The Republic

Media

Part of The Republic

Title: The Republic
Issue Date: Volume III (Issue No.8) 1-15 August 1978
Year: 1978
Language: English
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extracted text: OF THE L•I / ASEAN makes headway The five foreign ministers of the Association of South east Asian Nations (ASEAN), who met in Pattaya, Thailand, from June 14 to 16,had good reason to pat themselves on the back, rheir Eleventh Ministerial Meeting was an occasion for counting gains. The general feeling of satisfaction and optimism among the foreign ministers of the five member countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, tjie Philippines, Singapore and Thailand-was reflected in the opening address of the conference host, Thailand’s Prime Minister Kriangsak Chomanan. Noting the positive progress ASEAN had made in various fields, Chomanan said he and his government were, particularly pleased with the expansion of ASEAN Preferential Trading Arrange ments. Increased intraASEAN trade,said Chomanan, would result in economic strength through integration• ind that would provide a firm basis for even more | meaningful external relations. j j The continuing cohesiveness of ASEAN member t’countries, continued Chomanan, had enabled the ^Association to gain wide international recognition. * ‘ASEAN’s aims and objectives were finally receiving the increasing support of major powers, and this was t> lending ASEAN members to even greater mutual trust and confidence. ’ cobleins TVmid the general atmosphere of optimism, however, there persisted areas of common concern. The foreign ministers were one in expressing anxiety over the con flict between Vietnam and Kampuchea and the tensions between China and Vietnam. Philippine Foreign Minis ter Carlos P. Romulo said that unless these problems V were soon solved, regional uncertainties would grow. The Philippine government , he said,hoped that these conflicts could be brought to the negotiating table on terms acceptable to all parties and settled through peaceful means. There seemed at least some reason to hope, for while ASEAN’s relations with its communist neighbors had originally posed a delicate diplomatic problem, The five ASEAN heads-of-state at the Bali summit meet.'. Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea had been positively responding to ASEAN’s aims and overtures. In noting this, Thai Prime Minister Chomanan expressed hope that ASEAN could bring to all other Southeast Asian countries the same spirit of mutual trust and confi dence that animated'its members. The resettlement of Indochinese refugees contin ued to pose problems. Despite pleas by the ASEAN heads of government urging relevant United Nations v-.-n-.k to take immediate measures to resettle.the of refugees to ASEAN countries has gone on unauated, imposing heavy burdens on the countries concerned. But these problems are purely external and do • not proceed from within the Association itself; insofar as ASEAN unity and epoperation is concerned, there need not be fears or misgivings. Indeed, there have been indications pointing to the increasing determination of the members to pursue common objectives to their logical conclusions and to adhere to declared policies. In reviewing progress on ASEAN cooperative rela tions with other countries, especially Australia, Cana da, Japan and New Zealand, the foreign ministers noted with satisfaction that encouraging results had been achieved in many areas. Specifically cited were the offer of the Australian government to host the First ASEAN Australia Industrial Conference and the offer of the European Economic Community to assist in the holding of a second ASEAN-EEC Industrial ConE(-“cr;Qe irr Jakarta in February 1979. These efforts •r’E-.i—_ i fh* ---'d t’-.?'-'-' .hi. vestments into die region. Denying reports that Japan was sabotaging ASEAN programs, a ranking official of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Japanese govern ment was most anxious to provide assistance and to cooperate with ASEAN countries in whatever way it could. He mentioned several projects involving Japa nese assistance to ASEAN members that had already been approved by the Tokyo government. The strides made by ASEAN during the past year in implementing projects ranging from economic cooperation to education, from transport and commu nication to latyor, from trade to socio-cultural activi ties, constitute a happy augury of the future success of its other ventures. Trading arrangements. The main thrust of ASEAN’s efforts is toward increas ing production and arranging with developed nations for more advantageous terms of trade. ASEAN has been particularly successful in this area during the past year. News briefs 4’. Wam on fake recruiters The Ministry of Foreign Affairs again cautioned Fili pinos seeking jobs abroad to deal only with those offices and agencies authorized to recruit for foreign employment. The MFA said it had received reports from the Philippine embassy in Tripoli, Libya, about Filipinos whose contracts, signed in Manila, turned out to be fraudulent. r Curbing urban migration President Ferdinand E. Marcos ordered ah imme diate study of the problem of provincial migration to Manila with a view not only to stopping the exodus from the provinces but reversing it, that is dispersing the metropolitan population to the rural areas. The First Lady, Human Settlements Minister Imelda R. Marcos, had earlier expressed concern over the same problem. She noted that about 500,000 people move into Metro Manila yearly, causing the sprouting of slum and squatter areas and confounding the peace and order problem in the metropolis. ‘Tanodbayan’ set up The Ministry of Justice announced the creation of an independent Tancdbayanto effect the people’s con stitutional right to petition the government for redress of grievances. The Tanodbayan (ombudsman) is as sisted by four deputy tanodbayans and will have the ' power to investigate, on complaint, any admihistra-. tive agency, including government-owned or controlled corporations. In his investigative work, the tanodbayan is empowered to call On any administrative agency for assistance, to examine government records and to in spect premises, He can be stopped only by a presi dential certification that a particular effort will pre judice the national interest. Tuition hikes use defined The Bureau of Higher Education announced that - tuition hikes granted to private schools must be used only for the upgrading of the salaries and benefits of school personnel or for the improvement of school facilities. No part of the increase, the BHE empha-1 sized, could be used for returns on investments. The BHE also announced that while the BHE head office issued pertinent guidelines, BHE regional offices would act on the actual applications for fee increases. Judges phased out The Supreme Court phased out 123 municipal court judges as part of a circuitization program aimed at achieving economy and efficiency of operations. The high court abolished 533 municipal courts, leaving only 917 in existence. Flood control program progress The 10-year Metro Manila flood control and drainage program is now 36.5 percent complete. The cost of the P3-bijlion program is being shouldered by the Phil ippine government, with substantial financial help from Japan’s Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). To make the program functional, local gov ernments in the Metro Manila area must spend about P2.5 billion for the construction of related projects. Mentors’ minimum pay now P574 The Budget Commission has approved a P574 minimum monthly salary for public school teachers who hold B.S. in education. Increases in the salaries of superin tendents, district supervisors, and school principals were also approved. In Metro Manila, Human Settle ments Minister and Metro Manila Governor Imelda R. Marcos authorized a P600 minimum monthly salary for high school teachers and a Pl ,000 basic pay for doctors serving in barangay health centers. The in creases took effect July 1, 1978. New health centers The Metro Manila Commission inaugurated- (.5 new Bagong Lipunan health centers in Metro Manila on July 2 to bolster health and medical services for resi dents of depressed areas. These were presented as a birthday gift to Human Settlements Minister and Metro Manila Governor Imelda R. Marcos. There are now 323 health centers in Metro Manila. THE REPUBLIC —:.