FEDERALISM ― what say you?

FEDERALISM ― what say you?

The shifting of the Philippines’ form of government, from unitary to federal, is one the most controversial debate issues today. During President Duterte’s electoral campaign, he kept on telling before the crowd his plan of moving the government form to federalism once he is seated as the president of the country. At first, Filipinos are very unconvinced of his plan for the Philippines, but since then more and more Filipinos are now accepting his proposal.

Although, there are few others who remained skeptical about this, you cannot keep them off of the scene, giving protest not supporting this idea. That is why we must take a deeper look and an in-depth understanding of this proposed new form of government for the country – federalism.

What is federalism? According to CliffNotes website;

Federalism is a type of government in which the power is divided between the national government and other governmental units. It contrasts with a unitary government, in which a central authority holds the power, and a confederation, in which states, for example, are clearly dominant.

Federalism is contrast to the unitary form of government which the Philippines has presently. In the unitary form of government, the power and authority is mostly vested in one centralized government. Meaning to say; laws, military matters, including funds and what-on are all made and ran through the effort of one centralized government.

On the other hand, in Federal form, the government will be divided into two governing bodies; National Federal Government and the Local State Government in which both hold equal legislative power. The National Federal Government is responsible for matters concerning military and security of the nation, whereas the Local State Government is accountable for their own states. They are also in-control of the projects, budget, and laws of the states.

If the Federal form of government is adapted here in the Philippines, the country will be divided into 11 different sates; four sates in Luzon and Visayas, and 3 states in Mindanao according to the Federal Structure proposed by Senator Nene Pimentel.

In this form of government, as per what the Duterte administration is saying, the country’s economic struggle would be addressed because the regional income of the country would no longer go on the hands of one centralized government. Instead, each region/state, in a Federal Form, would retain 80% of their income and funds and only 20% would go to the National Federal Government. This will give each state enough resources to fund project that would promote progress within their respective states. And from the total 80% remaining income of the state, 30% from there would go to the Local State Government and 70% would go to the provinces, cities, and barangays.

There are 7, 107 islands in the Philippines, this means each island has diverse culture and specific needs. Thus the Federal form of the government is tailor-fitted to the Philippines, since it promotes progress for every states by giving them freedom what law to enact, what specific project is needed, and so on.  Cultural dispute is also one thing I can see that through this new form of government it could come to recess.

Freedom of Information Bill

Freedom of Information Bill

Talking about natures of man: one can be very secretive, and the other can be very annoying when seeking answers – a man’s qualities that are understandable. I could still remember one of my long-time friends – K – who keeps on bugging me for days just asking this sole question: Who is that person you are always texting? I have the rights to ask you questions and you are obliged to give me answers because WE ARE FRIENDS, stressing those last words though. Well, she obviously play the role of the ‘annoying’ person and I am the secretive one. After months of her asking the same question over and over again, I still feel like I am not going to tell her anything about that person. But then, she continues the same old routine, and I am like: Goodness, gracious, King of Men, save me!

Her last words, “I have the rights to ask you questions and you are obliged to give me answers” echoes in my mind. Does she really has the rights just because we are friends? It is the same issue that the Philippine government has today. It is an issue concerning the signing of Freedom of Information Bill.

Recently, different news corporation have stormed newspapers and online news pages over the signing of the Freedom of Information Bill.

What is really about this bill? And why some people and different institutions are not in favor for this said bill to be signed or passed?

As per Rappler’s report. Last July 24, President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte has already signed an Executive Order requiring all offices under the executive branch to go full public disclosure. The directive covers “all government offices under the executive branch including, but not limited to, the national government and all its offices, departments, bureaus, corporations, state universities and colleges.” In addition, the local government units are also mandated to follow this said Executive Order. This EO is one of the items written on the priority list of the President.

          The Freedom of Information Bill has always been there, the problem is people of different interest try to hinder the passing of this said law. 26 years in the making but still we have to fully understand this, this is what they always trying to say. In Pnoy’s administration the signing of this law has been controversial as well. In fact one of his known allied government officer is convicted and placed to jail because he resisted to submit himself to transparency questioning his wealth later claimed as ill-gotten. Other official of the government has already submitted themselves a version of FOI manifesting that they support this long-awaited piece of legislation.

