UP-NCPAG News

Dear alumni:

On the recently concluded Alumni Homecoming, the NCPAG Coffee Table Book, which features outstanding alumni and the NCPAG Community, was launched and is now available. We would like to know if you are interested to purchase a copy of the CTB. It costs P1000.00 each.

ANNABELLE B. BONJE
Executive Director
UP NCPAG AA Secretariat
981-8500 Loc. 4177
(+63)918-6989445

The Smart Voter: A guide to choosing candidates in the May elections

Is the candidate urging action on climate change but riding a gas-guzzling SUV that contributes to global warming? Or is he or she claiming that he/she can strengthen the economy but does not offer clear-cut solutions to the widening budget deficit?

If the governance experts from the University of the Philippines (UP) would have their way, voters should watch out for candidates with flowery words and sugar-coated statements. Instead, the 50 million or so registered voters that are expected to flock to the polls in May should be able to discern the candidates’ true colors beyond the seemingly untarnished images they convey in their campaign advertisements.

During last week’s forum at UP dubbed “Beyond 2010: Leadership for the Next Generation,” four professors of political science – Jose Abueva, Leonor Briones, Ebinezer Florano, and Edna Co from the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance – gave guidelines to voters on how to choose leaders wisely.

Drawing inspiration from their presentations, GMANews.TV has categorized five types of leaders in the hope that voters will be able to decide whether they will vote with their hearts, their stomachs, or their minds. Take your pick.

1. THE GENUINE GREEN LEADER

From the public to the private sphere, this leader is truly committed to environmental protection and does not get involved in tree-planting campaigns or climate change advocacy only for media hype.

When you visit this leader’s residence, you will notice good waste disposal practices such as recycling and composting. Energy-saving compact fluorescents and/or LED (light-emitting diodes) are used instead of incandescent bulbs that increase carbon emissions.

Be warned: the political arena is full of “greenwashers” who package themselves as pro-environment leaders but are only green on the surface and rotten to the core. They wear Earth Day t-shirts but allow their monster vehicles to idle away while they give speeches in public fora, as one student observed in a recent UP forum.

These politicians may have also violated environmental laws, building holiday homes in small islands that cannot be privately owned or other ecologically sensitive areas. Because of their political influence, greenwashers may be keeping exotic or endangered animals as pets, despite the law that bans illegal wildlife trade.

If you want to vote green, Florano gives the following pointers that you need to know about a candidate: (1) knowledge on the current state of the environment (2) personal stand on various environmental issues (3) personal environmental values (4) track record on environmental protection issues, and (5) lifestyle.

Florano adds that the voter must be able to scrutinize the motivations of politicians by finding out if they are truly green achievers or simply green opportunists.

Appropriate adage:
“Global warming is one of those things, not like an earthquake where there’s a big bang and you say, ‘Oh, my God, this is really, has hit us.’ It creeps up on you. Half a degree temperature difference from one year to the next, a little bit of rise of the ocean, a little bit of melting of the glaciers, and then all of a sudden it is too late to do something about it.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Real green leaders:
British naturalist David Frederick Attenborough, gorilla conservationist Dian Fossey, American missionary John Chapman who became known as Johnny Appleseed after planting apple trees in the midwest, and Kalinga tribal leader Macliing Dulag who was killed for opposing the Chico River Dam project

Reel green leader:
American cartoon hero Captain Planet

2. THE ECONOMICS SAVVY LEADER

“Susugpuin ko ang kahirapan…Ekonomiyang matatag, ‘yan ang pangako ko…tiyak, susulong tayo.” Beware of these motherhood statements from politicians who promise to fly you to the moon, but neglect to tell you who’s going to pay for the jet fuel.

The economics savvy leader would rather keep his feet on the ground, knowing that there’s no instant cure for a country suffering from an economic multiple sclerosis: P272 billion in deficit, P4.42 trillion in outstanding debt, and P74.38 billion in revenue shortfall.

You don’t just see this leader on the boob tube distributing relief goods or riding with rescuers on a boat to save people from flood-ridden areas. Like the green leader, the economics savvy leader offers lasting and out-of-the box solutions to disasters caused by natural calamities such as “Ondoy” and “Pepeng,” which are expected to recur due to climate change.

If this is the kind of leader you want, Briones advises you to make sure that the candidate: (1) has clear and viable programs for addressing the critical condition of public finance particularly on taxation, revenue, deficits, and debts and (2) is prepared to present programs on how to provide social services such as education, food, health care and housing that lead to long-lasting development.

