PNoy to next President: Beat my achievements

By the way, I was a PNoy supporter when he ran for presidency and I have passionately debated on his behalf with his detractors here on Facebook. I believed then that his lack of political achievement as a senator and was even caught dozing off few times during senate hearing, will not matter if his heart is in the right place. Shortly after he was sworn in, the Luneta hostage crisis happened and he was reportedly hiding at Emerald restaurant instead of going out there and taking leadership. I thought that maybe since he was new to his position he was a little distracted and not knowing what to do. So I never voiced out any criticism on him for the first two and a half years of his presidency. But several faux pas after that, I can no longer stand by and keep quiet. So I became one of his vocal critics.

                                                                 By: Marlene D. Howe
                                                                 July 2, 2014

                                         PNoy to next President: Beat my achievements 

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/01/14/pnoy-next-president-beat-my-achievements#.U7N41hKSOQ0.facebook

Let's be fair and review some of the promises he made during the campaign such as:

1. Kung walang korap, walang Mahirap. Did he deliver that promise?

 

2. What about, Tuwid na daan? Did he deliver that promise?

 

3. What about, Kayo ang Boss ko? Did he listen to the people? Didn't he collude with Malaysia against the majority of voices of the people in and out of social media to stand up to Malaysia and reclaim Sabah for the country and for our Muslim kababayans who were slaughtered in Sabah? Didn't he echo Najib's rhetoric instead of standing by the Sulu Sultanate? Malaysia even used the airline owned by PNoy's cousin to transport their soldiers to Sabah to kill our kababayans from the Sulu Sultanate.

 

4. What about the funds intended for the military family that his trusted adviser, Butch Abad withheld and later found its way to the president's DAPS? Butch Abad should have been fired right after when his wrongdoing was exposed. I just found out about this yesterday from the wall of Admiral Juan A. Deleon.

 

5. Didn't PNOY use PDAF as bribe for senators to insure a conviction on Corona?

 

6. Didn't we lose Scarborough or Panatag Shoal because of the president's ineptitude and naiveté?

 

7.  With regard to DAP, he knew it was wrong and only for him to give a lame excuse that he should not be criticized because he used it for the good of the people. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW, NOT EVEN THE PRESIDENT! He did an illegal thing consciously and he cannot just use ignorance as an excuse.

 

8. The infamous "Framework Agreement" is another example of the president's naiveté when he rushed into a peace agreement with one faction MILF but took the rest of other factions and tribes out of the equation. The result was more chaos and bloodshed starting with the Zamboanga siege. Do you call this peace agreement when other tribes have vowed to fight for their right to self-determination? Can you call this success?

 

9. Lastly, from what I can think of for now, there were corruptions unfolding under his administration like the BOC when he accepted the resignation of General Lim who was the only person surrounded with sharks and crocodiles who attempted to clean up the Bureau of Customs. But he did not accept the resignation of BOC's top dog, Raffy Biazon when he was the one in-charge of the whole agency and Gen. Lim was only a second in command. He did not even fire the well-known "Three Kings" of smuggling at BOC. Why? Is it because one of them is under Speaker Belmonte's protection?

 

The economy might be growing a little bit but the general population does not feel it. There are so many little things that are wrong under the president's watch but I can't enumerate all of them. But one thing I can say about the latest brouhaha when he let his personal feelings get in the way of a business decision is, IT'S ALL BS to exclude Nora Aunor for the National Artist award because of Ms. Aunor's drug conviction of which she took responsibility and learned from it. But the fact that she has considerable contribution to the Arts and she made her own success through old-fashion hard work and sheer talent are things that no one can deny. PNoy's excuse of Ms. Aunor's past is LAME and UNFAIR. Are all the previous awardees saints? Who knows, they are babaero, palainom, sugarol, drug users and whatever discretions they might have. But they were recognized based on their contribution to the Arts. It should be the same for Nora Aunor. I wonder if he would do the same thing if it's Kris Aquino who's in the running. The whole Philippines know of Kris cohabiting with few men without legal or religious sanction.

 

Marlene Howe is co-Founder and Administrator of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum and of the Defenders of Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims community as well as an administrator of this blog. Ms Howe is US based but keeps a home in the Philippines.

