findings, victim Salvador Carpio, 42, married, presently residing at of Purok 6, Bulanao, used to live in Balani, Lucog, this city, and spoke the Naneng dialect fluently although he was an immigrant.

Incidentally, according to a source, Carpio had transferred his family to Bulanao after their house in Balani was destroyed by a landslide in August 6,2006. The victim who himself was injured in the landslide, lost two of his children in the tragedy.

Danglose said that based on descriptions given by witnesses, they have identified Primo Binay-og as suspect in the shooting to death of Carpio and police investigators are now trying to establish the motive of revenge for the shooting to death of relatives Noel and Jose Binay-og by alleged Naneng gunmen on June 29, 2005 at Maledda, Ipil, this city. Danglose said that the Binay-ogs and the Nanengs were feuding over a parcel of land.

The Sadanga tribe to which the Binay-ogs belong, however, deny a hand in the killing of Carpio even as they expressed willingness to perform the sapata to clear themselves. The sapata is an indigenous ritual whereby a person who is being suspected of a crime solemnly avers his innocence under pain of harm befalling himself and even his family if he is lying.

Several persons who were not members of either warring tribe have been killed on mistaken identity during tribal wars here in recent years.

The shooting of Carpio was the first of three violent incidents occurring in the city since last week.

Around 8:55 PM of November 11 Estabillo Galamto, 17, resident of Purok 5, Bulanao, Bemie Balicao, single, laborer, also of Purok 5, Bulanao and Adrian Dayawon, 23, single, student of the nearby Kalinga-Apayao State College and resident of Paligatto, Balawag, this city, were walking along the Provincial Road on their way to Hilltop, Purok 6, Bulanao when shot one after the other for still no apparent reason.

Galamto was killed, 17, Dayawon was injured and Balicao who was also shot once escape unscathed.

Initial police investigation show that three were accosted by two men in front of the National Irrigation Administration compound. One of the two men then shot them at close range. His companion was unarmed. Scene of the Crime Operative from the KPPO recovered three empty shell for a caliber 45 pistol in the crime scene. Danglose said the investigation has been stalled because Balicao could not give any useful information while Dayawon is still recuperating in the hospital.

Dawn of November 14, Reynaldo Dugayon, 32, married, a farmer who also buys and sells gold, and a resident of Bullalayao, Pantikian, Balbalan, this province, was shot dead in his room at the Las Vegas Lodge in Dagupan Weste by still unidentified gunman for still unknown reason. The victim was shot twice as evidence by two empty shells recovered in the room by police investigators.

Investigator Paul Payan told the media that Dugayon had checked in at a different hotel but transferred to the Las Vegas Lodge sometime in the evening where he, together with gay waiter George Garcia, 20, and waitress Mary Ann Crisologo, 17, drunk in the Los Angeles Videoke House on the third floor of the hotel from 8 to 10:45 PM.

Quoting a Jerry Alvendo, 26, the cashier of the hotel, Payan said that from the videoke bar, the three transferred to the room of the victim in the second floor where they ate and then continued drinking until 3 AM when Garcia and Crisologo left Dugayon.

It was around the time when Garcia and Crisologo left the victim's room that shots rang out in the hotel. Danglose said that robbery has been ruled out as a motive for the crime because a cash of 29,750.00 was found in a pant pocket of the victim. Danglose said they are now looking into information the murder is connected with a hold-up which took place in Gaang, Balbalan on October 28 wherein the victim was the suspect.

Danglose said the information appears to tally with the statement of witnesses in the first two videoke bars where Dugayon had a drink that evening and also at the Las Vegas Lodge where a man wearing a black leather jacket was following him. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW, Nov. 18, 2007

Two government troopers killed in an ambush

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Two government troopers were killed and five of their comrades were wounded when they walked into an ambush set up by the New People's Army (NPA) at sitio Butol, Apatan, Pinukpuk, this province, morning of November 15, according to reports. The victims were identified as Corporal Glenn Cadilinia and CAFGU Macario Mangwag and those injured as 2Lt. Allen Rey Sadio and CAFGUs Rolando Dres, Venancio Lumawig, Rolando Andrade and Benny Bonggawon.

The government troopers numbering around 20 were coming from an operation in Ab-abaan, Balbalan, this province, early morning of November 15 when they were ambushed at Butol by the insurgents numbering more or less 40.