Appropriate adage:
“One of the greatest pieces of economic wisdom is know what you do not know” – John Kenneth Galbraith

Real economics savvy leaders:
Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz; the 32nd US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led his country out of the Great Depression and World War II, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh who founded the Grameen bank

Reel economics savvy leader:
Genius engineer Tony Stark aka Iron Man of Marvel Comics fame

3. THE INCORRUPTIBLE LEADER

Politicians who portray themselves as leaders with integrity will make you believe that their rags-to-riches story was the result of sheer hard work and perseverance. But if you review their statements of assets and liabilities, you may find a 300-percent increase in their net worth from the time they entered politics as a small-town mayor until they got elected to Congress.

You can also check what issues these politicians try to avoid at all cost. Do they have a personal stake in a controversial project, or can they explain how their names got involved in a scandal without making inconsistent statements? Honest leaders can raise a howl over issues without worrying about skeletons coming out of their political closets.

Leaders that are immune to temptation do not get drunk on money, fame, or power. Even when they face difficulties, they do not lose their moral compass and will always do the right thing for the greater good.

If you’re looking for an incorruptible candidate, Abueva says voters should check if their choice: (1) is transparent and truthful to constituents (2) can challenge and inspire citizens and other leaders to raise their goals to higher levels of morality, self-fulfillment and national progress, and (3) can inspire a change in the values and behavior of the public.

Appropriate adage:
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.” – David Brin

Real incorruptible leaders:
Catholic nun Mother Teresa and India’s spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi

Reel incorruptible leader:
Wizard and orphan Harry Potter in J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series

4. THE ETHICAL LEADER

This is the kind of leader who will not employ questionable means to achieve an end, achieving goals not through treachery but truthfulness and persuasion. When they are found to have done something wrong, such leaders will voluntarily give up their posts because this is the right thing to do.

In 2007, Brazil’s Senate president Renan Calheiros resigned after a magazine reported that he had used funds from a lobbyist to pay for the child support of his daughter from an extramarital affair with a television journalist.

New York governor Eliot Spitzer did the same thing in 2008 after getting embroiled in an ethics scandal involving an alleged high-priced prostitution ring. Yoshitada Konoike, Japan’s deputy chief cabinet secretary, likewise resigned in 2009 after a magazine reported that he had used an official rail travel pass to take his mistress to a resort.

This may be a strange virtue in a society where many of the country’s politicians not only have one but several mistresses who benefit from public coffers. But there’s always room for change in the system.

Co says voters who want an ethical leader should find out if the candidate: (1) can demonstrate good moral character; (2) has a circle of associates who are people of integrity and are pro-reform; (3) is an advocate of meritocracy; (4) can prosecute and punish offenders; and (5) can be transparent in the use of public funds.

Appropriate adage:
“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic,
nor popular but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Real ethical leader:
Lal Bahadur Shrivastav Shastri, third prime minister of India and a significant figure in the Indian Independence Movement who resigned from his earlier post as minister of railway and transport, accepting moral responsibility for a railway accident that killed 144 people

Reel ethical leader:
Wise counselor Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”

5. THE EMPOWERING LEADER

This is the type who will not monopolize decisions or manipulate the outcome of situations (and definitely not the result of elections). Such a leader is the antithesis of a dictator and is very much aware that a person who is stubborn, manipulative, and has a
lone-ranger mentality has no place in a society that values democracy.

The leader who empowers people values service and the transformation of society into a vehicle for positive change. Micro-managing is out of the question, as it stifles the growth and initiative of subordinates. Unlike the narcissistic leader, an empowering leader does not invite but rather deflects praise away from oneself.

While in Malacañang, Co says this leader is expected to: (1) involve stakeholders in decision-making; (2) promotes social justice; (3) consult both strong and marginalized peers, colleagues, and constituencies.

Appropriate adage:
“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it” - Andrew Carnegie

Real empowering leaders:
Anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

Reel empowering leader:
Jedi knight Obi Wan Kenobi in the “Star Wars” series who trained Luke Skywalker

– Illustrations by Analyn Perez/YA, GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews. tv/story/183827

January

Activity

Monday - 1 Feb.
8:00 am Flag Raising
hosted by CPED

NCPAG Dome

Mr. Vin Lava
Green Force Partylist

9:00 am Beyond 2010: Leadership for the Next Generation
Malcolm Hall
Prof. Randy David

1:00 pm Faculty Council Meeting
Conference room

3:00pm Lecture
Conference room
Usec Bernardo

Wednesday - 3 Feb.
1:00–5:00pm Mga Kandidatong Kalikasan at Kapaligiran: May Boboto Ba?
Assembly Hall
Sen. Legarda
Mr. Acosta
Prof. Briones
Mr. Cabongco
Mr. Perlas