I have asked different people, including my students promptly if they have any ideas about the Freedom of Information bill. Their responses are astonishing, they have a lot to share and it is overwhelming to know that they are well-aware of what is happening around them. Although, there are few who have said that Freedom of Information bill is the same as the Freedom of Expression or the right to freely express own views and opinions. And so I stand to correct the knowledge they prior have.

The Freedom of Information Bill is about our right to have access to different public or governmental records, and documents and all other official acts of government. To be certain, this proposed law clarifies that it is a general rule that all information must be available to the public. It is also said here that those public officers and employees who fail to abide the law should face the right sanction that the law imposes.

Of all the people, media practitioners are the prime benefactor of this law because of the nature of their work. They ought to expose what they deem not right or unjust in the government. This law will help the government as well to live up to the expectation of the people – a government that is transparent and accountable.

As a teacher working in one of the state universities in Philippines, Tarlac State University, this law is beneficial, personally. State universities are also mandated to go full transparent, this give me and my fellow teachers too to question things that what we see unfair happening inside the workplace. The following are just few of the things why we should care about the FOI.

1. Aside from putting into an enabling law our constitutional right, it also makes real the concept of “Accountability” of our government that operates under a “representative” or democratic system – a government that works for the people.

2. It promotes “transparency” in public office – a crucial component in the war against corruption.

3. As educators, our knowledge of how things work in government – from day to day transactions to the complete list of all Presidential appointees, to other vital documents enables us to impart to our students a more realistic, truthful, fact-based instruction on issues involving the state of our government.

            Personally, I am skeptical about this law since it could be abused by anyone and use it against the country or any officials of the government.  That is why exceptions for the disclosure of information are drafted in section 7 to 8 under the FOI bill.

Subject to the qualifications set forth in Section 7: Provided, that the information is specifically designated and described, and the facts and reasons for preserving the confidentiality are precisely and specifically recited, and: Provided, further, That such information shall be available to either House of Congress at all times, access to information may be denied when:

(a)   The revelation of the information will create a clear and present danger of war, invasion or any external threat to the State as determined by the Office of the President and/or the Secretary of the Department of National Defense: Provided, That the Supreme Court may, upon complaint by any citizen, inquire into the sufficiency of the factual basis for such determination;

(b)    The information pertains to the foreign affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, when its revelation would unduly weaken the negotiating position of the government in an ongoing bilateral or multilateral negotiation or seriously jeopardize the diplomatic relations of the Philippines with one or more states with which it intends to keep friendly relations, except that such information must always be accessible to either House of Congress;

(c)    The information pertains to internal and external defense and law enforcement, when the revelation thereof would render a legitimate military operation ineffective, unduly compromise the prevention, detection or suppression of a criminal activity, or endanger the life or physical safety of confidential or protected sources or witnesses, law enforcement and military personnel or their immediate families. Information relating to the details of the administration, budget and expenditure, and management of the defense and law enforcement agencies shall always be accessible to the public;

(d)   The information pertains to the personal information of a third party natural person, unless it forms part of a public record, or the third party is or was an official of a government agency and the information relates to his or her public function;

(e)   The information pertains to trade, industrial, financial or commercial secrets of a third party natural or juridical person, obtained in confidence by a government agency whenever the revelation thereof would seriously prejudice the interests of the third party in trade, industrial, financial or commercial competition, unless the third party has consented to the disclosure of the information;

(f)     The information is privileged from production in legal proceedings by law or by the Rules of Court, unless the person entitled to the privilege has waived it;

(g)   The information is exempted by statutes of Congress, in addition to those provided in this section;

(h)   The information is obtained by any committee of either House of Congress in executive session; and

(i)     Drafts of decisions of any executive, administrative, judicial or quasi-judicial body in the exercise of their adjudicatory functions are being requested.

Even if the information fall under the exceptions drafted in the succeeding section, access to information shall not be denied if:

a)      The information may be reasonably severed from the body of the information which would be subject to exceptions; or

b)      The public interest in the disclosure outweighs the harm to the interest sought to be protected by the exceptions.