--------------Our revitalized foriegn policy (Address of the President at the commemoration of the 80 th anniversary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 June 1978) It is a little unusual-perhaps even ironic-that 80 long years should have passed before it occurred to any one to mark with some fitting ceremony the founda tion anniversary of this important Ministry. This modesty is uncharacteristic of those who over the years took command of this Ministry. But let it not be said that General Romulo is not the man to make up for such a shortcoming, no matter how late. In a very real sense, you and I are the executors of the purposes that saw the birth of the first Depart ment of Foreign Affairs under the revolutionary government of 1898. Great and sweeping changes have since visited our country and the world, yet in a fun damental way the substance of our concerns in rela tion to other peoples and nations remains the same as it was 80 years ago. The revolutionary government of 1898 set forth as the urgent task of its Foreign Affairs Department the defense, protection and enhancement of the coun try’s sovereignty and independence. It declared that what was won by struggle and revolution-the right to be a free and independent nation-must be secured through the maintenance of friendly and fruitful ties with other nations. Today, 80 years later, those purposes stand as the bedrock of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Events did not prove kind to our early bid for national self-determination; success eluded the men given the task of securing national sovereignty and independence. Yet even as the tides of new colonial empires swept into our part of the world, the will to independence was never to be quenched. In time the Republic would be born again, and along with it would rise the structure of a new foreign office, more secure than its predecessor had been. Today, as we celebrate the founding of this Migj^ry. we can without reservation declare that this insuiutiuiihaTsurvived its vail beginnings, that it has succeeded in giving substance to national sovereignty and independence, and that it embodies what had long been the dream of our forefathers—ji free nation able to hold its own in the community of indepen dent nations. It has been a long road that we have had to travel, and it will be remarked that not so long ago, we were not a nation in full possession of its sover eignty and independence. But however long it may have taken us, we have finally learned the lessons that attend the governance of a nation’s foreign affairs, truths which, ignored and misunderstood, can erode what is vital to it, but which, when heeded and accept ed as a guide, are the touchstones to success. Guidelines from the past for the future When considered in the full perspective of 80 years, the last six years stand out as an eventful and historic time in Philippine diplomacy. We need not indulge in a lengthy recapitulation of what has been achieved in our foreign relations. More important for us is a full and confident understanding of the main currents that have guided our foreign policy during the last six years, and which must light our journey into the future. This is best stated in terms of the principles that underlie the actions we have taken and must continue to take: □ First, foreign policy must reflect the conscious exercise of national independence and sovereignty on each and every issue, and each and every initiative. The time when foreign policy decisions were dictated or conditioned by others, when we en trusted our affections or our enmities to another na tion, is past. The laspes of the past may be explained by the circumstances in which we found ourselves then. But however one may explain it, we cannot belittle the ill effects upon our sovereignty as a nation. Nor can we ignore how vastly different the world has become; we inhabit today a new and critical period in international life, in which interdependence with others begins by seeking due regard to one’s sover eignty and political independence. □ Second, foreign policy must serve our national aspirations to development and progress. Because we had erroneously regarded foreign policy as removed from domestic concerns, our For a strong ASEAN community: President Marcos confers with Indonesian leaders. foreign relations in the past played only a minor role in the shaping of national realities. Today we know that foreign relations can be a tool in promoting development and national security. To see national development as a major deter minant of foreign policy is to accept the unity of our interests and purposes as a nation. When we aspire to political stability and stable relations with other nations, we promote national development. And when we advance our economic relationships with all nations, we employ diplomacy at a level where it can touch the lives of our millions. □ Third, our foreign policy must allow us to maintain beneficial ties with all nations, regardless of ideologies. We have put an end to the prejudices of the past that conditioned us to regard almost half of the world as a hostile camp. We have established diplomatic rela tions with all the Socialist countries. And we have seen the kind of mutuality and cooperation possible between states of different social systems. □ Fourth, our foreign policy must be based on mutual respect, mutual beneficiality, and mutual regard for each and every nation’? independence. Keta‘uUns'?oetw’iei> nations grow fp t; -per «pi the basis of what they contribute to each other’s de velopment and progress. The complementarity of na tional outlooks is an aid in this regard, but it does not ensure equality in the relationship. For this reason, we must ebntinualiy adjust our ties with other countries so that we as a developing country can reap as much from these ties as those coun tries which are more developed and advanced than ours. □ Fifth, as a reflection "f the struggle of the Third World to development, our foreign policy must recog nize its oneness with the movement to reform the international economic order. There is a limit to what bilateral relations can do in advancing the national interest. Conversely, we know today that the combined strength of the develop ing countries represents a force for change that can result in untold benefits in terms of progress and peace among nations. At regional level, we seek community with our Southeast Asian neighbors through the building of a strong ASEAN community. In this initiative, we have already realized the beginnings of a vital regional grouping, and if we keep at it, we will soon reap the full advantages of regionalism. In the same spirit, we consider our identification with the Third World countries a vital aspect of our foreign policy, conducive to the construction of an equitable international economic order and to the building of a truly international human community. Many difficulties inhere today in the bid of the developing countries for a better deal with the devel oped countries, but the intensity of the movement for reform can no longer be stemmed. □ Finally, we recognize as a fundamental pillar of our foreign policy our participation, in, and support for, the objectives and the work of the United Nations. The tasks of the nation On the basis of these principles, we have so shaped and guided our foreign policy as to make it a truly vital part of national life today, and to earn for us a a respected place in the family of nations. What we make of our foreign policy now and in ; the future will surely depend on how well and how prudently we guide our foreign relations in keeping with these