Another gaffe

Editorial

Philippine Daily Inquirer
9:23 pm | Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 

Another day, another gaffe. In what has become a depressingly familiar situation, Malacañang was caught in yet another verbal pickle with President Aquino’s recent pronouncement, seconded unthinkingly by Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas, that fare increases for the Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit systems are urgently needed now because provincial taxpayers no longer want to subsidize a transport operation that serves only Metro Manila residents and commuters.

“We can use the taxpayers’ money in executing development programs in other regions and provinces instead of merely subsidizing train fares of train passengers in the metropolis,” Roxas said.

The LRT and MRT’s fares were last raised in 2002. The government spends about P7 billion a year to sustain a high-maintenance mass public transport system that runs on artificially depressed ticket prices.

Finding a solution to this massive financial hemorrhage had been one of Mr. Aquino’s earliest announced goals at the start of his presidency, but the loud protests that greeted the plan forced the government to defer its implementation. Malacañang has had over a year since then to formulate and fine-tune a communications strategy that would help swing the riding public around to the idea that a reasonable hike in ticket prices is a painful but necessary step if the LRT and MRT services are to survive for the long term.

Surely there is something absurd in a set-up where a train system that offers commuters a faster, cleaner, more efficient and better-maintained means of public transport compared to, say, air-conditioned buses, still have to charge markedly lower rates (P11 for a 10-minute ride on the MRT from Ortigas to Ayala, P15 on a bus that lumbers along for an hour or more on traffic-choked weekdays to cover the same distance), and yet is expected to be in reliably working, if not tip-top, condition year in and year out.

This issue obviously calls for clarity and transparency, for separating fact from misimpression—a job that, if done right, could conceivably make it easier for the metropolis’ residents to accept and adjust to the inevitability of fare readjustments. Instead, what comes across from Mr. Aquino’s seemingly ad-libbed justification for the plan is that Malacañang and its communications team remain at a loss on how to present this dilemma to the public with care and forthrightness. Trotting out a new rationale at this late hour smacks of flailing about, of not knowing the exact goalposts involved in this most delicate proposition.

Worse, the offered excuse only makes matters worse. Now, it has become a distracting argument about the proper redistribution of taxes between Metro Manila and the rest of the country. The League of Provinces of the Philippines has jumped into the fray with the melodramatic plea that “it’s high time the national government took cognizance of the plight of our countrymen outside of Metro Manila,” as LPP president and Mindoro Oriental Gov. Alfonso Umali put it.

“We don’t even have an MRT and LRT in Mindanao,” echoed Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, “yet we have to shoulder the burden of the commuters in Metro Manila.”

Set aside the fact that Sen. Ralph Recto appears to have demolished this argument with easily verifiable numbers showing that the bulk of train subsidies does come from the billions of pesos in taxes collected from wealthy cities in Metro Manila such as Makati, Quezon and Caloocan. Why, rather, is this point being raised at all? The taxes collected for the national coffers is for the entire nation’s benefit and disposal. Balkanizing it on the basis of “he who gives more should have more” raises complications the two sides might not want to consider. Whose money is used to build the national roads that improve travel and commerce to and from the countryside, for instance? Or, on the part of the country’s capital, where do the malls and commercial establishments that are its lifeblood get their stocks and resources from, if not from the provinces where fish and livestock are harvested, electric power is generated, products are made?

The government need not muddy the issue with clumsy, ill-considered pretexts. The plain truth is that continuing to subsidize the rail systems at the current levels—P70 billion in the past 10 years, and counting—is not simply viable, rational or beneficial beyond the short-term. Living beyond one’s means is a concept ordinary commuters would—and should—know. That’s the LRT/MRT case in a nutshell.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/12477/another-gaffe

P10B agri funds drained

Loans unpaid; execs paid 35% kickbacks

By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
11:39 pm | Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
It was worse than the fertilizer scam.

A P10-billion fund meant to help small farmers, fisherfolk and agriculture entrepreneurs raise their skills and production was used as a cash cow of agriculture officials, politicians and businessmen “favored” by the Arroyo administration for almost a decade, officials said.

The discovery of irregularities in Acef (Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund) has led lawmakers and agriculture officials to suspend the program in January and to review its implementation.

