FEDERALISM WITHOUT TEARS

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

Last Thursday night, I arrived home in time to watch former Senator Aquilino Pimental, Jr.,  being interviewed on TV 5 about the talk of the hour, the adoption of the Federal form of government by the incoming Duterte administration.

Being a long-time advocate of federalism, along with former UP President Jose Abueva, the Senator looked and sounded like an elderly statesman, as in the old days. This time, on this TV show, he seemed to have a perpetual grin on his face. He brought his decades-long advocacy to this level in which he predicted that in two years’ time, legislation would put in place the Federal Republic of the Philippines.

His thick crop of white hair, more pronounced and visible now, and familiar slightly hoarse voice, bestowed on him the same gravitas as in those days when he was introducing bills in the Senate, one of which became the much-discussed decentralization law of 1991.  

That law actually was a breakthrough in the advocacy to give local governance and, by extension, their local communities, greater say in the management of their affairs.

Prior to that law, there were victories achieved in the creation of development councils at regional, provincial, municipal/city and barangay levels which oddly enough, under martial law,  have provided mechanisms for greater participation of sub-national levels of governance in the planning and implementation of projects.

Several decades later, under the decentralization law authored by Sen. Pimentel, responsibilities for key programs in agriculture, health, tourism, and other sectors were devolved to the local level. He himself acknowledged that not enough financial resources have been given to local governments to be able to implement these programs.

He said that under that law, local governments are getting only 20% of revenues collected. In contrast, under a federal set-up, local governments would get 80% of total revenues and other income generated from other sources.

With this larger share of income, local governments will take care of building their schools, hospitals, and other infrastructures, and run their services. At the national level, the Government will take care of security, diplomacy, and overseeing the maintenance of standards for health, education, social welfare and other services. Provinces will be grouped into Federal States with Metro Manila as the seat of the Federal Government.

Greater administrative and financial authority will be devolved to sub-national levels or States and a capital designated for each cluster of member provinces. Sen. Pimentel sees no problem in creating this institutional framework. Asked on who would take care of States which are relatively more disadvantaged resource-wise than others, he said a Bank would be created where these States could secure loans.

Politically, he sees federalism as solving Muslim Mindanao’s propensity to secede. Under Federalism, it will be granted its own State to run and manage without dismembering the Republic. Federalism is the long sought-after solution to the Mindanao conflict which has cost so many lives over the years of struggle and conflict among Filipinos.

This line of thinking by Sen. Pimentel and others in his group, which now has expanded to include other political parties, validates the significance of federalism at this stage of our national life. We must be aware, however, that federalism has two faces. After listening to Sen. Pimentel, I refer back to the digital notes I made some time back when decentralization was first talked about among colleagues involved in participatory development.  

I will pick some relevant notes for this column –

I find as quite relevant what Donna Barry of Penn State University has said on the subject of federalism in relation to democracy and markets in her paper, “Two Faces of Federalism”:

“In the past 15 years, research on newly democratic countries has come to reflect two increasingly divergent views of federalism. For one school, the division of powers among two or more levels of government provides a critical anchor for developing democracy and markets. For the other school, federalism creates yet another set of problems that new democracies must somehow overcome.”

On the threshold of new changes in our form of government, it is best to reflect on both the benefits and perceived disincentives in adopting federalism. First, on the benefits:

“For its proponents, federalism provides a number of political advantages that help to strengthen democratic governance. One is responsiveness. Where regional governments possess substantial authority, they can react more quickly and effectively than central governments to satisfy the preferences of the local citizenry. Central governments, in this view, are simply too large and too slow to identify and respond to all of the diverse demands of citizens in different regions.

“A second advantage is that federations provide more opportunities for meaningful citizen participation in public decision-making below the central level Public participation, in turn, should increase the accountability of regional and local officials. Citizens have more opportunities and more incentive to choose their representatives and to monitor their work.

“With expanded participation comes a third advantage – increased political competition. Regional- or state-level elections multiply the potential “entry points” for new candidates and parties, and thus provide additional opportunities for representation of diverse groups and interests. In newly democratizing countries, the opportunities are especially important for opposition groups. As a result, increased participation and competition make it less likely that new democracies will revert to old authoritarian modes of rule.

“Advocates of federalism also see important economic advantages as well. One advantage is that regional/state governments compete among themselves to attract business, investment and skilled labor. Such competition typically makes it costly for any government – central or regional – to impose excessive regulations or taxes. And the less the government regulation, the more effectively the economy can develop.

“In other words, economic competition across regions helps to limit the role of government in the economy. If one regional government imposes higher taxes or excessive regulations, businesses and investors will seek another region with less burdensome restrictions. And if a regional government is ineffective in providing public services – such as education or public safety – then residents with the most valuable skills will move to regions that perform more effectively. In this sense, citizens, businesses and investors all ‘vote with their feet,’ i.e., they move to regions with more effective public services and less burdensome government involvement in business.”

In this era of globalization, there is a push towards decentralization: “Increasingly open trade and investment flows demanded smaller and more flexible organizations that could adapt readily to changing market conditions – in government as well as in business. For regional governments, dependence on the center thus became a serious economic disadvantage.”

On the other hand, here are some observations and insights from “real world” federalism and decentralization as cited in the paper:

-Any region that pursues economic reform by itself is unlikely to solve economic problems that are essentially national in scope. And many regions face concentrated costs – for example, the closing of a major factory has far more impact at the regional than at the national level. As a result, many regional governments have appeared unwilling to support needed but painful economic reforms.

