OF CONSTRUCTION AND CORRUPTION

The Kalinga Apayao Religious Sector Association (KARSA) has been making waves since it began its latest foray into the realm of public accountability of government agencies – particularly the DPWH – by acting as the province’s arm of the Bantay Lansangan. The association cried out that the SONA road projects being implemented are without plans, and that the resulting constructions are defective and substandard.
Corruption, that’s the word for it – if we are to believe the KARSA allegations.
This brings us to this recent research work (De-institutionalizing Corruption in the Philippines) conducted by Dr. Eric Batalla of the De La Salle University which outlined that corruption in public road works first occurs during the prequalification, bidding, and awarding phase of contracts; which will then be followed by the second stage during project implementation.
In the first stage, corruption is based on “relationship management,” the object of which is that the contract goes to favored contractors. The awarding of contracts is often treated as a privilege, a favor, and payment of utang ng loob. Relationship management culminates in the bribe (cash or kind) in exchange for the actual award of contract or favorable consideration in the evaluation of bids.
This was boldly corroborated by columnist Neal Cruz (of the Philippine Daily Inquirer) who said in his As I See It column last October 29, 2008 that the DPWH is notorious for splitting up its road projects to accommodate favored construction contractors. Generally, it shuns the top and respected contractors because they cannot be bamboozled into greasing some dirty hands.
The second stage of corruption involves deviations from the specifications of the project contract. Often but not always, because of the unethical practices in the first stage, contractors deviate from the Program of Work approved by the DPWH. The Program of Work contains the specifications of the project including specific jobs to be undertaken, labor costs, rentals of equipment, unit cost of materials to be used (including hauling costs based on sources and destination), the contractors’ profit and the taxes to be paid. Different corrupt practices are utilized to increase the profit of the contractor at the expense of the quality of work.
Thus, we are left with projects that not only fail to meet standards, but whose awarding was dubious in the first place.
The real question here, however, is: do the SONA projects in Kalinga satisfactorily meet the pre-set standards, so far?
We do not know the yardstick being used by the KARSA. We only get to hear them saying that the projects merit a poor evaluation, as far as their inspection is concerned. On the other hand, we have yet to peruse an official report from the recent inspection conducted by the Office of the Congressman, the Kalinga Engineering District, DPWH-CAR and the Office of the DPWH Secretary.
Without doubt, the Congressman is well-meaning in his desire to pour in as many infrastructure projects as possible into the province. If his vision plays out, Kalinga roads may finally be reported as truly completed, under his leadership. The contractors, for their part, also assert that they operate according to approved specifications. This leaves us Bantay Lansangan – a World Bank-sanctioned inspector – and its eye in Kalinga – the KARSA, challenging the aforementioned offices. But as writer Jun Albano posted in the Tabuk City website: “the people of Kalinga, however, are waiting to know if the KARSA is just a lot of big talk.”
So as for the moment, whom then, shall we believe?