With all these information from this bill, I can now clearly comprehend why people, especially those who are working in the government, are against this law. Some of the reasons maybe: One, since they are working for the government they are also subject to mandated transparency. They are obliged to present their papers publicly, including their assets and liabilities. They are afraid since here in the Philippines if you are a government official and you own large businesses or at least they can see you living in luxury, they would think that the wealth you are possessing are all ill-gotten. Two, in this country where crab-mentality is a trend, publicizing your papers is like laying your ace-cards, it is like a suicide. I can still remember the news about former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona where he is accused of plunder since he is requested to present his papers in public and it is used against him. In this country where you can be a criminal in an instant, and almost everything can be used against you, I think this bill needs more hearings.

Below are some of the updated information about the Freedom of Information under the Duterte administration. As per Rappler’s report:

Filipinos may request for needed information through a letter of request sent to the concerned office along with a valid proof of identity. No person requesting for information shall be denied access unless the information sought "falls under any of the exception enshrined in the constitution existing law or jurisprudence," the EO stated.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) must provide a list of exceptions to be submitted to the Office of the President within 30 calendar days from the effectivity of the EO. The DOJ and the OSG will also serve as the oversight bodies that will decide on requests for information that may affect national security. If the request clearly does not fall under the exceptions identified, the office concerned should grant and release the request within 15 days, the EO stated. Heads of agencies and officers who fail to abide by the EO will face administrative cases, Andanar said.

While the signed EO is a landmark action in the long fight for FOI, advocates still push for its legislation in Congress since the measure only covers offices under the executive branch.

"We hope that this new administration will continue to pursue the enactment of a complete Freedom of Information Law through legislation, with provisions requiring access to particular documents and data in all levels of government, penalties for public officials and employees who deny such access, and other components that will truly guarantee transparency, accountability, and people's participation," FOI Youth Initiative said in a statement.”

A progressive youth group, meanwhile, grieved the limitations of the President's order.

We note, however, that the new EO also has many limitations. For example, it clearly states that it will not cover 'exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law or jurisprudence.' As such, limitations such as the invocation of 'executive privilege' and national security are still there – exceptions that we duly fought against in the crafting of an FOI bill in Congress," Kabataan Party-List said.

The FOI saw a push in the 16th Congress when the measure was passed by the Senate on third and final reading on March 10, 2014. But the House of Representatives failed to pass its version for concurrence despite former president Benigno Aquino III naming it as one of his legislative priorities for 2015.

I know it still too early to judge the administration whether or not the move to sign this bill would bring any good to this country, what we can do now is to go with the flow and maybe someday if not tomorrow we can already see the implications of their actions. 

D I C T | R A 1 0 8 4 4

D I C T | R A  1 0 8 4 4

            I asked my dad: How did you and mom meet and know each other? So he told me everything about the day he first set eyes on my mom. Back in 1989, my dad worked as a family driver in Qatar it was coincidental that mom happened to be working for the same person as dad – mom was a beautician though. He even told me how he courted mom and how men today woo women. When he was courting mom, he always sent her hand-written love letters, every day unlike men nowadays, he added: They do not even know how to write one, they just sit and press keys on their phones then send short messages - they court women through text messages. During their time, he told me that he was also sending mom voice messages, not the voice messages we know today that we tend to record using our cellphones, recorded in cassette tapes. So I ask mom about my daddy’s cheesy stories and she confirmed that it was true – I hate my mom’s smirk when I ask about it. I felt guilty about how dad criticized men today because I, myself used to practice courting a girl thru text.

            I cannot imagine how my mom and dad survived their time without any cellular phones on their hands, or just internet. I cannot see how dad or mom was being so patient waiting for each other’s reply on their letters. What we had in the past is unimaginable.

            Nowadays, in just a click and few presses I am able to communicate with someone – love ones, parents and friends; relatives, sibling and cousins; and strangers, cyber-friends. In addition, buying my necessities is no longer a hassle today. If I am hungry, I will just turn on my laptop or my phone and go to different fast-food websites that take online orders and order my meal of the day! If I do not feel like going out for a shopping, very fortunate of me because I already have these online shops available wherein I can buy garments for my OOTD! Need to go to school? I do not worry anymore, because there are a lot of universities out there offering online courses! With the aid of technology I can always enjoy my life – hassle free!

