What’s my column in Panorama and Tempo today about? Read on.

The year was 1998. We showed up at Harvard’s doorsteps – five Filipinos with diverse interests and backgrounds: Amina Rasul, Corina Unson, Arlene Pamintuan, Jesse Robredo and myself. We were enrolled in a mid-career course on public administration under the Edward Mason Fellowship Program of the Kennedy School of Government. One year of post-graduate studies was enough to build lifetime friendships between and among the five of us.

While in Cambridge, I was a frequent visitor to Jesse Robredo and his lovely wife, Leny, and their children at their Peabody apartment. I saw Jesse in his puruntong shorts, learned that he cooks corned beef with a twist, and appreciated his gift for numbers while he helped me muddle through a class on statistics. On weekends, we would join the Robredo family in their grocery trips because Jesse was the only one among us who had a van. In social events at the Kennedy School grounds, we would tease Jesse – as the only male in the group – to dance with us; an offer he would jokingly brush off by declaring that he only dances with constituents from Naga City. Then until now, Jesse was our kuya – the one we would turn to for small favors or bits of advice.

That he has once again been elected as Mayor of Naga City despite a negative campaign on his citizenship and was bestowed the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his sterling leadership proves that Jesse – our Kuya Jesse – has never stopped being a student. For only a student knows that he or she has much to learn – and by such cognizance, embraces the humility that makes leaders effective.

In an article published by the PCIJ, Robredo reacted to those who were anxious that involving NGOs in local leadership will have its drawbacks: “ (..) if you have people who have questionable motives questioning you, sometimes you say this is just a political issue. But when you have people questioning you who you do not doubt are well-meaning, then you listen.” It is this sensitivity and appreciation for public opinion and civil society views that have made Robredo stand out among his peers. Naguenos are able to sleep well at night knowing that their Mayor will not sell their city to entities with special (read: selfish) interests.

Today, Mayor Jesse Robredo has truly come into his own not only as a local leader but as a national symbol of hope and positive values. Last June, Kuya Jesse recently joined hands with Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and Pampanga Governor Among Ed Panlilio in a national advocacy dubbed as “Kaya Natin!” Spearheaded by youth and good governance advocate Harvey Keh of the Ateneo De Manila University, this movement aims to “promote genuine and lasting change in our government by promoting transparency, social accountability, people empowerment and electoral reforms.”

“Kaya Natin!” believes that promoting positive values and effective leadership principles would make the government and its leaders more accountable to the Filipino people. According to its organizers, effective and ethical leaders are those who fight corruption, and frown upon abusive practices of those in power while at the same time training future Filipino leaders to do what is right and just despite opposition.

To achieve these goals, Kaya Natin! Intends to focus on the following:

• Promoting Electoral Reforms by encouraging the Filipino Youth to register, vote
for the right candidates and volunteer their time to ensure clean and honest
elections.

• Promoting Local Autonomy and Empowerment of local government units by
decentralizing the delivery of basic services such as Quality Basic Education.

• Working with the Church, other like-minded organizations and civil society
groups towards the total eradication of all Illegal Activities such as Graft and
Corruption in all forms including illegal gambling and illegal logging.

• Development and encouragement of ethical and effective young Filipino leaders
that could run for public office and/or work in government.

Whenever Mayor Jesse comes to town, he brings with him a sense of urgency that can only come from being a student – not a master – of his constituents. I remember our old case studies on strategic public management while we were at the Kennedy School. None of those cases could even approximate the hoops of fire that Jesse went through as a local leader. Kaya Natin! Movement led by Robredo, Padaca, Panlilio and Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija weaves a tapestry of hope at a time when politics has become its antithesis. To know more about this movement, write to kayanatin@yahoo.com or call 4265657.

My good friend Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos has proposed mandatory psychiatric tests for departing OFWs. I know that he means well but I vehemently disagree with this proposal for the following reasons:

1. When an OFW particularly a household worker is pushed to the wall by an insane or callous employer, he or she is bound to suffer and manifest emotional and mental trauma. You can be sane going there but be never quite the same after precisely because of maltreatment one receives from a crazy employer. Temporary insanity is a valid medical condition that happens not only to OFWs but to any person subjected to extremely stressful conditions at work or at home.