SOMETHING INSPIRING… FOR A CHANGE

Okay, we’re supposed to write something inspiring here.
2009 came in minus the usual thunderous welcome we traditionally prepare for the new year. Well, there was some noise alright, but compared to past new year celebrations, this one sort of fizzled – a mere headphone, instead of the familiar loud speakers.
And this is good. Perhaps, we’re learning.
*****
According to the SWS survey, 92% of Filipinos shall face 2009 with high hopes. Now, a negative attitude which one puts on as the calendar changes is not healthy at all. Why brood, why worry, why lose belief – when we can do so much? There is just one thing that worries me, though: who, the hell, comprise the negative-minded 8%?
*****
In the Chinese calendar, 2009 is the year of the ox – but the Chinese new year will still make its entry on January 26, thus all the preparations we insist on copying from the Chinese must be applied on that date.
The Chinese method of identifying every year with animals has greatly influenced most people, even those living in western-influenced countries. So much is its influence that people’s personality and character are often regarded in relation to their Chinese horoscope more than that of its western counterparts.
The Ox years near our time are 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997 and of course 2009 – meaning, Ox people can expect 2009 to be very good for them.
The basic traits of an Ox is being methodical and calm, hardworking, dependable and patient, and topped with an ambitious character. They are said to be great in organizing and they are so logical, that is why people go to them for advice.
Unfortunately, balancing these positive characteristics of the Ox are some negative traits associated with them. People born in this year are also said to be stubborn, narrow minded, and with low public relations skills.
Interesting combinations, I must say. Rather contradictory, if one goes further. For how can one be patient and yet be stubborn at the same time? These are the things that make one conclude: “horoscopes are pure nonsense” – but most of us love horoscopes. Especially when we get to read positive traits that the horoscopes claim we possess. In a confirmatory stance, we say “Wen man nga agpayso, kasta-ak.” But when we get to the unpleasant descriptions, we simply say “That’s not true.” So we turn to the western signs for vindication. We hunt down for the shimmering descriptions embodied in Aquarius, Libra, Pisces, etc.
Ahh, life.
By the way, considering the low public relation skills of Ox-born people, they must shy away from employment in the media and communications industry – including posts in politics. Especially politics.
*****
Mimosa. It is a shade of yellow.
Pantone Company (the color authority) picks Mimosa as the Color of the Year for 2009. In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, the color authority suggests that this warm yellow represents optimism, hope and reassurance.
Yellow is actually one bright color that is appealing to both genders – as opposed to pink and dainty shades of green. Thus the world of fashion may benefit from similar attention given to yellow by both genders.
*****
Every year for the last nine years, Beliefnet – an organization in the USA – has recognized 10 people whose outstanding humanitarian actions inspire and encourage people to live better lives. On the last day of voting, three champions stood out. The three finalists were Steven Curtis Chapman, the heroic Boy Scouts, and Prof. Randy Pausch.
Steven Curtis Chapman, a Christian music star (original singer of I Will Be Here), had long been a passionate advocate of adoption, inspiring thousands of families to provide homes for children from China. He underwent a tremendous tragedy this year when his adopted daughter Maria Sue was accidentally run over by his teenage son. Chapman held his family together through faith and faced the inevitable media attention with courage, serving as a model for suffering parents everywhere.
The heroic Boy Scouts of the Midwest withstood a killer tornado that struck their encampment in Iowa while they were at a leadership training. The young teens, who called on the skills they had learned in scouting, saved many of their fellow scouts, forming mini-triage centers and refusing to panic. Tragically, four of the boys died. These youngsters were recognized for their courage and steadfastness under the most challenging conditions.
But in the end, the editors selected Dr. Randy Pausch, the professor who, facing imminent death from pancreatic cancer, delivered a “last lecture” that inspired millions of people to live every day more consciously and achieve their dreams.
Pausch was selected because of his huge, far-reaching impact and because even after his death he continues to inspire legions of viewers. Pausch's lecture, delivered for a small audience at Carnegie Mellon University where he was a professor of computer science, became an internet phenomenon. He reached more people than he ever dreamed of. People uploaded his words of wisdom and inspiring tips for life and forwarded them to friends. By 2008, his inspiration had reached millions of people. His message was simple and powerful: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
He showed the importance of living each day well, even if one is dying, and to never give up on your dreams.
I hope the 8% Filipinos surveyed by SWS who are pessimistic about 2009 can learn a lot from that simple message.
*****
As for my most amusing media incident for 2008, I would have to point out Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network. He was the reporter who threw his shoes – flung one at a time – at outgoing US President George W. Bush when he visited Baghdad, Iraq last December.
When a reporter later questioned him about the incident, Bush said "So what if the guy threw his shoes at me? It's one way to gain attention.”
Here’s the stinger: Lebanese television channel NTV, known for its opposition to Washington, went as far as offering a job to the journalist al-Zaidi. In its evening news bulletin shortly after the incident, the TV network said that if al-Zaidi takes the job, he will be paid “from the moment the first shoe was thrown.”
Now, can you imagine Maki Pulido of GMA-7 throwing her stiletto heels at our very own president?