            Now, let me take you back when was the time technology took place, specifically the Information and Communications Technology also known as ICT.

Information technology has been around for a long, long time. Basically as long as people have been around, information technology has been around because there were always ways of communicating through technology available at that point in time. There are 4 main ages that divide up the history of information technology. Only the latest age (electronic) and some of the electromechanical age really affects us today, but it is important to learn about how we got to the point we are at with technology today.

The premechanical age is the earliest age of information technology. It can be defined as the time between 3000B.C. and 1450A.D. We are talking about a long time ago. When humans first started communicating they would try to use language or simple picture drawings known as petroglyths which were usually carved in rock. Early alphabets were developed such as the Phoenician alphabet.

As alphabets became more popular and more people were writing information down, pens and paper began to be developed. It started off as just marks in wet clay, but later paper was created out of papyrus plant. The most popular kind of paper made was probably by the Chinese who made paper from rags.

Now that people were writing a lot of information down they needed ways to keep it all in permanent storage. This is where the first books and libraries are developed. You’ve probably heard of Egyptian scrolls which were popular ways of writing down information to save. Some groups of people were actually binding paper together into a book-like form.

Also during this period were the first numbering systems. Around 100A.D. was when the first 1-9 system was created by people from India. However, it wasn’t until 875A.D. (775 years later) that the number 0 was invented. And yes now that numbers were created, people wanted stuff to do with them so they created calculators. A calculator was the very first sign of an information processor. The popular model of that time was the abacus.

            So the Premechanical Age was basically the time when man began communicating and invented different ways on how they could convey their message and understood by someone they were talking to. This was the point in time when people started carving pictographs or symbols that represented words. They first made use of clay, then there went technological advancement and papers were invented. As soon as paper was already widely used, people commence making scrolls and used this to save data or information and compile inside a room archive – known today as library. Moreover, during this time, numbers were invented as well and people thought of: I need to do stuff with these, so they invented the calculator. The invention of this device paved the way for the creation of the very first Information Processor.

The mechanical age is when we first start to see connections between our current technology and its ancestors. The mechanical age can be defined as the time between 1450 and 1840. A lot of new technologies are developed in this era as there is a large explosion in interest with this area. Technologies like the slide rule (an analog computer used for multiplying and dividing) were invented. Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline which was a very popular mechanical computer. Charles Babbage developed the difference engine which tabulated polynomial equations using the method of finite differences.

There were lots of different machines created during this era and while we have not yet gotten to a machine that can do more than one type of calculation in one, like our modern-day calculators, we are still learning about how all of our all-in-one machines started. Also, if you look at the size of the machines invented in this time compared to the power behind them it seems (to us) absolutely ridiculous to understand why anybody would want to use them, but to the people living in that time ALL of these inventions were HUGE.

Now we are finally getting close to some technologies that resemble our modern-day technology. The electromechanical age can be defined as the time between 1840 and 1940. These are the beginnings of telecommunication. The telegraph was created in the early 1800s. Morse code was created by Samuel Morse in 1835. The telephone (one of the most popular forms of communication ever) was created by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. The first radio developed by Guglielmo Marconi in 1894. All of these were extremely crucial emerging technologies that led to big advances in the information technology field.

The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United States was the Mark 1 created by Harvard University around 1940. This computer was 8ft high, 50ft long, 2ft wide, and weighed 5 tons - HUGE. It was programmed using punch cards. How does your PC match up to this hunk of metal? It was from huge machines like this that people began to look at downsizing all the parts to first make them usable by businesses and eventually in your own home.

The electronic age is what we currently live in. It can be defined as the time between 1940 and right now. The ENIAC was the first high-speed, digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. This computer was designed to be used by the U.S. Army for artillery firing tables. This machine was even bigger than the Mark 1 taking up 680 square feet and weighing 30 tons - HUGE. It mainly used vacuum tubes to do its calculations.

There are 4 main sections of digital computing. The first was the era of vacuum tubes and punch cards like the ENIAC and Mark 1. Rotating magnetic drums were used for internal storage. The second generation replaced vacuum tubes with transistors, punch cards were replaced with magnetic tape, and rotating magnetic drums were replaced by magnetic cores for internal storage. Also during this time high-level programming languages were created such as FORTRAN and COBOL. The third generation replaced transistors with integrated circuits, magnetic tape was used throughout all computers, and magnetic core turned into metal oxide semiconductors. An actual operating system showed up around this time along with the advanced programming language BASIC. The fourth and latest generation brought in CPUs (central processing units) which contained memory, logic, and control circuits all on a single chip. The personal computer was developed (Apple II). The graphical user interface (GUI) was developed.

