The Manila Times Malacañang ‘Wow, mali’ again!


Arroyo calls the Palace officials, stop its nasty habit of making boners? Indeed, Malacañang’s propensity to follow a boo-boo with another boo-boo ceases to amaze me.


W


Amnesty Proclamation No. 50 issued by President Benigno Aquino 3rd had many flaws, as pointed out by well-meaning crit- ics. Malacañang acknowledged this and withdrew it pronto, re- placing it with Amnesty Proclama- tion No. 75. All’s well that ends well? Not so fast. The Palace fol- lowed this with another boo-boo! When asked by the Senate to submit a list of potential benefi- ciaries of the amnesty, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa gave one that included Sen. Gringo Honasan. I commiserate with Gringo who had also been charged with leading the various coup attempts against the admin-


HEN will Malacañang’s stu dent council, as Sen. Joker


istration of the late President Cory Aquino. “I feel like I am a serial suspect,” he said on his in- clusion in the list.


The list submitted by Mala-


cañang to the Senate Committee on Peace, Unification and Recon- ciliation headed by Sen. TG Guingona demonstrated the cava- lier attitude of Malacañang to Sen- ate hearings. It did not even sub- ject the list to a thorough review. All it did was get a copy of the charge sheet against those in- volved in the various mutinies against then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo—and it so hap- pened that Gringo was on that list. Oh yes, four persons allegedly belonging to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army were also in the list. Could they qualify then for amnesty? And how about those on the Malacañang list who are already dead? Is there such a thing as a post- humous application for amnesty?


EFREN L. DANAO


Aside from the inclusion of the names of persons who should not be there, the list is also remarkable for the omission of the names of persons who should be there. Re- tired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim said that 40 former Scout Rangers were not on the list. He said that these Rangers were detained for two years without any investigation or charges, and then dishonorably discharged “at the whim” of Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, the former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Danny Lim, who was once connected with the office of Sen.


Miriam Defensor Santiago, is pushing for the inclusion of the 40 Rangers on the list of poten- tial amnesty beneficiaries. If they are included, then they could qualify for either reinstatement or retirement benefits.


As I am writing this column


Monday evening, I learned that Malacañang had submitted a new list to the Senate and that Guingona had scheduled the re- sumption of hearing for Tuesday morning, a day before this col- umn comes out. Well, I hope the “student council” in Malacañang has learned a new lesson and profited from the experience.


Rainwater catchment –


The forgotten law Very few knew about Republic Act 6716 enacted on March 17, 1989 until lawyer Antonio Oposa of the Global Legal Action on Cli- mate Change filed a writ of mandamus in the nature of a writ


What’s the plan for the SCUs? First of two parts T


HE protests and recrimination over the supposed cut in the budget of state colleges and uni- versities may have been addressed by the Senate’s realignment of contraceptive funds from the De- partment of Health to the SCUs. The move should also help mol- lify two restive sectors: SCU stu- dents and educators, and Catho- lic Church bishops opposing the allocation of state funds for arti- ficial birth control.


But the SCUs problem will be


back year after year without for- mulating and implementing a well-thought-out plan for govern- ment-funded higher education to become largely self-funding while more effectively perform- ing its major development func- tions: educate the expert profes- sionals needed by industries and institutions, and provide students with employable knowledge. Indeed, the big thing wrong about the SCUs budget cut is the lack of a comprehensive program for moving the sector toward greater financial independence while maintaining, if not enhanc- ing, the performance and quality of higher education institutions (HEIs). While the government cannot do the planning for SCUs, in deference to their academic freedom, there are parameters and strategies to set out in a plan. Crafting such a program is eminently within the competence of Commission on Higher Edu- cation Chair Patricia Licuanan, given her long experience in the two Katipunan Avenue learning institutions, including Miriam College’s transition from the con- trol and backing of the Maryknoll religious order. Sec. Licuanan, who holds a PhD. in psychology,


actually be untimely or inappropri- ate for certain institutions. A blan- ket budget slash may force SCUs to reduce funding and enrollment even in courses serving knowledge- intensive industries.