IS THERE HOPE FOR US PEOPLE OF TABUK?

It has not been a good year. By anyone’s standards, 2008 has been a year of suffering which threatened not only our belief in our capacity to do something meaningful – but which also threatened our belief in life itself.
We cried. We lost people that mean a lot to us.
For instance, the gays lost a friend. Well, some gays may not exactly consider Gillian to be a real friend – considering his character that exasperated us in the gay community – but he was a human person all the same. Capable of loving, thus with as much right as us to be loved in return. Knowing his penchant to make noisy entrances, I feel sad that he had to make a very un-grand departure by way of a bullet that failed to make an exit from his head.
We brooded. We were filled with regrets for things that we have not done – that could have turned out right.
This happens all the time. I know a lot of people who, by now, must be saying “Sayang, kasjay la kuman ti inaramid ko.” Late realizations for different people like a woman who should have accepted a suitor’s proposal, an employer who should have stuck to his original plans instead of taking another alternative, a bettor who should have placed her bets on 2-9 instead of 12-13.
Whatever course of action we may have chosen – when there had been other options – we look back at them now and we can only sigh as we squirm in our seats, filled with pangs of regrets, as the un-chosen option looks very much desirable now. Sayang, indeed.
We were disappointed. We have set our eyes on something which we strongly believe to be good for the many, yet we watched it pulled, like a plug, away from us.
The cityhood of Tabuk is now a matter for the highest court – the workings of which, we who had been unschooled on matters of law, can only grasp at a face-value level. Still, many of our aspirations were dampened and we can only look back and say “How disappointing.”
We were betrayed. We fought back. We lost. We stumbled. We fell. We rose up. Only to fall again. We shed tears. We cursed other people. We cursed life. We questioned God and His master plan. We turned back from our faith. We shuddered with fear. We became hardened with hatred. We were darkened by evil intentions. We wavered on our sanity. We wanted to take the easy way out, and end these miserable realities.
These are the sad facts of life. And they nay night have happened to most of the people around us – if not to us. But we must realize that life dose not always turn out to be one hell of a party where we laugh from sunrise to sunset. I have read at an old literature book in Tabuk National High School that “into each life, some days must be dark and dreary.” I have since embraced such principle.
And so interspersed in our happy days are those days that require our tear ducts to open up so we may shed those crystal-like secretions.
But take note: We looked for comfort. We found it.
I strongly believe that all of us can always find solace from all sort of pain. It is just a matter of knowing where to look for it. For those who have ready wellspring of family, friends and church fellows, this is not difficult. But even for those who consider themselves to be “alone in this world” – they can find this much-needed breathing space and relief if only they open up their world so that other people may peek in, come in and make changes.
And, as one thing I have learned in my younger days, “If there is no way out, look up.”
I hope we all had a blessed Christmas. Have a cheerful entry into the new year!

