Last week, all of us heard about the wiretapping raps against journalism icon CheChe Lazaro by a high ranking Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). In fact, a Pasay City court judge had ordered an arrest warrant against Ms Lazaro. As a future journalist myself, I do believe that this case is only meant to derail Ms Lazaro and company from doing investigative work. Anyway, I cannot really discuss the case’s merits because first, I’m not a lawyer – and second, there’s the rule on sub judice.
Let’s just turn our attention to another important fact – the accountability to the public of our government officials (both elected and appointed). There’s an old rule that says: “public office is public trust – officials must be accountable to the public at all times.” Accountability means ‘kapapanagutan’ in Filipino. In essence, it states that government officials must always be transparent in their conduct – and that they can be held liable for their actions. It is very convenient to forget this principle, especially when THEY seem to be more loyal to their patron in Malacanang than to the Filipino people.
Take the case of GSIS vs. CheChe Lazaro. Probe has aired a documentary, “Perwisyong Benepisyo,” last November 2008. It features the sorry plight of meager-paid public school teachers in connection to their GSIS benefits. Obviously, the teachers’ groups merely wanted the said government financial entity (led by Winston Garcia) to explain to them how it handles their money. It’s a legitimate concern because after all, GSIS contributions are already deducted even before the teachers get their paychecks.
GSIS officials must be compelled to explain the matter to its contributors because they are the only ones mandated to shed light on the teachers’ concerns. There’s so much public interest involved here since we are talking about public money! Aren’t the teachers entitled to know what the GSIS does to their money? The moment these teachers, and every Filipino for that matter, demand answers from the government – someone should go out in public and explain. It is because the public has the right to know!
The 1987 is very clear about it: Art. III, Sec. 7: The right of the people to information on matters of public shall be recognized… Members of the media, Ms Lazaro included, serves as the mediator between the public and their leaders. This may sound cliché to mass communication students, but the media’s role is to serve the governed (not the governors), to comfort the afflicted, and to give voice to the voiceless.
Just like any journalist, Ms Lazaro knew the importance of getting the other side of the story – hence, the Probe exerted all efforts to get the GSIS to talk. The GSIS declined to be interviewed because ‘based on experience,’ stories aired by Lopez-owned entities have always been biased against them. This is very arbitrary on their part and clearly, the GSIS is only using its past conflict with the Lopezes over MERALCO as an excuse for not talking at all. Non-transparency in government makes it conducive for corruption. Now we ask GSIS’s Winston Garcia and their VP for Public Relation Ella Villacerina: IS THERE SOMETHING TO HIDE? #
Monday, May 18, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Isko at Iska, Are you wasting your food???
Are you wasting your food?
Food wastage in the UP Campus
by Mark Pere Madrona
Every time I have my lunch at the canteens here in UP, I can't help but look at the tables around me. I'm not doing this to know if they're having more delicious meals than what I have. Rather, I look at their plates to know how much food others have left behind. Most of the time, the question is not whether there is food wastage or not. The question is more about the food being wasted. Sometimes, I see so much left-overs that it makes me wonder if those who left it behind had eaten anything at all. Just have a seat at any canteen here in UP and you will the tremendous wastefulness among the students. It isn't surprising to see plates containing virtually untouched cups of rice canteen staffs (in Filipino, we refer to them as 'nalawayan na') and a full serving of viand being collected by the canteen staff. Personally, It's disappointing to see this.
When I was a child, my mom would tell me that I would have to finish my meal – down to the last grain if I can, because there are lots of street-children out there who have nothing to eat. That is a lesson that I have lived by to this day, and I intend to pass it on to my children. Whenever I see my schoolmates waste so much food, I wonder if their parents haven't told them not to do so. I wonder if they are that affluent not to feel any remorse for their food that goes instead to the trash. I wonder if they are simply indifferent to the fact that many people doesn't have the means to eat thrice a day.
Here in UP, it is very common to see children ask for the food that you're eating. “Kuya, akin na lang yan,” a young boy told me when he saw me eating 'biko'. It easy to get mad at them for being 'bastos' but on the other hand, you can see their desperate need to have something to eat.
A 2006 study by the Food & Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) indicated that each Filipino wastes around ¼ cup of rice daily. To measure the wastage's approximate cost, the FNRI multiplied the total wastage (about 1,200 metric tons) with the cost of the cheapest rice in the market – the NFA rice, which costs P12 a kilo at the time the study was done. The total cost? P14.4 million worth of rice goes down the drain daily. The figures are very staggering in light of the fact that the nation is forever trying to cope with adverse economic conditions.