On GPH-MILF deal: President Aquino must not only be wary of Nur Misuari but also of every Filipino Moslem

"Yes, the Mindanao Factor will haunt this president if the pudding cooked by the bilateral chefs does not accommodate the entire country at the banquet. The best leaders are the ones who listen best and who engage the opponent with a strong respect for unvarnished dialogue. Practice truth and fear nothing!"

By Yolanda Ortega Stern
26 January 2013

President Aquino, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer last week, stated that that he did not think the legendary Nur Misuari, founding Chair of the Moro National Liberation Force (MNLF) was a spent force.

The Inquirer wrote that Mr Aquino remains wary of those who would want to spoil the gains of a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The Inquirer also asked the Chief Executive if there might be people from the MNLF who might be agitated by a peace agreement between government and the MILF. Mr Aquino said: 

“Yes, I am sure. It could be the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters), or it could be some other group. They might be a new group.”

My view:

His Excellency, President Benigno Aquino Jr., must of course be wary not only of Nur Musuari but also of every Filipino Moslem who at some point in their lives walked both sides of war and peace in search of  'self determination.'
  
He must also be wary of Filipino Lumads and Christians who comprise the majority of poor Filipinos without a visible promise of opportunity. We must also all remember, along with the President, that there have been many other Deals reached and signed before he came along, one in particular not yet implemented. And it was not because of 'spoilers'.

Spoilers are but a very small number of people who are aware of ongoing business and want theur voices heard. Ask the lonely fisherman in Sacol: What about the new deal, and he would have no clue. They just live and die by the bullet, the fire, or the poverty they all inherited decade after decade.   

