ASPIRE DEVELOPMENT MODEL

In compliance with the registration rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), we had to change the name of our association to SAMA KABUHAYAN. Our name for short will be SAMA-KA, meant to sound like an open invitation for everyone to join in. Since membership is free, everyone who has signified their intention to join so far via email or text is already considered as members. Registration forms will be issued at a later date, as well as the identification cards that are optional. Membership is open to all those who need help (beneficiaries) and those who are giving help (volunteers).
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Katrina Segundo wrote: Thank you for your report of an incident involving discrimination against a Person with Disability (PWD) which was posted on the FilAm Forum Yahoo Group. I have furnished the leaders of the Filipino PWD Sector with this email on the hope that we can help this aggrieved person and notify the responsible government agencies for their action re the matter. Let it be known that my sector is not fighting for special treatment but rather for equal opportunity. I would be interested in learning more about PWD advocacy especially in relation to employment rights and livelihood opportunities. By the way, I am not blind but I am a director of Philippine Blind Union (PBU), the only sighted person in the board.
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Thanks to the commitment of QUEDANCOR President Nelson Buenaflor, a contact person has already been assigned to attend to the needs of loan applicants who are referred by "Gulong ng Kabuhayan". Mr. Patrick Manigque +639178506093 landline 3739711 is the new SAMA-KA coordinator. Per our agreement with Nelson, applicants will be processed by Patrick first before they are endorsed to the regional offices. Nelson and Patrick conducted the first joint briefing for SAMA-KA members last week at the QUEDANCOR Center, for the benefit of our members Ms. Rosita Palmes and Mr. Florencio Lozada.
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As an offshoot of my public service and developmental communications work, I have come up with the “ASPIRE” model, a model that would guide all the programs and projects of SAMA-KA. “ASPIRE” is an acronym for the triple strategy of Active Sharing (AS), Policy Intervention (PI) and Resource Expansion (RE). AS includes any form of sharing one’s time, money or influence or any combination thereof. PI includes any advocacy work in the local, regional or national levels. RE includes any form of expanding access to public services and legal rights. Hopefully, volunteer lawyers would become active in the PI component. In like manner, I also hope that volunteer engineers would become active in the RE component, since there are infrastructure issues involved.
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I am looking for volunteers from all over the Philippines who could serve as the advisers of SAMA-KA members in various locations who have already decided to go into business (or to expand their existing businesses) or to apply for employment. As I mentioned in an earlier bulletin, there are two types of members, namely the beneficiaries and the volunteers. There are three types of beneficiaries, namely those who want to earn money (income) from jobs or businesses, those who want to save money (savings) from product discounts and economy tips and those who would simply want to benefit from donated goods and product samples (freebies). On the other hand, there are also three types of volunteers, namely those who would like to share their time and skills, those who would like to share their time and money, and those who would like to share their time and influence.
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Ka Edong Del Rosario, a medical doctor with a Master in Public Health working in Misawa, Japan wrote to give support and encouragement to SAMA-KA. Rolando Bermudo wrote to say that he has a cooperative producing tilapia, and he would like to put up a wholesale outlet in our QC public market project. Imagine the savings potential of that!
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Consistent with the Policy Intervention (PI) component of ASPIRE, we are now looking for volunteer lawyers who could draft the legal framework for two advocacies that could significantly increase home ownership among the low income groups, as well as provide them with livelihood. The first advocacy would encourage and grant incentives to manufacturing companies that would agree to outsource some of their production needs to communities within their vicinities. The second advocacy would encourage and grant incentives to housing developers that would agree to build completely knock down (CKD) homes in their own land holdings.
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Outsourcing is a popular trend that is sweeping the business world today. In some parts of the world, manufacturing companies are already outsourcing their component requirements to nearby communities, and it would be great if this practice could be popularized in the Philippines. Based on our national experience so far, beneficiaries of housing projects found it difficult to meet their mortgage payments because of the shortage of livelihood in their immediate communities. Hopefully, the outsourcing-cum-housing (OCH) approach would partly remedy this problem.
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Housing components made from 100% recycled materials are now available in the local market. It would be a boon to the low income groups if they could build their own homes using these materials, “LEGO” style. Towards this end, volunteers Weng Serrano (a civil engineer) and Glen Openiano (an architect) are already working on CKD home designs that would be given away free of charge by SAMA-KA to qualified members. The livelihood-cum-housing (LCH) strategy is an old idea that should be revived. I supported this strategy when I was with the Ministry of Human Settlements (MHS). Imagine what would happen if we could mix the LCH strategy with the OCH and CKD strategies. First things first however, we need to create the legal framework to make this possible.
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Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Dr. Carlito S. Puno (DPA) appears to be sleeping on his job after failing to act on a letter that I sent him four days ago, requesting assistance for Mr. Louie Crisostomo. He is a polio victim from Tarlac but he can walk with his wand. He has an AB Economics degree and a Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree, with units in Education. He has submitted his application to Tarlac State University, but he has gotten no response either. Do our State Universities really discriminate against people with disabilities (PWD)? This seems to be the case, and CHED could be guilty of this as well. There is really a need to clear up government policies about employing PWDs, and agencies like CHED should lead the way, rather than block the process.
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Secretary of Health Dr. Fransisco Doque appears to be sleeping on his job too, after failing to act on a letter that I sent him four days ago, requesting assistance for Mr. Diosdado Taguran, a security guard from Cotabato who needs help with medication for his tuberculosis illness. He had previously approached a health center in Mindanao but was not given assistance, now it is Doque himself who ignoring him. Joining Doque in dreamland is Secretary of Social Work and Development Esperanza Cabral who was also sent the same letter about Mr. Taguran, but there is no reply from her either. I asked her staff to give me her mobile number, but they would not give it to me, apparently trying to protect her from being bothered with this kind of social work. How much longer will Mr. Taguran have to wait?
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Mr. Ronald San Juan is a visually impaired person (VIP) from Bombongan, Morong, Rizal. Wanting to have a gainful employment, he applied for a medical transcription training provided by Nova Foundation, only to be told that he needs a Screen Reader to join the training. He is hoping to get some help from Microsoft, and I am going to relay the request to my contacts with that company. Could anyone else help Mr. San Juan?

