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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
GREEN TEAM supports GIBO TEODORO: Our stand on Education
(Content provided for by Aaron Benedict De Leon- Youth Spokesperson of GT, Vice President for Corporate Communications-Green Team National Board)
Education is a vital sector which needs much support, because it is an independent function towards solving other societal problems such as poverty, unemployment and other economic deficiencies. Thus, there is a need for us to revisit the complex problems of our educational sector.
Institutions would be at the top of the rank, because it must be the parallel structure which needs to be addressed first so that the active participants in the educational process will be engaged in changes to be made in the system.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM IS THE PRE-CONDITION FOR TAKE-OFF IN EDUCATION
Our educational system is currently predicated on an authoritarian system, called the Prussian system of Education. This traditional view that we have towards education,- that if we provide books, classrooms, volume of teachers and an instruction manual, everything as a result would be quality education, has resulted in many frail and unwanted results, and has encouraged dependency on the part of our students.
This was a system which traces it roots to the time of Napoleon, as the Prussians devised a system that would teach “duty, discipline, respect for authority, and the ability to follow orders," in reaction to the fall of his rule.
The Prussian system instituted compulsory attendance, national training for teachers, national testing for all students (used to classify children for potential job training), national curriculum set for each grade, and mandatory kindergarten. The purpose of the system was to instill loyalty to the crown; and train young men for the military and bureaucracy.
However, there were inflicted motives by the State to decrease the right of the people then to self-determination. The Prussian system wasn’t designed for the good of the individual but for the good of the government. In accordance to this implicit motive, it advocates that "The schools must fashion the person, and fashion him in such a way, that he simply cannot will otherwise than what you wish him to will." It also had a view that "Education should aim at destroying free will so that after pupils are thus schooled they will be incapable throughout the rest of their lives of thinking or acting otherwise than as their school masters would have wished. "
The system was intended to satisfy the state's desires for the people, and does not support a democratic process of free will and a right of self-determination amongst the participants of the process.
Unfortunately, this system does not support our advances towards a growing democracy. In this system, the teacher acts as the sole provider of sufficient knowledge, and the student, in his aim at satisfying the demands of the system, recognizes the fact that it must act in accordance to the medium of instruction.
There are some instructors who have drifted away from this system, but there is a need for the National Government to institutionalize the system and the medium of instruction for our children. Our curriculum has not become responsive to the changes and the dynamism of today's modern society, and does not align itself with the system set forth by other developed nations. It does not take into account an increased technical discourse and interactive learning which would help the individual further his knowledge, given his ability to re-invent and innovate the fundamentals which seem to have become non-responsive to the modern world.
We must institutionalize a system that will allow our students access to the fundamental laws of each field of study, and must give him the ability to discern later on what is right and what is wrong. It is still important that the fundamentals be established so that he will have a clear reference on how to further the good side and change the bad side. We must make our classrooms an atmosphere of interactive learning, and our measurement of knowledge and readiness to take the next level should not be based on hallow assessment and achievement tests, but should be based on the capacity of a student to expound and assess the positive and negative arguments for and against the concept/theory, and that can be achieved through a culture of research that must be promoted at the higher levels.
STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The major players in the educational system’s welfare must always be at the forefront of any attempt to reform the current system. It is the State’s role to provide students adequate opportunities to avail of a quality education, and financial and doctrinal incentive to teachers, because they too have a right to more knowledge, and sustainable living.
I. Access to Education for students
The students must be provided a greater means to get into school, which includes programs which would allow them convenience of enrolling at least cost. A whole sale integration program, by allowing young people to get education and pursuing it at least cost, and by ensuring graduates get quality jobs, is the pursuit of the series of programs being pushed for. This will be government’s investment in ensuring that there is repayment financially (through SSS contributions for the Student Loan Application Program) and in human capital, focusing on strengthening domestic markets and avoiding brain drain.
a. Conditional Cash Transfers Program- This is an economic strategy which aims to providing social assistance to families that cannot sustain the education of their children, and an investment in human capital to ensure that the future workers of our nation will be fully equipped education wise to answer the challenge of the business world. This is a continuing program of the DSWD and will be expanded, giving priority to regions and areas which need capacity building, those regions/areas which cannot sustain for themselves. This strategy has been proven effective in other developing countries, particularly in the African countries.
b. Student Loan Application Program- This provides high school graduates the opportunity to study in college with the least worries of repaying its financial obligations right away. This provides them the vehicle to study with convenience, and without the burden of discontinuing studies in the middle of tertiary education because of non-compliance to shorter terms. This will allow young people to repay their loans once they already have a job, through their SSS contributions. Students who are interested in this program must apply for an SSS number, as an assurance from the government’s part that they will be repaying their loans.
II. Worker Incentives
Those who are involved in the educational process, our teachers, professors and administrators- also deserve to further their respective knowledge to cope with the changing and evolving times, and must be provided adequate source of technology to aid them in imparting knowledge to their students
a. Doctrine for teacher development- Government will institutionalize trainings to engage teachers to further their studies, through management workshops and other forms of increasing their capacities to impart up to date knowledge to their students
b. Legislation of higher wages for educators- Government, in its investment to human capital, seeks to provide higher wages, because workers in the educational system also deserve to have a sustainable living, like any other private or public sector employee. This will also prevent our best teachers from going elsewhere because there is an enacting law and institutions willing to provide adequate benefits for them so that they can continue their profession here in our country.
INFRASTRUCTURAL SUPPORT TO AID THE CHANGES
The need for sufficient infrastructure and technology to aid those involved in the process is also important, and it is also the State’s responsibility to protect the integrity of the educational institutions, by providing it with adequate logistical support, a wide array of capital-intensive technologies needed, and an atmosphere conducive for learning and sharing, for both teachers and students.
I. Budget Management/Re-engineering of the Education Budget
We need to expand the base of our education budget, and use certain legislative powers for funding such as the CDF/Pork barrel as a tool for development. We have to increase the capacities of the Department of Education for funding, to not only adequately provide more buildings, books and other learning materials, but to also look into alternative forms of education, like E-TV and interactive models, which may be at a lesser cost and does not replenish over time, compared to books and other paper materials.