            To sum it up, the start of ICT can be traced back down the day when man started to think of ways how to communicate to the time when supercomputers were invented, alongside with the invention of telecommunications.

            In the Philippines, by the year 1928 American-owned PLDT was established. This was the time believed that the ICT started here. During 1994 ComNet established the first internet connection and later, year 2000, PLDT has introduced the DSL. And by the year 2014:

·         Philippines named fastest growing internet population in the last five years with a growth of 531%

·         Number of Philippine Internet users at 38 million out of a population of 100 million.

Since the Philippines is no excuse for the rapid innovation brought about by the technological advancement, our government is giving its all to cope up with these changes. Thus, this paved the way for the drafting of RA 10844 or known as the creation the Department of Information and Communications Technology that believed to help nation-building with the aid of Information and Communication. This has been signed already by the previous president of the Philippines Benigno S. Aquino III. The following are excerpt from the said law that I personally have doubt about it and or strongly agree with:

Under Section 2 – Declaration of Policy

(d) To promote the development and widespread use of emerging ICT and foster and accelerate the convergence of ICT and ICT-enabled facilities;

(e) To ensure the availability and accessibility of ICT services in areas not adequately served by the private sector

            I cannot deny the fact that I find it very annoying to line up along with others outside the booths of any government offices. You cannot see someone smiling while lining themselves up along long line of people waiting for their names to be called. This is business-as-usual in every governmental offices not to mention the infamous NBI and LTO offices. With the aid of ICT, people would no longer pile up outside these offices just to fill up forms. Instead, they could already access it at home or any establishments that has internet connection and fill the form up. Cutting their hassles and giving them more time to take on their other business that day.

(h) To promote the use of ICT for the enhancement of key public services, such as education, public health and safety, revenue generation, and socio-civic purposes;

(i) To encourage the use of ICT for the development and promotion of the country’s arts and culture, tourism and national identity;

(j) To promote digital literacy, ICT expertise, and knowledge-building among citizens to enable them to participate and compete in an evolving ICT age:

(k) To empower, through the use of ICT, the disadvantaged segments of the population, including the elderly, persons with disabilities and indigenous and minority groups;

            I agree to the thinking of by the use ICT it could help enhance the public services offered by the government. For public health and safety. Nowadays, more and more people spend more of their time in social media than on TV, radio or newspapers; it is wise to use ICT – through Facebook, twitter, or the likes – to inform these individuals. Info-messages, podcasts, health/safety campaign clips, etc. are just few of the media people today prefer over the traditional ones. Promotion of the country’s arts, culture and tourism can be easily showcased through the use of ICT.

l) To ensure the rights of individuals to privacy and confidentiality of their personal information;

(m) To ensure the security of critical ICT infrastructures including information assets of the government, individuals and businesses; and

(n) To provide oversight over agencies governing and regulating the ICT sector and ensure consumer protection and welfare, data privacy and security, foster competition and the growth of the ICT sector.

The aforementioned declarations are some of the things drafted in this law that I intensely doubt! Questions, why there are still cases of government offices that have been cyber-attacked lately? Why still there are people whose personal information, like SSS number, PhilHealth number, or PRC License number, are illegally used by someone? I am not very confident about this declaration. How could, in any means, the government can keep this criminal at bay? People are getting smarter and wiser every day, and so do the crooks.

If I were the president Pnoy, I will ask the senate or the minorities to revisit some of the declarations written in this law before signing it. Although, the purposes of each declarations are pleasant to the ears but were not well-explained. There are still holes especially on how will the government make sure they could keep the criminals from hacking through their systems? For a fact we know, even the America, the most powerful nation, is also vulnerable to cyber-attacks. How could the Philippines protect itself from these future mayhems?

There are number of reasons why I am in favor of this law, yet I have thousands more of ins-and-outs as well to disagree that this law should be implemented.