What they saw, according to officials who checked the Acef records, was a long list of companies and beneficiaries who failed to pay back their loans.

The same officials also heard of complaints from borrowers who said that agriculture officials demanded kickbacks in exchange for loan approvals.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said his office had received complaints from beneficiaries and those who tried to apply for the fund that former agriculture officials had asked for kickbacks in exchange for approving their loans.

Legitimate projects were also set aside in favor of proponents who have questionable projects but are willing to provide kickbacks, officials said.

“As we investigated it, we found out that the majority of those who did not pay were the ones who were complaining about the kickbacks,” Alcala said. “It was as high as 20 to 35 percent,” he noted.

A senior agriculture official also noted that the Acef executive committee was lax in approving projects. Some proponents, who promised to give commissions, were not even required to appear at the Department of Agriculture to explain their projects, the official said.

Alcala said it was the Acef management that was accused of being the recipients of bribes. “They got money out of proceeds. After the funds are released, something goes to them,” he said.

Although the reports and complaints were numerous, Alcala said it was difficult to pin down the errant officials. “Of course, these had no receipts,” he said.

Some borrowers were also reluctant to say something on record because they knew that they got the deal out of bad faith, Alcala said.

The practice of asking for commissions in exchange for loan approval was confirmed by Gregorio San Diego, president of United Broilers Raisers Association (Ubra).

Four years ago, Ubra applied as a cooperative for the Acef to build a broiler breeder facility in Pampanga. San Diego said his group was encouraged by then Secretary Arthur Yap, but when the application reached the central office of the agriculture department, it was denied.

“They asked 10 percent from us,” he said, noting that it was considered a discount. “Others were told to give 35 percent,” he added.

In the end, Ubra decided not to push through with its application, San Diego said.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, cochair of the congressional oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization, and sources confirmed that some of those who applied for the fund were personalities and politicians “favored” by the past administration.

‘Lender of last resort’


An industry source and an agriculture official, who reviewed the project and requested anonymity because of lack of authority to discuss the matter, described the use of Acef in the last decade as “plunder.”

“This was bigger than the fertilizer scam,” the industry source said, referring to the misuse of P728 million in agriculture funds under then Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante.

The fund, intended to benefit farmers, was said to have been diverted to the campaign kitty of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. Bolante and former Agriculture Secretary Cito Lorenzo have been charged with plunder at the Sandiganbayan.

“This was supposed to be for agricultural enhancement but they have become the lender of last resort,” the source said, referring to Acef.

Acef, established in 1996 and funded by tariffs from agricultural products, is a funding mechanism aimed at providing financial support to the agriculture sector to increase their competitiveness in the global market.

Safety net 


The money from the taxes was supposed to be used to establish “safety nets” for agriculture sectors affected by trade liberalization.

“That was the basic tenet of Acef, but it was not followed. If it was implemented properly, say the industries were given common services, it would have made Philippine agriculture competitive. But this was not followed. Even those projects that were not aimed at competitiveness were given funding,” the industry source noted.

The fund was set up to enable farmers, fisherfolk, and cooperatives to upgrade their skills and facilities so that they can compete in an increasingly globalized agriculture market.

Loans up to P30M


Under the program, agricultural workers, cooperatives, nongovernment organizations, and local government units may take out loans ranging from P500,000 to P30 million.

Acef was supposed to have a 10-year life-span, but the agriculture department, during the term of former Secretary Yap, issued several memoranda extending the program and its scope.


Collateral-, interest-free


The program was especially designed to encourage small and medium agricultural enterprises to borrow from it as it does not demand a collateral from them and is interest-free. The lack of these requirements opened the fund to abuse and was the main reason for the low-repayment rate, officials said.

Acef contained P10.73 billion accumulated from collected tariffs from 1990 to 2010, according to the Department of Agriculture’s preliminary report as of February 2011.

During that period, the fund used P8.85 billion, mostly for grants and loans.

As of February, the agriculture department said P2.57 billion went to grants, while P5.82 billion went to loans to 299 accounts. Included in the loan portfolio was a P1-billion grant to the bankrupt Quedancor, which was supposed to be used for the agency’s training program. At about P372.78 million was used to fund scholarship programs.

Quedancor did not remit a single centavo to Acef and even borrowers who failed to pay were allowed to borrow huge sums again, officials said.