Education is a vital sector which needs much support, because it is an independent function towards solving other societal problems such as poverty, unemployment and other economic deficiencies. Thus, there is a need for us to revisit the complex problems of our educational sector.
Institutions would be at the top of the rank, because it must be the parallel structure which needs to be addressed first so that the active participants in the educational process will be engaged in changes to be made in the system.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM IS THE PRE-CONDITION FOR TAKE-OFF IN EDUCATION
Our educational system is currently predicated on an authoritarian system, called the Prussian system of Education. This traditional view that we have towards education,- that if we provide books, classrooms, volume of teachers and an instruction manual, everything as a result would be quality education, has resulted in many frail and unwanted results, and has encouraged dependency on the part of our students.
This was a system which traces it roots to the time of Napoleon, as the Prussians devised a system that would teach “duty, discipline, respect for authority, and the ability to follow orders," in reaction to the fall of his rule.
The Prussian system instituted compulsory attendance, national training for teachers, national testing for all students (used to classify children for potential job training), national curriculum set for each grade, and mandatory kindergarten. The purpose of the system was to instill loyalty to the crown; and train young men for the military and bureaucracy.
However, there were inflicted motives by the State to decrease the right of the people then to self-determination. The Prussian system wasn’t designed for the good of the individual but for the good of the government. In accordance to this implicit motive, it advocates that "The schools must fashion the person, and fashion him in such a way, that he simply cannot will otherwise than what you wish him to will." It also had a view that "Education should aim at destroying free will so that after pupils are thus schooled they will be incapable throughout the rest of their lives of thinking or acting otherwise than as their school masters would have wished. "
The system was intended to satisfy the state's desires for the people, and does not support a democratic process of free will and a right of self-determination amongst the participants of the process.
Unfortunately, this system does not support our advances towards a growing democracy. In this system, the teacher acts as the sole provider of sufficient knowledge, and the student, in his aim at satisfying the demands of the system, recognizes the fact that it must act in accordance to the medium of instruction.
There are some instructors who have drifted away from this system, but there is a need for the National Government to institutionalize the system and the medium of instruction for our children. Our curriculum has not become responsive to the changes and the dynamism of today's modern society, and does not align itself with the system set forth by other developed nations. It does not take into account an increased technical discourse and interactive learning which would help the individual further his knowledge, given his ability to re-invent and innovate the fundamentals which seem to have become non-responsive to the modern world.
We must institutionalize a system that will allow our students access to the fundamental laws of each field of study, and must give him the ability to discern later on what is right and what is wrong. It is still important that the fundamentals be established so that he will have a clear reference on how to further the good side and change the bad side. We must make our classrooms an atmosphere of interactive learning, and our measurement of knowledge and readiness to take the next level should not be based on hallow assessment and achievement tests, but should be based on the capacity of a student to expound and assess the positive and negative arguments for and against the concept/theory, and that can be achieved through a culture of research that must be promoted at the higher levels.
STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The major players in the educational system’s welfare must always be at the forefront of any attempt to reform the current system. It is the State’s role to provide students adequate opportunities to avail of a quality education, and financial and doctrinal incentive to teachers, because they too have a right to more knowledge, and sustainable living.
I. Access to Education for students
The students must be provided a greater means to get into school, which includes programs which would allow them convenience of enrolling at least cost. A whole sale integration program, by allowing young people to get education and pursuing it at least cost, and by ensuring graduates get quality jobs, is the pursuit of the series of programs being pushed for. This will be government’s investment in ensuring that there is repayment financially (through SSS contributions for the Student Loan Application Program) and in human capital, focusing on strengthening domestic markets and avoiding brain drain.
a. Conditional Cash Transfers Program- This is an economic strategy which aims to providing social assistance to families that cannot sustain the education of their children, and an investment in human capital to ensure that the future workers of our nation will be fully equipped education wise to answer the challenge of the business world. This is a continuing program of the DSWD and will be expanded, giving priority to regions and areas which need capacity building, those regions/areas which cannot sustain for themselves. This strategy has been proven effective in other developing countries, particularly in the African countries.
b. Student Loan Application Program- This provides high school graduates the opportunity to study in college with the least worries of repaying its financial obligations right away. This provides them the vehicle to study with convenience, and without the burden of discontinuing studies in the middle of tertiary education because of non-compliance to shorter terms. This will allow young people to repay their loans once they already have a job, through their SSS contributions. Students who are interested in this program must apply for an SSS number, as an assurance from the government’s part that they will be repaying their loans.
II. Worker Incentives
Those who are involved in the educational process, our teachers, professors and administrators- also deserve to further their respective knowledge to cope with the changing and evolving times, and must be provided adequate source of technology to aid them in imparting knowledge to their students
a. Doctrine for teacher development- Government will institutionalize trainings to engage teachers to further their studies, through management workshops and other forms of increasing their capacities to impart up to date knowledge to their students
b. Legislation of higher wages for educators- Government, in its investment to human capital, seeks to provide higher wages, because workers in the educational system also deserve to have a sustainable living, like any other private or public sector employee. This will also prevent our best teachers from going elsewhere because there is an enacting law and institutions willing to provide adequate benefits for them so that they can continue their profession here in our country.
INFRASTRUCTURAL SUPPORT TO AID THE CHANGES
The need for sufficient infrastructure and technology to aid those involved in the process is also important, and it is also the State’s responsibility to protect the integrity of the educational institutions, by providing it with adequate logistical support, a wide array of capital-intensive technologies needed, and an atmosphere conducive for learning and sharing, for both teachers and students.
I. Budget Management/Re-engineering of the Education Budget
We need to expand the base of our education budget, and use certain legislative powers for funding such as the CDF/Pork barrel as a tool for development. We have to increase the capacities of the Department of Education for funding, to not only adequately provide more buildings, books and other learning materials, but to also look into alternative forms of education, like E-TV and interactive models, which may be at a lesser cost and does not replenish over time, compared to books and other paper materials.
GREEN TEAM supports GIBO TEODORO: Our stand on the Environment
(Content provided for by Aaron Benedict De Leon- Youth Spokesperson of GT, Vice President for Corporate Communications-Green Team National Board)
There is now widespread agreement amongst both scientists and politicians that global climate change is underway. Such a process is seen as a threat to humanity as it may lead to more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts and floods.
