Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
DOWNSIZE THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT FOR PROGRESS SAKE
By Felizar Mortillero
The
Philippines being one of the smallest countries in the world is
ironically a big government. The Philippines has forty two thousand
twenty seven barangays (42,027), while the United States of America
being the model of probably all of the governments and countries of
the world has nothing, the Philippines has eighty two (82) provinces
while the United States has only fifty (50) states, the Philippines
has seventeen (17) administrative regions while America has nothing.
There is also overlapping of functions in the Cabinet of the
Philippine President which makes the government and Philippine
bureaucracy bigger and more complicated. These facts make the
Philippines a very costly country and government with regard to its
maintenance and operation.
I am not against the existence of the Barangay Political Entities and the process of election of its officials because the barangays form part of our tradition as Filipinos, as we all know the barangay system of governance dates back to the time of the ten Bornean datus who arrived to the Philippines in the early stage of our history and that is a reality which we Filipinos cannot deface. What I am against is the Internal Revenue Allotment being given and allotted to the barangays since these government funds are not properly used by barangay officials and are subject to abuse and corruption. Before the advent of the Local Government Code of 1991 which provides for the Internal Revenue Allotment for barangays, the corruption in Philippine Government's hierarchy was only limited to the municipality level but now, corruption has already reached the grassroots level and that is the barangay level. The money involved here is not peanuts, we are talking about tens if not hundreds of billions of pesos here in the maintenance of barangays alone every year sans corruption. In connection with this, I am recommending that the lowest political entity of the Philippines the BARANGAY remain for it forms part of our political tradition but further recommend that the Internal Revenue Allotment shall not be released to the barangays anymore for it forms as a milking cow of many corrupt barangay officials and to save money in favor of the coffers of the Philippine Government.
The Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay Councils which are under the umbrella of the barangays also make the bureaucracy of the Philippines more wider, it do not make the youth productive but instead trains the youth to be traditional politicians and worst become corrupt leaders in the future. This Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay has a funding which can be abused by its officials and its projects are only limited mostly to the promotion of basketball tournaments and the establishment of basketball courts. We should also bear in our minds that our model governments and countries like USA, Russia, Canada, Japan, Germany etc. do not have Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay Councils or its counterparts. Sadly this is the reality which should be corrected by finally phasing out the same. In relation to this, I still believe that our young people can still hone and develop their leadership skills, become good community leaders in the future and become good citizens of our motherland by becoming active in student politics for I further believe that the same is the proper training ground for the youth politically and not the Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay.
For all I know the United States of America has no administrative regions since the administrative functions of the government controlled agencies are all focused in the states, in congruence to this I recommend that the Republic of the Philippines shall do the same. All of the administrative regions' functions shall be focused to the Philippine provincial offices of government agencies only so as to avoid the expansion of bureaucracy, limit corruption to the provincial level alone and save money in the maintenance of government offices.
I also recommend that the creation of provinces in the name of traditional politics or gerrymandering be stopped. Just imagine along the creation of new provinces, another set of government officials shall be elected, another set of provincial administrative offices shall be created and another set of another appointive provincial officials shall be installed, hence millions if not billions of pesos shall be set aside in the maintenance of the newly created offices and salaries alone of such officials and provincial offices aside from corruption. In connection to this we Filipinos must bear in mind that the United States as a superpower has only fifty states, it is a country which is so big but so easy to govern because of her limited bureaucracy. This particular stand of mine is also applicable to the probable creation of new cities and municipalities and the maintenance of the same since it would further add burden to the government monetarily.
