benign0's blog

Our minds are wired by millions of years of evolution to react to vermin with very primal -- often reflexive -- responses. Not only do we recoil in horror at the sight of decomposing biological matter our other senses are exquisitely attuned to detecting evidence of vermin infestation -- the smell of rotting flesh elicits the gagging sensation, bitter tastes repel us, touching something slimy or squishy disgusts us. All of the chemical agents that oppress our senses are the products of decomposition caused by vermin (of both the microbial and multi-celled varieties).

Recall in the whole debate on over-population in the Philippines and how we've established the logical link between population increase and poverty through our simple, robust, and scalable definition of poverty: " a habitual entering into commitments that one is inherently unable to honour ". The spectre of the scale of death and destruction that could slug the Philippines in the event of a strong earthquake occuring near or within Metro Manila demonstrates how even more impoverished we are than conventional measures indicated.

How I choose to exercise my spirituality is a personal matter. However, what can be readily observed from the ideas I make public in what I write and what I say to family in friends makes evident my lack of respect for the Roman Catholic Church. I do not differentiate between individual officers within this institution. If a person sees himself or herself as an officer of this institution (a priest, a brother, a nun, or whatever title that implies position within its hierarchy), it pre-supposes his or her adherence to its dogma . So to the argument "not all priests think like that" whenever another instance of moronic ideas propagated by the Church makes headline news, I say I don't think so .

I have often asserted that Filipinos are a people who are primarily driven by hiya (shame). Unmoved by any calls to higher purpose or noble pursuit, Filipinos continue to do the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. As such I remain convinced that any political solution pitched as a "cure" to the malaise that grips the Philippines at the very threads that weave the very fabric of its society (whether it be the latest "messiah" running for office or the current top-down change initiative in vogue) delivers incremental improvements at best.

Development in understanding in recent years is making real limits on growth a lot more palpable since it is becoming quite evident that our approach to measuring economic value and the costs of acquiring said "value" (i.e. our monetary system) is woefully incomplete. Yet economic growth remains the be-all-end-all that pervades every aspect of human aspiration. Corporations scramble over one another to get into the next market to expand into. Shoppers are continually trawling vast malls looking for the next must have . Credit is wantonly extended to grease the entire endeavour.

Of late, there is the issue of (1) "the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill" and (2) President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's backflip on his earlier promise to prioritise it. Without having to get off my armchair and just from browsing the little niche of the Net that I inhabit, it seems the "advocates of the RH Bill" have been up at arms over the above two challenges -- getting the Bill passed in Congress and overcoming the hurdle of Noynoy's backflip on his promise. What is wrong with this picture? It often helps when one is merely a bemused outside observer. Because for me, the issue remains quite simple.

The Catholic Church has been progressively taking its gloves off in recent weeks as it steps up its Inquisition against the "evils" of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill being pushed by law makers and activists alike. In a recent development marking the Church's steepest descent yet into its old Medieval habits, a local parish issued a statement where it said that it will refuse communion to people who support the RH Bill. Short of implying that people who support the RH Bill are evil, the Parish Pastoral Council of Santuario de San Jose in Mandaluyong City encouraged those who favoured the passing of the RH Bill to cleanse their soul through the Sacrament of Reconciliation .

The Philippines is a most massive outcome of lots of actions underpinned by very little thinking. So many initiatives, advocacies, "movements", agendas, and vested interests driven by even more characters in a country of 100 million clueless people -- it sounds like a chapter out of John Barrow's seminal book Impossibility . The Philippines is a case study in Impossibility. But it is only so because we barrel down slippery slopes without a lifeline to a basic plot . The vital few is a management concept that we can, perhaps, apply as we face the next six years as a way to keep our bearings even as we slog through the complex of petty politics and the din of chatter in our pursuit of clarity of purpose . Here are what I think the three vital few issues that define Filipinos' aspirations.

Pathetic how Filipino nurses now have to pay in order to get work experience . That indeed is one for the books -- to have to pay an employer for the privilege to work for him. It's a kind of below-zero negative unemployment ( unemployed na nga, negative pa ). Whereas the Philippines is already known for its dirt cheap labour, it now has the distinction of being a country where negative wages are paid! It'd be hilarious if it weren't so poignant.

Ana Santos shared on ProPinoy.net a letter from Pro-Life head honcho Eric Manalang. The letter was a response for a request from Ms Santos for an interview for IRIN News , the media arm of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Aside from the really appalling English grammar used in the letter there was one key point I noted and is contained in the following excerpt...

The venerable Abe Margallo in his FilipinoVoices.com article House Bill 5043, quo vadis (whatever the hell does " quo vadis " mean, anyway?) makes another one of those typically irresponsible rah-rah assertions about the issues of population and reproduction -- the sort that fuels primitivism in already hopelessly backward Philippine society. The cornerstones of his thesis are the following ululations : (1) Filipinos are "assets", so the more such assets we produce, the more value is delivered to the society. (2) The reason Filipinos remain poor despite their being an "asset" is that they lack "opportunit[ies] to work and earn income". (3) The "economic elites" have not done their "duty" to invest more of their resources into creating said "opportunities" for the masses. Guess again, gramps . Here are some reality checks for you...

The Philippines with its population of 96 million registered a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $117 billion in 2006. Singapore for its part, with its relatively paltry population of 4.6 million delivered a GDP of $132 billion on the same year. For less than half a tenth of the humanity Filipinos apply to the job of adding value to the economy, Singapore delivers more in absolute terms .

From the year 2000 to 2010 the population of the Philippines increased by eighteen million people . At this rate we will likely have increased our numbers by almost the entire population of Australia by 2012 since the turn of the century.

A factoid we Filipinos often fret about has to do with the whole wasted opportunity we now struggle to come to terms with around our supposedly being a promising emerging regional star back in the 1950s -- our being Number Two to Japan's Number One in economic development back then while all the rest -- Singapore, Taiwan, the Koreas, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong were all mosquito-infested colonial outposts. We were the poster child of American colonial legacy and looked up to as a role model to be emulated. What happened?

The above title expresses the only thought that came to mind as I took in esteemed "economist" Winnie Monsod's "gone-viral" video .

The venerable Big Boss of AntiPinoy.com (AP) summarised what in my opinion is the best position to take on the issue of Reproductive Health in the Philippines. He does this in a comment to a recent article on AP...

At no other time have we seen such an immense opportunity to rally behind sensible principles -- and ones that are being championed by the highest official of the land. Let's all do the right thing! Rally behind what is right, not what is traditional .

If the Roman Catholic Church "excommunicates" President Noynoy Aquino on the basis of the position he takes in favour of artificial contraception, then they may as well excommunicate the entire Filipino nation. President Aquino is the President of the Philippines and was elected by Filipinos . According to Nonoy himself, the Filipino people are his "boss". So on the principle of command responsibility , the Church should extend their grievances over artificial contraception to the Filipino people.

What's up with all the warnings being issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to the government in relation to Malacanang's pro family planning stance. These men in robes are even threatening to "excommunicate" President Nonoy Aquino if he does not reconsider his being open to liberal options that could make information, services, and products available to Filipinos who wish to apply greater control over their reproductive health and the sizes of their families. Control over both, suffice to say, most certainly also affords them control over their futures and accountability for their fortunes.

The Philippines is imprisoned by a deep systemic inability in its people to extricate themselves from poverty. It is a problem that is an outcome of (1) the sheer number of Filipinos that inhabit the planet, (2) the average productive output of each warm Filipino body earning (or seeking to earn) a living, and (3) the general attractiveness of quality of life outside of the Philippines . The following challenges with respect to these three aspects of our dire situation easily reveal themselves...