As of early 2011, only about P1.8 billion remained in Acef coffers as many of the creditors failed to pay back their loans over the years, the Department of Agriculture said.


Failure 


Despite the huge amounts of money that were funneled into the fund since its creation, the credit mechanism that was supposed to improve Philippine agriculture, provide employment in the countryside and raise the income of farmers and fisherfolk failed in its vision.

In March, the technical working group on Acef said: “Available data indicate that the Acef has not been able to provide loans to the marginalized farmers and fisherfolk; but mostly to small and medium enterprises.”

In a report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said Acef was a failure. “The purpose of the program to raise farm productivity by extending credit to small farmers, fisherfolk and agricultural entrepreneurs was not achieved as manifested by the low collection rate of amortization due from the proponents. The inability of the proponents to pay the amortization is an indication that their livelihood agricultural activities did not succeed,” the report said.

Yap’s friend


One of the borrowers who was not punctual in paying his loan was Lyndon Tan, owner of Basic Necessity, a vegetable farm in Cavite, and a friend of former Secretary Yap.

Yap, project head of the book, “The Art of Agribusiness: 111 and More Success Stories in Agri-Entrepreneurship,” cited Tan as an example of a successful Filipino farm entrepreneur.

Tan, according to a recent agriculture department audit, sells his greens to supermarkets and restaurants. He borrowed P38 million from the fund for his farm in the mid-2000s. He only paid P4 million of it.

The COA also noted that Acef was inefficient and questioned why certain companies that did not remit were still given a chance to borrow millions of pesos.

In its 2010 report, the COA said five proponents with Acef loans of P72.245 million were given additional loans of P35.659 million for the same project, even if previous loans were not yet paid.

Gemsum Marketing


The companies were identified by CAA as C and L Farms, Hi-Las Marketing Corp., Moraleda Farms, Queen’s Agro-Industrial Farms Inc. and Gemsum Marketing.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. There were 46 proponents who got loans from 2000 to 2008 but “have not paid a single installment,” the agriculture department said. Their loans from Acef totaled P802.95 million.

Baler-Casiguran road

Senator Edgardo Angara, a former agriculture secretary who authored the law that established the Acef, has been identified as one of the beneficiaries.

Angara’s home province Aurora received P300 million from the fund, according to an audit by the agriculture department.

Angara was cited by two sources as the one who recommended projects to the Acef committee.

The audit by the agriculture department found out that  Aurora, Angara’s home province, benefited from two grants.

In 2008, the local government of Aurora received P200 million for the concreting of the Baler-Casiguran Highway.

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas said the Baler-Casiguran Road was built to serve Angara’s Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport project.

In 2007, Aurora State University received P100 million for a project called Enhancement of Technology-Based Agribusiness Industry.

In a phone interview, Angara said he could not recall recommending the grant of P200 million for the concreting of the Baler-Casiguran road.

“Who is the source of that report? I do not recall … Why would they even use the word competitiveness for that? And why would I recommend it,” he told the Inquirer Tuesday night.

Angara said it was more likely that the P200 million came from his pork barrel.

“And if it indeed came from my pork barrel, that would not be considered irregular since it came from my (Priority Development Assistance Fund),” the senator added. With a report from Cathy Yamsuan

 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/62305/p10b-agri-funds-drained

Positive discipline

By Sofia Logarta
Cebu Daily News
7:55 am | Sunday, September 18th, 2011 

The UP Cebu Gender Office was happy to get a  second invitation for the series putting an end to corporal punishment.

We sent two parents, Annie Aboga-Manzano and Annabelle Gilla-Maglasang who are also guidance services specialists.  We are hoping that both can share with our colleagues in UP Cebu a very positive perspective for parenting. Both are also members of the UP Cebu High School Parent-Teacher Association. So we are hoping that they can echo the training’s inputs here.

The training provided a list of laws that, although it still has to be completed, covers so many aspects on  child protection.

For children and youth’s health,  these are: the National Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes, Breastmilk Supplements and Other Related Products, The Breastfeeding Act, Compulsory Immunization Against Hepatitis B and the law on Salt Iodization.