Friday - 5 Feb.
10:00am Election and How to Choose a Leader
Malcolm Hall
Dr. Abueva
Prof. Briones
Dr. Co
Dr. Florano

Fifteen Years of Decentralization in the Philippines : Lessons Learned and the Way Forward

19 October 2006, Thursday,8:30 AM to 4:00 PM,
NCPAG Assembly Hall, 2nd Floor, NCPAG Building, UP Diliman

Dear All,

You are invited to attend the 15th Diliman Governance Forum, which is organized by the Center for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on October 19, 2006 from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, at the NCPAG Assembly Hall, 2nd Floor, NCPAG Building, UP Diliman. The 15th DGF aims to provide a venue to articulate and discuss the status of devolution in the country, and to contribute to the proposed comprehensive policy review of the Local Government Code of 1991. It will focus on the status of decentralization from the viewpoints of five national government agencies, with reactions from the civil society, local government units through the different leagues, media, and the academe.
Invited participants are officials and representatives from Congress, DILG, DA, DOH, DENR, DSWD, DPWH, DBM, DOF, COA, Leagues of LGUs, local officials, media, donor agencies, civil society, and practitioners and students of Public Administration.
Registration starts at 8:00 AM.

Hope to see you there!!!

First and foremost, thank you to all who supported and attended the successful DGF that saw the participation of our four former CSC chairs, Sto Tomas, De Leon, David and Saludo. Their collective insights about legislative reform for the civil service was indeed something we could all learn from and use in our classes. Thanks too to the reactors, led by Lily who shared very useful comments. The insights of Cong Gonzales, House committee chair on civil service, the head COURAGE, and DAP’s Dedeng Mendoza were likewise appreciated by all. Thanks too to the comments from the floor including that of RBO.

I am sending this note to once more invite all of you and your students to attend a very important upcoming event of the university. It is the 5 day forum on Beyond 2010: Leadership for the Next Generation, that we at NCPAG are a proud co-sponsor together with other colleges.

May I invite all to attend the opening session on Monday, Feb 1, at 8:30 at the Malcolm Hall with Randy David as the main speaker.

(We shall have our faculty council meeting in the afternoon, 1 pm; and earlier in the day, at 8am, we shall have our flag raising at the dome.)

Equally important, may i invite you all and your students to attend the 5th Day, Friday, especially from 10:30 to 12:30. This is the panel sponsored by NCPAG, featuring our colleagues Professors Abueva, Briones, Co and Florano. I hope that we can mobilize (and require, if possible) our students to attend the NCPAG session, and, of course, the session before it.

Thank you!

Alex B. Brillantes Jr, PhD
Dean
National College of Public Administration and Governance
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City

21ST DILIMAN GOVERNANCE FORUM: Strengthening the Philippine Civil Service System: An Agenda for Reform Through Legislative Action”

The National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) of theUniversity of the Philippines, through the House of the People PA208 MPA Scholars and PA201 DPA Students, cordially invites you to the 21st Diliman Governance Forum entitled, “Strengthening the Philippine Civil Service System: An Agenda for Reform Through Legislative Action” to be held at the NCPAG Assembly Hall, University of the Philippines, Quezon City on Friday, January 22, 2010, at 2:00 – 5:00 PM.

The forum aims to discuss the past experiences of former Chairpersons of theCivil Service Commission, the Agenda for Reform they proposed and the outcome of said proposals, with the end in view of coming up with a New Reform Agenda for the Philippine Civil Service System through legislation.

Your valued presence will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Alex B. Brillantes Jr, PhD
Dean
National College of Public Administration and Governance
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City

Dear Colleagues and Friends

Good morning! May I reiterate the invitation of my PA 208 (our congressional scholars) and 201 classes for you and your students and colleagues to attend a very interesting Diliman Governance Forum. It will feature the former Civil Service Chairpersons - Sto Tomas, de Leon, David, and Saludo - with reactors including Prof Lily Domingo and Dedeng Mendoza of DAP. It will be held tomorrow PM from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. This will be a very significant forum especially for us in public administration and governance as we discuss a reform agenda and proposals for reform in the bureaucracy that will be considered by the next administration. It is also significant in the sense that the first time we had a DGF in 2003 was also with the former heads of the CSC reorganization “czars” who also discussed reorganization, reeinventing and reengineering in government.