As far as I have observed there is also overlapping of powers in the Cabinet of the Philippine President, if this can be corrected, the Philippines can have so much savings out of Cabinet positions and other sub-offices under it which has to be eliminated. In conjunction to this the Philippine Cabinet needs to be streamlined. The position of the Peace Adviser on Peace Process which has a Secretary rank can be relegated to one of the sub-offices of the Department of National Defense since it is related to defense and peace, the Office of the Chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority which has also a Secretary rank can be under the umbrella of the Department of the Public Works of Highways since the same positions have synonymous functions, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Environment of Natural Resources can be fused since both departments have similarities, the National Economic and Development Authority or NEDA has the features of that of the Department of Trade and Industry, thus need to be united, the Office of the National Treasurer and Department of Budget and Management can also be coalesced for the same positions have more or less the same functions, even the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Housing have the same purpose and that is to give land and homes to the poor which is related to social justice. There are also presidential advisers which have Cabinet ranks which I feel need to be eliminated because of overlapping of functions and for purposes of economizing on the part of government.
The savings of the government in downsizing the same may go to the improvement of the basic services and other governmental projects by the same to the people like health, national defense, transportation, communication, education, agriculture, science, sports, social work, infrastructure etc.etc. The other part of the gargantuan savings of the government through its shrinking would go to the sizable salary increases of government employees especially the government doctors, nurses, midwives, public attorneys, prosecutors, judges, engineers, scientists, teachers, accountants etc. etc., thus preventing them from going abroad to seek greener pastures which would avert cases of possible broken homes or families. These probable good things and happenings would eventually make the Filipino citizenry a better one and would make the Philippines a great country and a better nation.
I believe that my foregoing positions with regard to lessening our Philippine Government's bureaucracy would be fruitful since the government in my concept and vision would probably save money from probable corruption and further maintenance of newly created and extended offices, and would even swiftly and speedily serve the people. In relation to this I wish and pray that this proposition of mine be given even a speck of weight and credence by the people or any government authority for the greater glory of our country known otherwise as the Pearl of the Orient Seas, the Philippines.
I am not against the existence of the Barangay Political Entities and the process of election of its officials because the barangays form part of our tradition as Filipinos, as we all know the barangay system of governance dates back to the time of the ten Bornean datus who arrived to the Philippines in the early stage of our history and that is a reality which we Filipinos cannot deface. What I am against is the Internal Revenue Allotment being given and allotted to the barangays since these government funds are not properly used by barangay officials and are subject to abuse and corruption. Before the advent of the Local Government Code of 1991 which provides for the Internal Revenue Allotment for barangays, the corruption in Philippine Government's hierarchy was only limited to the municipality level but now, corruption has already reached the grassroots level and that is the barangay level. The money involved here is not peanuts, we are talking about tens if not hundreds of billions of pesos here in the maintenance of barangays alone every year sans corruption. In connection with this, I am recommending that the lowest political entity of the Philippines the BARANGAY remain for it forms part of our political tradition but further recommend that the Internal Revenue Allotment shall not be released to the barangays anymore for it forms as a milking cow of many corrupt barangay officials and to save money in favor of the coffers of the Philippine Government.
The Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay Councils which are under the umbrella of the barangays also make the bureaucracy of the Philippines more wider, it do not make the youth productive but instead trains the youth to be traditional politicians and worst become corrupt leaders in the future. This Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay has a funding which can be abused by its officials and its projects are only limited mostly to the promotion of basketball tournaments and the establishment of basketball courts. We should also bear in our minds that our model governments and countries like USA, Russia, Canada, Japan, Germany etc. do not have Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay Councils or its counterparts. Sadly this is the reality which should be corrected by finally phasing out the same. In relation to this, I still believe that our young people can still hone and develop their leadership skills, become good community leaders in the future and become good citizens of our motherland by becoming active in student politics for I further believe that the same is the proper training ground for the youth politically and not the Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay.
For all I know the United States of America has no administrative regions since the administrative functions of the government controlled agencies are all focused in the states, in congruence to this I recommend that the Republic of the Philippines shall do the same. All of the administrative regions' functions shall be focused to the Philippine provincial offices of government agencies only so as to avoid the expansion of bureaucracy, limit corruption to the provincial level alone and save money in the maintenance of government offices.