In relation to education, we have the following: Free Secondary Education Act and the Day Care Law – Barangay Level Total Development and Protection Act, Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act, and An Act Integrating Drug Prevention and Control in the Intermediate and Secondary Curricula as well as in Nonformal, Informal, and Indigenous Learning Systems.

Then there are laws to protect children from abuse and other violations of their rights: Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination; Executive Order 275, Creating a Committee for Special Protection of Children from All Forms of Neglect, Abuse, Cruelty, Exploitation, Discrimination and Other Conditions Prejudicial to Development; E. O. No. 56, Authorizing the Department of Social Welfare and Development to take protective custody of child prostitutes and sexually-exploited children; Child and Youth Welfare Code; Anti Child Pornography Act; Juvenile Justice Welfare Act; and An Act Prohibiting the Employment of Children Below 15 Years of Age in Public and Private Undertakings.

Obviously, we have many laws for children and youth. To  make them actually work for children, there is a need for information dissemination and  legal education not only for the young, their parents and teachers but also for the entire community whose support and vigilance will be required. Alternative lawyering is also a must for advocacy and empowerment of all sectors involved. We are glad the Legal Alternatives for Women Center Inc. is working on this in many ways, two weekly radio programs and one on television.

Annabelle Gilla-Maglasang thanked the office for an enlightening training-workshop on Positive Discipline.  The materials sent to us by Michael Cornelia of Plan International made us understand how happy she was about the training as well as her eagerness to share the insights with both our colleagues and the PTA.

Looking at the material made me realize that it all starts with loving.  If we genuinely love our children, we would be available to them to assist them as they grow having “self-discipline and confidence.” This requires a coherent approach, not separate illogical reactions, for it is a great challenge to “guide children to be in harmony within one’s self as well as with others.”  This involves a whole “culture of respect for human rights” that will give rise among the children “thinking and behavior manifesting respect.”

Instilling Positive Discipline can also be seen as the process of growing up—a problem-solving approach to the challenges of relationships; mature adults need to provide the young with “relationships with warmth and a supportive learning environment.”  We can be more of help if “we understand how children think and feel.”

It was asserted that positive discipline is definitely not “permissive parenting nor the absence of rules, limits, or expectations; nor just an alternative to punishment.”  It “involves building mutually respectful relationships with children, clearly communicating expectations, rules and limits, increasing children’s competence and confidence to handle challenging situations.”

Sidlak Gender Resource Center will celebrate its eighth anniversary with a  forum on the Comprehensive Reproductive Health Bill in the UP Cebu Conference Hall from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/60865/positive-discipline

Kicked out on trumped-up charges

Get Real

By: Solita Collas-Monsod
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Dean of the UP Visayas Cebu College (UPVCC) was dismissed after more than 20 years of  distinguished service with nary a blot on his record. A retired professor (Professor 12 when he retired after 43 years of distinguished service), also with nary a blot on his record, was likewise banished forever from serving the university in any capacity.

Dean Enrique Avila was found guilty of two charges of gross neglect of duty and one charge of grave misconduct. Prof. Ernesto Pineda (UP College of Business Administration, retired) was found guilty of one charge of gross neglect of duty and one charge of grave misconduct.  The guilty verdicts were handed down by an Administrative Disciplinary Tribunal (ADT) after only four days of hearings, one of which was devoted to procedural matters.

One would think that UP president Alfredo Pascual would at least have taken time to review the ADT’s recommendations, if only because of the severity of the penalties, never mind their excellent records. It seems not. On the same day that he received the recommendations, Pascual approved them, and the corresponding message to the accused was sent by Danny Concepcion, vice president for legal affairs. Thus, was a combined (minimum) 63 years of service to the university rewarded—with indecent haste.

The Cebu media carried stories of a “boodle fight” in UPVCC in celebration of the dismissal of Avila, although the number of attendees was not reported. On the other hand, Cebu Daily News columnist Raymund Fernandez, also a UPVCC professor (and until last year, head of the humanities division), wrote a stinging column expressing his “feeling of offense resulting from witnessing a clear case of injustice” plus helplessness “such as one would feel when he looks at good people all around him and they remain silent in the face of all these.” Plus a feeling of shame/betrayal that three former UP presidents, members of the UP Cebu Advisory Committee, “who could give us a true picture of what really occurred here remained silent so far.”