Here in the Philippines, climate change destroyed not merely buildings, homes, belongings and all other tangibles, but also changed the protocol in disaster risk management. Not only did it expose our topographical frailties, but also our weak institutions and the lack of a clear and substantial program to prepare our countrymen for these situations.
The environment, overall, is a responsibility of all sectors of society, but our institutions, again, should be strengthened so that emergency alarms, and a calibrated response system will trickle down to the citizenry.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM
• Grassroots approach- LGU’s at the Forefront of Disaster Risk Management
Our current setup, which has the National Disaster Coordinating Council, the official civic arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is the spearhead organization in terms of preparation, mitigation and rehabilitation efforts with respect to disasters. However, several bureaucracies do exist under its wing, and usually, the lowest amongst them are always awaiting signals from the main structure for action.
During the typhoons Ondoy and Peping, this rather unresponsive system cost many Filipino’s their lives and their homes. What must be done to fasten the process of rescue? We must put the power to Local Government Units to be the main agents for rescue, since their topography supports swift rescue response from an institutional standpoint. They have a better understanding for the needs of their localities; therefore they must have more access to resources for rescue and relief operations.
We must allow them to have more than the 5% of their IRA, the current maximum an LGU can utilize during disaster situations, so that they can purchase more logistics in terms of rubber boats, trucks and all other live-support and life-saving mechanisms.
Given this setup, what the National Council can do is to intervene whenever localities lack a certain number of logistical requirements, by having sufficient number of capital technology available to deploy, through their Regional/Provincial Disaster Councils.
This mechanism gives more power to the grassroots level to decide based on the urgency of the situation. The National Council must also allow regional and provincial councils to craft a CALIBRATED RESPONSE system based on the topographical characteristics of their area, so that alarms can easily be handed out, without delay, towards their respective localities.
• Nationalistic Approach- A National Department for Disasters as a tool for better preparation
In the current setup of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, operating under the function of the office of civil defense, receives 0.16% of the Defense Department’s budget or roughly around 92 million pesos. This is not enough considering that disasters pertain not only to typhoons, but also to earthquakes, and other environmental phenomena, adding to that fact that the country experiences multiple typhoons in a year. In addition to that, the Defense Department’s current setup does not allow for total concentration on disaster risk management because it also has other major functions under its wing.
Given the status quo, we are not prepared for even bigger disasters lying ahead of us in the coming years. That is why there is a need for the National Government to put up a Disaster Risk Management Department which could independently cater to preparation, mitigation, response and rehabilitation in terms of natural disasters, which will also be given the capacity to have more available appropriation. This will increase the chances for our country to be more prepared for upcoming environmental hazards.
• Private Investment: Support Greener Initiatives
The cost of reducing carbon emissions may take some time, due to current problems being encountered to reach a consensus at the Copenhagen talks regarding climate change, so the government must support all motives aimed at saving the environment from further degradation.
One of which is to continuously support campaigns by private companies towards protecting the environment through their earth-friendly initiatives (paperless environment, imposition of earth bags for packing etc.) through incentives (either tax-friendly or subsidies). As they say in economics, people respond to incentives.
SUSTAINABLE ANTI-CLIMATE CHANGE INFRASTRUCTURE
We also realized that certain areas in the country like Marikina, Rizal and portions of Pasig are vulnerable to flooding given a certain amount of rainfall at a specific time. This can be caused by several factors, due to flood ways and dams releasing big water, and so and so, but we must invest in capital technology, by means of putting up a sustainable anti-climate change infrastructure, which will support the existing topographies of localities where these would be built.
Government needs to undertake careful Urban Planning in areas which are readily affected by typhoons, and create a system that would channel amounts of water to certain areas which are considered to be high, or will cause minimal to no effect to another area. We have to re-channel water levels to certain areas so that we can free up some space for areas heavily affected by flooding, to either allow them time to evacuate or be less affected during the height of disasters.
DISASTER EDUCATION
We must also engage our citizens to be active participants during times of disaster. Our local government units, through our barangays, must be given the capacity to conduct trainings, not only during typhoons, but also in fire and earthquake situations, so that its people will be more ready to combat these negative turnabouts.
We must also institutionalize a system in school which will train students regarding specific alarms when water levels are rising, and to promote a clean and green environment through responsible waste management and simple garbage management, because we have to invest in the knowledge of children for the future, and basic environmental knowledge should be fundamental in our educational system.
There is now widespread agreement amongst both scientists and politicians that global climate change is underway. Such a process is seen as a threat to humanity as it may lead to more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts and floods.
Here in the Philippines, climate change destroyed not merely buildings, homes, belongings and all other tangibles, but also changed the protocol in disaster risk management. Not only did it expose our topographical frailties, but also our weak institutions and the lack of a clear and substantial program to prepare our countrymen for these situations.
The environment, overall, is a responsibility of all sectors of society, but our institutions, again, should be strengthened so that emergency alarms, and a calibrated response system will trickle down to the citizenry.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM
• Grassroots approach- LGU’s at the Forefront of Disaster Risk Management
Our current setup, which has the National Disaster Coordinating Council, the official civic arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is the spearhead organization in terms of preparation, mitigation and rehabilitation efforts with respect to disasters. However, several bureaucracies do exist under its wing, and usually, the lowest amongst them are always awaiting signals from the main structure for action.
During the typhoons Ondoy and Peping, this rather unresponsive system cost many Filipino’s their lives and their homes. What must be done to fasten the process of rescue? We must put the power to Local Government Units to be the main agents for rescue, since their topography supports swift rescue response from an institutional standpoint. They have a better understanding for the needs of their localities; therefore they must have more access to resources for rescue and relief operations.
We must allow them to have more than the 5% of their IRA, the current maximum an LGU can utilize during disaster situations, so that they can purchase more logistics in terms of rubber boats, trucks and all other live-support and life-saving mechanisms.
Given this setup, what the National Council can do is to intervene whenever localities lack a certain number of logistical requirements, by having sufficient number of capital technology available to deploy, through their Regional/Provincial Disaster Councils.
This mechanism gives more power to the grassroots level to decide based on the urgency of the situation. The National Council must also allow regional and provincial councils to craft a CALIBRATED RESPONSE system based on the topographical characteristics of their area, so that alarms can easily be handed out, without delay, towards their respective localities.