-In some cases, regional governments have pursued policies directly at odds with the center’s. Thus federal governments seeking to limit government spending and maintain monetary discipline have faced regions with expanding government payrolls and rising budget deficits. The problems have been even greater where subnational governments have had the power to borrow money to finance government spending. They could spend with impunity, while leaving the federal government to rescue them from default.

-Regions may pursue policies that are popular locally – such as providing government jobs, overspending and the like – but at the expense of effective management of the economy as a whole.

-Since regions typically have few tax sources of their own, they may end up relying on a “quasi-fiscal” strategy to raise revenues… Such regions impose a variety of regulations, licensing requirements and other devices as a way of raising revenue indirectly. But the various fees raise the fiscal burden on businesses and citizens, and make government finances less transparent. The end result is to undermine economic development.

-Regions that require residency permits, for example, or impose other similar rules, limit mobility of labor. Regions that require government purchasing to be limited only to internal suppliers may end up spending far more, or compromising on quality or fit. Regions may also adopt protectionist strategies that shield local enterprises from central taxes and regulations… Thus regions may compete with each other, but in ways that undermine rather than enhance the country’s overall economic performance.

- Another view suggests that federalism simply multiplies the number of governments – and number of government officials – with the power to demand bribes, kickbacks, or other forms of payment.

-A third view suggests that regional governments face more problems in promoting transparency of governmental activity. Given their limited resources, regional governments often find it difficult to publish full and timely information about their activities on a regular basis. It is typically far easier to find information on government policies and performance for countries as a whole than for individual regions. And if information is lacking about state/regional government activity, then there are fewer opportunities for citizens to hold their government accountable.

- State governments added more employees to their payrolls, ran substantial budget deficits, and borrowed with impunity – leaving the federal government to bail them out. Central government efforts to control inflation and promote sound fiscal policies were thus impaired by the inability to constrain regional governments.  

According to one assessment, devolution [in one country] had created “predatory federalism” that undermined federal government’s economic policies.

On account of these negative experiences, the paper notes:

“… now the prescription for reform emphasized a combination of more centralized government and privatization of public services. Newly democratic federations have attempted to follow suit, by imposing more fiscal discipline.”

These observations have been derived from the experiences of what have been termed as Third Wave countries or new democracies, but they may be relevant as we embark on a yet unchartered course towards Federalism in our country.

Indeed let us have Federalism without tears by anticipating constraints and lining up options to address them more systematically which will serve as better than resorting to sloganeering and reciting “hugot” lines. ###

NMP/27 May 2016/5.38 p.m.

LEARNING FROM THE DRUG REHAB CENTER RUN BY DAVAO CITY LGU

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

When I opened my Facebook page early Tuesday morning, I was greeted by three posts shared by a high school classmate and close friend, Isabel Losloso-Rivera, who has lived in the US for decades. She actually posted them in our high school alumni website, QPHS Mahal Ko; QPHS means Quezon Provincial High School, located in the provincial capital, Lucena City.

Like the rest of us in our Class 1958 batch, Isa is on her 70s and has several grand-children and dotes on them. Some of her posts understandably enough are about the seemingly endless parties she attends or helps arrange for her Apos. Filipinos the world over seem to have adopted the term Apos-tolic for all these activities which have something to do with caring for grandchildren

Isa helps raise funds for the advocacies of our NGO here in Bohol. The three posts she shared which I read this morning are all related to our current advocacy that Government agencies and civil society organizations must seek ways to either work together or complement funding and staff resources to put up community-based drug rehabilitation centers.

The existing 30-client drug rehab center in our province, put up by two private entities from Ozamis City and Minglanilla, Cebu, even if fully operational, will not make a dent on the current drug addiction problem in Bohol. We need more than one center or an expanded one to cope with the problems created by the illegal drug trade which has taken seemingly secure root in the province during recent years.  

It’s important that those in local government to be all ears to what is being announced by the Duterte administration prior to the formal take-over of Government next month. That’s why the three posts shared by my high school classmate, Isa, are quite important, specifically in relation to the campaign against illegal drug use that the Duterte government considers as top priority.

The first post is about the announcement by the President-elect that he would start the war against drugs right at the barangay level. He says the “inutility” of barangay captains accounts for the “flooding and proliferation of drugs” and the problem starts from there because they know who are involved but do nothing about it.

He will create the equivalent of a citizens army, something like the Home Guards in the fifties, the Barrio Self-Defense Units (BSDUs) in the sixties or the Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF) in recent times, serving as local armed groups against those termed as insurgents by the State.

The new group to be created will be named Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary (SPCAA). It will be composed of persons who have finished the Reserved Officers Training Course (ROTC) or retired soldiers “who know how to handle guns and have experience in law enforcement.” The armed civilians will be supervised by the barangay captains but they would be required to report to the police precinct commanders.

The primary targets will be drug lords and drug pushers who may not be addicts themselves but they destroy lives. The post quoted the President-elect as saying during the first press conference after the elections: “Those who destroy the lives of our children must be destroyed. Those who will kill my country will be killed. Simple as that – no middle ground, no apologies, no excuses.”

The second post shared by former high school classmate took me by surprise. It’s about the drug rehab center run by the Davao LGU. I did not know such a facility exists in the city. None of those we interviewed about drug rehab centers in Davao City mentioned this LGU-run center. Probably due to lack of publicity about the center, what became foremost in the minds of people was the punisher’s approach to drug pushers and abusers.

This post, taken from the website Pinoy Trending, talks about a drug rehab program that Mayor Duterte wants replicated throughout the country. Here is the complete post:

"People thought that Ex Davao Mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte is ruthless to the people who became addicted to illegal drugs, but the truth is, the Punisher is giving a chance to the people who wants to change and escape the addiction that destroyed their life.