Fernandez offered to provide interested readers with pertinent documents—the charges, Avila’s defense, and the ADT decision—so they can judge for themselves. I took advantage of the offer, and was e-mailed the material. I was provided other documents by Pineda. And I plowed through them all. I also talked to university colleagues here and in Cebu.

After all that, I have come to the conclusion that neither Avila nor Pineda are guilty of anything remotely related to gross neglect of duty or grave misconduct. Rather, it looks to me like they are victims of a witch-hunt, a vendetta, because they had the extreme bad taste of doing what they thought was best for UPVCC rather than serving personal, financial or ideological interests.

It looks to me like any investigation that was conducted was aimed at getting Avila (and Pineda) out of the way, rather than at getting at the truth. They, by the way, were not even provided a copy of the results of the preliminary investigation, and were refused when they asked for it. And any documentary evidence that showed their innocence seems to have been disregarded.

But if Avila and Pineda were not guilty of what they were charged with, what were the specific details of the bad taste I adverted to above?

It seems to me that the two, having worked for the autonomy of UPVCC and its future conversion into a constituent university, were in a hurry to implement its development plan, as approved by an Advisory Committee which included a former chief justice, two former UP presidents, business executives and entrepreneurs, all Cebuanos, as well as other recommendations by the committee. This involved infrastructure development, faculty development, streamlining and rationalizing of course offerings and curricula—the works. And, therefore, it meant stepping on many, many toes.

Case in point: the abolition of the high school, recommended not only by the advisory council but by practically every UP president. What is a tertiary institution doing with a high school, particularly if the institution does not offer a BS Ed degree? And particularly if roughly a quarter of the resources of the institution is being used for the purpose with no revenues from tuition?

But demonstrations and rallies ensued, and a compromise was reached: a smaller High School for the Arts (although the resource drain is still there). Still, Avila was marked for extermination.

Another case in point: contracts for BOT development of part of the UPVCC campus (for resource-generation purposes); and for construction of buildings on land donated by the government were already awarded. This did not seem to suit people in the new UP administration who wanted some changes. Avila may not have been ready to play ball in his haste to implement the development plan as scheduled. Another reason to remove him.

A third case in point: when one streamlines, there is a need for retooling, for consolidating.  This may result in lower number of courses to teach, and therefore smaller income from “overload” allowances. Bad move.

Add to these Avila’s removal of student representation in the Executive Committee, and his insistence that the winning bidder for campus security should not use the same guards as the previous winner (else why even rebid?) which put him in the black books of certain elements of the studentry.

In other words, Avila and Pineda were kicked out for doing their jobs too well. On trumped-up charges. Shame.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/12247/kicked-out-on-trumped-up-charges

Bashing Philippine culture

Wednesday, 14 September 2011 21:03
John Mangun / Outside the Box

IT always strikes me as a little confusing why members of a particular culture would bash that same culture they live in. You might think that the “basher” would most often be the outsider who takes a “better than you attitude.”

However, the one defining and almost universal characteristic of “culture bashers” is that they are considered the elite of their culture. Better educated, more traveled, and in a position of a kind of culture or intellectual superiority.

In other words, those who have perhaps benefited most from the nation and culture they live in, are most likely to be a “basher.”

A recent article by an icon and master of Philippine literature described the Philippines and its people as being shallow or unsophisticated. One example that he recalled was the nearly standing ovation for a performance of the tinikling and the muted response to a classical Japanese dance number by a Filipino audience.

Each one is entitled to an opinion but to consider Japanese kabuki, for example, as sophisticated in comparison to the tinikling is silly.

Kabuki started in the official red- light district of Edo (Tokyo) around 1600 as a way for the prostitutes to display their singing and dance skills, wearing the latest fashions and playing the latest pop music. The Tokugawa shogunate banned women from kabuki as being too erotic, the girls were then replaced by male prostitutes.

By 1842, kabuki was entirely banned and went underground.

With the fall of the shogunate and restoration of the Meiji emperor, kabuki came back, this time as entertainment for the elite. Besides, the foreigners loved kabuki.

The tinikling dance most certainly predates the kabuki and the Spanish conquest of the Philippines. This part of Philippine culture mimics the tikling, bird found in the Visayas. The dance tries to mimic the bird as it walks between the shoots of grass, runs over tree branches and avoids the rice farmer’s bamboo traps.