• Nationalistic Approach- A National Department for Disasters as a tool for better preparation
In the current setup of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, operating under the function of the office of civil defense, receives 0.16% of the Defense Department’s budget or roughly around 92 million pesos. This is not enough considering that disasters pertain not only to typhoons, but also to earthquakes, and other environmental phenomena, adding to that fact that the country experiences multiple typhoons in a year. In addition to that, the Defense Department’s current setup does not allow for total concentration on disaster risk management because it also has other major functions under its wing.
Given the status quo, we are not prepared for even bigger disasters lying ahead of us in the coming years. That is why there is a need for the National Government to put up a Disaster Risk Management Department which could independently cater to preparation, mitigation, response and rehabilitation in terms of natural disasters, which will also be given the capacity to have more available appropriation. This will increase the chances for our country to be more prepared for upcoming environmental hazards.
• Private Investment: Support Greener Initiatives
The cost of reducing carbon emissions may take some time, due to current problems being encountered to reach a consensus at the Copenhagen talks regarding climate change, so the government must support all motives aimed at saving the environment from further degradation.
One of which is to continuously support campaigns by private companies towards protecting the environment through their earth-friendly initiatives (paperless environment, imposition of earth bags for packing etc.) through incentives (either tax-friendly or subsidies). As they say in economics, people respond to incentives.
SUSTAINABLE ANTI-CLIMATE CHANGE INFRASTRUCTURE
We also realized that certain areas in the country like Marikina, Rizal and portions of Pasig are vulnerable to flooding given a certain amount of rainfall at a specific time. This can be caused by several factors, due to flood ways and dams releasing big water, and so and so, but we must invest in capital technology, by means of putting up a sustainable anti-climate change infrastructure, which will support the existing topographies of localities where these would be built.
Government needs to undertake careful Urban Planning in areas which are readily affected by typhoons, and create a system that would channel amounts of water to certain areas which are considered to be high, or will cause minimal to no effect to another area. We have to re-channel water levels to certain areas so that we can free up some space for areas heavily affected by flooding, to either allow them time to evacuate or be less affected during the height of disasters.
DISASTER EDUCATION
We must also engage our citizens to be active participants during times of disaster. Our local government units, through our barangays, must be given the capacity to conduct trainings, not only during typhoons, but also in fire and earthquake situations, so that its people will be more ready to combat these negative turnabouts.
We must also institutionalize a system in school which will train students regarding specific alarms when water levels are rising, and to promote a clean and green environment through responsible waste management and simple garbage management, because we have to invest in the knowledge of children for the future, and basic environmental knowledge should be fundamental in our educational system.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Survey DELAYED is Justice DENIED
December 15- Media Release Date; November 4-8- Survey Commission Date- Indication that there is an ongoing attempt to shape PUBLIC OPINION at the most non-urgent time
-------------------
The headline of some media outfits itself already does injustice to those who take the news as it is.
The question posed by the SWS Survey does not categorically even ask who would you vote for as President of the Republic of the Philippines come May 2010. It only asks for three names who are the respondents' preference to replace PGMA.
The even bigger question lies in the fact that their releases are way behind schedule, as the December 15 Media Release was for a survey that was commissioned from Nov. 4 to 8. We all know that people have this perception that even this was a month overdue, a built-in impression is created that the recent survey goes above all recent developments that have gone in the most recent days or weeks.
I do not question the veracity of the survey, but the timing WHEN it was released, just so when obviously, Sec. Gibo Teodoro is already gaining steam, given the resounding feedback because of the recent Presidential forums and his out of town speeches. This is a JOB being done to MALIGN the IMPRESSION to note that the RECENT ADVANCES of Gibo does not actually translate into votes, where in fact these RESULTS came way before he even relinquished his duties as DND Head and succeeded Party leadership.
The survey in fact still included VP Noli De Castro, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Mar Roxas and Sen. Chiz Escudero, all of which later declared their non-intention to seek the Presidency. This brazen delay somehow builds an impression of fielding many candidates at a correlative cost of decreasing one's percentage.
This survey does not take into account recent strides that has endeared him to many Filipino's, and this media release is intended to SHAPE the PUBLIC's PERCEPTION that since the release came after those strides, that NO STRIDES at ALL were being made even with the recent moves made by the former DND Secretary. MEDIA will only HIGHLIGHT who's leading, at what figures, but they WILL viciously HIDE the important factors like the COMMISSION DATE just so that they could impress upon voters that despite the visibility of Sec. Teodoro, it has not translated into actual survey votes.
This is completely a strategy which continues to misrepresent at the URGENT TIMING, the views, opinions and the real sentiments of the people.
Please be forewarned about this attempt to once again demonize this process of getting public opinion.
The question posed by the SWS Survey does not categorically even ask who would you vote for as President of the Republic of the Philippines come May 2010. It only asks for three names who are the respondents' preference to replace PGMA.
The even bigger question lies in the fact that their releases are way behind schedule, as the December 15 Media Release was for a survey that was commissioned from Nov. 4 to 8. We all know that people have this perception that even this was a month overdue, a built-in impression is created that the recent survey goes above all recent developments that have gone in the most recent days or weeks.
I do not question the veracity of the survey, but the timing WHEN it was released, just so when obviously, Sec. Gibo Teodoro is already gaining steam, given the resounding feedback because of the recent Presidential forums and his out of town speeches. This is a JOB being done to MALIGN the IMPRESSION to note that the RECENT ADVANCES of Gibo does not actually translate into votes, where in fact these RESULTS came way before he even relinquished his duties as DND Head and succeeded Party leadership.
The survey in fact still included VP Noli De Castro, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Mar Roxas and Sen. Chiz Escudero, all of which later declared their non-intention to seek the Presidency. This brazen delay somehow builds an impression of fielding many candidates at a correlative cost of decreasing one's percentage.
This survey does not take into account recent strides that has endeared him to many Filipino's, and this media release is intended to SHAPE the PUBLIC's PERCEPTION that since the release came after those strides, that NO STRIDES at ALL were being made even with the recent moves made by the former DND Secretary. MEDIA will only HIGHLIGHT who's leading, at what figures, but they WILL viciously HIDE the important factors like the COMMISSION DATE just so that they could impress upon voters that despite the visibility of Sec. Teodoro, it has not translated into actual survey votes.