“Rodrigo Duterte is offering 2,000 pesos monthly allowance to every drug-addicted citizen of Davao … willing to undergo the drug rehabilitation program of Davao.

“The Ex-Mayor sees that everyone … deserves  a second chance to change and the supporters of the punisher explained that Duterte is ruthless only [to] Drug Lords and Pushers who really destroy the life of many Filipino youth.

 “ The Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation Center is a residential facility with a 1.2 hectares lot and is 16.7 kilometers away from the … noises of city life. [It is] located in Barangay Bago Oshiro, Tugbok District, Davao City.

“The place offers an ambiance of silence, solemnity and soberness as manifested by its lush surroundings adorned with fruit bearing trees, flowers and other ornamentals.

“To blend with nature, man-made structures such as ponds, fountains, tree house and kiosk are built not as decorative but those that are with therapeutic use. Covered court and sports equipment are also made available as complement to its sports and recreation program.”

The post says the President-elect is planning to implement this project in the whole country, including the National Capital Region.

The third post shared also by my high school classmate gives more details about this facility which grew out of the Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents (RCDD), established on May 23, 1985 as a pioneering initiative of the DSWD Regional Office XI  with the support of the Regional Council for Welfare of Children and Youth (RCWCY), the City Government of Davao, and several NGOs.

In more than a decade of program operations, the center has served a significant number of clientele/beneficiaries specifically the male drug and chemical abusers/dependents and non-psychotic cases ages 12-25 years old.

The City Government of Davao and the Department of Social Welfare and Development R.O. XI signed a Memorandum of Agreement on June 11, 2001, which transferred to the City LGU the operation and maintenance of the Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents (RDD)).

Pursuant to this MOA, the City Government of Davao  is responsible for  the operations and maintenance of the center. It shall plan, design, implement and evaluate treatment and rehabilitation program for drug dependents in Davao City.

A total amount of Twelve (12) Million Pesos was allocated initially by the City Government “to construct new facilities and renovate existing structures and thus make Davaoenos feel that the local government of Davao is serious in its campaign for a drug-free city in the near future.”

The Davao City rehab center, renamed the Davao City Treatment and Recovery Center for Drug Dependents (DCTRCDD) on October 29, 2009, now boasts of state-of-the art facilities which include among others a chapel, music room and counseling room. It is claimed the facility has become “truly an ideal place for physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual rehabilitation.”

The post adds: “It provides twenty-four (24) hour rehabilitation services which are provided by an interdisciplinary staff.” Its clients include both males and females, minors and adults, drug/substance dependents and non-psychotic cases with court orders who were apprehended and voluntarily submitting themselves for rehabilitation.

The residents are clustered into centers for minors, women and adults. An average of 50, 10 and 40 residents may be accommodated, respectively, at the rehab center or a maximum capacity of one hundred (100) residents at any given time.

As expected, there were problems met during the initial years when the city government assumed responsibility for operations of the drug rehab center:

“At the start of the operation, there were problems as to the implementation since policies, programs and rules and regulations were not so clear to the staff. Personnel were in crisis because of sudden change of work assignments [during] the transition period.

‘When the old management was replaced, there was a gradual change. Clear policies, programs and rules and regulations were properly installed. Consultations, meetings and experimentation have been regularly done. Strategies [and] innovations were employed. Evaluation plays an important role in checking whether the new program strategies [were] introduced. The first two years … proved  to be tough  and challenging  in terms of installing, implementing and strengthening  of its programs , policies and services of rehabilitation.

“ Our attendance in trainings … has enhanced our capabilities, skills, and knowledge in handling drug dependents. Issues, concerns and gaps have been properly addressed thru regular meetings, consultations, right feed backing as well as counseling among peers; spiritual enrichment sessions and recollection have given us proper direction in discharging our different assignments and tasks.

”

It has become a success story and model for other LGUs wanting to set up drug rehab centers:

“Now, the DCTRCDD not only provides  services  that rehabilitate  drug dependents  but also  serves as  the training ground  of the other regions planning  to put up  similar institution like ours and those who are in after care and follow- up services, coping skills  and relapse prevention”, both in the Philippines and abroad.

Let us either visit this Center in Davao City, if project visits are still allowed under the Duterte Administration, or let us invite some resource persons from its management and staff and extract valuable lessons on how LGUs can establish such a vital facility to address this persistent drug menace in our midst. ###

NMP/18 May 2016/5.52 p.m. 

The Politics of Gratitude (Or It's more Fun in the Philippines During Election Time)

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

When election time comes around in our country, which is relatively more often than in many other so-called democracies, I cannot help thinking about my mother. From her I learned the primary reason to vote on election time, which is to thank those who have done the family a favor. This to say that the reason not to vote for someone is either the candidate has not done us a favor at all or the person has refused in the past to grant a request for personal favor.

Such was the democratic exercise I knew when I was growing up in a barangay in our home province, Quezon, where elections were in the days of my youth and probably until today, an exercise to thank those who have done us personal favors.

The other reasons cited for voting, such as a person’s fitness for a position, outstanding leadership qualities, commitment to public service, unrelenting devotion to pro-poor development and so on ad nauseam,  seem to me in most cases an exercise in moral camouflage, if not sheer hypocrisy. Or so it seems to me today on the eve of our national elections considered by many as the most acrimonious in our history.

I remember accompanying Inay in the early morning hours, posting with sticky starch that served as glue, on mango trees that used to line both sides of the highway, a poster with a picture of a person surnamed Bueno, who wanted to be Senator. I asked my mother who was this smiling guy in coat and tie on the poster. It turned out she had not met him personally.