principles. This is the charge of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it moves on to its ninth decade. That charge embodies a trinity of ends, broader now than those which confronted its predecessor in 1898. These are: to assert and protect the sovereignty, independence, integrity and security of the country; to contribute to the accelerated development of the nation; and to promote regional and global stability. In the pursuit of these ends, we must take more concrete steps to make our domestic policy more responsive to such global problems as food and energy shortages, overpopulation, resource depletion and income disparity. For while the international system has a big responsibility in the quest for global order, individual states must share a significant portion of this burden. The largest part of today’s global eco nomic problems, after all, originates within states and remains within states and should therefore be reme- ' died partly within states. This is not to say that such problems should be less the concern of the international system. Indeed, global problems require global solutions. This is rather to emphasize that until and unless internal policy resources - global solutioiisan-c> tu be reacn.;^ Complementing this effort, we must strive \d expand and intensify our relations with the outside world. We shall seek to increase our trade with all countries of the world. We shall continue to welcome and protect foreign investments as a means of boost ing Filipino entrepreneurship in the creation and devel opment of new industries. We hope to conclude this year the negotiations of our military agreements with the United States. This should put relations between the two countries within a new framework of mutuality of understand ing and respect. We must also accelerate the pace of our eco nomic negotiations with the United States and Japan, our two principal trading partners. In both cases, the new economic agreements should contribute to the growth of a resilient Philippine economy. The consequences of our revitalized foreign policy open to us many new areas for exploration and study, heightening relationships that once were dormant, requiring adjustment of old and historic ties, and necessitating initiatives on our part on many fronts. These challenges will fully test the mettle of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and of all of you who constitute it. The tasks of the MFA Our web of relationships in the world today has never been as vast, as important, and as critical to the na tion as it is today. No doubt it is vastly more complex than what Mabini dared to imagine when he first commenced to organize the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1898. But it would surely please him to note, were he living today, that this vision of a Ministry defending, promoting and enhancing national sovereignty and independence, lives and thrives in the institution that we have here, and that this institution has grown as surely as the nation it serves. Nothing stands still, least of all the interaction and relationships of nations, and I would surely hope that long after our responsibility will have passed to other hands, there will continue to stand this Min istry of Foreign Affairs, guiding the Republic through the currents of challenge and change in the world. Thank you and good day. 1-15 August 1978 Most urbanized region Region IV is famous for its unique industries, like balutmaking and carving (left top and bottom photos) and salt-making (top). by Lilia C. Galang Region IV combines in a single political unit five provinces in southwestern Luzon and the islands of Marinduque, Mindoro and Palawan. The five prov inces-! raditionally referred to as the Southern Tagalog region-are Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon and RTzal. The region has a total land area of 46,119 square kilometers and an aggregate population of6,827,377 (as of the 1970 census). About 55 percent of Region IV’s population lives in urban centers, making it the most urbanized geographic unit in the country next to Metro Manila. (Undoubtedly the region’s proxim ity to Manila has influenced it in this regard.) There is considerable diversity in Region IV, where extensive tuff-covered plains contrast with soaringvolcanic peaks of varying ages and elevations. The region has rich mineral, forest and marine resources and wide agricultural lands planted to rice, coconut and sugarcane, the region’s most important agricultural products. Rich fishing grounds abound off Palawan and Mindoro: together the two areas yield an average 279 million kilos of fish per year. Destined to be an even more important source of income is oil, discover ed off Palawan late in 1976 and due for commercial production late this year or early next. Local transport in the areas near Metro Manila is fairly well developed. Regular bus lines-and even trains-traverse the region. The landlocked provinces are less fortunate: their road facilities are limited to coastal towns. Least well off are the islands. Puerto Princesa, for example, the most important town in Palawan, is accessible from Manila by air only once a week and by sea only twice. Region IV has 13 national ports, 67 municipal ports, 12 national airports, one international airport, 13 private airports, three military airport and 10 heli ports. Because of its proximity to Metro Manila, Region IV has the highest share of the foreign tourists that visit the Philippines. Popular tourist spots in clude Tagaytay City, Pagsanjan Falls, the hot springs of Los Banos and the beaches of Batangas, Cavite and Mindoro as well as the caves and underground rivers of Palawan. Gateway to Manila All roads leading to and from Manila pass through Rizal Province. This is because, except for that portion of it that directly faces Manila Bay, Metropolitan Manila is surrounded entirely by the 1,860 square kilometers of Rizal. Rizal itself is hemmed in by Bulacan in the north Quezon in the east, Laguna Bay in the south and Cavite in the southwest. The eastern half of the prov ince lies along the SierraMadre range, while the west ern half reposes on the fertile Central Plain, sloping gradually until it reaches sea level at Manila Bay. The province is traversed by many rivers, the most impor tant being the Pasig. Because Rizal rings Manila, some of the city’s population has spilled over into the province. The latest census put Rizal’s population at 2,844,689, with an average density of 1,530 persons per square kilometer. This makes Rizal the most populous and most dense ly populated province in the country. And it’s still growing-at an annual rate of 6.7 percent. In addition to being the most populous, Rizal is also the most urbanized province in the country. Its literacy rate is also the highest in the land. Some 96 percent of Rizal’s population read and write Pilipino, 61 percent English and 8 percent Spanish. As in most provinces in Luzon and the Visayas, the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. Of Rizal’s total land area, 56 percent is cultivated (rice and fruits are the most important crops), 10 per cent is idle open land, swamp or brushland and the rest Makati, in Rizal province, is one of gateways to Metro Manila. is urbanized. Much of the idle land is believed to be held by speculators in anticipation of further increases in the value of real estate. Many areas, especially those close to Manila, have gone up in value more than 100 times in recent years. Rizal was one of the first eight provinces to rise in rebellion against Spain in 1898. Pinaglabanan, in San Juan del Monte, and Caloocan-both formerly parts of Rizal-were the scenes of historic and bloody en counters. The “Cry of Balintawak” and the Bonifacio Monuments in Caloocan stand today as reminders of Rizal’s heroic heritage. THE REPUBLIC Organizing for development by Juanita G. Trinidad The never-ending process of political and social devel opment continually exerts new demands and pres sures on government and necessitates periodic reassess