This is completely a strategy which continues to misrepresent at the URGENT TIMING, the views, opinions and the real sentiments of the people.
Please be forewarned about this attempt to once again demonize this process of getting public opinion.
REACTION to Manolo Quezon's OVERREACTION- The Peril of Mock Elections
ARTICLE OF MANOLO QUEZON ENTITLED THE PERIL OF MOCK ELECTIONS: BOTH Belinda Oliveras-Cunanan and Bobit S. Avila are entranced by what Cunanan considers Gilbert Teodoro’s “surging” in a Facebook (FB) “survey” of presidential candidates, with Avila asserting that the FB results are superior to those of surveys done by Pulse Asia or Social Weather Stations. The only problem is that their excitement stems from a lack of comprehension of what is going on.
There is no FB survey. Avila in particular seems to believe it is FB itself that has taken it upon itself to start tracking opinion with regard to the candidates for the Philippine presidency. As an active FB user, I think this is a disservice to FB, to those who have created applications related to the 2010 campaign, to the candidates, and to the broader public.
What Cunanan and Avila referred to in their columns, and what was reported in various news stories, is an application, and if you go to the Election2010 page on FB, it very clearly says, “this application was not developed by Facebook.”
The Election2010 application isn’t a survey application. It is an ongoing effort, over multiple rounds, to periodically undertake mock elections. The Round 1 results were published on Sunday, Nov. 15: Aquino 48.48 percent; Escudero 24.24 percent; Teodoro 12.12 percent; Villar 12.12 percent; Estrada 3.03 percent. Round 2 started on Monday, Nov. 16 and lasted until Sunday, Nov. 22, 11:59 p.m. and its results were: Aquino 47.59 percent; Teodoro 25.13 percent; Villar 13.37 percent; Escudero 11.76 percent; Estrada 2.14 percent. Round 3 started on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 and lasted until Sunday, Nov. 29, at 11:59 p.m. with the following results: Teodoro 58.69 percent; Aquino 31.90 percent; Villar 6.79 percent; Estrada 1.07 percent; Escudero 0.83 percent; Ebdane 0.71 percent. As of this writing, Round 4 was ongoing and Teodoro has 63.40 percent, Aquino 28.41 percent, Villar 6.82 percent, Estrada 1.36 percent.
The experiment has, at its core, only those who are aware of, and use, the application. You have to know about it, and install it, and authorize it, in order to use it. Also, the experiment does not report the actual votes, only percentages. Therefore those who want to make sense of the results have no means of finding out how many people participated in each round of voting.
The Election2010 page reports the following statistics: It has 1,605 active users, which means this is more or less the active voting population that participates in each round of the mock polls. It has 43 friends, and 395 fans. The active users represents the largest potential voting population for the application; but it could also mean 1,600 people are the total voters for what is now four rounds, not the total voters for each round. We have to extrapolate what the voting population might be, without being able to answer how many actually vote in any given round, and what’s more, since the application is open for sharing, whether the boosters of any particular candidate can inflate the results for their candidate by swarming the application during each round.
For a comparison of how online surveys can and ought to be reported, the Definitely Filipino Facebook page has 400,000 fans, making for a much larger potential voting population. On Dec. 2, a mock poll was put up using the PollDaddy.com application. The results as of 1:26 p.m. on Dec. 2 were: Aquino 54 percent (268 votes); Teodoro 19 percent (94 votes); Villar 14 percent (68 votes), Gordon 5 percent (23 votes), Villanueva 3 percent (17 votes), Estrada 3 percent (13 votes), Fernando 2 percent (12 votes), Madrigal one percent (1 vote)—a total of 496 votes out of a potential vote pool of 400,000. If you’re not on Facebook you can access the mock poll and its results here. This points to something Election2010 can do in terms of the ongoing development of the application: it can break down actual votes, so that people who participate and view the results, or who report on the results, can determine the actual number of voters per round, and the breakdown per candidate.
One thing is sure: Neither the 2010 FB application nor the ongoing voting in the Truly Filipino page has ever claimed to be surveys. Both are mock polls. They are not based on random sampling of the population, they are based on whoever runs across, or hears about, the mock polls and decides to join them. And both, by the very nature of Facebook, rely on limited populations—not even the total potential voting population, spread across multiple pages, of the various candidates.
A comparison to the active fan base of the candidates is useful at this point. In Facebook, most of the candidates have fan pages where their supporters congregate and share information and opinions among themselves. For the major candidates who have official fan pages (pages they have endorsed or accredited), here are the numbers: Aquino—109,349; Villar—38,261; Escudero (now dropped out of the race)—13,098; Teodoro—7,743; Estrada—3,403. In addition, Aquino has accredited other FB pages, so you have the Noynoy for President Movement with 56,327 fans, Noynoy for President with 24,010, Yellow Ribbon for President Cory Aquino with 66,939 and Cebu Volunteers for Noynoy with 991 and Tsinoy for Noy with 394—a total of 148,661 in the accredited FB pages.
Another way to measure commitment to the candidates is by means of Twitter, where people can follow people and candidates they like. A total of 20,461 follow Noynoy Aquino’s and 22,116 follow Mar Roxas’ Twitter accounts, respectively; 15,541 follow Escudero’s; 4,190 follow Teodoro’s; and 585 follow Villar’s. On the other hand, Villar is the master of Friendster, with 14,727 friends followed by Escudero with 1,155, Aquino with 218, and Teodoro with 140. Villar also dominates Multiply with 2,541 connections, while Aquino has 89 and Teodoro, 29.
Experiments like the Election2010 application are being seriously misrepresented. Hopefully due to ignorance and nothing else.
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There is no FB survey. Avila in particular seems to believe it is FB itself that has taken it upon itself to start tracking opinion with regard to the candidates for the Philippine presidency. As an active FB user, I think this is a disservice to FB, to those who have created applications related to the 2010 campaign, to the candidates, and to the broader public.
What Cunanan and Avila referred to in their columns, and what was reported in various news stories, is an application, and if you go to the Election2010 page on FB, it very clearly says, “this application was not developed by Facebook.”