The source said the government troopers fought back and the firefight lasted from 7 to 11 AM.

There were no reported casualties on the side of the rebels. **Estanislao Albatto, Jr., ZZW, Nov. 18, 2007

17 locals qualify for call center training

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Of 60 local applicants, 17 passed the rigid screening given by the Sutherland Global Services (SGS), a leading multi-national Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm, to prospective call center agents of the company during their recruitment activity conducted here November 7 and 8.

SGS recruitment assistant Lady Ferlyn Victoria said that the written exams and two oral interviews were intended to test the communication skills of the applicants.

Victoria informed the media that those who passed will now take a two to three weeks training in the call center site of the SGS in Clark, Pampanga adding that the qualifiers are virtually hired because it is very rare applicants would fail in the training stage.

Victoria said that aside from Clark, the SGS also has call center sites in Makati, Davao and Camarines Sur and is expanding its operations in the country where at present, it already employs 1,500 call center agents.

Loyda Saboy , Public Employment Services Officer-designate of Tabuk City said that if the qualifiers will be hired, their starting basic salary will be PI2,000.00 exclusive of allowances and other benefits.

Saboy said Tabuk facilitated the recruitment activity of the SGS by providing the venue, the snacks, coordination, advertisement and technical assistance and it was the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) which arranged the coming of the SGS to the city.

The locals who will be finally hired will join the over 17,500 professionals working for the company in its 18 delivery centers in India, the United States, Philippines, Canada, and Mexico. **Estanislao Albano , Jr., ZZW, Nov. 18, 2007

Slanted

Unfortunately for us, opinion polls are in fashion during our time. They ask the totally uninformed to render an expert opinion.

The results are treated as news. They grab the headlines. They influence the design of policy. They dictate the behavior of political leaders. They shape public expectation of what ought to be done. They conserve dogma.

And  it is called democracy. The way that word is understood these days is that it is a condition where the banal opinions of the uninformed should take precedence over the sound conclusions of the expertly informed.

If we take this notion of democracy to undue extents, much tragedy could be produced.

For instance, if we ask people by means of an opinion poll if they wanted to be taxed, guess what the outcome would be? If, by means of an opinion poll, we asked them to choose between a proper national budget or simply distributing cash to every citizen, they will likely choose the latter.

If opinion polls were to be obeyed, we would have a regime that collects no taxes, subsidizes oil and food and gives away housing to all who have none. It would be a regime that is bankrupt, paralyzed and mired in debt. But what the heck, it will be a regime with high approval ratings — although eventually it will be a regime that runs out of the means to meet pompous public expectation and be overthrown.

A few days ago, the SWS released a poll where 13% said they were better off now after the peso appreciated and 30% said they were better off before appreciation. 57% said things were the same. In the usual neat way that SWS outcomes are reported, the numbers are broken down into income brackets and across regions of the country.

The news media dutifully carried out the results as a big story, concluding, as the SWS does, that the peso’s appreciation by a net effect of -17% harmed more Filipinos than it helped. The implication is that the peso’s appreciation is bad.

But how did we know that?

Those who said their lives were better before might have been simply reporting the usual erosion of inflation on fixed incomes rather a negative effect of peso appreciation. But since the SWS questionnaire linked income erosion to peso appreciation, we are all brought to what might be a contrived conclusion. It is entirely possible we might get the same profile of responses (or even worse) if the peso was depreciating.

And what about the 57% who said the behavior of the currency did not matter? That is a pretty impressive number. Why was this not the headline story?

Some of my readers have asked me this really unwarranted question: If the peso was behaving so well, why are oil prices still rising?

Well, over the past few months, the price of crude simply rose faster than the peso appreciated. From about $30 a barrel, the price in now well over $90 so quickly. If the exchange rate remained the same, we would be paying P100 per liter for fuel. *(Prof. Alex Magno) Read more...

Not many people aware of model pagta

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The Kalinga tribal elders organized by Congressman Manuel Agyao to address the peace and order problems of the province are calling for the conduct of a massive information education campaign (IEC) on the model pagta as amended during the 5th Kalinga Bodong Congress (KBC) in April 2002.

The model pagta are the laws of the bodong, the tribal peace pact system practiced in Kalinga and some parts of Mtn. Province and Abra, drafted by the 4th KBC in 1998.