By what standard of judgment is kabuki more sophisticated than the tinikling? And why shouldn’t the Filipinos cheer the tinikling and not the kabuki? The Filipino audience has more understanding of their ancestors, wading knee-deep through the palayan than they do of the 17th century marketing methods of Japanese sex workers.

Philippine culture is also unsophisticated because we do not read enough like our Japanese counterparts. Perhaps true. And maybe for the better.

The top five Japanese bestsellers in 2010 were:

1.            “If A High School Girl Had Read Drucker’s Management,”  a book about a high-school girl applying modern business management to her baseball team.

2.            “Wrap it and Diet,” a weight-loss book involving a long cloth you wrap around your stomach.

3.            “Watching The Cafeteria Of Tanita,” a book of canteen recipes from a Japanese digital-scale manufacturer, all under 500 calories,

4.            “The Official Adventure Guidebook to Pokemon White.”

5.            “1Q84,” a novel about a female assassin and the story of a girl’s life in a commune, where she met a group of dwarfs.

Philippine television is unsophisticated; all those telenovelas and showbiz talk shows. I guess that includes the shows imported from those centers of cultural sophistication Mexico (Marimar), Korea (Two Wives), and the UK (Big Brother).

Is the “$100 million woman,” Oprah’s talk show more sophisticated than what Kris Aquino or Boy Abunda puts on the air? Good Grief.

Perhaps the most popular television show (three seasons and three movies) in Japan is Trick, about “a failed moderately chested magician” and an “arrogant, cowardly, well-endowed physics professor” who debunks fraudulent spiritualists. Trick definitely has un-shallow written all over it.

The Philippines is shallow because our elected officials are unqualified. Well, if that is a measure of sophistication, the world has regressed to the culture point of living in mud huts using leaves for personal hygiene.

Poor standards in education contribute to Filipino shallowness. Yes, the Philippine school system is in need of a great systemic overhaul. But the Philippines does rank No.1 in the world for the number of people who speak English as a second language. In a study of being able to correctly identify nations on a global map, PHL is No.1; Japan ranked 111 and the US came in at 96.

It would be nice to read some time from a well-educated, widely traveled Filipino elite on how rich and varied and wonderfully unique Filipino culture is.

Cultural comparisons are useless and foolish in the same way as comparing a Filipino basketball player to former NBA player Yao Ming. It all means absolutely nothing.

Except that we only have 235 McDonald’s; Japan has 3,600. See what being “sophisticated” brings a nation.

E-mail to mangun@gmail.com and Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by CitisecOnline.com Inc.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/16555-bashing-philippine-culture

Why we are shallow

HINDSIGHT By F Sionil Jose  
(The Philippine Star)
Updated September 12, 2011 12:00 AM

I was visited by an old Asian friend who lived here 10 years ago. I was floored by his observation that though we have lots of talented people, as a whole, we continue to be shallow.

Recently, I was seated beside former Senator Letty Shahani, PhD in Comparative Literature from the Sorbonne, watching a medley of Asian dances. The stately and classical Japanese number with stylized movements which perhaps took years to master elicited what seemed to me grudging applause. Then, the Filipino tinikling which any one can learn in 10 minutes; after all that energetic jumping, an almost standing ovation. Letty turned to me and asked, “Why are we so shallow?”

Yes, indeed, and for how long?

This is a question which I have asked myself, which I hope all of us should ask ourselves every so often. Once we have answered it, then we will move on to a more elevated sensibility. And with this sensibility, we will then be able to deny the highest positions in government to those nincompoops who have nothing going for them except popularity, what an irresponsible and equally shallow media had created. As my foreign friend said, there is nothing to read in our major papers.

Again, why are we shallow?

There are so many reasons. One lies in our educational system which has diminished not just scholarship but excellence. There is less emphasis now on the humanities, in the study of the classics which enables us to have a broader grasp of our past and the philosophies of this past. I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a continuity with the past, and that most important ingredient in the building of a nation — memory.

Sure, our Christian faith, too, has a philosophical tradition, particularly if we connect it to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Remember, the first Bible was in Greek. But Greek, Latin and the classics in these languages are no longer taught in our schools the way these are still studied in many universities in Europe.