ments of governmental structures and operations to ensure they respond to the changing conditions and needs of society. With the shift from a presiden tial to a parliamen tary form of government and the conversion of de partments into ministries, the second phase of the Integrated Reorganization Plan /1RP), formulated in 1972 by the Presidential Commission on Reorgani zation (PCR), is now under way. The plan was sub mitted to the Batasang Panibansa. which approved it in principle. In an interview with The Republic, Dr. Armand V. Fabella, PCR chairman, clarifies some aspects of the new system. The Republic: What are the basic differences between the new government plan and the system which previously existed? What are the advantages of the changes? Dr. Fabella: Our government was modeled along Amer ican lines, with three branches of government the executive, legislative and judicial-possessed of suffi cient checks and balances to keep anyone from be coming too strong, and with the thrust on the provi sion of general government services. The problem with this kind of government is that it places stress on the correct decision^ But in order to get a correct decision, you need time, you need people or groups getting together to discuss the problem and working to find a solution. The discus sions you get would probably be good, but it might take forever to get an answer. That we can’t afford. We need a developmenf-oriented system. What do you mean by a development-oriented system? I mean a system that is very much aware of the need forgetting things done faster, a governmental structure in which people can make decisions quickly. This is possible if you give people sufficient authority, whether at the national, regional or barangay level. There are dangers in this. Most often, the danger is with the per son who is supposed to decide. He can make mis takes; he may tend to make the wrong decisions. An other danger is that he will tend to abuse his power. But even if you take both factors into considera tion, the important thing is that decisions will be made faster. Make your decisions fast, get things done. If you make mistakes, sorry na lang, but the govern ment moves. The new system frowns on the next-in-rank concept for promotion. What is the new policy? The next-in-rank approach Tor promotion has severe limitations. Let’s say that I am running an office and you are my subordinate, my next-in-command. If for some reason I leave the office, the post becomes vacant and you have a claim to my position. You can say, “I’m next in rank, I’m entitled to that posi tion.” That may be nice for you but it’s not neces sarily good for the government. We are civil servants and the government is entitled to the best services it Manila post office: one of government’s prime reorganization targets. OEDB staffers reviewing job applications: the government exists for only one purpose-to serve the people. can get, and it may not get that from you. All we did was expand the concept of the next-in-rank. Let’s say I plan on leaving my position. 1 tell the employees, “All of you on a certain level will be considered for my position.” This provides some sense of competition, a drive to prove capabilities. Otherwise, everyone just sits and waits to go up in due course of time! As happened in many cases in the past, if the good ones leave the office, natitiraiyongmgahihirttay-hintay lang. Before you know it, the whole operation is filled with people who got there simply by patiently waiting! How will the new system eliminate duplication or overlapping of services? It won’t. It will try to avoid it, but the government is organized to deal with priority areas and that brings overlaps. For example, if we say that housing is a pri ority area, we create the Ministry of Human Settle ments. If we say that tourism is important, we create a Ministry of Tourism. We may say some other agen cies are not important, so we abolish them. What I’m driving at is, with the many priority areas that have cropped up, it has become very difficult to indicate just what is the responsibility of’an individual depart ment. Thus, as we have more ministries, there are many possible overlaps in function. We are trying to keep overlaps minimal to de fine who is responsible for what. We have developed what we call “exclusive responsibility” and “primary responsibility.” For example, when we talk about auditing systems, we say that the Commission on Audit (COA) has exclusive responsibility. When we talk about training, we say that the Civil Service Commis sion (CSC) has primary responsibility, because the CSC cannot claim that it is the only one that trains. Who can construct dams? Only Public Works. Who can provide medical services? Not only the Ministry of Health. The Army does also. Parenthetically, two other important things are to bring more and better services to the people and to accelerate the development process. Of course, when you bring services to the people, you are in effect accelerating or improving the development base. Every thing else comes from these basic thrusts. Are government-owned and controlled corporations included in the new reorganization? Yes, they are, in the sense that government-owned and controlled operations have been under the Office of the President which has over 200 offices directly under it. These are now being divided among the various ministries, making it easier to coordinate related activ ities. What in your opinion is the most important aspect of the new reorganization scheme? Planning. The planning process must take cognizance of many factors, particularly having to do with the improvement of the civil service, the decentralization of Malacafiang, regionalization and setting up a stan dard department structure. With the parliamentary form, there are questions as to who is responsible for what and who reports to whom. Take the new politi cal deputy minister-even his responsibilities are still unclear. Ministers will have their deputies answerable to them but are on an equal footing with them in Par liament. These arc among the things which still have to be straightened out. What major government policies will the new system implement? Since 1972 we have stressed regional development, planning and the building of a career executive service. You can compare the government to an army. Though the army is the only entity relied upon to fight, not everybody in the army fights. The one who really fights is the infantry soldier. Behind him are cooks, quar termasters, clerks, physicians, drivers. But they are only secondary;the one who counts is the combat soldier. Therefore, you measure the efficiency of an army in terms of the ratio between the soldier and the num ber of support troops that back him up. Similarly, the government exists for only one purpose: to serve the people- And serving the p,eople is not an abstract concept; it is specific. The govern ment serves the people when somebody in government comes in contact with the people. For example, a doctor serving in the rural areas and actually staying with the people is directly serving the government. On the other hand, the Bureau of Internal Revenue giving medical aid to BIR personnel is only indirect ly serving the government. - What we are trying to do now is make sure that most of the people in the government are in direct contact or are actually serving the people. How do we do this? There are two ways: You don’t ask the peo ple to come to you. You get government workers out in the field to stay with the people. That is a very important element in the development of the regions. The second element is that in any office, wheth er serving the people directly or not, we have line per sonnel and staff personnel. Line personnel are those who are actually engaged in the operation, while the staff personnel advise the head of the department on what to do. What is the progress report on the new reorganiza tion? What has been accomplished so far? Implementation of the IRP actually started in 1972. The secondary phase has begun with the conversion of the government into a parliamentary form. The fact is that even the original reorganization took into con sideration the possibility of a parliamentary govern ment. Now that it is definitely parliamentary, we must make distinctions between political and career posi tions. Previously a department head was only an alter e_go of the president. Under the parliamentary system, there are no more alter egos; all officials have power in their own right. The thrust, therefore,is really with respect to the regional or subregional levels of government. Putting it another way, jpst how does one go about coordinat ing government activities at provincial and municipal levels, between national and local governments? This is the problem, especially now that every department wants to have its own units from provincial down to barangay level. Every department has a regional of fice, but each one is now saying that underneath the regional office, there should be a provincial office, and underneath the provincial office, a municipal of fice. To be sure, this is reaching out to the grass roots, but it is very expensive. 