The Agyao Peace and Order Movement (APOM) said the IEC is necessary because most bodong practitioners in the province are not aware of the amendments made by the 5th KBC, which includes the prohibition of vengeance unless and until all peaceful means of settling have been exhausted.

In a resolution addressed to Agyao and Gov. Floydelia Diasen, the APOM requested for a P100,000.00 allocation to fund the reproduction of the model pagta and the conduct of IEC.

APOM chairman Ruben Tuazon informed this writer that IEC will be conducted in all bodong-practicing tribal communities ahead of the conduct of another bodong congress next year.

Among the proposed amendments that will be discussed in the next bodong congress are the acknowledgement of national laws as over and above the bodong , a blanket prohibition on the severance of the bodong even in cases of killings, and that Kalinga policemen should be exempted from the effects of the bodong while in the performance of their duties.

The practice of some tribes of invoking the bodong and penalizing Kalinga policemen who go after suspects belonging to Kalinga tribes has always been an irritant between police authorities and the bodong community. **Estanislao Albanao Jr.

Body of missing person found

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The dead body of the gatekeeper of the National Irrigation Administration Chico River System at Bado Dangwa, this city, who went missing during the height of typhoon Kabayan night of November 4 has been found in Faire, Piat Cagayan on November 8.

Office of the Civil Defense provincial officer Cristeta Reyes said that the searchers from Malin-awa, this city, village of victim Elpidio Balawag, 54, married, were led to his body by Faire residents who were fishing along the Chico river.

Mary Pidcasen, 54, married, residents of Malin-awa, this city who reported the matter to the police the following day, said that Balawag went to close to close the gate at around 7 PM of November 4 and that was the last time he was seen.

Residents of Malin-awa believe that Balawag was carried away by the strong water current of the Chico river brought about by heavy rains spawned by the typhoon Kabayan and drowned. The gate of the dam is across the river from Malin-awa.

Malin-awa residents as well as those of the other barangays in the area use the dam to cross the Chico river which is overflowed by water when the river is swollen.

Despite NIA authorities prohibiting people from crossing the Chico river on the dam, they persist in doing so and since the construction of the dam in the early 80s, at least 10 people have already died after they were carried away by the current while crossing the river on top of the dam. **Estanislao Albano Jr.

Pardon/money for nothing?

While I may not have really been blown by the decision of the President to grant executive clemency or pardon to Erap Estrada and his plundering ways, I was shocked though by the rush (or is it rash) by which it was granted. Apparently, there is some political wisdom in pardoning Erap – at least for GMA's shaky perch. However, the very act of giving Erap what he wanted (so desperately, you might add) immediately as soon as Erap's lawyers (not Erap for Chrissake) had asked for it betrays an administration that must deal from a position of weakness of a self-inflicted kind. Still, conventional wisdom suggests that GMA could have held back her decision a few more days and, in the process, earned some respect from Erap and her other detractors. She didn't even wait for any clamor to grant Erap his pardon! If GMA would be treated like a lameduck President after this, it is totally her fault.

What bothers me most about the decision was that the pardon was given without any show of remorse from Erap. When one asks to be forgiven, which is what asking for pardon is, you must first make an admission that you have committed a sin and make a show of SINCERELY being sorry. There was nothing sincere about Erap's request, nay demand for pardon. In fact it was totally hypocritical. Didn't Erap say he was submitting to the wisdom of his lawyers to seek for GMA's pardon because he no longer believed in our country's justice system? I am pretty sure Erap is not that stupid as to not know that pardon is part of the justice system he no longer believed in. Likewise, Erap is still trying to fool people into believing he didn't commit any crime. If you're not guilty, why ask to be pardoned?

Some apologists tried to explain, by way of extolling the decision for some, that granting Erap his pardon demonstrates the magnanimity if not the humanity of the Arroyo administration while taking note of Erap's age (70) and the state of his mother. There are also those who claim that GMA's act is consistent with her call for reconciliation and the timing of the decision's announcement should be a non-issue. It is time to move on, they say.

