Medium as message

Congress would be in the microscope tomorrow as the Malacanang occupant delivers her State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA).

From where I sit, I see the House of Representatives depicting the real state of our nation.

Amidst the many crises facing the country, a number of which where caused by erroneous policies of this administration, the House is spending a huge sum for a facelift.

Starting with over P9 million for renovating the damage by a bomb blast last year, the House, under the new leadership of my district Rep, Speaker Prospero Nograles, would be spending P200 million for the makeover. It aims to polish its image post the Jose de Venecia era.

Ha ha ha! Unfortunately for the House. In spite of this cosmetic make up and more projects to cost a total of P1 billion, its image would not change a bit. To me, it remains to be the house of wasteful trapos (traditional politicians) and abode of lackeys of the Palace.

I just hope no eager beaver staff of the Speaker would place any marker in the House that would claim such and such renovation is a “Project of” you know who.

Speaker Nogie has proven to be Mr. Project for nothing. In our district in Davao City, the name and picture of the Speaker is plastered in all his projects. We all know that these projects are funded by taxpayer money, but the billboards portray as if these were his own. The name plates are of no ordinary make. In basketball courts, they are made of steel; in pavements, they are made of concrete. But in most cases, they are either tarpaulin or plywoods complete with his smiling face.

Not a few eyebrows were raised in Davao in the case of Nogie’s projects such as a high school and a mini park which were named after his father. Who’s he?, many wondered. Former governors, mayors and other prominent leaders of Davao were not as lucky to have a school or a park named after them.

I believe profligate is just about the right word to describe spending P1 billion for a makeover when hunger stares a third of our people in their faces.

SONA? Oh, well …

S - something

O - only

N - Nogie can

A - answer

7:57 a.m.

Sunday quiz 3

What weather are you?

I tool this quiz and I got the same answer as a fourth of those who did the same (25%):

Downpour Donnie

The rain is the perfect place for you. Whether the rain is giving you an excuse to stay inside or it’s cooling you off outside, wet is nice and water is your friend. Downpour or drizzle, rain is the weather for you!

Take the quiz. Its fun!

6:54 a.m.

Super busy Saturday

Here is my sked for today:

9 a.m. - Regular Board Meeting of the Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao (AFRIM), one of the oldest NGO here where I have served as Trustee and Treasurer since the early 90s;

1:00 p.m. - Forum on Federalism with Senator Aquilino Pimentel at CAP Auditorium. This issue has gained more importance in the light of the forthcoming signing of the peace agreement between the government and the MILF.

2:00 p.m. - Guest speaker at the Student Leadership training seminar of the Supreme Student Government of the University of Immaculate Conception (UIC) at Villa Cristina Inland Resort, Los Amigos. I updated a lecture I gave last year at the graduate students of the University of Southeastern Philippines on stories on leadership.

4:00 p.m. - Mass for former City Councilor and Vice Mayor Boy Zuno at their residence in Matina.

6:00 p.m. - Anniversary and Induction of officers of the political science society SMP of the University of Mindanao, which I co-founded 31 years ago;

7:00 p.m. - Dinner and Induction of officers of BAKAS, the cooperative of barangay officials where I am also a member.

I’m now on my way.

8:34 a.m.

Boy Zuño, 62

A premonition? After last Tuesday night’s So Kim Cheng Sports Awards, I and three other councilors had a nightcap at the lobby bar of Grand Regal Hotel. Councilors Danilo Dayanghirang, Nilo Abellera, Leo Avila III and myself reminisced how we all started in politics.

We also recollected many other politicians in Davao and one prominently mentioned during our discussion was Dominador “Boy” Zuño, Jr. He served our city as City Councilor and Vice Mayor. Councilors Dayanghirang and Abellera both started their political careers under the tutelage of Boy.

We asked ourselves how he was doing. Councilor Avila volunteered that he saw Boy lately at SM Mall. So, we all thought that he was doing OK. We all know he was sick but it was a shocker to learn that he passed away just two days later.