1-15 August 1978 A bridge across cultures “I have often been asked, ‘Are you for integration or for preservation?’ To such a question I invariably answer, ‘We are for neither. We are for choice-the people’s choice, not ours.’ ” Coming from Panamin Secretary Manuel Eli zalde, Jr., the statement summarizes the government’s policy toward Philippine ethnic groups: integrating into the mainstream of Philippine society ethnic groups who seek full integration into the larger com munity, and at the same time preserving the original lifeways of those who prefer to remain what they are, beside that larger community. Spreading the gospel of literacy Linguistic researchers of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Panamin, the Institute of National Lan guage and private groups like the Linguistic Society of the Philippines and the Summer Institute of Linguis tics are helping achieve both goals-integration and preservation of the cultures of the ethnic groups. Using the tools of linguistics (the science of lan guage), these researchers are breaking down the bar riers of illiteracy and building bridges to help bring Secretary Manuel Elizalde Jr., of PANAMIN minority people into awareness as Filipino citizens. Spreading the gospel of the printed word among the ethnic groups is only one of the contributions of the language researchers to the well-being of these cultural groups. Of equal importance is understand ing these groups* non-verbal language, or what author Edward T. Hall calls “the silent language.” Understanding the silent language Doctor Hall describes the silent language as the “pat terning of behavior which prescribes a man’s hand ling of time, his spatial relationships, his attitudes toward work, play and learning.” In his book, TheSilent Language, Dr. Hall notes: “Difficulties in intercultural communication are sel dom seen for what they are. When it becomes apparent to people of different countries or among groups within each country that they are not understanding one another, each tends to blame it on the other’s ‘stupidity, deceit or craziness.' " This, he goes on to say, is hardly ever the case. Enriching Filipino Cultural Diet With linguistic and other tools, the researchers are recording language and culture not only for the ethnic groups’ immediate advantage. In a bigger way, the researchers are also helping lay the foundation which will allow the cultural minorities to continue their way of cultural evolution and, to quote the First Lady, Human Settlements Minister Imelda R. Marcos, “contribute to the particular cultural richness of the Philippines.” Ethnic ABC by Iluminado Varela, Jr. Six million Filipinos speak languages which limit their participation in national activity. They are the cul tural minorities, who, despite vigorous efforts to inte grate them, remain isolated from the mainstream of national life and activity because of the language barrier. Happily, there’s now new hope for the 60-odd ethno-linguistic national cultural groups. The govern ment’s bilingual policy has opened to them the door to progress and development. A special bilingual education program for adults and school-age children of the minority groups is being developed by the Ministry of Education and Culture in cooperation with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), a language research institute which won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for international understand ing in 1973. The goal is to promote among the country’s ethnic groups literacy both in their native languages and in the two official languages-Pilipino and English. It is believed that literacy in both languages would enrich their quality of life and help them par ticipate more meaningfully in national life. Bilingual programs to begin In other countries where a multiplicity of languages exists, bilingual programs have been successful in pro moting literacy in the national language among the minorities. In 1927, about 88 percent of the Soviet Union’s population was illiterate. By 1939, or some 12 years later the figure was drastically reduced to 11 percent. Because of the multiplicity of languages (100 languages in the 15 republics), a bilingual program using the vernacular was necessary to achieve this result. More recent is the Peruvian government’s suc cessful program. Says linguist Olive Shell: “The bilin gual schools have proved to be a source of change with ramifications far beyond what could have been expected. . Thousands of jungle Indians have be come literate through their influence. By no means the latest of the ramifications is the improved morale of the Indians who are beginning to realize that they are part of the population in whom their country is in terested and who need not be despised, but who can take their place as recognized citizens of their country.” The Ministry of Education and Culture is pushing four bilingual programs in cooperation with the SIL, the Asia Foundation and the Educational Develop ment Projects Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF). These programs are being conducted in Western Bukid non, Ivatan (Batanes Islands), Balangao (Mt. Prov ince) and Botolan, Sambal. For quite a number of years, the SIL has been helping the DEC (now MEC) to prepare and produce literacy and reading education materials in various tribal languages. With the implementation of bilin gual education in the country, these materials are also being prepared in Pilipino and English. The bilingual projects involve technical training in bilingual textbook writing for teachers, in-service training for teachers in the preparation of supplemen MEC official briefing media men on ethnic educational program. tary readings and texts, and production of reading textbooks for adult education. Typical of such books are Balangao Math I, Ivatan Primer, Sarangani Manobo, “Good Drinking Water,” “Many Kinds of Diseases” and Manobo Primer. Natives as teachers Because many minority groups have already been taught to read and write in the vernacular, teaching them to speak, read and write in Pilipino and English has hecome relatively easier. The natives are trained in simple phonetics, phonemics, syntax, semantics, ethnology and translation principles to help linguistic researchers evolve a written language. For instance, in Western Bukidnon Manobo there are now some 250 adults who can read and write in the vernacular. These literate natives, having been awarded certificates by the MEC, are helping the government in the bilingual program for the 15,000 speakers of Western Bukidnon Manobo. “We recognize that vernacular education is only one aspect of bilingual education, but ample evidence exists to show that teaching in the vernacular is highly effective and a useful bridge to bilingualism with all its resulting benefits,” an SIL official said. The silent language by Edward T. Hall A non-verbal language . .. exists in