I also recommend that the creation of provinces in the name of traditional politics or gerrymandering be stopped. Just imagine along the creation of new provinces, another set of government officials shall be elected, another set of provincial administrative offices shall be created and another set of another appointive provincial officials shall be installed, hence millions if not billions of pesos shall be set aside in the maintenance of the newly created offices and salaries alone of such officials and provincial offices aside from corruption. In connection to this we Filipinos must bear in mind that the United States as a superpower has only fifty states, it is a country which is so big but so easy to govern because of her limited bureaucracy. This particular stand of mine is also applicable to the probable creation of new cities and municipalities and the maintenance of the same since it would further add burden to the government monetarily.
As far as I have observed there is also overlapping of powers in the Cabinet of the Philippine President, if this can be corrected, the Philippines can have so much savings out of Cabinet positions and other sub-offices under it which has to be eliminated. In conjunction to this the Philippine Cabinet needs to be streamlined. The position of the Peace Adviser on Peace Process which has a Secretary rank can be relegated to one of the sub-offices of the Department of National Defense since it is related to defense and peace, the Office of the Chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority which has also a Secretary rank can be under the umbrella of the Department of the Public Works of Highways since the same positions have synonymous functions, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Environment of Natural Resources can be fused since both departments have similarities, the National Economic and Development Authority or NEDA has the features of that of the Department of Trade and Industry, thus need to be united, the Office of the National Treasurer and Department of Budget and Management can also be coalesced for the same positions have more or less the same functions, even the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Housing have the same purpose and that is to give land and homes to the poor which is related to social justice. There are also presidential advisers which have Cabinet ranks which I feel need to be eliminated because of overlapping of functions and for purposes of economizing on the part of government.
The savings of the government in downsizing the same may go to the improvement of the basic services and other governmental projects by the same to the people like health, national defense, transportation, communication, education, agriculture, science, sports, social work, infrastructure etc.etc. The other part of the gargantuan savings of the government through its shrinking would go to the sizable salary increases of government employees especially the government doctors, nurses, midwives, public attorneys, prosecutors, judges, engineers, scientists, teachers, accountants etc. etc., thus preventing them from going abroad to seek greener pastures which would avert cases of possible broken homes or families. These probable good things and happenings would eventually make the Filipino citizenry a better one and would make the Philippines a great country and a better nation.
I believe that my foregoing positions with regard to lessening our Philippine Government's bureaucracy would be fruitful since the government in my concept and vision would probably save money from probable corruption and further maintenance of newly created and extended offices, and would even swiftly and speedily serve the people. In relation to this I wish and pray that this proposition of mine be given even a speck of weight and credence by the people or any government authority for the greater glory of our country known otherwise as the Pearl of the Orient Seas, the Philippines.
Monday, September 7, 2015
BEING A GOOD LEADER IS DESTINY
BEING A GOOD LEADER IS DESTINY
Being a good leader is not just all about hard work, destiny needs also to cooperate and that anyone who wants to be one does not need to force everyone to like him or her because leadership is all about fate. I have read plenty of personal political stories of colorful political figures in the world from the biblical times 'til the modern era, and I have fathomed through my readings that leadership is all about one's political palm.
Ronald Reagan, one of the most illustrious United States presidents was an unknown political aspirant until he was given the chance to be the keynote speaker of the Republican Party National Convention of 1964 supporting then Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater to be president of the United States of America. The political life of Reagan was never the same again after that speech which made him known as a very eloquent public speaker all over America, he was eventually elected California Governor in his mid fifties (50's) and became the oldest president of the United States at sixty nine (69) years old but one of the most effective American leaders in history being the one who started the Cold War against Russia formerly the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and its satellite communist states.