Boy succumbed to illness Thursday morning and was interred yesterday. He was 62.

Boy (3rd right) circa 2001 with (from right) businessman Botoy de los Reyes, Councilor Avila, former City Mayor Ben de Guzman, myself, and Councilor Diosdado Mahipus.

We learned of his ailment about four years ago. Almost all councilors were flying to Manila for the Philippine Councilors League convention when Boy was with us on the same flight. He had an appointment with doctors in Manila to check on his stomach ailment. He has since stayed mostly in their house in Matina in the company of Nanay Tinay Zuño, one of the most influential women in Davao society and politics. She wrote her column These I Know for many decades at the Mindanao Times.

Boy followed the footsteps of his father, Dominador Sr., who was also a lawyer and a City Councilor during the 1950s.

Boy first ran and won a City Council seat in 1971, just after law school. He was one of the topnotchers in the Council race. Unlike today when we elect councilors by districts, during his time, campaigning for the city council meant going from one end to the other from Marilog to Lasang. He was aligned with the opposition during the martial law era and was the leader of UNIDO in Davao, which was headed by fellow Batangueno and former Vice President Salvador “Doy” Laurel.

He served as Vice Mayor from 1988-92 and lost in a congressional race pitting him with Jesus Dureza, now Press Secretary, and Prospero Nograles, now the Speaker of the House. Yes, Boy was in their league.

Boy was a close personal friend of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. They played golf several times and danced together in parties in Davao. Arroyo appointed Boy as one of her presidential consultants with a rank of undersecretary. Boy, for instance, was tasked by Arroyo to handle the Southern Philippines Development Authority for some time.

Many old people would remember Boy as a political neophyte before martial law who could orate, sing and cry on stage. Yup, Boy can dazzle the crowd at political rallies with sad tales, tall tales, and romantic tunes. His favorite were Cliff Richard songs.

Our families were very close. Nanay Tinay and my father both worked for the Mindanao Times. My eldest sister Lea worked as executive assistant of Nanay Tinay when she managed a courier firm in the city. And I was a fixture as a young journalist at numerous political meetings at the Zuño residence.

When I ran for City Councilor, I also visited Boy and Nanay Tinay for their help. I remember becoming one of the favorite candidates at Cristina Village in Matina Aplaya. This is one of the bailiwicks of the Zuños named after Nanay Tinay.

I and many Davaoenos owe many things to Boy. I can only repay him with the thought that I never betrayed his trust. I remember him saying suloguon lang kita sa katawhan “we are mere servants of the people.”

Indeed, he was, and so am I.

5:51 a.m.

Ayala Center Davao fotos

Here are more photos of the proposed Ayala Center Davao:

Soya and sperm

This is one scientific study that I cannot simply agree with.

Soya reduces sperm count.

Ha ha ha! Many of the world’s most populous countries are bean curd-eating nations in Asia.

This clearly disproves that Oriental males are less fertile.

8:44 a.m.

Water wars

It is said that the next major world conflict or future wars will be about water.

Well, actually one is already raging in our city. But thank God, this war uses no bullets or bombs.

The war pits the government-owned water utility, the Davao City Water District, against the privately-owned clean energy firm Hedcor. DCWD wants to tap the surface water of the Tamugan River for its future supply; Hedcor wants to use the same river to generate hydropower to answer the expected power supply shortage by 2010-11.

A number of battlefronts have been opened in their war over the Tamugan and other rivers in Marilog District, some 50 kilometers northwest of the city.