The Election2010 application isn’t a survey application. It is an ongoing effort, over multiple rounds, to periodically undertake mock elections. The Round 1 results were published on Sunday, Nov. 15: Aquino 48.48 percent; Escudero 24.24 percent; Teodoro 12.12 percent; Villar 12.12 percent; Estrada 3.03 percent. Round 2 started on Monday, Nov. 16 and lasted until Sunday, Nov. 22, 11:59 p.m. and its results were: Aquino 47.59 percent; Teodoro 25.13 percent; Villar 13.37 percent; Escudero 11.76 percent; Estrada 2.14 percent. Round 3 started on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 and lasted until Sunday, Nov. 29, at 11:59 p.m. with the following results: Teodoro 58.69 percent; Aquino 31.90 percent; Villar 6.79 percent; Estrada 1.07 percent; Escudero 0.83 percent; Ebdane 0.71 percent. As of this writing, Round 4 was ongoing and Teodoro has 63.40 percent, Aquino 28.41 percent, Villar 6.82 percent, Estrada 1.36 percent.
The experiment has, at its core, only those who are aware of, and use, the application. You have to know about it, and install it, and authorize it, in order to use it. Also, the experiment does not report the actual votes, only percentages. Therefore those who want to make sense of the results have no means of finding out how many people participated in each round of voting.
The Election2010 page reports the following statistics: It has 1,605 active users, which means this is more or less the active voting population that participates in each round of the mock polls. It has 43 friends, and 395 fans. The active users represents the largest potential voting population for the application; but it could also mean 1,600 people are the total voters for what is now four rounds, not the total voters for each round. We have to extrapolate what the voting population might be, without being able to answer how many actually vote in any given round, and what’s more, since the application is open for sharing, whether the boosters of any particular candidate can inflate the results for their candidate by swarming the application during each round.
For a comparison of how online surveys can and ought to be reported, the Definitely Filipino Facebook page has 400,000 fans, making for a much larger potential voting population. On Dec. 2, a mock poll was put up using the PollDaddy.com application. The results as of 1:26 p.m. on Dec. 2 were: Aquino 54 percent (268 votes); Teodoro 19 percent (94 votes); Villar 14 percent (68 votes), Gordon 5 percent (23 votes), Villanueva 3 percent (17 votes), Estrada 3 percent (13 votes), Fernando 2 percent (12 votes), Madrigal one percent (1 vote)—a total of 496 votes out of a potential vote pool of 400,000. If you’re not on Facebook you can access the mock poll and its results here. This points to something Election2010 can do in terms of the ongoing development of the application: it can break down actual votes, so that people who participate and view the results, or who report on the results, can determine the actual number of voters per round, and the breakdown per candidate.
One thing is sure: Neither the 2010 FB application nor the ongoing voting in the Truly Filipino page has ever claimed to be surveys. Both are mock polls. They are not based on random sampling of the population, they are based on whoever runs across, or hears about, the mock polls and decides to join them. And both, by the very nature of Facebook, rely on limited populations—not even the total potential voting population, spread across multiple pages, of the various candidates.
A comparison to the active fan base of the candidates is useful at this point. In Facebook, most of the candidates have fan pages where their supporters congregate and share information and opinions among themselves. For the major candidates who have official fan pages (pages they have endorsed or accredited), here are the numbers: Aquino—109,349; Villar—38,261; Escudero (now dropped out of the race)—13,098; Teodoro—7,743; Estrada—3,403. In addition, Aquino has accredited other FB pages, so you have the Noynoy for President Movement with 56,327 fans, Noynoy for President with 24,010, Yellow Ribbon for President Cory Aquino with 66,939 and Cebu Volunteers for Noynoy with 991 and Tsinoy for Noy with 394—a total of 148,661 in the accredited FB pages.
Another way to measure commitment to the candidates is by means of Twitter, where people can follow people and candidates they like. A total of 20,461 follow Noynoy Aquino’s and 22,116 follow Mar Roxas’ Twitter accounts, respectively; 15,541 follow Escudero’s; 4,190 follow Teodoro’s; and 585 follow Villar’s. On the other hand, Villar is the master of Friendster, with 14,727 friends followed by Escudero with 1,155, Aquino with 218, and Teodoro with 140. Villar also dominates Multiply with 2,541 connections, while Aquino has 89 and Teodoro, 29.
Experiments like the Election2010 application are being seriously misrepresented. Hopefully due to ignorance and nothing else.
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IN RESPONSE:
The TITLE itself is over reacting, its as if the means to arriving at such result is CONTROVERSIAL and SCANDALOUS in nature. There should be no question as to the results of these polls, because this was done by a THIRD PARTY application. Mr Quezon wishes to question the mechanism at arriving to such result, because he obviously is alerted by an influx of supporters for a CERTAIN candidate to the polling page. Now shouldn't that be already REPRESENTATIVE that the candidate is in FACT gaining steam, considering he can come up with that much supporters in the page? Of course, the spread of rumors CANNOT be ISOLATED, and we do know how the tsismis culture works here in the Philippines. Of course, the leakage of such poll would be spread outside of those who know, so in FB, the buzz will of course be heard even by the other camps. Now, the number of FB supporters they could muster to engage in voting will be another matter, but that's also REPRESENTATIVE of the kind of supporters these candidates may have.
Mr. Quezon, I don’t really see the purpose why WE question such small polls, considering NO ONE really questions WHO owns PULSE-ASIA or the same way who calls the shots for SWS, NO matter how controversial the results are in favor of a specific candidate.
The same way you criticize the application in FB for just those who happen to drop by, wouldn’t it be more MANIPULATING to NOT KNOW who the SAMPLES are in the nationwide surveys? At least, this FB page, in most of its samples, can come up with true names and identities, unlike larger surveys, which cannot brag to have the veneer of respectability given the vested interests of those who OWN it, and more so, the factor that samples are normally clustered in areas where one specific candidate's advantage is obvious, and the questions are made to add up to the totality of one over the rest (Just be more scrutinizing of previous SWS surveys). Yes for sure, larger poll bodies like SWS or Pulse Asia can release surveys and come up with numbers, but do we really have REPRESENTATIONAL sampling in those surveys? Again, to some extent, yes because it is still representative of a small portion of the country, though the mechanism at arriving at such may be strategic, the same way Mr. Quezon should not overreact with these mock polls.