Last year, long lines gathered in places where the much cheaper NFA rice are being sold. This is perfectly understandable since most Filipinos are looking for alternatives to the P35/kilo commercial rice. Rice i our most staple food and yet it is the one which gets most wasted in our dining tables. When the FNRI divided the amount of rice wastage with the number of street children nationwide (around 200,000), they found out that each child would have received P65.00 – enough for them to meet their basic food requirements for a few days.
For me, it is very deplorable to know that Filipinos waste so much food especially at a time when hunger-incidence rates are hitting all-time highs. According to the latest SWS survey, almost a fifth of the entire populace have experienced involuntary hunger in the past months. We all know that food costs have skyrocketed due to the global financial crisis, making it tougher for the country's poor to survive.
When the rice crisis surfaced last year, the vulnerabilities of Asian countries particularly the Philippines, China and Vietnam got exposed. Ninety percent of the world's rice is produced in Asia and since it is at the center of the region's 2.5 billion people's diet, any abnormal upward trend in its price would definitely trigger food emergency, if not food riots (like what we see in Africa).
Now, let's go back to the smaller picture. The FNRI says food wastes tend to be greater among smaller households. It is likely because there would be a relatively abundant food supply for fewer household members. They also found out that food wastage is higher among households with larger budget for food. Parenthetically, those with less purchasing power can't afford to waste as much.
Some may argue that some of the left-overs are eaten by pets and other domesticated animals (e.g. pigs) while others may point out that food lost due to overcooking and spoilage isn't really wasted. The FNRI says edible food wastage includes all food that has not been eaten by humans for any reason. These are legitimate points but the most important thing in lights of all these facts is the need for us to be aware of the socio-economic consequences of food wastefulness. A change in people's attitudes and behavior is needed for us to be able to maximize our food resources.
Let me end by quoting Pope Benedict XVI. In his message to the Food and Agricultural Organization last year, he said “Give food to those dying of hunger because if you do not, you shall have killed him.” The Pontiff even says that “the main cause of hunger lies in people's coldness to their fellow human beings.” Remember my UP schoolmates who had been so reckless in wasting food? Are they that indifferent to the plight of the deprived ones?
Food wastage in the UP Campus
by Mark Pere Madrona
Every time I have my lunch at the canteens here in UP, I can't help but look at the tables around me. I'm not doing this to know if they're having more delicious meals than what I have. Rather, I look at their plates to know how much food others have left behind. Most of the time, the question is not whether there is food wastage or not. The question is more about the food being wasted. Sometimes, I see so much left-overs that it makes me wonder if those who left it behind had eaten anything at all. Just have a seat at any canteen here in UP and you will the tremendous wastefulness among the students. It isn't surprising to see plates containing virtually untouched cups of rice canteen staffs (in Filipino, we refer to them as 'nalawayan na') and a full serving of viand being collected by the canteen staff. Personally, It's disappointing to see this.
When I was a child, my mom would tell me that I would have to finish my meal – down to the last grain if I can, because there are lots of street-children out there who have nothing to eat. That is a lesson that I have lived by to this day, and I intend to pass it on to my children. Whenever I see my schoolmates waste so much food, I wonder if their parents haven't told them not to do so. I wonder if they are that affluent not to feel any remorse for their food that goes instead to the trash. I wonder if they are simply indifferent to the fact that many people doesn't have the means to eat thrice a day.
Here in UP, it is very common to see children ask for the food that you're eating. “Kuya, akin na lang yan,” a young boy told me when he saw me eating 'biko'. It easy to get mad at them for being 'bastos' but on the other hand, you can see their desperate need to have something to eat.
A 2006 study by the Food & Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) indicated that each Filipino wastes around ¼ cup of rice daily. To measure the wastage's approximate cost, the FNRI multiplied the total wastage (about 1,200 metric tons) with the cost of the cheapest rice in the market – the NFA rice, which costs P12 a kilo at the time the study was done. The total cost? P14.4 million worth of rice goes down the drain daily. The figures are very staggering in light of the fact that the nation is forever trying to cope with adverse economic conditions.
Last year, long lines gathered in places where the much cheaper NFA rice are being sold. This is perfectly understandable since most Filipinos are looking for alternatives to the P35/kilo commercial rice. Rice i our most staple food and yet it is the one which gets most wasted in our dining tables. When the FNRI divided the amount of rice wastage with the number of street children nationwide (around 200,000), they found out that each child would have received P65.00 – enough for them to meet their basic food requirements for a few days.