Front 1 - among the indigenous peoples in nine affected barangays (villages). Hedcor has undertaken community prep work to win over the IP communities; - Hedcor has the upperhand;

Front 2 - at the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) in Manila which grants permit for water use. DCWD was granted permit for Tamugan as early as 10 years ago but has not done any concrete project to tap surface water. DCWD is currently extracting almost 100 percent of its supply from underground water like in Dumoy. Hedcor has a pending application; DCWD has the upperhand;

Front 3 - Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) which grants environmental permits; EMB has put the application of Hedcor for ECC on hold; - DCWD has the upperhand

Front 4 - City Council - The committee report of the Committee on Energy is ready and just awaiting the counterpart committee report of the Committee on Environment; majority of the members of the city council believe that both DCWD and Hedcor can use the same water; Hedcor has upperhand

Front 5 - media - both have their PR campaigns; However, DCWD is embroiled in a number of controversial issues such as poor service, non-payment of taxes, and alleged agency corruption; due to skyrocketing cost of fossil fuel and climate change, many people seek clean alternative energy; Hedcor has the upperhand;

Front 6 - you! - the people, the ultimate consumer of both water and power.

Which side are you in favor?

Or are you like me who believes that they can co-exist?

Your views are valuable, as in the case of the many comments on our Ayala Center Davao post. Please send them and be part of the water war.

5:08 a.m.

President-elect Obama

Israel must be the luckiest country in the world.

One of the richest and undoubtedly the mightiest in the Middle East, Israel is getting further windfall.

US President-elect Barack Obama has just committed to Israeli security once he sits at the Oval Office. Last Monday, I heard the same assurance from British PM Gordon Brown when he became the first British leader to address the Knesset.

What a lucky nation!

I pity dozens of countries around the world particularly in Africa and Asia which are suffering from abject poverty, hunger, disease, calamities and strifes. They are not getting the same singular attention Israel is having from the world’s most powerful nations.

I could not believe the world is being fooled once again. The mass deception is sickening. Before, it was Taliban fundamentalism in Afghanistan, then WMD against Iraq, now they have raised the same bogey against Iran.

Israel is indeed the luckiest of nations. I wonder how American and British citizens, now suffering from credit crunch and rising prices, feel in putting the bill for the security of another country.

It has also become crystal clear to me that there is no divide between the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and that of the Republicans. Obama and John McCain are of the same mold when it comes to America’s self-styled role as “policeman of the world.” In Germay, Obama sounded like George W. Bush drumbeating a “war on terror.” To many aggrieved peoples in the world, the “policeman” is the “terrorist.”

Both Obama or McCain would continue to wear imperialist cap and intervene in other countries as they did brutally in the Philippines a century ago, or in Vietnam four decades ago, and impose their brand of “democracy” on other nations.

5:12 p.m.

Well done grilling

No, I am no expert in BBQ.

And certainly I did not expect to land in the front page of the Mindanao Daily Mirror yesterday over grilling.

Well, I did not grill anyone at the City Council last Tuesday. I actually asked three simple questions from the representative of the World Bank - International Finance Corporation (IFC) regarding its study that showed “it is difficult to start a business in the city.”

Its study claimed that it takes 42 days to obtain a business permit in Davao City. Repeat 42 days!

And so, I asked the WB-IFC rep how long it would take her to travel from her office to City Hall, about 3 kilometers way. She was a bit surprised by my question. She replied 15 minutes.

Then, I inquired how long it would take her for her lunch break that day. One hour she answered.

Finally, I asked her if she were to report these activities to her HQ in Washington DC, would she report the trip and the lunch separately as 1 Day each?

At first she was hesitant to answer. She finally conceded to report it as 15 minutes and 1 hour respectively and on the same day.

I rest my case.

Her admission to these fact were clear indication to me that their study had a fatal and fundamental error. In their time-motion study of obtaining business permits, they quantify the activities by the day and not by the realistic average time such as for instance, in minutes or hours. We all know that time is gold to business people.

Thus, their study claimed that it would take 1 Day to get a residence certificate from the City Treasurer, and another 1 Day to obtain a business permit application form, and so on. I raised this objection because in reality, one could secure these two things in a few minutes or at most 1 Hour.