Yes, the Mindanao Factor will haunt this president if the pudding cooked by the bilateral chefs does not accomodate the entire country at the banquet. The best leaders are the ones who listen best and who engage the opponent with a strong respect for unvarnished dialogue. Practice truth and fear Nothing!
  
~~~~O~~~~

Yolanda Ortega Stern is the President at One World Institute, a US registered NGO for health, education, livelihood, disaster relief; Mr Stern has given her permission for the publication of her view on this blog. 

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INQUIRER REPORT: Aquino wary of Misuari, other peace deal spoilers
By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:29 am | Sunday, January 26th, 2014

President Benigno Aquino III said he did not consider Nur Misuari, the fugitive founding chair of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a “spent force,” as he remained wary of those who would want to spoil the gains of a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Yes, I am sure. It could be the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters), or it could be some other group. They might be a new group,” the President said when asked in an interview with the Inquirer on Wednesday if there could be people from the MNLF who might be agitated by a peace agreement between government and the MILF.

Government and MILF negotiators completed talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday on the normalization annex, the last document that would complete a peace agreement between the two parties aimed at ending four decades of fighting in central Mindanao.

Asked if he considered Misuari a spent force, the President said in Filipino: “I won’t say that. If you are a terrorist, even if there are only three of you, it’s enough. Even if you’re alone, it’s enough.”

Hunting Misuari

Authorities are hunting Misuari for instigating his followers to take over Zamboanga City in September last year, claiming that the government abrogated the 1996 peace agreement with the MNLF after it proposed to wind down the tripartite review of the organic law facilitated by Indonesia.

The government and the MNLF are reviewing some provisions of the organic law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).  Mr. Aquino once described the ARMM as a “failed experiment.”

In the Zamboanga siege, Misuari loyalists took hostage more than 200 residents and left a part of the city in ruins.

It was the first urban warfare fought by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the worst security threat faced by Mr. Aquino’s three-year-old administration. As commander in chief, the President personally oversaw the military operations to expel the rebels from Zamboanga.

Lost cause

President Aquino said spoilers would certainly be “alienated” once the people started to feel the gains of a peace agreement.

“We start off with a vast majority who is no longer supportive of your (the spoilers’) clandestine activities … There would be no more safe havens. It would be difficult for the bandit groups. If electricity is disrupted, a bridge is blown up and the produce is not brought to the market … All of this, would they gain sympathy? Probably not, so the majority will tell the others, we are living quiet lives and you don’t want to help us? So the more they would be alienated. The more they would become a lost cause, a weak factor,” Mr. Aquino said.

The President said reports reaching him indicated that other MNLF factions were supportive of the peace initiatives of the government.

To read full report, link here.

Pictures of President Benigno Aquino III and Nur Misuari. AP FILE PHOTOS

Good governance: Just say "NO!" to wrongdoing

"Corruption, like rust, is corrosive. Preventing rust requires an eagle eye and regular preventive maintenance. Removing rust is more difficult requiring much more time than it takes to prevent, and aggressive expensive measures to restore to its original state."

By Rafael Alunan III
17 January 2013

Lately, there has been a series of damning headlines about the state of corruption in the country. For example, comparative import data of the IMF and BoC indicate huge disparities such that estimated losses to technical smuggling alone was P1.9-Trillion from 2002-2011. That excludes the losses from outright smuggling!

Then there was this news about a drug lab operating in a high-end condo in Global City; before that in a farm in Batangas; before that in a house in Ayala Alabang; before that in various places in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Reports of Mexican drug cartel collaboration with Chinese triads and Nigerian syndicates abound. It means we have porous gates, bad law enforcement, corrupt local government officials and a growing market of drug users.
 

Yesterday, it was reported that the perception index of corruption* was higher last year than the previous year, from 43% to 56%, which viewed it to be "a lot." Surveyed were around 1,000 enterprises that deal with national agencies and local governments. Notwithstanding exhortations for taking the "straight path" many in government continue to ignore presidential orders and the voice of the people.

Corruption, like rust, is corrosive. Preventing rust requires an eagle eye and regular preventive maintenance. Removing rust is more difficult requiring much more time than it takes to prevent, and aggressive expensive measures to restore to its original state.

That's what we have to do with the advanced state of corrosion we see in our state of governance and the state of the nation. We must take aggressive measures to clean house and restore it to a state of honor and respectability. This is not being done in a methodical and aggressive manner across-the-board and down-the-line. "Talk the talk" has not shifted to and gained traction as "walk the talk."

There's a simple formula to avoid/prevent wrongdoing and not add to our state of corrosion: Just Say NO!

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Rafael Alunan III served as Secretary of Tourism and as Secretary of Interior and Local Govt in the governments of President Cory Aquino and President Fidel Ramos successively. Mr Alunan, a regular contributor to this blog, is currently Convenor, West Philippine Sea Coalition and is also a member of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum. The author has given his permission to publish this article on this blog.


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*Info: "According to the SWS, 42 percent said that “most/almost all” companies in their business sector had given bribes to win government contracts in 2013, practically unchanged from the record-low 41 percent in 2012. Forty-four percent said they were solicited for bribes when getting local and national permits or licenses, paying income taxes, complying with import regulations, supplying government with goods and services, collecting receivables from government and availing themselves of government incentives." (Credit: Data info  and SWS Poll chart sourced from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/ with Research by Ana Roa.) Special thanks to J Chua. ~~ Blog Admin

On China's threat to seize Pag-Asa in 2014: President Aquino and his lieutenants must not be caught flat-footed again

Pag-Asa Island air strip

"In the face of this seriously alarming China threat of invasion of Pag-Asa, the Republic of the Philippines has one realistic defence option to prove to China that we are determined to defend Pag-Asa Island: President Aquino, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines must order CSAFP to deploy a minimum of a military brigade to the island immediately. We may not have the sophisticated military material capability to do "mano-a-mano" with China's invading armed forces but we certainly have enough troops to field on Pag-Asa."

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
12 January 2013

Inhabitants of Pag-Asa Island, Palawan

China Daily Mail.com broke the news yesterday that the PLA Navy "has drawn a detailed combat plan to seize the island and the battle will be restricted within the South China Sea."  

Chinese troops to seize Zhongye Island* back from the Philippines, in a news report dated 11 January 2014:

"Relying on US support, the Philippines is so arrogant as to announce in the New Year that it will increase its navy and air force deployment at Zhongye Island, a Chinese island that it has illegally occupied for years.
"It will be an intolerable insult to China. According to experts, the Chinese navy has drawn a detailed combat plan to seize the island and the battle will be restricted within the South China Sea. The battle is aimed at recovery of the island stolen by the Philippines from China. There will be no invasion into Filipino territories. A report in the Philippines Star confirmed the Philippines military buildup on the island."