RICARDO SALUDO


was Miriam president before her appointment to head CHED. The country’s higher education needs were partly set out in the education roadmap drawn up by the past administration’s Presi- dential Task Force on Education (PTFE), created in 2007 and headed by Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, Ateneo de Manila University president since 1993, the longest to serve in that position. Higher education planners


would do well to bear in mind the PTFE vision: “Every Filipino child is assured of the opportunity to get high-quality education that will make him or her a whole person and lead him or her to [obtain] a productive, well-paying job or be- come a successful entrepreneur and a responsible citizen.” The task force also included business leaders, and among its key recommendations is the estab- lishment or strengthening of in- dustry-academe linkages led by the private sector, to tailor higher education more closely to the economy’s needs. Championing the initiative were top people from business process outsourcing, tourism and hospitality serv-


ices, electronics, engineering, construction, shipping, ship- building, health care, wholesale and retail.


Being clear about the overall strategic priorities is crucial to re- form; otherwise, one could adopt measures that look good, but may


Once the higher education strategies are clear, then CHED and the SCUs can explore options for improving the latter’s fi- nances, and draw up an overall plan which would include not just budget cuts, but also schemes and incentives for cost manage- ment, quality improvement, and income generation. Raising funds from alumni and corporate sponsors is one tried and tested method employed by countless universities here and abroad. SCUs should take the cue from the University of the Phil- ippines, which succeeded im- mensely under outgoing presi- dent Emerlinda Roman to raise billions of pesos during UP’s cen- tennial in 2008. Drawing up alumni lists should be very much easier now with social network- ing sites able to reach millions of people, including 18 million Fili- pinos on Facebook alone. Corporate scholarships are an- other funding scheme which would be a win-win solution in the administration’s current mode of public-private partnerships. The industry-academe linkages set up under the PTFE could be revived to draw up scholarship programs for the educations of technical personnel needed by sponsoring sectors. Such a tie-up worked well for vocational-techical training under TESDA, which raised its employment rate to 60% of gradu- ates, while raising income from training. Through corporate schol- arships, SCUs can charge more without shutting out poor but bright students.


And if industry will fund in- struction, they should also have money for research & develop- ment, especially if SCUs can offer market surveys, business reports, science and technology R&D, and other expert studies at costs lower than commercial outfits. Compu- ter programming is one area of high demand, especially in serv- ices packaged and made afford- able for small enterprises. Even more lucrative are joint


ventures with firms to set up high-tech parks like the informa- tion technology centers set up on U.P. property by Ayala Land. Such developmnts harness not only real estate, but also faculty and students for business. Be- sides IT hubs, there are joint ven- tures in farmland, which many SCUs in the provinces have in abundance. Besides raising cash crops, the plantations also give agriculture faculty and students vast croplands for research. Another SCU money-maker


right down the PPP alley is com- mercial property leasing and de- velopment. Many educational institutions are in prime areas downtown or once-suburban belts now swallowed up by ur- ban sprawl. If local govern- ments can rezone part of these land holdings for commercial or residential development, they can give SCUs huge windfalls, which can then be invested to generate income every year. Moreover, development con- tract provisions could include constructing and equipping new facilities to replace any build- ings that may be taken down in areas for development.


Ricardo Saludo heads the Center for Strategy, Enterprise and Intelligence (ric.saludo@censeisolutions.com).