every country of the world and among the various groups within each country. Most people are only dimly aware of this silent language, even though they use it every day. They are not conscious of the elaborate patterning of behavior which prescribes our handling of time, our spatial relations, our attitudes toward work, play and learning. In addition to what we say with our verbal language, we are constantly communicating our real feelings in our silent language-the language of behav ior. Sometimes this is correctly interpreted by other nationalities, but more often it is not. Despite favorable auspices, an American mission in Greece was having great difficulty working out an agreement with local officials. Efforts to negotiate met with resistance and suspicion on the part of the Greeks and the Americans were unable to conclude the agree ments needed to start the new projects. Upon later examination of this exasperating situation, two unsuspected reasons were found for the stalemate: first, Americans pride themselves on being outspoken and forthright. Greeks regard these quali ties as liabilities, they are taken to indicate a lack of finesse; second, when the Americans arranged meeting with the Greeks they tried to limit the length of the meetings, to reach agreements on general principles first and then delegate the drafting of details to sub committees. The Greeks regarded this practice as a device to pull the wool over their eyes. The Greek practice is to work out details in front of all con cerned and continue meetings for as long as needed. In the Middle East, Americans often have a dif ficult time with the Arabs. An American agriculturist who went to Egypt to teach modem agricultural methods to Egyptian farmers once , asked his inter preter to ask a farmer how much he expected his field to yield that year. The farmer responded by be coming very excited and angry. The American real ized something had gone wrong, but he had no way of knowing what. Later, he learned that the Arabs regard anyone who tries to look into the future as slightly insane. When the American asked the farm er about his future yield, the Egyptian was highly in sulted since he thought the American considered him crazy. To the Arab only God knows the future. 6 THE REPUBLIC Typical classroom where bilingual studies are conducted. Breaking the language barrier Communication difficulties have prevented many Philippine ethnic groups from participat ing fully in the national activity. In an effort to bridge this language barrier, the Ministry of Education and Culture, in cooperation with related agencies, has launched bilingual pro grams in such places as Bukidnon, Batanes, Mountain Province and Zambales, designed to promote literacy both in the native language and in the country’s two official languagesPilipino and English. The program calls for technical and in-service training for teachers as well as authors of bilingual textbooks. The objective of the program is to integrate the ethnic groups into the mainstream of Philip pine society by opening up avenues of com munication between them and the govern ment as well as with other sectors of the pop ulation, and at the same time preserving as much as possible their original lifeways. 1-15 August 1978 FZag ceremony is integral part of ethnic educational program. uble time. Natives in colorful costumes take part in community program. 8 THE REPUBLIC The art of budgeting time Budgeting time is just like budgeting money. First you list your daily expenses for a specific period, may be a month, to determine where your money goes. Then you decide where you want it to go. Then you apportion your resources among the various items you must have. After filling your basic needs, you work on those that you should have (savings or investment, for example), and those you desire (a color tv, a four-channel system or travel). In doing this, you’ll find out that you have to eliminate some needs to fulfill your other wants. The idea is to put your money where you’ll get the most out of it. The initial step toward spending your time wisely is to keep an honest accounting of how you’ve been spend ing it. There are several ways to do this: First, keep an appointment book or a diary. Divide your day into periods and at the end of each period, say half an hour or half a day, jot down what you’ve done. At the end of a week, tally your expenditures to get a good idea of where your time goes. Second, have someone catalogue your daily work activity. Have him follow you around with a stop watch. Imprac tical at the outset this system will defi nitely show you how you actually spend your time and not how you think you spend it. This objective way of gauging how you apportion your time will bring aston ishing results. The few minutes you think you spend daily talking on the phone might actually be several hours wasted on idle chatter. Or the precious time you spend tackling the details may be more than the time you have to spend dealing with the crux of what the office is hiring you for. Spent time vs. time well spent The next step is to analyze your use of time in relation to what your job requires. You may realize that you are doing things that do not fall under your respon sibility. Chances are you’ve been mis handling people by unconsciously en croaching on their responsibilities. If you can’t determine precisely what is ex pected of you, start off by getting a job specification from your superior. It may also help you to classify your work into routine, regular, special and creative. Routine work includes small and commonly repeated procedures that can easily take up 30 to 40 percent of your day. It involves daily tasks like reading and answering mail, telephoning, or con ferring with an assistant. More substantial is regular work, which in reality is the function you are being paid to perform. It involves super vising subordinates, communicating man agement decisions, overseeing produc tion and solving problems. In other words, it is getting day-to-day results. Special work involves matters not covered in standard operations. It may include installing a new training system or revising an outdated procedure. Lying still further beyond your daily job requirements is creative work. It may encompass conceiving and executing new ideas, practices and recommenda tions. This calls not only for above-aver age creativity but also extra attention because promotions are frequently based on the accomplishments in this area. Another way to evaluate work is to categorize your jobs into fixed, semi flexible, and variable. Fixed duties come up regularly and have to be attended to on time. Good examples are attending to clients and filling customer orders. Semi-flexible jobs can be adjusted within limits. They may be due on a par ticular day but you can attend to them whenever you have time. Variable jobs are done entirely at your discretion. You can do them when ever you have time to spare. Routine and regular functions are fixed. On the other hand, creative and special assignments fall under the varia ble category. Some of the fixed details and rou tine tasks that usually eat up so much of your time do not necessarily bring much in terms of measurable results. To measure your own wasted hours, con sider how you answer the phone or ex plain things to subordinates. How to achieve tangible results Certainly these things are part of your job but you can trim any of them down without hampering your efficiency. Many conversations, for example, would lose little if you tried to be more precise and to the point. Aimless daydreaming, disorganized thinking, excessive chat tering and circuitous explanations can disrupt an otherwise well-budgeted time table. On the other end of the scale, the time you spend on careful planning may not be long but it does bring tangible results. After evaluating the different aspects of your work, you should concretize your plan in the form of a fixed schedule or program of work. The most feasible step is to draw up a tentative weekly schedule