MOBILIZING FOR LIVELIHOOD

In response to numerous requests from my radio listeners, I decided to form an association that would help people with their livelihood. We are officially adopting “Samahan Para sa Kabuhayan” as the name of our organization, or SAMAKA for short. Membership in SAMAKA is free, and so are our basic livelihood seminars.
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The SAMAKA identification (ID) card will be out soon, as a voluntary option for members. All applicants are considered as members as soon as they take oath, and they could already avail of association services even if they do not avail of the ID.
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Support for SAMAKA has started pouring in. Many would like to become members right away, while others are working on advertising placements in my radio show so that I could sustain the public service that I am giving on the air. Moreover, others have volunteered to help SAMAKA members with their financing, marketing, training, accounting and other needs.
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Former Congressman Ronnie Cosalan wrote: “Our Benguet vegetable farmers are looking for a "bagsakan" here in Metro-Manila for their produce. May we know if the QC facilities are for rent or free? A bagsakan here in Metro-Manila will help cut down the prices of vegetables coming from the Cordillera region because it will bypass the middlemen who facilitate the marketing here thus adding to the cost of their produce”. He also asked: “May we know what kind of coffee is being used by Our Father's Coffee (OFC)? We have a very good variety of Arabica Benguet coffee they may want to explore. Good strong aroma and can be mixed with other varieties”.
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Ronnie is referring to an up and coming project of SAMAKA to jointly work with the Quezon City government in encouraging our association members to avail of vacant stalls in several public markets owned by the City. My answer to is yes and I would like very much to assist the Benguet vegetable farmers with their marketing needs. About the coffee, I know that OFC is now using a variety from the Mountain Province, but of course the coffee shop would gladly try the Arabica Benguet variety too!
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S.C. Johnson’s Marketing Director for Asia Frank Guerra wrote: “Thank you for the proposal, Ike. I’m in the US now and will be back end June. This sounds interesting. Even though radio is not our key media vehicle, we keep attuned to important developments that will help support our marketing objectives. When I return, I’d like to meet with you to discuss this and importantly, to catch up with you. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Thanks for keeping me informed”. S.C. Johnson markets Baygon, Raid and Glade among other market leaders.
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Erwin Serrano wrote: “First of all, let me express my appreciation for giving me brief info about SAMAKA through our Yahoo group. I'm interested to be a member of this group, although I am in Saudi Arabia. FYI, we have organized a group (S.E. Productions) in order to reintegrate and provide assistance to OFWs here in Saudi Arabia. If possible, can I be a member of SAMAKA? If ever, you can send me my ID to Riyadh. Perhaps I should introduce SAMAKA to us here in Saudi. More Power to you.
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Nextel Sales Manager Beth Diaz de Rivera wrote: “It is good to know that you have joined DZXL. Actually, we already have several radio stations that we did partial exchange deals. We could do the same with you now”. This is good news, because we need radio sets for the members of Rescue Rangers who are reporting to "Gulong ng Kabuhayan".
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San Miguel Corporation (SMC) lawyer Cesar (Bogs) Borje wrote: “I have been listening to your program. It is really great. Keep up the good work”. Bogs is working on advertising support from SMC, since I have lost touch with my former colleagues there. Hopefully, we could bring in B-Meg Feeds and Magnolia Chicken, two products that I handled when I was with SMC.
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Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) Manager Felix Tonog wrote: “Regarding the radio interview and promotion of business counseling, I suggest that we start with our Program Manager Billy San Juan and me. We could go to the studio if necessary. Then we will schedule our volunteer advisers and assisted enterprises. This is good news for SAMAKA members.