For me, it is very deplorable to know that Filipinos waste so much food especially at a time when hunger-incidence rates are hitting all-time highs. According to the latest SWS survey, almost a fifth of the entire populace have experienced involuntary hunger in the past months. We all know that food costs have skyrocketed due to the global financial crisis, making it tougher for the country's poor to survive.
When the rice crisis surfaced last year, the vulnerabilities of Asian countries particularly the Philippines, China and Vietnam got exposed. Ninety percent of the world's rice is produced in Asia and since it is at the center of the region's 2.5 billion people's diet, any abnormal upward trend in its price would definitely trigger food emergency, if not food riots (like what we see in Africa).
Now, let's go back to the smaller picture. The FNRI says food wastes tend to be greater among smaller households. It is likely because there would be a relatively abundant food supply for fewer household members. They also found out that food wastage is higher among households with larger budget for food. Parenthetically, those with less purchasing power can't afford to waste as much.
Some may argue that some of the left-overs are eaten by pets and other domesticated animals (e.g. pigs) while others may point out that food lost due to overcooking and spoilage isn't really wasted. The FNRI says edible food wastage includes all food that has not been eaten by humans for any reason. These are legitimate points but the most important thing in lights of all these facts is the need for us to be aware of the socio-economic consequences of food wastefulness. A change in people's attitudes and behavior is needed for us to be able to maximize our food resources.
Let me end by quoting Pope Benedict XVI. In his message to the Food and Agricultural Organization last year, he said “Give food to those dying of hunger because if you do not, you shall have killed him.” The Pontiff even says that “the main cause of hunger lies in people's coldness to their fellow human beings.” Remember my UP schoolmates who had been so reckless in wasting food? Are they that indifferent to the plight of the deprived ones?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Why does the media feed us with crap???
In my previous piece, I have related how the media had affected me for almost two decades already. Now, I would show how and in what aspects I would like to influence the media. First, I hope the said institution becomes a better watchdog of those in power. I’m not saying that they are not reporting about government malfeasance right now. It is just that there is a tendency among journalists to devote all its time on a single issue at a particular time then completely forget about ti a few days later. For example, no one remembers Jun Lozada and the NBN ZTE deal right now.
Everyone is fixated on the investigations regarding the World Bank mess. When the media stops its reportage on an issue, the latter’s salience before the public’s minds wanes. Clearly, the Agenda Setting Theory of the mass media is at play here. If the media won’t be able to constantly remind the public of these corruption issues, no sense of accountability among our government officials would be nurtured. As Mike Enriquez liked to say, journalists should tell these crooks that “Hindi naming kayo tatantanan!”
Another thing I would like to note is the obvious preference of the big media networks to showbiz gossip. A significant portion of our nightly news programs had been allotted to showbiz gossip. Recently, ABS-CBN had even put up a daily showbiz news show – similar to “The Insider” and “Entertainment Today” in the United States. I understand that people need some form of relaxation especially during these difficult times but I guess no one would dispute the fact that we don’t really care whether Boy Abunda and Vicki Belo finally make peace.
Although I watch these kind of shows every now and then (do I have a choice?), I know that these networks are just feeding us with crap. They are idiotizing the masses. It is my prevent wish that the media devote more time informative programs. For example, there are a lot of issues that the masses have to understand.
The media always mentions the global financial crisis and climate change in their reports but the masses is still having a hard time making sense of all of these. It is because the media haven’t bothered to explain the significance of these issues to them. Why? Because the networks think these issues are too complex for the masses to grasp. I guess it is the media practitioners’ (sorry for the term) responsibility to tell the public the significant issues – the topics that they need (not necessarily want) to know.
Part of the reason why the public seems to be apathetic towards the scandals besetting the present government is that a lot of them haven’t figured out why the issue is important to them personally in the first place. Amidst all the political shouting matches and mudslinging, the media had failed to bring its audience to the bottom of the issues raised.
Everyone is fixated on the investigations regarding the World Bank mess. When the media stops its reportage on an issue, the latter’s salience before the public’s minds wanes. Clearly, the Agenda Setting Theory of the mass media is at play here. If the media won’t be able to constantly remind the public of these corruption issues, no sense of accountability among our government officials would be nurtured. As Mike Enriquez liked to say, journalists should tell these crooks that “Hindi naming kayo tatantanan!”
Another thing I would like to note is the obvious preference of the big media networks to showbiz gossip. A significant portion of our nightly news programs had been allotted to showbiz gossip. Recently, ABS-CBN had even put up a daily showbiz news show – similar to “The Insider” and “Entertainment Today” in the United States. I understand that people need some form of relaxation especially during these difficult times but I guess no one would dispute the fact that we don’t really care whether Boy Abunda and Vicki Belo finally make peace.
