OK, my apologies. It has taken me a long time to get back to this journal. The usual excuse: lack of time. But if I look back, I could have squeezed in a few minutes before going to bed or upon waking up to drop some lines. Anyway, I am encouraged that some visitors do get to this journal. It must be frustrating or downright disappointing for them if they read the same stuff each visit.

It's for them that I must find precious time to write something on this journal.

Let's start with yesterday... We were in this workshop which is trying to build a research consortium among academic institutions,NGOs and academic institutions in the province. It is being conducted by Dr. Peter Urich of the International Global Change Institute. Yesterday was Day 2 of the workshop. We had the Planning Secretary, Hon. Romulo Neri, as guest. He gave powerpoint presentations on the basics of economics and also on his analysis of the country's political oligarchy. He said the election process is flawed from the start because it is the rich who bankroll political parties and candidates; he calls this group booty capitalists. The financiers naturally would like to get their investments back and for these investments to earn in return.

This is actually the third time I have seen this presentation. I have been hearing the same views from my college days three decades back. The only difference is that if you said these things in the 60s, you would be branded as leftist or a trouble-making radical. Now this is a member of the Cabinet saying the same things for which many of my friends were persecuted in the past. That's proof the democratic space has somewhat widened since the 60s despite persistent efforts of vested interests to capture political power and economic wealth. Many Filipinos will agree with this analysis. The challenge remains: how to address the situation within the framework of existing laws and conventions that an elite-dominated political process has put in place ...

We need to process his input in the context of the workshop's objective to organize a research consortium. In fact, there is a need to see the proposed consortium in the light of the provincial development agenda as reflected in the various development plans.

The Planning Secretary came with Director Romy Escandor of NEDA Region 7 and an old friend, Dr. Severino Cuevas of UP Los Banos. It must have been more than 20 years that I have not seen Seve. I was eager to bring him to dinner home but his schedule is tight this time. We hope to meet him again here in Bohol.

It's 6.37. I have to follow doctor's order, walk and up down this hill every morning. All these things we have to do to survive.