She said we owed him a lot because he was helping the family process the pension papers for my Grandfather, a World War II veteran. This was according to the lawyer who directly dealt with this guy Bueno.

I do not think my mother knew about party platforms, a candidate’s commitment or lack of it, to public service. She knew only one reason why we were going through this ordeal of putting up posters; it was to thank the candidate for his efforts to help the family.

I cannot recall if the guy won, probably not, because the surname does not ring a bell now, decades after my Inay and I would surreptitiously walk around in early dawn in our barangay putting up posters for his sake – a gesture of gratitude from a family he was helping get a monthly pension for the heroism of my maternal grandfather.

In later years, I would learn this from my Sociology classes, this sense of gratitude, a prism to view behavioral attitudes and tendencies, is known as “utang na loob” or debt of gratitude. At the level of the voter, I suspect this behavioral trait is the key factor in motivating a person to vote for a specific candidate.

People tend to vote largely based on personal relationships with the candidate or, in most cases, with the person, a group or relatives recommending a particular candidate. All other reasons are secondary.

Indeed the politics of gratitude will be a key factor in determining the outcome of the election. It was so during my mother’s time as it is now during the time of apparent sophistication, with computers and all, in our exercise of the democratic right to vote. In the end, it’s patronage politics that will subvert the democratic process meant supposedly for would-be political leaders to present options for better governance.

It will be good to observe behavior of candidates and voters during election time. From my vantage point, the campaign period which ends this Sunday has presented quite interesting developments not seen in previous election seasons.

The following will require in-depth analysis by political scientists, sociologists and others interested in how democracy works in a context requiring deep-seated structural and probably moral, reforms. I do not remember seeing these in previous political seasons in our country’s history. I lie awake at night thinking about these and their implications:

-The founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines on a video conference (no way  for me to know if this video is fake or not) with a presidential candidate, who had met with an armed group considered as rebels with full media coverage for the release of a policeman who has been held hostage for months.

-A political party, known exponent of decentralization and local autonomy, now chaired by the presidential candidate openly talking about killing criminals without due process, abolishing Congress, declaring a revolutionary government when elected; freeing some prominent prisoners from political dynasties convicted of plunder and other serious crimes;  

Note: This particular candidate’s rise to dominate the opinion polls despite pronouncements that seem to be against traditional and democratic values is itself a sociological phenomenon which needs in-depth analysis for the lessons to be learned about modern society and governance.

Many people believe this overwhelming demonstration of support for him  is due to widespread disillusionment about the system and the perceived ineptness of the Government to control crimes and the illegal drug trade. The popularity of the candidate across all sectors ma be considered a protest vote against the system or the Government and partly a support to the candidate’s intense and uncompromising stand on specific problems affecting the people, such as the drug menace, crimes and peace and order problem;

-A major religious group endorsing a vice presidential candidate from a family known for allegedly stealing billions from public funds and a regime that it established and nurtured characterized by torture, imprisonment and disappearance of hundreds of protesters mostly from among the young generation and despite protests from campus groups, this candidate has been leading in the pre-election surveys;

-A Presidential candidate becoming a shadow of her former brilliant and articulate personality reduced to having memory lapses, stuttering and limping due to poor health, instead of just   retiring to watch the unfolding political scene and dropping pick-up lines, her current preoccupation, now and then to amuse the young and not-so-young or, alternatively, to write memoirs about a colorful political career;

-A candidate, the most experienced among the aspirants, getting peeved but poker-faced rather than worried, when asked regarding allegedly ill-gotten wealth and his refusal to appear in the Senate to explain his side of the story;

-A candidate with relatively limited experience in public governance, supposed to be an Independent candidate, but winning voters for  announcing policies about budgetary allocation to projects all over the country which would require billions of pesos to implement, and more importantly, a political machinery, which she may not have, to back the reforms;

-A candidate with known credentials in public service and no record of corruption but struggling to be heard and listened to due to lack of charisma and flagrant inability to communicate effectively to a mixed audience of elites and the vast majority of the discontented masses.

-The political left being marginalized and coopted by the prevailing system which thrives on patronage by the elites who continue to control the country’s political and economic life through the coercive power of the State and laws which favor and protect their interests.

The “utang na loob” mentality continues to be entrenched as the cultural, emotional and intellectual basis to perpetuate a system dominated by those who dispense favors and privileges.

By next week, the results of the current elections will be known, probably contested but accepted nonetheless because in this country, it’s too expensive both in terms of time and moneyto file electoral protests. It’s the same cycle all over again to perpetuate the same system in favor of the few with most of us caught in petty quarrels and skirmishes to feed the mass media frenzy and thus help preserve in the process, the illusion we call democracy.

Indeed it’s more fun in the Philippines – especially during election time. For this reason and the obvious difficulty of choosing a suitable candidate given the marketing hype and what seems to be outright lying by each camp, I am having second thoughts on casting my vote on Monday.

We will continue to pray however and seek guidance on what to do when we wake up on election day. ###

NMP/06 May 2016/12.07 p.m.

The Elections and Bohol's First Drug Rehab Center

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

If more young people will keep listening to politicians during this campaign season, chances are they will be driven to drug addiction as a way out of their confusion and high level of stress. I have not seen in my adult life such low quality in the substance and content of political discourse and the crudeness of behavior that politicians show in a national election.

 I am forever thankful that when I was growing up in my native Quezon, I spent time in political rallies listening to the speeches of distinguished personalities you would not hesitate to call as statesmen. In those days, you could spend hours in the town’s plaza listening to the likes of Claro M. Recto, Jovito Salonga, Lorenzo Tanada, Jose Wright Diokno, to name a few.