Although I watch these kind of shows every now and then (do I have a choice?), I know that these networks are just feeding us with crap. They are idiotizing the masses. It is my prevent wish that the media devote more time informative programs. For example, there are a lot of issues that the masses have to understand.
The media always mentions the global financial crisis and climate change in their reports but the masses is still having a hard time making sense of all of these. It is because the media haven’t bothered to explain the significance of these issues to them. Why? Because the networks think these issues are too complex for the masses to grasp. I guess it is the media practitioners’ (sorry for the term) responsibility to tell the public the significant issues – the topics that they need (not necessarily want) to know.
Part of the reason why the public seems to be apathetic towards the scandals besetting the present government is that a lot of them haven’t figured out why the issue is important to them personally in the first place. Amidst all the political shouting matches and mudslinging, the media had failed to bring its audience to the bottom of the issues raised.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Two men drowns in UP managed facility
Two residents drowned Thursday morning (July 24) after leaping through murky waters stagnated at a water system of an abandoned government facility in U.P Diliman.
The victims were Nilo Toledana, 35, a native of Camarines Norte and Darwin Obinia, a native of Cagayan province. The two entered annex building of the National Hydraulics Research Center (NHRC) to dive into its mothballed water circulation system. Local police say that the lure of money from selling copper pipes and other metal equipments submerged underneath motivated the two into plunging through the waters.
Carina Alpay, Toledana's mother-in-law, said that residents in the area of Brgy. Culiat and Brgy. UP Campus consider the NHRC facility a “goldmine” because of the assorted steel equipments beneath the waters. She says that male dwellers sell whatever worthy items they recover from the site to nearby junk shops. She notes that the “divers” plunge into the waters without any protections like eye goggles or oxygen devices. “Kabisado naman daw ng ibang sumisisid dyan yung lugar. Susuong sila ng nakapikit kasi malumot na't marumi yung tubig. Lalangoy sila papunta doon sa may bakal tapos lalagariin nila, (Some “divers“ claim that they have a mental map of the place because they have seen it before it became full of water. They dive the place with eyes closed because the water is really dirty. They'd swim directly to the place where the steel equipments are located then they'd use the steel to get a piece of it) “ she said.
Celso Bunag, a Barangay Peace & Security Officer of Brgy. Campus, said that the two men probably entered the facility through its back door because there are guards on duty at the NHRC's annex building entrance.
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) under PO3 Bremmuel Magalong conducted the retrieval operations Thursday night. They recovered Obinia's body on the same day. PCG however had to suspend the search for Toledana's body that night because they ran out of oxygen supply. They recovered it Friday morning.
One witness said that Obinia actually tried to save Toledana's life. Mario Tuando, 39, Obinia's brother-in-law, said that it was Toledana who dived into the water facility first. He said that when Toledana failed to resurface, Obinia called the attention of the neighborhood. After doing so, he decided to plunge into the waters himself. Tuando said that Obinia even managed to resurface to tell the people that he can't find Toledana's body. He dived again and he never came back this time.
Bunag added that they saw injuries in Obinia's head when the latter's body was retrieved. The Ileja Funeral Services is yet to issue an autopsy report.
Maj. Bernie Baltazar, the officer-in-charge of U.P District Police, said that personnel from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System would go to NHRC to siphon off the stagnant water in the facility's 1600 liters/second water circulation system. Official reports indicate that the water there is 5 foot deep although residents in the area claim that it is actually 12 foot deep.
Toledana's wife, Claire, did not notice anything unusual with her husband on that fateful day. “Umalis sya ng maaga. Pupunta lang daw sya sa mga kaibigan nya dun sa may Brgy. Culiat. Hintayin daw namin sya sa pananghalian, (He left our house early. He said that he'll just visit his friends there in Brgy. Culiat. He told us to wait him for lunch)” she said.She had just given birth to their 6th children last July 10. Meanwhile, her eleven year old son Carlo had some ideas on what pushed his father into doing the fatal dive:“Gusto kasi ni Papa na may pang SM kami sa birthday ni Cielo sa Linggo, (My father probably wanted to have some money so that we can go to SM for Cielo's birthday on Sunday), he said.
For Elena Calanoga, Obinia's mother, the only unusual thing that his son did on that eventful day is that he treated his bosom buddies into a drinking spree. According to her, it is uncommon for her son to shell out so much money – even if it's his friend's birthday – since he has been jobless for the past months.