INFORMATION IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER

It could possibly be the greatest irony of these modern times. While we are already in the midst of the “Information Age”, the greater majority of the people all over the world still have no access to information. Some scholars have referred to this phenomenon as the “Digital Divide”. While I do not have any objections to this terminology, I believe on the other hand that the “Digital Divide” is only a consequence or a manifestation of the bigger problem which is the “Economic Divide”. Not that I have suddenly become ambitious, but somehow I believe that it is possible to build a “Digital Bridge” that would close the gap between the two sides of the “Economic Divide”. If only this could be done, then the great irony would end, because by then, the vast infrastructure of the “Information Age” would be used to increase public access to information everywhere.
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There is another phenomenon that happened practically overnight, largely unnoticed for the most part. This is the sudden transition from the old “PC supremacy” that used to dominate the digital world, into the new “CP supremacy” that now dominates the same digital world. For most people perhaps, the distinction between the two is not that important, but I believe that this shift is very significant, because it opens up more opportunities to bridge the “Economic Divide” further, along with its offspring, the “Digital Divide”. Some would also say that the differentiation between the two is meaningless, because cell phones are still dependent on computers at the backend in order to function, but to that I say that by comparison, it is still the front end that is more important, and that is the point where most people would experience difficulties in having access to information.
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In analyzing the impact of computers and cell phones on human civilization, I would liken it to the impact created by automobiles, airplanes and other forms of transportation. Most people do not understand how and why automobiles and airplanes work, even if all of them appreciate the convenience of being transported from one place to another. Similarly, most people do not understand how and why computers and cell phones work, even if they would swear that they could no longer survive without these two technologies. Taking the comparison further, it does not matter how old or low tech these devises are, for as long as they function, just like in the case of automobiles and airplanes.
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By definition, the internet is a “network of networks”. What this means is that it is not a single network by itself, because it is actually composed of many networks that are interconnected with each other, working with each other through sets of communications protocols. In technical terms, the internet does not have a central “mother” server, because it runs on the power of multiple servers each performing its own purpose. By comparison, there is no integrated network that combines all the mobile networks all over the world, although there are already existing ways of integrating mobile functions with the internet, for example through Yahoo Messenger or Chikka Messenger.
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By now, everyone could see that mankind was able to harness the usefulness of automobiles and airplanes in the service of human civilization, but sad to say, we could not say the same thing yet in the case of computers and cell phones. While it could be argued that computers and cell phones are already being used in beneficial commercial applications, there is apparently a huge vacuum as far as its social applications are concerned. I think that the true measure of this challenge is the test of whether individual owners of computers and cell phones are already able to use their devices to do their share in combating poverty and criminality, for instance.
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Will the time ever come when everyone who has access to computers and cell phones will become daily “warriors” against poverty and criminality, using the devices that are in their hands? I do not know how far we are from this ideal goal, but I do know that the infrastructure for this purpose is already available and is waiting to be used, and it is only the human component that needs to move in order to make it happen.
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Just to put matters in their proper perspective, it is not really necessary for everyone to become fanatical activists in pursuit of social causes. As a common activity for most people, it is already enough to gather and pass on information that would be useful in combating social problems. Information is the start of everything, in bridging the “Economic Divide”.