The threat to "seize" Pag-Asa Island should not really come as a surprise anymore to the Philippines. As early as July 2011, China media had already posted news from mainland that China was protesting "Filipino's landing on Zhongye Island". Surely, China's July 2011 protestations, which had appeared in China media, had been registered by DND and DFA officials and so, our national security experts, including President Aquino, would have known that there was every possibility that ever belligerent and aggressive China would not stop at mere protestations. Below is the July 2011 report by China Daily:

China protests Filipino's landing on Zhongye Island Updated: 2011-07-21 07:40 (Xinhua)
BEIJING - The Chinese government on Wednesday expressed "strong protest" over several Filipino lawmakers' landing on China's Zhongye Island in the South China Sea.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said when responding to a question on the Filipino lawmakers' move. Media reports said a group of Filipino lawmakers flew Wednesday to the island, which is called Pagasa Island by Filipinos, to assert their country's claim to the region.
"The move of the Philippine side seriously infringed China's territorial sovereignty," Ma said. 

That 2011 China "protest" should have been considered enough warning of some kind by our officials, by Messrs Aquino, Gazmin, del Rosario and their seconds no less. But obviously not! Seems, some people at the top are sleeping on the job and are not taking China's pronouncements and warnings seriously.

But when will our officials learn to be pro-active, not to be caught flatfooted in their job? Why, this week's news have it that the DND is not even aware that China has enforced some kind of fishing authorisation policy in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea, something that China announced they would do as early as November 2012 followed by press releases in February 2013.

According to Philippine Star, when DND Undersecretary Galvez was asked to comment on reports that China is now requiring foreign fishermen to seek its permission to operate in the West Philippine Sea, Mr Galvez said, “We will have to verify statements regarding this alleged fishing rules by China,” as he insisted that countries “are free to enforce fishing rules within their own EEZ.”

Will verify the reports about the new China "fishing regulation"? But where has DND been? What on earth is Mr Galvez mouthing? Didn't the DND know that China announced in late 2012 that they had scheduled the stop and verify, i.e., shipboarding policy, of all fishing vessels that are not Chinese in the whole of South China Sea/WPS for January 2014? 

Why, we even blogged about it in November 2012 after China threatened to shipboard foreign ships in a show of brazen ignorance and great stupidity. In fact, General J Sabban, then Western Commad commanding general promptly said of the China announced shipboarding plans, "We will repel!" So, I really don't understand why the DND is caught flatfooted again... We again blogged about China's fishing interdiction plans in February 2013: Is China about to transform South China Sea/West PH Sea into a naval war zone?  following their press announcement in the same month of the same year that they would be enforcing this policy by January 2014. In fact, in that blog, I warned:

"If the Philippine Government and its qualified maritime waters protection agencies do not move quick enough, the country -- and its fishermen, may just  lose its economic access to and its rights in its 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone for good."

So, if we, amateur China watchers that we are (this author included), manage to know what China's plans are and have taken them as serious warnings, enough to devote time and energy to blog about them, why is it that the Dept of Natl Defense gives the impression that they are wholly ignorant of China's plans, plans we must remind them had been broadcast long in advance?

President Aquino, Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, defence policy makers, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, members of the country's 'august' Congress, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines must not be caught flatfooted again! Yesterday's announcement by China that they will militarily seize, i.e., invade, a municipality of Palawan must be taken seriously. This is not the time to do-lally. This is not the time to ask the same question they asked themselves when China grabbed Scarborough Shoal, i.e., "But what can we do?" Any self-respecting government can come up with a few doable solutions to deter foreign invasion especially after the invading country announced its plan. The question really is how determined are we to defend our territory from China's invasion?

In the face of this seriously alarming China threat of invasion of Pag-Asa, the Republic of the Philippines has one realistic defence option to prove to China that we are determined to defend Pag-Asa Island: President Aquino, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines must order CSAFP to deploy a minimum of a military brigade to the island immediately. We may not have the sophisticated military material capability to do "mano-a-mano" with China's invading armed forces but we certainly have enough troops to field on Pag-Asa.

While a brigade of 3,000 men may not be enough, such defence move by Mr Aquino and his subalterns will send the message that our nation is prepared and will give these Chinese invading bastards the most difficult time landing on our shore. Heck, if we are brave, we can even mine Pag-Asa's coasts!

A farm on Pag-Asa Island

And in parallel, PH must launch a political and "diplomatic" offensive. Direction? The United Nations! But we must be "armed" with evidence which even this wally Aquino Govt can realistically gather today by  taking full stock of who and what is on Pag-Asa island!

It is imperative, really, of utmost importance that every person, every man, woman and child on Pag-Asa island be registered as a Filipino citizen, each carrying PH passport or a form of official PH national identification. Every single item, motorised  or not on that island, eg., car, tractor, jeep, boat, animals, farm, etc, etc, etc, is registered as a Filipino-owned property. Every single plot of land, building, edifice, etc. on Pag-Asa, both private or PH Govt owned, must be registered with the National, Provincial and Municipal governments. There must be complete inventory!

This pile or piles of Pag-Asa records must be brought and presented to the United Nations as evidence that Pag-Asa Island is PH inhabited  and is sovereign PH territory. I don't know how exactly this can be done but surely our Department of Foreign Affairs can exhaust all means, use every trick in the diplomatic and UN books to ensure that Pag-Asa Island and its inhabitants are recognised in the United Nations. The task may be Herculean but it must be done.

And lastly, it is absolutely vital that the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Air Force, the Philippine Marines must maintain regular operations on the waters that separate Pag-Asa from its mother island, Palawan. Provision the island by sea regularly. With China's announcement of this "imminent" danger to our sovereignty and to the hundreds of inhabitants of Pag-Asa, the Armed Forces must "re-jig" their operational plans. We must show naval presence in those waters. The Navy and the Coast Guard must patrol those waters. Even an amateur navy or maritime operations enthusiast like this author knows that patrolling and showing presence in our waters is a key element to the survival of Pag-Asa.

Pag-Asa Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon

The Aquino government must not do-lally. Sufficient warnings have been issued. Mr Aquino and his subalterns at DND, at DFA, and all of Govt, must not be caught flat-footed again. Filipinos must do everything to give themselves and our people on Pag-Asa Island a fighting chance to thwart China's invasion plans of Pag-Asa Island by being prepared. PH Govt officials and its Armed Forces must not rest until the Republic is satisfied it has done everything it can to ensure the security of our people and of Pag-Asa. (Do the inhabitants/residents of Pag-Asa Island even know that China has threatened to seize, i.e., invade, the island this year?)

If despite the warnings from China itself, our officials led by Mr Aquino fail to do what is necessary to put up a vigorous defence with the means at the disposal of the Republic, no matter how meagre they are, they must be shot not only for negligence but also for treason.