Listening to them was to get basic education on the country’s problems and what each one could do to solve them. More importantly, the candidates during that period would clarify their party’s stand about the problems before they would say what each one intended to do taking into account his or her background and experience.

If I were among the young today, what would I learn from these national candidates? During these past few months, I have been treated to quite a spectacle of politicians many of whom could not qualify as role models for the young. I need not enumerate here examples of bad behavior among those aspiring for the country’s top-level leadership posts.

Instead of being inspired to participate in the country’s so-called democratic exercise, I would walk away from these political debates and town hall meetings about to be convinced the country has indeed gone to the dogs because the country’s economic and political elites have coopted as usual the democratic process as a version of the clash of clans and interest groups. And these politicians, except for a few, rival some characters viewed each night for hours in this teleserye nation.

In a sense, it’s fortunate that most young people these days are more preoccupied with how they look in their selfies and are into narcissistic preoccupations to bother about the charade going on around them.

I think most of them are not serious at all about the political circus happening around them but one day, when economic and social problems hit their family and community due to bad policies, and corruption and sheer indifference to the public welfare continue to characterize public governance as an inevitable consequence, some of these young people will seek refuge in the false security provided by illicit drugs. And that’s how bad politics connects to drug addiction among the youth and ultimately to family and social welfare.

It’s almost surreal that politicians talk more about killing pushers and even drug addicts but nobody at national and subnational level talks about rehabilitation especially for the drug abuse victims among the young. The drug abuse problem is practically decimating the so-called hope of the Fatherland and all what the candidates can offer are bullets to address this problem. You would think we have been bombed to the Stone Age by the quality of our response to this modern-day problem!

Most of the current political discourse seems to focus more on killing drug abuse victims and drug pushers rather than intensifying efforts to build drug rehabilitation centers. Perhaps the reason is that it is more dramatic to use the gun and violate human rights than to follow a more Christian and humanistic approach. Quite unbelievable in a Christian country and one reputed to have high literacy rate, which indicates exposure to progressive ideas on how to approach the drug abuse problem now pervasive in practically all the country’s barangays.

Against this grim backdrop, we must appreciate the efforts of some individuals and groups who support the FARM It Works Balay Kahayag (FITWBK) Chemical Dependency Center, which has been dubbed for easy recall as Bohol Drug Rehab Center. As some people know, it has been operating without fanfare in Baclayon, Bohol since last November powered with the technical expertise and the passion to help by our partners – the Family and Recovery Management (FARM) drug rehab center in Minglanilla, Cebu and It Works Chemical Dependency Treatment Center of Ozamis City in Misamis Occidental.    

These facilities are owned and managed respectively by Jimmy Clemente and Rene Francisco who each has had almost more than two decades of experience in this serious business of rehabilitating what they term as “lost souls.” Both are in the Board of Trustees of the SEC-registered entity.  Rene serves as Chief Executive Officer while Jimmy is the Financial Comptroller.

They have pooled their financial and staff resources together to establish the first drug rehabilitation center in a province where 70% of crimes reported are drug-related. Police records and news reports validate this fact supported by media coverage of buy-bust operations and, in some cases, shooting of alleged drug pushers.

Fr. Val Pinlac, head of the Vatican-funded Bohol Rebuilding and Rehabilitation Project (BRRP) based at the Diocese of Tagbilaran, was the first to visit the facility. Against protocol, he was allowed to enter the main building and talked with the clients, who welcomed him warmly. He was so touched by this that he accepted the invitation to serve as spiritual director. Since his first visit, he has been coming regularly to say Mass on Sunday. Last Holy Week, he did the way of the Cross with the clients and even did the ritual washing of Apostles’ feet with them.

On Sunday, after Mass, he finds time to talk with his newly-found flock. He has been given an inventory of what else are needed in the center. He started by donating two tennis tables as part of the athletic program for the clients. He linked us to an international NGO, For a Better Tomorrow (FBT), based in the US and with his endorsement, Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF) submitted a proposal to support the Center.

The proposal seeks to increase the facility’s current capacity from 30 to 50 clients to accommodate the growing number of requests for admission. This process will take long because it will involve negotiations with an international donor. Meanwhile, Fr. Val Pinlac, taught of something unique – offering personal gifts to him on sale with the proceeds to go the Center to create a fund that will assist drug abuse victims from confirmed indigent families to have access to the center’s treatment services.

The undertaking was named Souvenirs and Gifts for a cause. The first in what has been planned as a series of fund raising activities was held last Saturday, 23 April, at the Habhaban sa Baluarte area in Poblacion, Baclayon. 

Aside from Fr. Val Pinlac, those who donated gifts to be sold during this activity, which also featured dinner for a cause, were Dr. Carrie Tharan, retired Dean of Miriam College who is a BLDF volunteer, now a Baclayon resident; Tessie Gilay-Jugos, a nurse in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, who sent signature handbags for sale; Rene Francisco and Marit Meier, Dutch volunteer who is project officer of the Hubs and Spokes Community Bikes Rental Project implemented jointly by the Baclayon LGU, the Alternative Learning System-DepEd, and BLDF.

The partial list of those who bought gifts with the cash going to the rehab center includes: Evelyn Buenafe; Telly Ocampo, Adoracion Penales, Fr. Vengie Penales, Fr. Salon Florenosos, Dr. Lilia Hernandez, Dr. Proceso Castil, and Angie Pueblo. Part of the proceeds from sales of tickets for the dinner will be fund of the assistance fund for the center.