The reaction by you Sir only is a signal that the CONSCIOUSNESS of a Gibo presidency is gaining steam, and some people, by the desperate attempt to discredit a small fire, over analyzes something that doesn’t make sense (of course, applications need consent in FB- like anyone voting for an election, even if it is public, needs to have personal consent from the one voting). It’s like saying that since IT IS NOT READILY MADE AVAILABLE, it is not credible. It is like saying that SINCE it is ADVERTISED well to people, it DOES not represent a segment of the population. It is like saying too that Facebook ALLOWS FALSE Identities, contrary to the terms and conditions it set forth before one can avail of an account.
On election day, there is no POPULATION SAMPLING which can happen, because everyone, by THEIR CONSENT, is able to take the streets and vote, something you can actually associate with their consent of installing an application or choosing to vote on a specific application to enable them to vote. There is no approving body just to enter an application, therefore ANYONE can access an application such as that.
So Mr Quezon, with all due respect, I do think we should not DISMISS these small polls, because whether we like it or not, this is STILL representative, even if you have to install the application (which is really no biggie) or go to the page being a non-fan, of a segment of the population, the same way OTHERS don’t really PROTEST the SURVEYS of PULSE-ASIA and SWS. This discrediting propaganda is a CLEAR SIGNAL of Political Immaturity and not INCREASED AWARENESS.
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http://www.quezon.ph/2009/
The TITLE itself is over reacting, its as if the means to arriving at such result is CONTROVERSIAL and SCANDALOUS in nature. There should be no question as to the results of these polls, because this was done by a THIRD PARTY application. Mr Quezon wishes to question the mechanism at arriving to such result, because he obviously is alerted by an influx of supporters for a CERTAIN candidate to the polling page. Now shouldn't that be already REPRESENTATIVE that the candidate is in FACT gaining steam, considering he can come up with that much supporters in the page? Of course, the spread of rumors CANNOT be ISOLATED, and we do know how the tsismis culture works here in the Philippines. Of course, the leakage of such poll would be spread outside of those who know, so in FB, the buzz will of course be heard even by the other camps. Now, the number of FB supporters they could muster to engage in voting will be another matter, but that's also REPRESENTATIVE of the kind of supporters these candidates may have.
Mr. Quezon, I don’t really see the purpose why WE question such small polls, considering NO ONE really questions WHO owns PULSE-ASIA or the same way who calls the shots for SWS, NO matter how controversial the results are in favor of a specific candidate.
The same way you criticize the application in FB for just those who happen to drop by, wouldn’t it be more MANIPULATING to NOT KNOW who the SAMPLES are in the nationwide surveys? At least, this FB page, in most of its samples, can come up with true names and identities, unlike larger surveys, which cannot brag to have the veneer of respectability given the vested interests of those who OWN it, and more so, the factor that samples are normally clustered in areas where one specific candidate's advantage is obvious, and the questions are made to add up to the totality of one over the rest (Just be more scrutinizing of previous SWS surveys). Yes for sure, larger poll bodies like SWS or Pulse Asia can release surveys and come up with numbers, but do we really have REPRESENTATIONAL sampling in those surveys? Again, to some extent, yes because it is still representative of a small portion of the country, though the mechanism at arriving at such may be strategic, the same way Mr. Quezon should not overreact with these mock polls.
The reaction by you Sir only is a signal that the CONSCIOUSNESS of a Gibo presidency is gaining steam, and some people, by the desperate attempt to discredit a small fire, over analyzes something that doesn’t make sense (of course, applications need consent in FB- like anyone voting for an election, even if it is public, needs to have personal consent from the one voting). It’s like saying that since IT IS NOT READILY MADE AVAILABLE, it is not credible. It is like saying that SINCE it is ADVERTISED well to people, it DOES not represent a segment of the population. It is like saying too that Facebook ALLOWS FALSE Identities, contrary to the terms and conditions it set forth before one can avail of an account.
On election day, there is no POPULATION SAMPLING which can happen, because everyone, by THEIR CONSENT, is able to take the streets and vote, something you can actually associate with their consent of installing an application or choosing to vote on a specific application to enable them to vote. There is no approving body just to enter an application, therefore ANYONE can access an application such as that.
So Mr Quezon, with all due respect, I do think we should not DISMISS these small polls, because whether we like it or not, this is STILL representative, even if you have to install the application (which is really no biggie) or go to the page being a non-fan, of a segment of the population, the same way OTHERS don’t really PROTEST the SURVEYS of PULSE-ASIA and SWS. This discrediting propaganda is a CLEAR SIGNAL of Political Immaturity and not INCREASED AWARENESS.
-----
http://www.quezon.ph/2009/
Monday, December 7, 2009
A Reply to the arguments against Sec. Teodoro in the blog "Shortlisting the Presidentiables" by Mary Velas-Suarin
We have watched the “Halalan” presidentiables’ forum aired over ABS-CBN last night and here are my top three choices, my reasons for choosing them, and why the others did not even pass my ’shortlisting.’ :)
Let me first discuss my top three choices and why I think they deserve my vote.
(My answer to the arguments will be in highlighted underlined text)
Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. It is obvious that he is intelligent and a savvy communicator (he deserves some cheers here). However, I will definitely not vote for him for the following reasons:
1. He always says he values “loyalty” and that is why he is sticking it out with Lakas-Kampi. Can someone ask him this question, please, “Is loyalty greater and more important than integrity?” If your boss and his family are obviously associated with a lot of issues such as on corruption, over-spending, over-traveling, vote-rigging, allowing of private armies (which led to a horrible massacre of innocent lives), and so on and so forth, would you still be proud that you are “loyal” to him? When should loyalty end? Must we draw a line somewhere?