Ramon Magsaysay never imagined becoming president of the Republic of the Philippines not until former Senator Jose P. Laurel Sr. (former president of the Philippine Japanese sponsored government and former Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court) and former Senator Claro Mayo Recto (a bar topnotcher) invited him to join their political party, the Nacionalista Party and be their standard bearer for president since no one in their party can outlast then President Elpidio Quirino in a presidential contest. What was the secret of Magsaysay in becoming a good leader without forcing himself over the citizens of the Philippines? The answer was an undented public service and DESTINY, after becoming a war hero in the Second World War, Magsaysay ran for a congressional seat in Zambales and became a Congressman and would later be the House Committee Chairman on National Defense, President Quirino his former party mate and boss would later on appoint him as Secretary of National Defense because of his military exploits and because of his record as the House of Representatives' Defense Committee Chairman. Magsaysay was the main architect for the surrender of that former War Hero turned Muslim bandit Hadji Kamlon who was wrecking havoc at Sulu and Tawi-tawi islands and became more popular for arresting former Governor Lacson of Negros Occidental for being the prime suspect in the murder of his former political rival, Moises Padilla. Senators Laurel and Recto would eventually persuade Magsaysay to jump ship on their party and let him ran for the presidency against Magsaysay's former boss and former party mate at Liberal Party, President Elpidio Quirino and the rest as they rightfully say it would belong to history.
Barrack Hussien Obama was a little known State Senator of the land of the prairies, the State of Illinois not until he was given the chance to be the keynote speaker of the Democratic Party National Convention of 2004 supporting former U.S. Senator and now Secretary of State John Kerry for the Democratic Presidential nomination during that time, after that rousing and sterling political speech Obama was not just known nationally in America but also globally. He went on to be elected as a United States Senator and four years later he was eventually elected as the first black man to be the supreme leader of the United States of America, thereby making him as the strongest man on earth during his era.
Corazon Cojuangco Aquino never expected to led an impoverished country, the Philippines under a dictatorial regime for twenty long years not until her husband former Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. a presidential hopeful himself was gunned down on the tarmac of Manila, short of almost three (3) years before she was catapulted to power. That fateful day August 21, 1983 was the offshoot of the dictatorial regime's downfall, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino was urged by the people to ran in a snap election for the presidency held on February 7, 1986 against the virtual strongman Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. The election was rigged, Marcos was declared as the winner by the Commission on Election but the people was infuriated by the outcome of the election and staged a bloodless and successful revolution against Marcos which eventually pushed Corazon Cojuangco Aquino a former housewife to head the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines from 1986-1992.
These events that I have narrated would simply tell us that for one to be a good leader, he or she does not need to forcefully ask the people to like him or her. All he or she has to do is to show his wares on who he or she really is, like what Reagan, Obama and Magsaysay did and everything will simply follow. Secondly, I believe that DESTINY is really on their side and when DESTINY pushes you to be at the helm no one can ever defeat you. In connection with these, I am asking and urging any political aspirant to be simply who you are and just do your best and everything will simply follow much more if your political greatness is already properly written in your palms. Do not rape the will of the people by using illegal machinations, deception and cheating just to win a political contest since by doing so you are not just destroying the present state of our societal system but also the future of our posterity.
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. would have been a great leader had he not imposed his will on the Filipino people by lengthening his wield of power. He was supposed to lead the Philippines for only eight years under the 1935 Philippine Constitution but because of his self interest and political ambitions he declared Martial Law, dissolved Congress and ordered for the revision of the Constitution for him to stay long in power. Many political rivals of him were incarcerated, political activists went missing and human rights abuses were rampant anywhere in the archipelago. Had he used his intelligence in a good way he would have an eternal rendezvous with greatness.Does any leader stay for long in power just to be a great one? The answer is a big NO, Abraham Lincoln never completed his first term of office of the presidency of the United States of America but he is considered as one of the best presidents America or even the world has ever seen for making the black people become free from slavery and for rebuilding America after the Civil War.
This is my point, in order for a leader to be great he/she does not have to impose his/her force, will and brute upon the people who makes him/her as he/she is, instead he/she has to lead the people a selfless,exemplary, and dedicated public service for him or her to be etched in the pages of history as a great person and leader.
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