Baclayon Mayor Alvin Uy authorized the use of the LGU’s sound system, tables and chairs. Additional tables were provided by residents Jessie and Tessie Pagdato. Some deacons and students from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, as well as Rene Francisco, his wife Shandy and the Baclayon rehab team, joined hands to provide logistics and administrative support to ensure the success of the activity.

During this activity, we had interesting discussion with some guests such as Dr. Hernandez, Lourdes Aparicio, Maita Magdoza, a clinical psychologist, and other friends of Fr. Val on how they could get involved in activities aimed at supporting Bohol’s first drug rehabilitation venture.

We continue to receive pledges from friends both outside and inside our Facebook network. Someone says he will donate a sack of rice. A donor who prefers to be anonymous will give Php 10,000 in two installments. Another donor says she will give USD 50 dollars for each donation we receive. A friend of my son, Gabe, pledged he would give Php 25,000 equivalent to the monthly fee of a client.

Al Palomar, a co-alumnus at the Quezon Provincial High School in Lucena City who lives in Oklahoma, USA, sent USD 1,000 through Alumni Association President, General Charlemagne Alejandrino, for administrative support to our NGO, Bohol Local Development Foundation, in advocacy activities related to supporting the drug rehab center.

Our classmate, Milwida Sevilla-Reyes, is selling copies of the book we co-authored, Old Warrior’s Poems and the Bohol Quake Assistance Story, with proceeds to support the center. A colleague from the now defunct UNICEF-assisted Ilaw International Center (IIC) in Bool, Tagbilararan donated USD 800 for the use of the successor NGO, BLDF, in continuing advocacy for the drug rehab center and livelihood.

My close relatives, Tita Eden Mante and Tito Marc Melo, who are based in New Jersey, gave money as support to the center during Tita Eden’s recent visit. Tita Eden is married to Tito Jun of Tubion. Small world indeed!

We are profoundly touched by these concrete expressions of support for a project that friends used to say, prior to November last year, it would be impossible to do. Now it’s there, still a facility limited in scope and may have only a negligible impact vis-à-vis the monster of a problem we are trying to address, taking into account the growing number of drug abuse victims that seem to increase by leaps and bound from month to month. But it’s there which now takes care of around 28 clients, almost at full capacity, and we must prove that indeed it’s better to rehab them than to spray them with bullets.

Kindly pray that we succeed in this mission with your continuing support.

All of us who have become part of this project have seen the sacrifices of the young but experienced staff who guide the healing process, the pain and sufferings of parents who ride in tricycles to bring their afflicted family members and who visit the center to bring clothes and other provisions, the transformation of young people from a state of pained helplessness on the initial days and the glow in their faces as hope is regained and recovery is getting assured from day to day and the joy that glimmers on a mother’s face as the saving of souls is sure to happen, as sure as the sunset when a new day begins.

We next think about our politicians, how most of them behave and how they remain quiet about the need for drug rehabilitation centers, and how they will shoot drug abuse victims as though they are wild boars – and we weep for our country and people. But we will persevere in this journey.

You are welcome to be part of this journey. For queries, call or text Ms. Daidee Padron – Mobile: 0915  794  1175; 0908 860 1018.  Or Email: daideepadron@gmail.com

NMP/28 April 2016/6.08 p.m.

For A Better Tomorrow

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

It’s election time in our country, a time for politicians to promise a better tomorrow for us and the generations to come.  During the past few weeks, we have been bombarded with slogans, media ads, public speeches on familiar topics such as peace and order, corruption-free governance, employment, poverty reduction, climate change mitigation and other key concerns.

As in previous elections, however, we hear promises from individual politicians, not from their respective parties. It’s the same old batman-versus-superman story all over again. Nothing has changed much from those days of our youth when even school kids were taught to sing “Our democracy will die, kung wala si Magsaysay (if Magsaysay is not here).” Well, so many Magsaysays have come and gone but problems such as poverty, unemployment, corruption, crimes  still persist  and will do so probably well into the next millennium.

What is true at the national level is also true at sub-national or local level. The focus is on the almost superhuman qualities of the political leader not on a well-thought of strategy and program of a political party distinct from the others by its analysis of the current situation (economic, social, cultural, institutional, etc.) and a comprehensive program of action, consisting of plans and projects, to address specific problems identified by the situation analysis.

The net objective effect is that we seem forever to be looking for heroes who will bring us to the promised land. The reality is that no single political leader can be successful to do major reforms without the support of a political party or a network of individuals deeply committed to a worthy cause. Charisma is not enough to bring about massive social reforms but our political behavior is based largely on this illusion.

Our politics is personality-centered rather than based on a party’s principled stand on how to bring about national progress and unity. Each political party seems beholden to a candidate who is perceived to be a sure winner, not on his or her commitment to the party platform. The role of the political party seems to be the conveyor of largesse and patronage to interest groups which have been able to bring the number of votes to ensure a candidate’s victory.

The Philippines is probably the only democracy in the world where a party can have several candidates for Vice President, each one joining on their own free will another party or declaring themselves independent. It is probably the only country where a candidate can announce policies while still running for office sans consultation with his or her own political party; where members of a political party can support and campaign for a Presidential candidate from another party; where political parties at local level can decide to form collaborative arrangements at the expense of the process for democratic choices.

Meanwhile, we go around in circles, going along with this charade from election to election. The unorganized millions of Filipinos remain a willing participant to this expensive and entertaining charade. Worst, we ourselves validate the absurdity of the political exercise by participating mindlessly in the entire process, unaware it bears the potential for breeding demagogues or, at its worst, would-be dictators.