In obtaining a zoning certificate, their study listed a total of 9 days to get one! Our zoning official was present at the City Council session at the time and so I moved for her participation. Architect Luisa Tuquib refuted the WB-IFC study. She said the certificate could be obtained in a few minutes. She said if she were out of the office, the same could be obtained in half a day or at most 1 Day.

The second objection I raised was in the manner of listing each and every step in obtaining a business permit. Many of these steps could be done simultaneously or in parallel with other steps. Yet, in the WB-IFC study, it listed each step separately and on separate days. OMG, haven’t they heard of multi-tasking!

Hence, in the case, for instance, in obtaining a residence certificate from the City Treasurer and obtaining a business permit application form at the Business Bureau, the study listed the two activities as 1 Day each and on 2 separate Days. This is a total exaggeration!

The City Treasurer’s Office and the Business Bureau are neighbors - yes side by side - at the ground floor of the City Council Building. Therefore, obtaining these two requirements could be done in a matter of minutes or at most an Hour or so, and could be done in the same Day. Surely, not 2 Days as claimed by the WB-IFC.

Veteran Councilor Vic Advincula summed up our long debate on the issue. He raised the collective concern of the members of the City Council over the apparent “dis-information” when he concluded that the study was “grossly wrong!”

On a final note, there are about 34,000 registered businesses in the city. If it were true that it takes 42 Days to secure a business permit in the city, we would have seen a revolt in town a long time ago!

Yes, there may be faults and loopholes in our system and these are being addressed. But this is not comparable to the folly of the WB-IFC methodology!

Incidentally, the grilling was well done!

6:41 a.m.

Goals for gold

Philippine Sports Commissioner Ambrocio de Luna (center) receives a plaque of appreciation from So Kim Cheng Foundation chair Dominic So Peng Kee (left) as guest speaker during the So Kim Cheng Sports Awards Tuesday night. That’s me on the right assisting.

De Luna started his speech by quoting Davao Olympian diver Shiela Mae Perez, who is now in Beijing, who said “if we can dream it, we can achieve it.” He ended by challenging Filipino athletes to never end dreaming and achieving their goals for gold or excellence.

Thanks to Mo Billacura for this foto.

4:47 a.m.

Recto is new NEDA chief

It’s 3:34 p.m. and Executive Secretary Ed Ermita has just announced in Malacanang the appointment of former Senator Ralph Recto as Director General of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

My earlier post - Cabinet revamp - on this looming development proved to be true.

His appointment is to take effect immediately.

Local sports heroes

The Davao sports community had a grand party last night at the Grand Regal Hotel for the 14th So Kim Cheng Sports Awards. It was a true celebration for the dedication of our local sports heroes who excelled in various sports disciplines here and abroad.

Two of our awardees did not make it last night. They are now in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Games set to open in two weeks. Shiela Mae Perez was our past Female Athlete of the Year while her diving compatriot Rexel Ryan Fabriga is this year’s Male Athlete of the Year. They are the pride of Davao and they carry in Beijing the city’s hope for Olympic glory.

By the way, world boxing wonder Manny Pacquiao, a past SKC Award winner, has sweeten the pot in the country’s quest for the 1st Olympic gold by another P1 million Pesos.

The awards is named after So Kim Cheng, a Davao businessman and sports patron. It was his 80th birthday yesterday. He passed away 14 years ago. He served as chair of the Davao Region Olympic Committee, president of the Table Tennis Association of the Philippines and founding president of the Davao City Sports Council, Inc.

Our Female Athlete of the Year is Joan Banayag, winner of the Manila and Clark International Marathon this year. Last year at the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, she won the bronze in the punishing 42.195 kilometer run and set a new national record for the Philippines.

Here is the list of the awardees.

Posthumous sports leadership awards were also given to Vic Sai, long-time sports editor and past president of the Davao City Sports Council, Inc. and Ferdie Lintuan, first president of the Davao Sportswriters Association.

The SKC Sports Awards is the most prestigious in this part of the country. It is the second-longest running awards after the Philippine Sports Awards in Manila.

7:16 a.m.