China shows flexibility in climate talks »analysis


BY SHAUN TANDON AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


CANCUN: Climate negotiators hailed a brighter mood as global talks enter the home stretch on Tuesday, with China voicing flexibility on issues of global cooperation that have dogged past sessions. But the meeting at the


Mexican resort of Cancun looked set to kick along some of the most divisive issues to future meetings—most crucially, by how much countries will cut carbon emissions blamed for global warming. Top negotiators from more than 190 countries launch on Tuesday the main phase of the two-week meeting, which comes a year after the much-criticized Copenhagen summit that produced a general agreement to work together. China appeared to tone down its adamant past refusal at being part of a binding agreement that would include outside verification that it is making good on its pledges to curb emissions. “China is willing to share with


the world and we have a willingness to take an open and transparent attitude,” Chinese


negotiator Xie Zhenhua said. “There is more consensus and our


differences are being reduced,” he said of the meeting. “At the end, there will maybe not be a satisfac- tory deal for everyone but an acceptable one.” With China now the world’s top


polluter, the United States considers tough, binding and verifiable commitments by the Asian giant to be the best way to sell any climate agreement in Washington. But last month’s election victory


by the Republican Party, which includes skeptics of the science behind climate change, all but ended the prospect of the United States approving legislation to restrict carbon emissions. On a brief visit to Cancun, US


Energy Secretary Steven Chu said President Barack Obama was committed to meeting US pledges made in Copenhagen to curb carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels. “He absolutely feels that moving


toward a clean energy economy is really about our energy security and about our financial security,” Chu said about the president. “It’s about our economy; it’s about the future of the planet.” Chu’s low-key visit, which included a PowerPoint demonstra-


tion at the beachfront conference, contrasts with the major push last year at Copenhagen, where Obama and other leaders personally hammered out the final deal. Even if major emitters meet their


stated goals, scientists say it is not enough to achieve Copenhagen’s ambition of checking global warming at two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Cancun conference is


considering strengthening the target to 1.5 degrees as scientists warn that climate change is already wreaking havoc, with rising sea levels on course to threaten low- lying cities around the world. Wendel Trio of environmental


group Greenpeace likened Cancun to “a meeting of Emitters Anonymous.” “We want countries to


recognize that there is a problem and that their figures are not going to help us deal with climate change,” he said. With few expecting a full- fledged treaty anytime soon, the European Union has led calls to extend the Kyoto Protocol past the end of 2012, when require- ments under the landmark treaty are set to expire. The EU position has triggered


protests from Japan. It says Kyoto is unfair by not involving the two top


polluters— China, which has no requirements as a developing country, and the United States, which rejected the treaty in 2001. Hoping to break the deadlock, host Mexico paired up developing and developed nations to sort out differences. Britain and Brazil were tasked with looking into the future of the Kyoto Protocol. Brazil’s negotiator, Sergio


Serra, feared that Japan’s firm position would “have a strong, negative impact on everything that can be negotiated here at the conference.” He hoped to reach a solution under which “if Japan can’t completely change its position, at least it cannot be an obstacle to the conference’s end result.” Outside the conference,


Mexican authorities were stepping up security as busloads of activists and peasants plan to protest Tuesday against proposals to put the World Bank or markets in charge of climate assistance. “What we’re hoping to achieve


is to influence the process. So far it’s business as usual—they’re trying to make better busi- ness,” said Paul Nicholson of farm workers activist move- ment Via Campesina.


HE dispersal last week of pro- testing drivers of the motor- ized pedicab “kuliglig” had been messy.


T


Marching protesters snarled traffic as they hopped from site to site airing their grievance— Manila City Hall is limiting the area they operate within inner streets. That didn’t sit well with


“kuliglig” operators and drivers since, they say, their customers are those needing to be ferried across the main thoroughfares of the city. So “kuliglig” drivers marched and they loudly criticized and, by 1 p.m., blockaded the por- tion of Padre Burgos Ave. going to Quiapo.