IRRITANTS DURING KASC’S ACCREDITATION ACTIVITY

In every organization, one would always find a group of individuals who refuse to go with the flow of things – even if the direction of such flow is pointed towards the positive end. These people resist, and try to cause some rips in the overall picture so that the envisioned goal may not be attained. Sometimes they even achieve this by not doing anything at all.
Take the recently concluded accreditation activity in my school, the Kalinga-Apayao State College. It was quite easy to distinguish those who share the vision of the College President on the offering of programs that have earned recognition by an accrediting body – as opposed to those who stand by the sidelines and remain indifferent.
From the standpoint of a driven and energetic leader, these people and their negative energies are seen as obstructions. “Everyone knows better;” No one in his right mind could advocate the change being introduced.”
When the movement for that desired goal begins to grow, the forces PRO and CON become identifiable. Those who see a favored change as good and needed for the organization find it hard to believe the lengths to which opposition will go to squelch that goal. The resisting force, on the other hand, is seen as stubborn, hide-bound, cantankerous irritants.
And, indeed, they are.
But let us focus on the positive by dissecting Dr. Eduardo Bagtang’s foresight. By his determination to sustain the accreditation undertaking, he displays a man who climbs out of the present state of affairs to look beyond the horizon and bring back a visualization of that future to modify the tempo, quality and direction of the present situation.
It is just so sad to note that, despite such willpower, a few individuals detach themselves. They can be counted by the fingers though, and gauging by their weakness to influence others to think like they do – since most members in the organization have shifted their gaze towards that bright future that accreditation brings – they remain to be nuisance.
*****
One movie I strongly recommend: “The Nativity Story.”
When I saw the review of the movie, I went out of my way to look for a copy, and true to the words of the critics, there is finally a movie version on the birth of Christ which is Biblically accurate, historically authentic, and visually stunning.
The Nativity Story, which was produced by the same company that produced the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings, made its world premiere at the Vatican in 2006.
The film stars Academy Award nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) as Mary, Oscar Isaac (Guerrilla) as Joseph and Academy Award nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sands and Fog) as Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. It is directed by Catherine Hardwicke (the teen drama "Thirteen") from a screenplay by Mike Rich (Finding Forrester, The Rookie, Radio), who claims to be a devout Christian.
The Nativity Story was filmed in Matera, Italy, also used as a location for The Passion of the Christ, because Nazareth and Jerusalem are now very modern, according to Rich.
*****
But then, most of us would want to laugh big this Christmas Season. Which is why don’t neglect to re-watch Home Alone, already considered a classic and ranks as number 1 favorite in the “comedy for Christmas” category – in almost all listings made around the world.

When Non-Tabuk Residents Stand by your Door and say “Christmas…”

The spirit of giving. We all have been imbued with this Christmas concept early on in our lives. And so during the Christmas season – but within our ability to give – we open up our wallets, purses, bank books, and shell out a little (sometimes a little too much) to those outstretched palms that greet us as we approach our doors to respond to that persistent and impatient knocking.
Now, there is nothing wrong with giving. The only problem is that the person whose outstretched palms eagerly await your generosity is not from Tabuk (or Kalinga) at all! I cannot figure out these people who went through all the trouble of taking a bus ride just so they could reach our locality and move from one door to the next.
We had one such visitor at GURU lately. After having received what I could only afford to give, the caroler (who sang the very same short carol I heard her sing at the nearby establishment) moved her attention to my companions in the office – meaning, nu mano ti adda ijay place nga napanan na, isu met la ti rumbeng nga agited.
What an efficient collection system that rivals that of our tax collectors! Worse, they have this nerve to mutter something negative under their breath when your generosity failed to meet their expectations. Of course, if only you could perfectly understand what he muttered, I’m sure you would say “Amin na nga yan!” and snatch your money back.
*****
I remember our dear friend Gillian (God bless his soul). A lady acquaintance entered his beauty shop one morning and gave him an envelope in which to place his monetary support to the lady’s daughter who was running as a candidate in her school’s fund-raising contest. Since Gillian had not yet groomed a single customer, he placed a P10.00 bill (the paper bill for P10.00 was still in circulation then) inside the envelope.
The lady acquaintance had not seen the actual amount which Gillian inserted because she was busy retouching her face by the shop’s mirror. But, once outside the shop, she peeked into the envelope and saw the amount. Haan na nga ma-aklon diay gatad. Believe this: she rushed back inside the parlor and returned the P10.00 bill to Gillian!
*****
Have you seen San Juan by night? It’s all lit up. The alignment of the road lights are a fest to the nocturnal eye, that one may even have this desire to have a relaxing walk under those bright lights. But what if, as you stroll under the lights, a hooded figure steps out from a bush and say, in a gruff voice, “Merry Christmas!” but with a gun or a knife pointed at you. When such occurrence takes place, simply hand him your wallet or bag or mobile phone and greet back “Merry Christmas, too!”
*****
SOMETHING GOOD, to ponder on…
The human potential to do something good has not been drained though. We are all capable of loving our fellow human beings, of treating them with utmost respect, and helping them out when they no longer have anyone to turn to.