New City Engineer

As chair of the Committee on Appointments & Government Reorganization, I sponsored yesterday at the City Council the Concurrence Resolution for the appointment of our new City Engineer.

Mayor Rody Duterte named Engr. Jose Dureza Gestuveo, Jr. as the new head of the our engineering office. His plantilla position is City Government Department Head II that carries Salary Grade 26 with P327,000 pay per annum.

Engr. Gestuveo has degrees in Mechanical Technology, Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Masters in Urban and Regional Planning. He has professional licenses as Mechanical Engineer, Civil Engineer and Master Plumber.

He started his career at the City Engineers’ Office as Field Staff during the early 1980s. When his first cousin, Jesus Dureza, won a seat in Congress in 1987, Engr. Gestuveo joined him at the House of Representatives as a Technical Staff.

After Dureza left Congress, Engr. Gestuveo joined the Davao City Water District where he rose to the position of Department Manager before he accepted the offer of Duterte. (Dureza is now the Press Secretary at Malacanang)

While waiting for his confirmation yesterday, he had the first taste of his big task ahead when members of the City Council deliberated on the application for land reclassification for the Ayala Center project in Davao. The key issues discussed were drainage and traffic management.

His being an urban planner would surely come handy in his new job. The city is fast growing and it needs people who should see it as a forest and not just trees.

6:20 a.m.

Paking Rabat

At the City Council this morning, I learned from media colleagues that former basketball star and veteran politician Francisco “Paking” Rabat of Mati, Davao Oriental passed away last weekend. He was 74.

The Davao Region lost one of its most colorful leaders. He served as Vice Governor and Governor of the Davao Oriental Province during the martial law period. After the people power revolt that threw away his close friend Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, he became mayor of the capital town. Mati bacame a city last year just in time for Paking to retire from politics to give way to his daughter Michele, the new city mayor.

Paking and his wife, the ex-beauty queen Edith Napkil Rabat, were so close to the Marcoses that the dictator built an airport in Mati during martial law. The airport was one of the vanity projects of the military regime that was never ever used for any commercial operation. It is idle to this day.

Paking rose to prominence during his younger days as a tall and handsome basketball player at the Ateneo de Manila. He became a member of the famous 1954 Philippine basketball team that won the bronze medal at the World Basketball Championship held in Brazil. It was the highest award ever reached by a Filipino basketball squad. He proved to be an outstanding rebounder during the games.

One of the wealthiest men in the Davao Region with vast coconut plantations and other businesses in Davao Oriental, Paking was known to be easy going, friendly and a man of the masses. At his prime, his cars were said to have more room for beer than any guest rider. Mati is about three hours ride from Davao City and he reportedly sips his favorite beer from end to end.

I last met the illustrious governor in Mati last year when his province hosted the Davao Region Business Conference. His son Louie, also a former basketball star at Ateneo, heads the province’s Chamber of C ommerce. He was already sickly at the time. In fact, he did not deliver the welcome remarks during the conference due to sore throat. It was Mati Councilor Alan Andrada who welcomed us. I taught Alan how to blog but I lost touch with him thereafter.

Although he was considered as the political king of the province, he did make political enemies in his long political life. After a failed gubernatorial comeback, Paking’s province saw a string of three lady governors. Whether friends or foes, I am sure many in the province and the whole of Mindanao would surely miss Paking, the “Rajah of Rebounds” when there was no Shaq or Yao Ming yet.

5:02 p.m.

Blog rank

Time to say thank you once again to our faithful readers and visitors. Daghang salamat. Thank you very much!

Since I returned to active blogging the past month and renewed my listing in some blog directories, here’s how we fared in the Politics Category of the following:

No. 13 in the Top of Blogs

No. 3 in Blogs on Top, and

No. 3 too at the Top Blogs Philippines.

Yehey! When my blog went inactive for about a month last May, my stats went awful. Now, they have improved considerably. Congratulations everyone!

4:06 a.m.