Three fire trucks and police


crowd control units were dis- patched to the area. When the protesters were doused with wa- ter, all hell broke loose. Stones soared in the air like an unguided missile; truncheons whipped and pounded; over a dozen “kuliglig” drivers and po- licemen ended up torn and bat- tered; about a dozen drivers landed in jail. One driver interviewed by a


TV news crew screamed a warn- ing: Many drivers had been rob- bers in the past and if this stint as drivers don’t work out then they’d better just go back to their old job. This warning sounded a little off. Does he mean to say we’d all just better accept whatever their demands are; otherwise, he’d go back to robbing people. Sounds like blackmail. If he does go back to robbing


people, then he ought to get ar- rested and placed behind bars to repay his debts to society. Being poor doesn’t give anyone the right to insist on a way of liv- ing that inconveniences a greater part of the population as much as being wealthy does not give the elite the right to rape and pillage the country. That’s a trade off from living within a community. You can- not do whatever you want just because you feel like it. Your rights end where mine begins and vice versa. One driver claimed that he


was only trying to earn a decent living for his family. Well, so were the thousands of people stuck in traffic that day because the protest choked a very busy road in the middle of the me- tropolis. They were deprived of a day’s work because the protest snarled traffic so much they couldn’t get to their offices, shops and factories.


JOHNNA VILLAVIRAY- GIOLAGON


Unfair as economic and societal status might be, we are all bound by this regulation. At the moment, the elite seem to be able to get away with abusing the rights of oth- ers beneath their social class. But this will not always be the case; we have to keep believing that time will come. And while we all wait for that


era, we in the Middle and Lower classes should learn how to re- spect each other as well. If we act like brutes how can we expect to be treated with respect. Speaking of brutes, several taxi


drivers come to mind. I can’t remember their faces or the taxis they drive around, but they are there, moving around the city like a demigod. They decide which passenger to take and, despite the meter wedged in the dashboard, de- cide what to charge. Add another P30 miss? The traf- fic is really bad. There wouldn’t be any passengers to take back. Your destination is not on my route. I don’t leave Makati.


The franchise given to taxis is officially called a Certificate of Public Convenience. Authorities could consider renaming it Cer- tificate for the Driver’s Conven- ience just to underscore how the rider’s welfare is overcome by that of the driver’s.


But all is not hopeless. The Transportation Depart- ment is still implementing Oplan Isnabero wherein they take in complaints against taxi drivers who are choosy with passengers or those who negotiate the taxi fare instead of using the meter. One can always file a com- plaint by sending in the plate number of the taxi, circum- stances, the complainant’s name and contact number.


It is unfortunate that crooks come from all class levels in society. What’s good is, in ours, we


don’t have to put up with it. We can always do something to correct what we perceive are ills of society.


Doing nothing means tolerating the status quo and prevailing in- equalities. Aren’t you tired of that?


johnnavg@hotmail.com Global view


of kalikasan demanding that the government implement it. And what is the law all about? It mandates the government to construct rainwater collectors in every barangay. These catch- ments will prevent flooding or water running off to the rivers or the sea. The water collected as- sures its ready supply for irriga- tion and domestic use. It is so simple that it is no wonder peo- ple with complicated minds in government failed to give it the attention it deserved.


Hear the lament of Obosa:


“Just like many of the beautiful laws in this country, hardly any- one even knows about this Law on rainwater catchment. They also do not understand its attend- ant benefits and the reasoning behind the law—the ratio legis. Having a wonderful Law without the people even knowing about it is like a handsome man wink- ing at a pretty woman . . . in the


dark. It is of absolutely no effect.” At a Senate committee hearing on climate adaptation, Sen. Loren Legarda cited the visionary law- maker who introduced the law 21 years ago. She also wondered who that lawmaker could be. Well, she should wonder no more because the author is no other than former Rep. Tong Payumo of Bataan, who is also the true father of the Build- Operate-Transfer Law. That law on rainwater collec-


tors was a labor of love for Tong. When then President Cory signed Republic Act 6716 into law in Malacañang, he was expected to get a prominent place in the cer- emony. Alas, he was not there. Instead, other lawmakers with pe- ripheral roles in crafting the law were there. And where was Tong? Why, in a hospital, beside his be- loved Daisy, eagerly awaiting the birth of their truer “labor of love.”


efrendanao2003@yahoo.com ‘Kuliglig’


WEDNESDAY


December 8, 2010


A 5


opinion


REPUBLIC SERVICE


INSIDE CONGRESS


FROM THE NEWSROOM


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