of your activ ities after determining the exact num ber of hours you work within a week. In formulating your schedule you should take into consideration your abil ity to cope with the activity in relation to the time apportioned to it. For exam ple, if you think that you cannot effi ciently tackle creative tasks during the latter part of the day when your mind is tired, then you should do them earlier when your mind is still theoretically fresh and can easily assimilate ideas. You should then perform fixed, rou tine tasks at the start and/or end of each day. Many of them occur during such periods anyway. Tasks like answering mail, adjusting operators’ assignments, starting production jobs, reporting the day’s production, inspecting total out put, can easily fall within the early or late period slot. Routine jobs can be grouped together for quick execution. Allow substantial time for regular work, which really calls for a good part of your day. But don’t forget to lay aside time for special tasks. Reserve a definite time for creative projects. Most probably these were the things that you really wanted to do but never seemed to have the time for. Whatever schedule you settle on, try to stick to it as much as possible. The closer you toe the lines of your plan, the greater your chances of having time for all the things you want to do. Work speed The next logical step is to acquire work speed. This is the key to using your day to its best advantage. Try to save time by increasing your speed and efficiency. Don’t confuse speed with hurry. For purposes of clarity, we will define speed as the process of eliminating un necessary activity. Hurry, on the other hand, is a pressured speed-up of unne cessary and necessary operations. The first one is acquired through constant practice; the second is induced by pres sure, and often results in unnecessary waste of time. This is not to say that hurry is al ways destructive. Hurry is occasionally effective for short intervals. Over the long haul, however, you can accomplish more if you concentrate on essentials and discard nonproductive efforts. There are a few steps which you may undertake to achieve speed in your work schedule. With enough practice and dedication you should be able to achieve your objective of being able to keep pace. Train and delegate Delegate responsibilities to a capable assistant, one whom you know will do the job as you want it to be done. Should you lack one who knows supervisory as well as operational techniques and goals, it is never too late to train one. And although training calls for extra patience and effort, the results in terms of smooth flow of work should com pensate all your efforts. The next step is to cut down on details. Reduce time spent waiting to see people by making exact appointments whenever possible. Eliminate uncertainty by keeping notes on important actions, decisions, or meetings. Make decisions as soon as you intelligently can. Procras tination bums up a considerable portion of our precious time. Set up standardized systems and pro cedures for handling commonly recurring situations to eliminate waste of time. Such a system should be self-operative. You should step in only when the sys tem is disrupted by unavoidable circum stances. Interruptions do come once in a while but they too can be minimized if not totally eliminated. If you are doing something, stick to it. Even a simple job will eat up hours if you are constantly interrupted. You may have to close your door as a hint that you want to be left alone and take stock of your work responsibili ties. Evade an insistent telephone by asking a subordinate to answer all calls except those requiring your personal attention. Train your assistants to pool their queries together and present them at an appointed time. You should, how ever, not give the impression that you are acquiring the posture of a recluse. Arrange a definite time for meeting with supervisors. To dodge drop-in visitors who stay too long, prearrange a signal so that a subordinate can remind you that you have an appointment to keep. If you want to devote your time to a very demanding task like a complicated analysis, do it at a time when there are likely to be few interruptions and find a special place where you will be tapped only for real emergencies. Maintain adequate files for quick reference. Should an inspiration suddenly pop up while you’re doing something equally important, just jot the idea down for future consideration. Reminder system Have a reminder system to keep track of’ projects nearing deadlines. You may have a notebook, a loose-leaf binder, a card file, a folder file, or a memo calen dar where you can jot down your future activities. You can also save time by packing your activities. Handle similar operations as one. You should have form letters for frequently recurring phenomena like customer complaints, changed delivery dates and others. Give group lessons in stead of individual instructions when the situation calls for such. Try to avoid draining your energy by chopping your tasks according to your performance level. Tackle your most difficult chores during your peak energy periods and reserve your routine jobs for your more complacent time. Know your assets and limitations. If you think you can rough it out bet ter by tackling hard jobs first, then by all means do it as you see fit. If getting lighter tasks out of your way first brings high energy, then reserve the harder tasks for the latter part of your day. Should deadlines be an efficient alarm clock for you,then setup a tight schedule. How ever, if deadlines wreak havoc on your nerves, be generous by setting up a more manageable schedule. If committing yourself publicly spurs you on to peak performance level, then announce your intentions to the people concerned. It is wise to remember that both positive and negative qualities are com municable. Perk yourself up by dealing with enthusiastic people bubbling with physical and psychic energy. The ability to scale the ladder of success is no mean feat. Along the way are all kinds of snares. One of them is time. We only have so much time to make it. And the best way to beat the clock is to make the most out of the limit ed time we have. 1-15 August 1978 9. by Marcos D. Agayo Getting the message across is a problem all communicators face, whether they are trying to sell their audience on the effectiveness of a particular brand of soap or on the benefits of family planning. Now it doesn’t make much differ ence to national development whether the majority of Filipinos prefer Lux to Lifebuoy or vice versa. But it does make a difference how many listen to- and act on-govemmcnt messages on family planning, nutrition, rural development, etc. That is why. says University of the Philippines Professor Cesar M. Mercado, government planners ought to consider new ways to get their development mes sages across. For a long time now, says Mercado, the government has relied primarily on field technicians tq spread development ipessages. Sadly, this strategy has not worked especially well. There are too few technicians, too little coordination between government and private agen cies, too few opportunities for field workers to plan projects or to update their skills. Another strategy-using mass media - had other drawbacks. Campaign plans were rarely systematic or comprehensive and there was limited feedback from the target audience. To overcome some of the problems, Professor Mercado and students at Bicol Modular learning for teachers Keeping up with the latest methods in teaching is never easy. But it is particularly Uffttult for rural elementary school teachers who must not only conduct classes but also participate in all village socials, attend barangay meetings and involve themselves in other government The Research and Technical Services Division of the National Meat Inspection Commission (NM1C) has found a new way to use carabao dung and rice hulls as cooking fuels. Rather than using only animal dung, which emits offensive odors, or