For both families, they not only lost their beloved father – they also lost their sole breadwinner. “I have six kids and I am jobless,” Mrs. Toledana lamented. Obinia also left behind an unemployed wife and four children.
The seven hectare NHRC annex compound is located at the UP Arboretum – a land area located opposite the UP Diliman campus. The Arboretum has the distinction of being the “only natural rain forest in Metro Manila”. The NHRC is a research and development center under the UP College of Engineering. Established in 1973, it was mandated to conduct research and provide technical inputs on various problems of water resource development, management and other related fields. #
The victims were Nilo Toledana, 35, a native of Camarines Norte and Darwin Obinia, a native of Cagayan province. The two entered annex building of the National Hydraulics Research Center (NHRC) to dive into its mothballed water circulation system. Local police say that the lure of money from selling copper pipes and other metal equipments submerged underneath motivated the two into plunging through the waters.
Carina Alpay, Toledana's mother-in-law, said that residents in the area of Brgy. Culiat and Brgy. UP Campus consider the NHRC facility a “goldmine” because of the assorted steel equipments beneath the waters. She says that male dwellers sell whatever worthy items they recover from the site to nearby junk shops. She notes that the “divers” plunge into the waters without any protections like eye goggles or oxygen devices. “Kabisado naman daw ng ibang sumisisid dyan yung lugar. Susuong sila ng nakapikit kasi malumot na't marumi yung tubig. Lalangoy sila papunta doon sa may bakal tapos lalagariin nila, (Some “divers“ claim that they have a mental map of the place because they have seen it before it became full of water. They dive the place with eyes closed because the water is really dirty. They'd swim directly to the place where the steel equipments are located then they'd use the steel to get a piece of it) “ she said.
Celso Bunag, a Barangay Peace & Security Officer of Brgy. Campus, said that the two men probably entered the facility through its back door because there are guards on duty at the NHRC's annex building entrance.
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) under PO3 Bremmuel Magalong conducted the retrieval operations Thursday night. They recovered Obinia's body on the same day. PCG however had to suspend the search for Toledana's body that night because they ran out of oxygen supply. They recovered it Friday morning.
One witness said that Obinia actually tried to save Toledana's life. Mario Tuando, 39, Obinia's brother-in-law, said that it was Toledana who dived into the water facility first. He said that when Toledana failed to resurface, Obinia called the attention of the neighborhood. After doing so, he decided to plunge into the waters himself. Tuando said that Obinia even managed to resurface to tell the people that he can't find Toledana's body. He dived again and he never came back this time.
Bunag added that they saw injuries in Obinia's head when the latter's body was retrieved. The Ileja Funeral Services is yet to issue an autopsy report.
Maj. Bernie Baltazar, the officer-in-charge of U.P District Police, said that personnel from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System would go to NHRC to siphon off the stagnant water in the facility's 1600 liters/second water circulation system. Official reports indicate that the water there is 5 foot deep although residents in the area claim that it is actually 12 foot deep.
Toledana's wife, Claire, did not notice anything unusual with her husband on that fateful day. “Umalis sya ng maaga. Pupunta lang daw sya sa mga kaibigan nya dun sa may Brgy. Culiat. Hintayin daw namin sya sa pananghalian, (He left our house early. He said that he'll just visit his friends there in Brgy. Culiat. He told us to wait him for lunch)” she said.She had just given birth to their 6th children last July 10. Meanwhile, her eleven year old son Carlo had some ideas on what pushed his father into doing the fatal dive:“Gusto kasi ni Papa na may pang SM kami sa birthday ni Cielo sa Linggo, (My father probably wanted to have some money so that we can go to SM for Cielo's birthday on Sunday), he said.
For Elena Calanoga, Obinia's mother, the only unusual thing that his son did on that eventful day is that he treated his bosom buddies into a drinking spree. According to her, it is uncommon for her son to shell out so much money – even if it's his friend's birthday – since he has been jobless for the past months.
For both families, they not only lost their beloved father – they also lost their sole breadwinner. “I have six kids and I am jobless,” Mrs. Toledana lamented. Obinia also left behind an unemployed wife and four children.
The seven hectare NHRC annex compound is located at the UP Arboretum – a land area located opposite the UP Diliman campus. The Arboretum has the distinction of being the “only natural rain forest in Metro Manila”. The NHRC is a research and development center under the UP College of Engineering. Established in 1973, it was mandated to conduct research and provide technical inputs on various problems of water resource development, management and other related fields. #
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