~~~~O~~~~

*China's name version for Pag-Asa Island is Zhongye Island or more commonly known as Thitu Island http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thitu_Island

**Pictures of people, places and life in Pag-Asa Island, lifted from Mabuhay City Forum

Related blog posts:

• 29 Nov 2012: China threatens to shipboard foreign ships in a show of brazen ignorance and great stupidity "Police in Hainan will be authorized to board and search ships that illegally enter the province's waters in 2013, as part of China's latest efforts to protect the South China Sea." From GBTimes.
• 06 February 2013: Is China about to transform the South China Sea-West Philippine Sea into a naval 'war zone'? "If the Philippine Government and its qualified maritime waters protection agencies do not move quick enough, the country -- and its fishermen, may just  lose its economic access to and its rights in its 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone for good."

Posted by NEMO NOS IMPUNE LACESSIT

13 provinces at the altar of so-called peace: Is it worth dismembering the Republic to placate Kuala Lumpur?

"So we may all be clear: this so-called peace agreement or shared sovereignty rights over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is what it is - it is not a peace offering to the people of Southern Mindanao but a peace offering to the Barisan Nasional politicos and businessmen of Kuala Lumpur."

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
08 January 2014

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process is very upbeat today: "Malacañan is hopeful the normalization annex of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement will be signed this month."

According to the Solar News report, Presidential Communication Secretary Sonny Coloma has announced that 'peace panels from both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are now working on drafts and are also carrying out informal consultations on the annex prior to formal talks next week.'