IN RESPONSE: Loyalty stems from the fact that from a Sec. Gibo Teodoro standpoint, I don’t see why there is a need to bash PGMA. Sec. Teodoro is right, that it is indeed the height of ingratitude to leave the President who gave you the break to be the youngest National Defense Secretary in history. It is right to say as well that the PGMA administration has proven its worth in improving our economy, given the infrastructural milestones, and unprecedented economic growth it has posted the past few years. PARTY principles go ABOVE personalities in the party, which includes now Chairman Emeritus PGMA. Trained as a professional/lawyer, Sec. Teodoro’s stand is clear. We have to ALLOW our institutions to work to prosecute the president. If our institutions through our representatives in the institutions decide to keep status quo, that is the BEST form of REPRESENTATION, institution wise, because Our REPRESENTATIVES, by institution, represent a segmented portion of our population through the ELECTORAL PROCESS, rather than public assemblies in streets, recognized by the constitution but less powerful in democratic institutions compared to elections. PUBLIC CLAMOR is always created some people because they have the MEDIA VEHICLE to do so. However, this is not a constitutionally installed method of representation. LOYALTY stems from the fact that the President gave HIM a FREE HAND in administering one of the cleanest tenures in the Defense Department’s history.
2. He is clearly a trapo. It does not mean he is terribly nightmarish-bad but it is sad that he cannot even leave the party because of another thing (I may be wrong here, of course) – the machinery it offers. There lies the brutal fact that despite the endless issues hurled against his ‘masters’, he dare not leave them…and maybe because of the ease and comfort of having a nationwide machinery for his presidential aspirations? We can only guess. To a traditional politician, a party support is still a party support. However, Mr. Teodoro should also remember that a good party is not the same as a bad party. No more debate.
IN RESPONSE: His choice of PARTY does not only stem from the machinery of the party, but also stems from the CENTRIST DEMOCRACY stance of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD Party. It focuses on the human as the focal point of democracy, and that we must dignify the institutions which govern man so that there would be an efficiency in the delivery of public goods to be distributed amongst all of them. MACHINERY, whether we like it or not, is important. No ONE in Philippine History or even with the Barrack Obama campaign, would have been capable to win the elections without this. Now, if you were to qualify, at present, what is a QUALITY party or not, I guess the recent action of Sec. Teodoro on removing the Ampatuans from the party should be an indication of a strong sense of political will to carry out party reform from the man. Also, the outflux of personalities from the party is only indicative that the NEW Lakas-Kampi-CMD Party leadership, under Sec. Teodoro, Migz Dominguez and Francis Manglapuz, is keen in effecting change from within before the country. Lakas can now brag of quality membership in its regional bases. I don’t know how did you define traditional politics, but it is clear that Sec. Teodoro is anti-politician, and a clear manifestation of that came when HE, as NDCC Chair, could have used the exposure to advance his political ambitions. HE did NOT USE Ondoy as a vehicle for that, compared to others who tried to do such at a time when a nation was suffering.
3. He is a product of political dynasty, the very same thing that eventually becomes the ‘fertility bed’ for abuses. I remember his interview with Ms. Cheche Lazaro (in “Profiles”) when he said that he went back to the Philippines after staying in the US because he was convinced by his politico-relative (if I remember correctly, Mr. Danding Cojuangco) to run for public office. As if running for public office is a DNA thing. As if having relatives in politics gives one the ‘moral’ reason to also run for public office. Why do we have this penchant for husbands and wives, fathers (and mothers!) and sons, sisters and brothers, running for public office? Can we finally put a stop to these weird habit of believing that public service runs in the blood? Sure, it’s probably ok to have two politicos in the family (although I still think that a husband-and-wife team of politicos leaves a bad after-taste) but having 3, 4, 5 and even more politicians within the same surname or lineage is definitely a sign of lack of ‘delicadeza’ or shall we say, a familial addiction to power? Again, I may be wrong but let us look at things squarely; there is no need for complicated analysis.
IN RESPONSE: There is nothing wrong with political dynasties. In fact, there are some dynasties who have been proven to have given cities/provinces successes in past decades. Now, if one sees dynasties as having the veneer to control local politics, Sec. Teodoro has continuously pursued POLITICAL PARTY REFORM, which will allow candidates not belonging to these political dynasties, by support of political parties, to defeat the dynasties seated in power. Parties have to involve people in the grassroots level, and power should not sit only in the elite. The only way we could defeat BAD dynasties is through the ELECTORAL PROCESS.
4. His platform does not seem anchored on a genuine understanding of the structural problems inherent in our national woes. For example, he actually believes that we need more military and police personnel! That was how he replied when he was asked something about the huge presence of CVOs in Mindanao. Oh dear, it is as if our problems are military in nature and that the solutions also require a militaristic framework. He must talk to his former subordinates in the AFP/DND and find out more about how many of the Generals now think that our society does not need more guns but more participation in nationwide building and environmental protection. Yes, Mr. Teodoro, I have personally met Generals and Lieutenant Colonels in the AFP who are now talking about social transformation that is anchored on building communities and not on creating more private armies. Does he really think that we need more militia men to cover our 7,100++ islands instead of jobs, food security, and environmental integrity?
IN RESPONSE: I think you missed the entire platform that Sec. Teodoro proposes. One of course is the needed force structure to deter lawless elements in Mindanao. The topographic characteristics of our country and our number of policemen/soldiers are not directly proportional, and there must be a police power deployed to areas which have already been taken over by the military. DISARMING lawless elements, in fact, was one of his main focus points as DND Secretary. This is a problem which cannot be solved OVERNIGHT, that is why his Defense Administration tried to mitigate first the influx of arms in the area of Mindanao through stringent Military operations in coastal areas where entry of new firearms were taking place. There have been developments, but ONE Defense administration cannot guarantee an entire disarming of a whole island, considering we lack the force structure to do so. Now, what you missed out is the SOCIAL INTEGRATION PROGRAM that he has initiated in combating insurgents, which includes the capacity of inter-agency networks to re-introduce newly converted insurgents into the normal flow of society. But that cannot be taken care of to the fullest extent if INSURGENT NETWORKS and the GOVERNMENT will not go to the table and settle PEACE AGREEMENTS. PEACE AGREEMENTS has always been the focal point of Sec. Teodoro’s stay in the department, as the current GRP-MILF talks has achieved two major milestones: A creation of international contact group database (acting as guarantors of the deal), and the CIVILIAN PROTECTION COMPONENT, seeking to protect Internally displaced persons and finding meaningful means for them to rehabilitate their livelihood, something that Sec. Teodoro has also been supportive of during his stay as DND Sec.
The need for us to answer and clarify the issues is important, so that the public may truly know our candidates, and what they have truly done for the country, despite the seemingly wrong impression built in the minds of some of our Filipino brothers and sisters.
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