2. This proposal is no different from the inanity that is the current mandatory drug tests for drivers. We are all being made to pay extra for a drug test to keep out a handful of flunkers who probably don’t care if they have a license or not anyway. If you fail the drug test, does government help out by referring you to a rehab facility? In the same manner, if you are mentally unfit to work abroad, would a mandatory psychiatric test result in your treatment here at home or your departure via the backdoor?

3. Who pays for this test? In all likelihood, the foreign employer will not. The licensed recruitment agency will likewise balk at the extra cost. And the worker? He would have to pay the cost of the shrink test since it’s mandatory UNLESS this is shouldered by OWWA. Still, there is an opportunity cost here. Paying for the shrink test means re-allocating funds from more relevant OWWA services and projects.

Still —

That this is even on the table reflects the frustration and angst of our Foreign Service in dealing with criminal cases involving OFWs.

BUT - a sober look at statistics will show that cases involving temporary insanity of OFWs come from one region (the Middle East, notably Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) and involves a particular sector, namely, domestic helpers.

THUS - the POEA should work closely with the DFA, OWWA, and foreign posts abroad to ensure a tight screening of foreign employers seeking Filipino maids. More social welfare attaches should be posted abroad. Let’s veer away from household work and promote skills training for more lucrative and in-demand work such as welding, cosmetology, and tourism-related positions. And we should do away with this annual target of deploying a million workers abroad - this is not something a respectable and progressive country would trumpet.

baril, mahaba at mapusok
walang kinikilalang dugo
pinoy sa pinoy, kay Allah o Hesukristo
isang kalabit na kapangyarihan

bata, takot at umiiyak
takbo, tago, laro ng desperado
kapit sa palda ng nanay
at sa langit tumingala

ama, dibdib na marupok
pusong naghihimagsik
tikom bibig, matang dilat
ang tulog ay panaginip

maynila, maynila kasing ingay ng baril
kahit malayo sa bakbakan
mga henyo sa kuwartong malamig
isang kibit katumbas kapangyarihan

giyera, giyera
baril, patay, tumba
bilangin ang nasawi,
i-anunsyo sa pahayagan

at ang mga naiwan?
agos-luha, patay-gutom,
ano na nga ba ang sanhi?
ah, kapayapaan daw.

The two foreign secretaries were there, seated side by side on a comfortable sofa.

Foreign dignitaries milled around. Representatives of multilateral aid organizations, excited over the prospects of peace, came to Kuala Lumpur to witness the scheduled signing of the Memorandum of Agreement.

There was no signing. The Supreme Court has issued a TRO. The MILF has stated that the non-signing was an internal matter of the government. They already have an initialed document as witnessed by a third party, namely Malaysia. Peace-maker Esperon had to explain to the parties to peace that there was nothing to be witnessed - as yet.

Flashback to the ZTE contract. The President witnessed the signing of a MoA sealing the broadband supply contract. The signed document was declared missing. It made the news. Investigations were called for. The agreement signed in China, witnessed by the President, was later on suspended then cancelled.

The MoA between the MILF and the Philippine government is more than just a procurement deal. History is the silent stakeholder here. The integrity of our own archipelago is also affected as a new state is envisioned to be carved out from Mindanao. Clearly, the government chose to keep the peace talks between the two panels as a purely Mindanao matter - consultations were held there; 300 or more barangays will be included in the ARMM subject to a plebiscite and appropriate amendments to the Constitution. Not even in the SONA was there a full outline of what was to take place. It’s either the administration is brimming with blue sky optimists or sad suckers for self-inflicted pain. Unfortunately, the whole fiasco spilled over to foreign affairs.

This is more than just a procurement deal but we bungled it anyway - in front of Malaysia, and in full view of the international community. So what now? What next?

A Senate probe? An MILF rampage? More rallies in Zamboanga and Iligan cities? A forward march to Cha-cha? An escalation in the deportation of Filipinos from Sabah?

It seems that the RP panel played with fire and now our house is burning. Information is the water that we need to douse the conflagration. Information is different from propaganda. Information is what will enable our leaders to think hard about this complex situation and unite behind a common plan for real peace to reign sans constitutional shortcuts and secret handshakes. Propaganda would be to ridicule those who question the MoA and BJE as purveyors of pride and prejudice at a time when genuine peace in Mindanao is there for the taking. We need information, not propaganda and hey, guess what - we needed it yes