My thoughts off the cuff:

I still don't understand why the Aquino Govt has deemed it wise to allow Malaysia with whom the Philippines has an outstanding territorial and sovereignty disputes to engineer a peace agreement in Southern Mindanao with a Kuala Lumpur-backed Muslim rebel faction that will entitle the same rebel group to lord it over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao under the direct influence of Malaysia Federation. Can these people in Malacañan NOT SEE that they are authoring the potential dismemberment of the Republic in favour of Kuala Lumpur?

If they are truly for peace and are pro-Southern Mindanao, PH and its leaders should raise the Sabah claim flag today before another bloodbath occurs over this extremely lopsided deal that they are offering to the Southern Mindanao 'nation' through the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel group. If at all, Mr Aquino and his peace subalterns should instead find an economic and political entente with Putrajaya by proposing an equitable deal involving Sulu rights to Sabah to directly benefit the people of Sulu and the other provinces in their proposed MILF-controlled Bangsamoro region. Mr Aquino and his lieutenants are forgetting that the Southern Mindanao "nation" does not comprise merely of 10,000 MILF rebels but of more than 5 million souls from various cultural, political and religious factions.

It is not just ironic, it is also immensely tragic that PH and leaders have decided that instead of facing Kuala Lumpur over the Sabah issue which, as we all know, has been the cause of all the violence and misery among our people in Southern Mindanao, they choose to placate Kuala Lumpur (which we all know has been at the forefront of all the troubles in Mindanao since 1972) by offering the 13 provinces of Southern Mindanao at the altar of "peace" with Malaysia.

So we may all be clear: this so-called peace agreement or shared sovereignty rights over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is what it is - it is not a peace offering to the people of Southern Mindanao but a peace offering to the Barisan Nasional politicos and businessmen of Kuala Lumpur.

BUT THE BIG QUESTION IS, is it worth dismembering the Republic to placate Kuala Lumpur over God knows what?

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*Map shown was posted in 2012 by Malacañan Palace and can be viewed on PH Govt website with the following title: "Proposed Territory." This is a map highlighting the areas included in the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Political Entity." Click on this link to access map. 

Related blog posts:  

• GPH-MILF FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT: Is there a foreign conflict of interest? 
• Understanding the Sabah claim issue: It's all very simple actually: As Law Professor Isagani Cruz says, "President Noynoy faces an insoluble dilemma. If he believes that Sabah is part of the Philippines, he has to defend Sabah because Malaysia is attacking it. If he does not believe that Sabah is part of the Philippines, he opens himself up to impeachment, because Philippine law says that Sabah is part of the Philippines and he is sworn to uphold Philippine law. Talking of a conspiracy does not solve the problem; in fact, it is irrelevant if there is or there is no conspiracy. The dilemma has to do simply with his stand on Sabah itself."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

After a quick scan of the past 3.5 years of embarassing blunders, Aquino Administration has only 2 years to get things right

"If I were President Aquino, I would grant Sec Lacson full authority over the government agencies and local government units, either through executive or legislative fiat, for him to acquire the legal personality to ensure teamwork and remove bureaucratic roadblocks, from now till Dec. 31, 2014. He must be able to meet the aggressive rehabilitation and reconstruction targets that he is setting for himself because over 14-million affected Filipinos are relying on that. He should also personally demand swift, incorruptible and seamless performance from the national agencies and LGUs concerned with appropriate presidential sanctions for those who don’t live up to expectations."

To Take a Stand
By Rafael M. Alunan III
January 7,2014

Belated New Year greetings! 

Time flies fast, with 2 years to go to put things in order before 2016’s election fever peaks. With one week already gone by, there are 103 more weeks till December 31, 2015. A quick scan of the past 3.5 years reveals embarrassing blunders, and 2013 unmasked the administration’s unpreparedness to govern, particularly in national security, disaster response and public administration.

It began in 2010 with the Luneta hostage crisis, followed by its mishandling of security challenges posed by China, Malaysia and Taiwan that undermined our national respect and sovereignty. Its mishandling of crisis management in Davao, Zamboanga, Bohol and the “Yolanda” corridor was another source of angst. Its inability to clean up national agencies and local government units of corrupt and criminal elements fanned the public’s growing disenchantment.