We are shallow because we are mayabang, ego driven, and do not have the humility to understand that we are only human, much too human to mistake knowledge for wisdom. We can see this yabang in some of our public commentators, particularly on TV — the know-it-alls who think that because they have so much knowledge — available now on the Web at the click of a button — they can answer every question posed to them. What they do not realize is that knowledge is not wisdom. Until they recognize that important if sometimes awful difference, they will continue to bluster their way to the top at our expense because we, the people, will then have to suffer their arrogance and ignorance.

We are shallow because with this arrogance, we accept positions far beyond our competence. Because there is no critical tradition in this country — a tradition which will easily separate the chaff from the grain, we cannot recognize fakery from the real goods. That outstanding scholar, Wilfredo Villacorta, is a rare bird indeed; when offered a high position in government, he refused it because he knew he was not qualified for the job. Any other mayabang academic would have grabbed it although he knows he can’t handle it. And so it happens always — the nitwits who hold such high positions stubbornly hold on to their posts, bamboozling their subordinates who may be brighter than them for that is the only way those who are inferior feel they can have respect.

On the other hand, the intelligent person will be aware of his shortcomings. He does not hesitate to ask the opinion of those who know more than him on particular subjects. If he is a government hierarch, he will surround himself with advisers who he knows can supply him with guidance and background possessing as they do more knowledge, experience and wisdom than him. Such an official is bound to commit fewer mistakes because he knows himself.

We are shallow because we lack this most important knowledge — who we are and the limits to what we can do.

We also lack the perception, and the courage, for instance, to deny these religious quacks and the thousands who listen and believe in them. Sure, religion is the opium of the masses as Marx said. So then, how can we prevent the masa from taking this poison without recognizing their right to make fools of themselves? Again, shallowness because the good people are silent. Ubi boni tacent, malum prosperat. Where good men are silent, evil prospers.

This shallowness is the impediment to prosperity, to justice, and men of goodwill should emphasize this, take risks even in doing so. As the late Salvador P. Lopez said, “It is better to be silenced than to be silent.”

We are shallow because our media are so horribly shallow. Every morning, I peruse the papers and there is so little to read in them. It is the same with radio — all that noise, that artifice.

I turn on the TV on prime time and what do I get? Five juvenile commentators gushing over the amors of movie stars, who is shacking up with whom. One of the blabbering panelists I distinctly remember was caught cheating some years back at some movie award. How could she still be on TV after that moral destruct? And the telenovelas, how utterly asinine, bizarre, foolish, insipid moronic and mephitic they are! And there are so many talented writers in our vernaculars and in English as the Palanca Awards show every year — why aren’t they harnessed for TV? Those TV moguls have a stock answer — the ratings of these shows are very high. Popularity not quality is their final arbiter. They give our people garbage and they are now giving it back to all of us in kind! So I must not be blamed if, most of the time, I turn on BBC. Aljazeera, rather than the local TV channels. It is such a pleasure to read The New York Times, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post, to listen to “Fresh Air” on US public radio and public TV where my ever-continuing thirst for knowledge (and good entertainment) is quenched.

We are shallow because we don’t read. I go to the hospital on occasion — the long corridor is filled with people staring into the cosmos. It is only I who have brought a book or a magazine. In Japanese cities, in Korea — in the buses and trains, young and old are reading, or if they are not holding books and magazines, they are glued to their iPhones where so much information is now available.

In these countries and in Western cities, the bookshops are still full, but not so much anymore because the new communications technologies are now available to their masa. How I wish my tiny bookshop or any Filipino bookshop for that matter would be filled with people. I’ll make an exception here: BookSale branches are always full because their books are very cheap. But I would still ask: what kind of books do Filipinos buy?

We are shallow because we have become enslaved by gross materialism, the glitter of gold and its equivalents, for which reason we think that only the material goods of this earth can satisfy us and we must therefore grab as much as can while we are able. Enjoy all these baubles that we have accumulated; sure, it is pleasurable to possess such artifacts that make living trouble free. And that old anodyne: “Man does not live by bread alone,” who are the thinking and stubborn few who believe in it?

I hope that those who read this piece still do.

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