Please come. Please bring your students. Thank you and see you

Alex B. Brillantes Jr, PhD
Dean
National College of Public Administration and Governance
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City

THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNANCE
By LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES
ABS-CBN Interactive
January 19, 2010

Yesterday, newspapers reported the inauguration of a P6.5 billion hospital which no less than the president described as a “quantum leap in medical care.” It boasts of “state-of-the-art medical equipment “ as well as “hotel-like facilities.” Mention was made of the P50,000 a day presidential suite and its luxurious amenities.

The president remarked that this hospital is better than 95% of the hospitals in America and better than 99% of the hospitals in the Philippines. The vice-president quipped that the “hospital charges are also state-of-the-art.”

It is good to have a hospital in the country which can match the best in the world.

Yesterday at 3 a.m. 17 year-old Jepoy was stabbed twice while he was taking a leak outside his house in Antipolo. Another boy brought him in a tricycle to a private medical center, also in Antipolo. He was bleeding profusely. He was refused admission. Still bleeding, he was brought to the provincial hospital. Again, he was refused admission because he needed an operation and they had a long line of patients to be operated on. Finally, he was brought to a government hospital in Quezon City. He vomited blood profusely at the Admissions Desk and in the operating room. By the time he was operated on, he had already lost too much blood. By half past noon, he was already dead.

Jepoy’s father drives a jeep while his mother is a vendor in the public market. As the eldest boy, he was the focus of his parents’ dreams and was just a first year college student. When I saw the mother sitting by her dead son’s body, she cried, “Why did the private hospital not accept him? Why did the second hospital refuse him? Why didn’t they send him in an ambulance to the last hospital? “

For once, I could not say a word. Would it have soothed the mother if I told her private hospitals routinely refuse admission to emergency victims like her son? Would she have been comforted if I told her ambulances are not entitlements but have to be paid for? Would she have felt better if I told her deaths like that of her son occur all the time and don’t even merit a line in our newspapers?

While waiting for the funeral parlor attendants to pick up her dead child in a small, stuffy “waiting area,” I watched as the mother repeatedly kissed her son and talked to him tenderly.

When the attendants removed the blood-soaked sheet and transferred him to the funeral stretcher, she tearfully begged, “Please be gentle. Slowly please!” As his body was lifted I saw the pool of fresh blood left on the hospital stretcher. He was still bleeding even as he lay dead.

A tale of two hospitals

A top-of-the line medical facility was recently inaugurated for those who can afford expensive and luxurious health care. On the same day, the child of a market vendor and a jeepney driver bled to death in a government hospital with insufficient emergency equipment.

It is good to have a hospital which can compete with the best hospitals in America. It is good to have a hospitals with suites worthy of presidents, potentates and magnates. It is good to have a hospital which will take care of expatriates and promote medical tourism.

However, it is just as good if we will also have public hospitals equipped to save lives in emergency situations. It will even be better if we will have a hospital system where patients don’t have to be refused and young lives lost for want of timely medical assistance.

Kaakbay and the Millennium Development Goals

Media has been coming out with news items on party lists which have been accredited by COMELEC. Party list groups represent marginalized sectors. As with many other institutions of government, the party list system has been abused.

It is widely known that the First Gentleman’s sister who lives in Forbes Park represents “marginalized small business people.” The son of a senator represents farmers! Major religions have their own party lists as well as aggrupations based on language.

Not so KAAKBAY. It was accredited by the COMELEC last November 2009 as “Kapatiran ng mga Anak ng Bayan.” Its platform advocates the Millennium Development Goals, specifically agriculture, education, health and the environment. It also campaigns for budget reforms. Its track record of active membership in the Alternative Budget Initiative convened by Social Watch Philippines is well established.

If elected, KAAKBAY will surely expand its advocacy and sponsor bills which will provide adequate budget support for the MDGs. It will advocate laws which will help ensure that promising young Filipinos will not senselessly bleed to death.

The Galing Pook Foundation (GPF) and the Center for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG) of the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), University of the Philippines – Diliman, are jointly organizing the Tanghalan ng Galing: The Galing Pook and UP-NCPAG-CLRG Lecture Series. Sponsored by the Land Bank of the Philippines, the monthly lecture series features previous winners of the Galing Pook Awards. It highlights innovative local government programs and projects that made and continue to make great impacts in improving the quality of lives of their constituents.

November 24 Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato - Alliance Building for Landscape Development ; By: Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes

To be announcedSan Carlos City - Orchestrating Efforts Toward a Sustainable City; By:Mayor Eugenio Jose Lacson

The next Tanghalan ng Galing will be held on Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon, at the Assembly Hall, NCPAG Building, University of the Philippines Campus, Diliman, Quezon City. In view of this, we would like to invite you to join us in this meaningful activity.