The preceding serves as the backdrop for my columns in BusinessWorld this year, which also has been my personal advocacy in social media. I will spotlight national security in its fullest sense spanning economic security, food security, energy security, trade security, human security, ecological security, political security, internal security, moral recovery, public safety and national defense. Underpinning those cross cutting concerns would be the imperatives of good government including crucial mindsets such as risk mitigation, emergency response and crisis management.

Today, I will address the monumental task of rebuilding the devastated communities within the “Yolanda corridor” now resting on the shoulders of Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Panfilo Lacson. Driven by a profound sense to serve with urgency, he has taken on a job with a very heavy responsibility, with no authority, to rebuild stronger and safer communities within a declared timeframe of 20,000 hours, or 2 years more or less, between now and Dec. 31, 2015 to complete Phase One of a master plan yet to be unveiled, hopefully, within the first quarter of 2014.

He intends to rely on the private sector to accomplish his targets with urban planner Arch. Jun Palafox and AIM Prof. Danny Antonio to help him organize, plan, consult and execute. They can only coordinate the effort in dealing with the national agencies and local government units, which to most management practitioners is a red flag that will likely thwart the best of intentions. He estimates that P360-Billion will be needed for the mission. This early, he must spell out the standards and technical specifications that product and service providers must be able to meet and deliver, for uniform strength and quality.

The kitty to-date contains P40-Billion from unused PDAF; P100-Billion from the 2014 GAA; around $1-Billion in loans from the WB and ADB; and the U.N.’s campaign to raise a minimum of $340-million that may increase to $800-million. A separate count is being done for donations from big business; civic, business and professional organizations; philanthropists; and from the LGU counterpart funds. The administration could boost the time sensitive effort by persuading known tax evaders to make up for their delinquency by channeling owed monies to immediate needs like housing.

Yolanda has raised the following truths:

· first, that extreme weather and unpredictable rainfall will continue to victimize the Philippines in the days and years ahead;

· second, that we must adapt to increasing threats from climate change with appropriate and uncompromising adjustments to our land use policy, urban plans and building codes;

· third, that we need to have the right people in place with the aptitude and skills for risk reduction, rapid response and crisis management ranging from incident management to full recovery;

· fourth, that the requirements needed to deal with natural and man-made disasters must be adequate, supported and properly deployed;

· fifth, that the preceding are made possible by people with foresight, leadership, management skills and keen anticipation.

If I were President Aquino, I would grant Sec Lacson full authority over the government agencies and local government units, either through executive or legislative fiat, for him to acquire the legal personality to ensure teamwork and remove bureaucratic roadblocks, from now till Dec. 31, 2014. He must be able to meet the aggressive rehabilitation and reconstruction targets that he is setting for himself because over 14-million affected Filipinos are relying on that. He should also personally demand swift, incorruptible and seamless performance from the national agencies and LGU’sconcerned with appropriate presidential sanctions for those who don’t live up to expectations.

For us citizens across the socioeconomic spectrum, the bayanihan spirit beckons us to lend a hand until the folks - from Samar to Northern Palawan - are back on their feet. It will take time for permanent changes to be put in place. In the meantime, civic organizations, the business sector, professional associations, parishes and non-governmental organizations will need to immediately help:

1. build temporary shelters asap to prevent their continued exposure to the elements and unhygienic conditions before the property developers weigh in with permanent structures;

2. ease the trauma and grief on a large segment of the populace to regain their equanimity and restore their productivity;

3. get people employed and help restore their livelihoods or businesses to generate disposable income.

4. extend the same devoted assistance to other disaster-struck places like Zamboanga and Bohol.

Rehabilitation and reconstruction of this scale requires a “whole-of-nation” paradigm. This is crucial in the practice of national security. “Yolanda’s” impact presents to us a good opportunity to unite for a higher cause in the national interest, which is to build safer and stronger communities. If we’re able to accomplish this in 2 years, we would have helped ourselves as a nation prepare for tougher battles ahead.

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Rafael Alunan III served as Secretary of Tourism and as Secretary of Interior and Local Govt in the governments of President Cory Aquino and President Fidel Ramos successively. Mr Alunan is currently Convenor, West Philippine Sea Coalition and is also a member of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum. The article is published with permission of the author.