Don’t sell what you sell was also published by the The Manila Times on 2 August 2023. Advertising oneself is fine. In a motivational talk, Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Terminator” in movieland and former California, USA Governor in politics) said: “Work like hell and advertise.” After having put in the work, it is fair to tell the… Read More »
PPP Ideas for LGUs was published by The Manila Times on 10 August 2022. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has advised local government units (LGUs) to engage the private sector for possible funding of their investments, such as for infrastructures, through public-private partnerships (PPPs). I wish to introduce here unsolicited ideas that can be developed further… Read More »
A governance approach to rightsizing was also published in The Manila Times on 20 July 2022. I WAS a personnel specialist at the Civil Service Commission when the Marcos dictatorship ended in 1986. Several months after the Cory Aquino-led opposition wrested political power, I resigned. The Cory government took bold steps to govern. It abolished… Read More »
Climate Change and Transitions, titled “Transitions,” was also published by The Manila Times on 29 June 2022. Tomorrow the national government and many local governments will transition to possibly new ways of conducting public affairs. A fresh mandate from the electorate is known to more than inspire those who are tasked to govern. Unfortunately, however,… Read More »
Pagpag circular economy was also published by The Manila Times on 18 May 2022. Left alone, nature cleanses itself. But when humans come in, supposedly the most intelligent among the living species, nature deteriorates. It becomes a wasteland. It rots. And yet we humans are not only part of nature. We ought to be masters… Read More »
Fishy Fishing was also published by The Manila Times on 26 February 2022. Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar’s recent announcement that government is set to import tons of fish has drawn criticisms from a school of sectors. In an online briefing on 20 January 2022, Dar said his agency will import 60,000 tons of… Read More »
Community DIAL: A call to action was published in The Manila Times on 29 December 2021. (First of 2 parts) Any day now, President Rodrigo Duterte will sign the law that formalizes approval for next year’s government budget amounting to 5 trillion pesos (up from 4.5 trillion this year). Congressional leaders, as usual, will be… Read More »
Admin’s note: Odette’s painful test was also published by The Manila Times on 22 December 2021. Unlike other common disasters such as earthquakes and fire, we have yet to devise preparedness drills for typhoons. Our preparedness drills for typhoons come during the actual occurrence of the calamity itself. Let it not be said that occasions… Read More »
(Admin: Technology of participation was first published by The Manila Times on 4 August 2021) THERE are several ways of engaging communities in a development process. The common and traditional way is what I may call as the set-and-forget formula. Every three years, people elect government officials, who then proceed to plan and implement development… Read More »
(Published by The Manila Times on 29 April 2020) THE coronavirus pandemic has exposed the many faces of poverty, especially in urban areas. It also exposes what seems to be the limited knowledge the government has of poverty. Because of this deficiency, the solutions it proposes to address the problem are also suspect. News reports,… Read More »
(Published by The Manila Times on 22 April 2020) HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd is to gecko as Vulcaseal is to glue. He clings to his post with the tenacity of a skin disease (to borrow the words of Jose Rizal in Noli Me Tangere). That is the impression he projects if one is to… Read More »