In this corruption of the electoral process, we all end up victims of marketing, the winners being those who can buy more media time and so-called local coordinators who organize would-be supporters and recruit agents to distribute pamphlets and provide tarps and posters to ensure that the remotest village is penetrated by the candidate’s propaganda materials – and, most likely, cold cash for votes!  

But let me not give you toxic thoughts. I still believe meaningful changes are still possible if we produce the critical mass who will be united around the idea that real democratic elections are still possible in a country where oligarchs and economic elites rule. In this monumental task, we need heroes not to challenge the windmills that only produce frustrations, but painstaking efforts to address the root causes of poverty and inequality.

Because these elections are basically more for and by the elites and their minions, hardly anyone talks about agrarian reform and the need to support the agriculture sector to which most of the poor belong. Most of the candidates are talking about supporting OFWs, who are relatively better off than the majority of us, and giving benefits to government employees.

Nobody has found the courage and the wisdom to bring in millions of farmers and fisher folk from the edge to integrate them more fully in the formal economy before the products from well-funded farm groups from other countries, as well as natural disasters from climate change, drive them to extinction.

It is time that the youth be liberated from counterproductive use of their gadgets so that these can be better put to better use in the service of pro-poor development. Who will do that and how will it be done remains a big question.

Perhaps someone or a group from the youth themselves will emerge who will see clearly the need to turn the status quo into something better, into something substantial, a sound basis to dream and act for a better tomorrow.

All I can give is some advice rather than a plan of action. Hopefully, like the proverbial seeds in the Bible, these will fall on fertile soil. Here, then, are some lessons I always impart to youth groups when they invite me to speak. The focus is on self-transformation while engaged in a program of planned change.

These are excerpts from talks I have made in a commencement exercise in a college in Bohol and in the more recent national conference of youth leaders held here a week ago -

First, learn to reflect each day on your experiences and see what can be done better in the way you have carried out the day’s activities and improve similar activities in the future.

Philosophers call this introspection, while religious people call it meditation.

It’s actually the act of going deeper into ourselves despite the possible noise around us to rediscover our inner self and find the humility to accept mistakes and, more importantly, the resolve to do better next time.

It’s also a moment to appreciate the things we have done right, to be grateful to gestures of thoughtfulness done to us by family members and others.

Introspection or meditation is in a way like a self-cleansing process so that we can start fresh with each new day given to us.

Second, learn early in life to plan the details of each activity that you want to do. Always pay attention to details. Never leave anything to chance. Aside from planning for each activity, plan in the long term so that you and your family are in control of what will happen to you.

I have learned that a person with a plan and a strategy will succeed in life. Otherwise, other people will plan for you and you will not be able to achieve what you want to do.

It pays to know the simple steps in strategic or long-term planning by asking ourselves these key questions:

• Where am I now?
• Where do I want to go?
• How do I get there?
• How do I know I have arrived? 

Third, implement your plan, taking into account the need to be flexible, if there are too many problems that are met in carrying out plans. Be resolute in putting your plan into action.

Calmly analyze each problem and tackle those easiest to solve first to gain confidence and to proceed solving the other problems in a systematic manner.

As we have learned from our teachers – Do not put off for tomorrow what we can do today. Act, act, act. Otherwise your dreams will remain plans, good on paper but not of value to ourselves, our families, and our work places, and the communities where we live.

Fourth, uphold the values imparted to you in school, at home and the places of worship in whatever faith you believe in as long as these values are in accord with enduring human values to preserve life and ensure prosperity for all.

Find fulfillment not only in the pursuit of personal goals but also in causes that benefit society as a whole, such as those related to poverty reduction, protection and preservation of the environment, gender equality and social justice.

Here is the key lesson I have learned from working in twenty five projects over the last 40 years in a total of 17 countries, with local governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, religious groups, the United Nations and its agencies, and all sorts of advocacies and movements:

All the people of the world, whether they are Christians or non-Christians, pagans or otherwise, believe in a better life. Those who believe in extremism to pursue their aims are in the minority in any country, race or religion. Hence, unity in common goals is possible as shown by all nations signing a global development agenda such as the Millennium Development Goals 2000 to 2015 which seeks to cut by half the number of people who are considered poor.

Now all the nations of the world have signed  a new Global Development Agenda for the next 15 years, composed of 17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Hence whether we are in Cooperatives or not, we are bound by the same Agreement to hopefully create a better world.

Fifth, read, read, read. And think, think, think. But it’s worth remembering what the Irish poet William Butler Yeat says: “Education is not the filling of a pail. but the lighting of a fire.”

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is not enough. We must use it to light a fire within us, to discover our passion for without it we cannot aspire to transform ourselves, our families, our neighborhood and our society as a whole.

Knowledge is however not enough. We need it to change things for the better.  In College, I used to keep in my wallet a quotation from a thinker who says: “Philosophers have interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” This is to remind me that inert knowledge is useless.

Sixth, follow your heart, as the great digital age guru, Steve Jobs, put it a commencement address at Stanford University several years before he died. This is also the final lesson that I am going to tell you.

Let me repeat it here so you may find it in your heart to reflect on it when you reach home: 

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

That is assuming you have a heart and that you know where it is leading you and that, more importantly, that it beats in accord with the overall goal to achieve prosperity and peace for all peoples of the world. ###

NMP/22 April 2016/11.45 a.m.