It is also worth noting that before last Thursday's announcement, Malacañang stoutly proclaimed that there are conditions Erap must accede to before he may be pardoned. Based on the reports, it appears that the Estrada family agreed to recognize the legitimacy of GMA's presidency. Yes, readers, the Estradas' recognition of the legitimacy of Arroyo's leadership is a lot more important than Erap's admission of guilt. If anything, the act is an admission of guilt, not by Erap but by GMA who's not really sure she is the legitimate President of the Republic as suggested by Malacañang's act of requiring Erap to legitimize her presidency.

This development may have a very serious impact on our view of morality. You could almost hear the man on the streets say it: Kung milyun-milyon ang ninakaw mo, bibigyan ka ng pardon. Pero kung barya-barya lang, bubugbugin ka ng buong bayan. And we say street people have a crooked morality?

--oO0Oo--

Despite that shocker of a pardon, Erap is nowhere near as popular as he or other people would like us to believe. I am pretty sure if a poll were conducted to determine the most popular Pinoy right now, Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio and Joey de Venecia would easily be the runaway top two while Erap would be looking up way behind Manny Pacquiao and Kokey.

--oO0Oo--

Following Panlilio's bomb several Arroyo supporters tried to picture Panlilio as a fool but so far have only succeeded at painting their depravity for our viewing (dis)pleasure. Take Environment Sec. Lito Atienza, for instance. When he said that the giving of money to local congressmen and local officials by Malacañang is nothing out of the ordinary (read: normal, a standard practice), I am pretty sure he didn't have the permission of his boss to make such a stunningly revealing statement. An administration not as desperate as the present one would have sacked him right away for such careless pronouncements. When you come to think about it, Raul Gonzales and Ignacio Bunye are still cabinet secretaries despite several faux pas to their names.

What disturbs me about the issue is that the government normally deals with checks, not cash. If, as Atienza claims, receiving money from Malacañang is nothing out of the ordinary, then why give it in cash? And if it is, indeed, true that the money was meant as assistance to the provinces for this week's barangay elections, is it the normal practice to hand the money over to the governors and not to the agencies concerned? Does this also mean that a governor may be summoned to Malacañang (in the guise of a meeting) just for the simple errand of delivering money from Malacañang (or wherever it came from) to his province? Looks to me like Arroyo's allies could do GMA greater service by shutting their yaps since all they have achieved so far is provide more nails to crucify her with.

--oO0Oo--

Baguio City congressman Mauricio Domogan denied receiving money during the controversial meeting in Malacañang. I can believe him. Domogan is a favorite of former president Fidel Ramos who remains an influential figure in Lakas, the party whose support GMA needs to make it through 2007. It would indeed be rather patronizing of GMA to hand Domogan a “paltry sum” considering his importance to the coalition. A project with an eight-digit funding may perhaps be more like it.

—oO0Oo—

This Monday’s barangay elections hold some particular interest especially so that it is being held only five months after the midterm elections. It will be interesting to see how the politicians who lost in the May polls would respond against those re-electionist barangay chairmen who played a key part in their electoral defeat. Will ex-Congressman Laurence Wacnang and his son-in-law James Bejarin lend their resources in bringing down those barangay captains who blindsided them last May? Of course, this is not to say that the incumbents would sit back, relax and amuse themselves. They’ll be working hard to get their own people into position.

The more interesting aspect in the barangay elections though, at least in the case of our very young city, is that running for a post in the remote barangays is more expensive than gunning for a post in the more progressive barangays. The poorer the barangay, the costlier it is to get elected. As one candidate rued, butchering one carabao used to make enough of an impression to the voters but that seems a long, long time ago.

Which makes me wonder how accessible had Mayor Camilo Lammawin Jr. and Vice-Mayor Rainier Sarol been these last few days. The two gentlemen should pay attention to the fact that only eight of the Tabuk City’s 43 barangays are classified as urban while the rest are struggling – an unusual ratio for a city, if we may say so.

—oO0Oo—

In Barangay Bulanao where I live, an interesting contest has shaped up between the incumbent Benny Sugguiyao and Illo Gunnawa, both of whom belonging to the Lubo tribe and related by blood, too. It can easily be argued that Gunnawa is the most feared resident of this fearsome barangay while the incumbent is the most outspoken.

I don’t want to comment on this one as Sugguiyao is my uncle while Gunnawa is my cousin. I can’t help but wonder though if we will finally see the last of jueteng in Tabuk if Manong Illo does get the Bulanao chairmanship? If you’re wondering about that last comment, ask a Tabukeño. **Bani Asbucan