MATRIX MANAGEMENT IN GOVERNANCE

With all due respects to Sen. Nene Pimentel who authored the Local Government Code (LGC), I think that for coordination and integration purposes, it is still more practical to place all cities and towns under the jurisdiction and supervision of provincial governments. I also think that because of the LGC, the usefulness and effectiveness of the provincial governments have been greatly reduced, so much so that the funds and resources that are allocated for them are practically being wasted now.
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As I see it now, it would do our country a lot of good if the national, provincial and municipal levels are each given their specific roles to play in a well organized matrix management system. Before I proceed with this discussion, I would like to clarify that I am not using the term “municipal” in a derogatory sense. In my mind, “municipal” is the practical term to use in referring to the local level, and my thinking is supported by the fact that people would still refer to the local seat of government as the “municipio”, regardless of whether the jurisdiction is a town or city.
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In the matrix management system that I am proposing, the national level would be responsible for policies, the provincial level for programs, and the local level for projects. As I earlier indicated, this system would only work if the provincial governments are given back the authority and supervision over the local government units (LGUs) under their respective geographic jurisdictions. In practical and real terms, the geographic locations of the LGUs have a direct bearing on their day to day operations, even if some of them are no longer under the supervision of the provincial governments, in the case of the chartered cities.
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To illustrate my point about matrix management, let us take the case of the so called “national” roads, as opposed to the so called “local” roads. From the perspective of ordinary citizens and taxpayers, a road is a road and they could not care less who owns it or who funds it. What they care about is that the roads are well maintained. Looking closer at this issue, the national government should just be responsible for policy setting (budgetary allocations being part of policy). Down the line, the provincial governments should be responsible for program management (seeing to it that road building programs are implemented). Finally at the bottom line, the LGUs should be responsible for project execution. Under this arrangement, it will not matter anymore whether the roads are nationally funded, for as long as these are all locally functional, based on accepted sets of standards.
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To use another example, let us look at the case of the government hospitals, many of which were supposedly “devolved” already to the LGUs. Due to the fact that many of these hospitals have closed down due to the inability of the LGUs to operate them, there is now a trend wherein the Department of Health (DOH) has started taking them over, a behavior that could be termed perhaps as “reverse devolution”. In reality, the bottom line of this issue is that these “reversed” hospitals are still locally owned, even if they are now practically nationally funded again. In my opinion, the more practical approach to this problem is for these hospitals to be locally owned and operated, even if they are nationally funded.
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Using the example of the roads and the hospitals, the matrix management system would work well if the provincial governments could be given oversight powers over all the towns and cities within their jurisdictions. As an extra layer of assurance however, I think that it would also do our country a lot of good if sectoral participation would be enhanced at the municipal level, supplementing the geographic set-up that now exists. In order for this extra layer to work however, it would be good if the participation of the sectors are coordinated and integrated at the provincial levels.
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According to the law, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is only a policy making and coordinating agency for development purposes. No matter what the MMDA does or says, the real authority over their respective jurisdictions is still with the respective towns and cities within the metropolis. In reality, the Chairman of the MMDA is really just an executive officer who should follow the policies set by the mayors who compose the Board of the MMDA. As it is now, we see the reverse happening, as the MMDA is behaving as if it is a “province” with uncertain powers over the metropolitan towns and cities. I think that the root of this problem is the fact that the Chairman is apparently moving independently on his own, without regard for the metro wide coordination and integration that should happen.