SOME LESSONS FOR DEVELOPMENT WORKERS

SOME LESSONS FOR DEVELOPMENT WORKERS IN RELATION TO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION AS CHANGE AGENTS  (Excerpts from the speech, Cooperatives and the Youth, given by Nestor Maniebo Pestelos on 14 April 2016 at the National Cooperative Youth Congress)

Today, as I turn 74, the best gift I can give to myself is to feel that by sharing these lessons to you I can also be part of your journey towards defining your role in making Cooperatives sturdy and sustainable building blocks of a more stable world order.

I have shared these lessons with other young people involved in their respective advocacies. whether they are in the Cooperatives movement, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Gender Equality, Sustainable Livelihood, Human Rights, and others. We all believe that as change agents we ourselves are targets for change. I have found these useful in defining my path in each journey I have taken in this life and, particularly, in my development work:

First, learn to reflect each day on your experiences and see what can be done better in the way you have carried out the day’s activities and improve similar activities in the future.

Philosophers call this introspection, while religious people call it meditation.

It’s actually the act of going deeper into ourselves despite the possible noise around us to rediscover our inner self and find the humility to accept mistakes and, more importantly, the resolve to do better next time.

It’s also a moment to appreciate the things we have done right, to be grateful to gestures of thoughtfulness done to us by family members and others.

Introspection or meditation is in a way like a self-cleansing process so that we can start fresh with each new day given to us.

Second, learn early in life to plan the details of each activity that you want to do. Always pay attention to details. Never leave anything to chance. Aside from planning for each activity, plan in the long term so that you and your family are in control of what will happen to you.

I have learned that a person with a plan and a strategy will succeed in life. Otherwise, other people will plan for you and you will not be able to achieve what you want to do.

It pays to know the simple steps in strategic or long-term planning by asking ourselves these key questions:

• Where am I now?
• Where do I want to go?
• How do I get there?
• How do I know I have arrived

Third, implement your plan, taking into account the need to be flexible, if there are too many problems that are met in carrying out plans. Be resolute in putting your plan into action.

Calmly analyze each problem and tackle those easiest to solve first to gain confidence and to proceed solving the other problems in a systematic manner.

As we have learned from our teachers – Do not put off for tomorrow what we can do today. Act, act, act. Otherwise your dreams will remain plans, good on paper but not of value to ourselves, our families, and our work places, and the communities where we live.

Fourth, uphold the values imparted to you in school, at home and the places of worship in whatever faith you believe in as long as these values are in accord with enduring human values to preserve life and ensure prosperity for all.

Find fulfillment not only in the pursuit of personal goals but also in causes that benefit society as a whole, such as those related to poverty reduction, protection and preservation of the environment, gender equality and social justice.

Here is the key lesson I have learned from working in twenty five projects over the last 40 years in a total of 17 countries, with local governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, religious groups, the United Nations and its agencies, and all sorts of advocacies and movements:

All the people of the world, whether they are Christians or non-Christians, pagans or otherwise, believe in a better life. Those who believe in extremism to pursue their aims are in the minority in any country, race or religion. Hence, unity in common goals is possible as shown by all nations signing a global development agenda such as the Millennium Development Goals 2000 to 2015 which seeks to cut by half the number of people who are considered poor.

Now all the nations of the world have signed  a new Global Development Agenda for the next 15 years, composed of 17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Hence whether we are in Cooperatives or not, we are bound by the same Agreement to hopefully create a better world.

Fifth, read, read, read. And think, think, think. But it’s worth remembering what the Irish poet William Butler Yeat says: “Education is not the filling of a pail. but the lighting of a fire.”

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is not enough. We must use it to light a fire within us, to discover our passion for without it we cannot aspire to transform ourselves, our families, our neighborhood and our society as a whole.

Knowledge is however not enough. We need it to change things for the better.  In College, I used to keep in my wallet a quotation from a thinker who says: “Philosophers have interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” This is to remind me that inert knowledge is useless.

Sixth, follow your heart, as the great digital age guru, Steve Jobs, put it a commencement address at Stanford University several years before he died. This is also the final lesson that I am going to tell you.

Let me repeat it here so you may find it in your heart to reflect on it when you reach home: 

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

That is assuming you have a heart and that you know where it is leading you and that, more importantly, that it beats in accord with the overall goal to achieve prosperity and peace for all peoples of the world.

Let us all transform ourselves in this journey to help create a better world – and if I must say so, through our Cooperatives. NMP/12 April 2016/4.51 p.m.

REFERENCES:

1. Consultations with: Antonieta Ignacia Ebias Zabian, former head, Research Department, Ilaw International Center; Dr. Nepomucena Buot, Vice President, Bohol Local Development Foundation, Inc. and Chair, Tagbilaran Federation of Women’s Coops; Niza Cagulada, Cooperative Development Specialist II, CDA; Jancel Barajan, Manager, CEV Credit Coop; Virgilia Perficio, chair of the Bohol Heritage Conservation Marketing Cooperation; Leon Perficio, Liaison Officer, Bohol Heritage Conservation Marketing Cooperative; Jancel Barajan, Manager, CEV Credit Cooperative.

 NATCCO Website: http://www.natcco.coop.

2. CDA Website: www.cda.gov.ph
3. 2012 International Year of Cooperatives – ILO Website
4. “The Role of Cooperatives in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals - the economic dimension” - A Contribution to the UN DESA Expert Group Meeting and Workshop on The Role of Cooperatives in Sustainable Development for All: Contributions, Challenges and Strategies  8 – 10 December 2014 Nairobi,  Kenya  by Jürgen Schwettmann, PARDEV, ILO.
5. Commencement Address By Dr. Nestor Maniebo Pestelos; Founder and President, Bohol Local Development Foundation, Inc.  (BLDF); 19^th Commencement Exercises, BATUAN COLLEGES, Batuan, Bohol