only rice hulls, which give off too much smoke, the NMIC method combines the two “ingredients.” Mixed in a six-to-one ratio, hull and dung are molded into briquet tes and dried, under the sun in the sum mer or in an oven during the rainy sea son. The result is a cheap, odorless fuel which bums steadily and leaves little soot on cooking vessels. The only dis advantage of the briquettes is that they tend to build up a great deal of ash, which must be cleared periodically lest it smother the fire. To eliminate this snag, the NMIC is working on new stove designs. Using dung-hull briquettes may help rural folk reduce their living costs, if only because the materials needed are both cheaper and more readily available than the traditional firewood. But the NMIC and its parent agency, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), are not bank ing only on briquettes. They are also working on producing methane gas from such waste products as straw, grain offals, chaff, weeds, and vegetable, ani mal and household wastes. This system, called bio-gas generation, has an addition al advantage: the humus left after fer mentation is a fertilizer which is far su perior to ordinary compost. Though most of the bio-gas genera tors now in use in the Philippines are dependent on pig manure, the BAI is hoping Filipino farmers will consider Getting the message across The use of field technicians to carry development messages hasn't worked too well. College and the University of the Philip pines’ Institute of Mass Communica tions devised an information campaign model which they called the Partici patory Campaign Strategy, or PCS. According to its developers, PCS’s chief virtues are that it: □ minimizes the probleih of too few technicians by tapping local manpower, including school teachers, barangay leaders, store owners and the like; inter-agency activities. These teachers rarely have the time-much less the fundsto take off for week-long education seminars or workshops, no matter how dedicated they might be. But that may be changing-thanks to Learning Modules for Rural Elementary Money saving fuel substitutes other sources. They point out that 100 pounds of chicken droppings could gen erate as much as 450 cubic feet of gas, enough to supply the basic power needs of a rural family of four for as long as 10 weeks. The same amount of pig ma nure could generate only 112 to 115 cubic feet of gas. The added burden of collecting chicken manure is thus made up for in terms of fuel economy. Bio-gas digester: Power for the people. □ allows field techniciansand intended recipients of service's to participate in the planning process and thus obtain a broader view of the government’s de velopment programs; □ makes use of local resources and pro motes self-reliance among barangay members. Good research, better results PCS requires that the people who design School Teachers, or LMREST. Similar to the programmed instruc tional materials which have proved more effective than textbooks arranged in the traditional manner, LMREST allows teach ers to keep up with the latest develop ments at the place and pace most conven ient to them. The modules, which were developed out of a UNICEF-funded proj ect, cost very little and can accomplish as much as a seminar or workshop, pro viding the teacher applies the necessary time and energy to her studies. The LMRESTcomes in three parts.. The use of bio-gas generators has already helped some food-processing in dustries reduce their fuel costs. The BAI now hopes to persuade sugar cen trals to do the same using their own waste products. Research has shown that sugar cane distillery slops (what remains after alcohol has been extracted from molasses) has produced gas sufficient to fuel boilers, generators, kitchen appli and the people who use government programs work closely together. They must analyze the effectiveness of past programs and spell out what they want of new ones. They must survey avail able resources and decide how to obtain whatever else is needed for a new pro gram’s success. Lastly, they must monitor the program so that they can learn from their successes or failures. In two information campaigns (on food production and family planning) built on the PCS model, analysts found that films -especially transistorized VI Rs, which allow people to see themselves as well as their barrio on a scrcen-attract far more people than do lecture-discus sions or demonstrations. Not surprisingly the analysts also found developmental messages built into sports, recreational, religious or folk-actiyities were able to reach more people than were programs designed to deliver only the develop ment message. The PCS model is of course, far from perfect. The coordination required be tween government/private technicians and ordinary citizens demands a good deal of time and patience. Decision-mak ing is slow and the likelihood of con flict between agencies and individuals high. Still, says Professor Mercado, the potential bene fits are worth the imme diate problems.Time and experience, he says, will reduce the problems and help deliver an even better system. The first part helps a teacher decide what particular module will best fit her needs. Once that is decided, the second part details learning activities. (Some “second parts" are complete in themselves; others refer the user to other resource materials.) The third part assesses how well the teach er has done her “homework.” The prime advantage of the module system is that-it can be used anytime, anywhere, for either individual or group study. LMREST may thus be the answer to the rural teachers’ desire to keep up with their urban counterparts. ances and kilns previously dependent on liquefied petroleum gas. Dr. Jose A. Cayabyab, BAl’s assistant director for research, is currently working with Cen tral Azucarera de Tarlac to determine the economic viability of generating gas from sugar slops. Through its extension workers, the BAI carries out direct consultations and •provides plans, bills of materials and technical assistance to small- and medium scale farmers. Anyone desiring more in formation about bio-gas generation should contact the nearest BAI regional office or visit the BAI Central Office in the Rita Legarda Bldg., Magsaysay Blvd., Metro Manila. •10 THE REPUBLIC I. Isang sulyap sa umuusok na panganib ni Myrna M. Castro Walang nakababatid na ang ika-4 ng Disyembre taong 1951 ay magdudulot ng lagim sa mga taga-Mambajao,Camiguin. Walang nakaramdam na ang katahimikan ng lugar na iyon ay pakiki- , alaman ng kalikasan: babasagin ng isang nakatutulig na dagundong; bubusan ng nagbabagang putik; at sa isang iglap, kikitlan ng buhay. Ang salarin-Bulkang Hibok-Hibok. Ngunit hindi pa ito nasiyahan sa pagkitil ng may 500 buhay. Kinakailangan pang magmistulang mga “mummies” (tulad sa Ehipto) ang bawat madampian ng “nuee ardante” o nagbabagang ulap na may temperaturang 800°C. Nasunog at nabuwal ang bahay at punong nasayaran ng nagbabagang lava. Pagkaraan ng ilang araw, pagkatapos na sumabog ito, nanatiii pa rin sa paligid ang init. Higit na malaking pinsala ang idinulot ng Hibok-Hibok kaysa ibang bulkan. Kakaiba ang naging pagsabog nito. Ang direksiyon ng usok pagkaraang sumabog ay pababa kayat sapol ang lahat ng naninirahan sa paligid. Samantalang ang ibang bulkan ay pataas ang direksyon ng usok. Isa iamang ang Hibok-Hibok sa apat Sa pamamagitan ng radio transmitter, maipababatid ng mga observers ang anumang abnormalidad sa bulkan. na aktibong bulkan ng bansa na laging nag-uumang ng panganib. Katunayan, ang Pilipinas ay isang bansa ng mga bulkan. Hindi kukulangin sa 46 ang bulkan sa ban sa, kinabibilangan ng mga bulkang aktibo, natutulog o tahimik at mga patay na bulkan. Aktibo ang isang bulkan kung ito ay sumabog sa mga nakaraang panahon at may posibilidad na sumabog muli. Masasabi namang tahimik o natutu log ang isang bulkan kung Hindi ito suma bog sa nakaraang mga panahon ngunit may posibilidad ng pagsabog. Sa kaso naman ng patay na bulkan, ito ay hindi pa sumabog sa nakaraang mga panahon at ang hugis nito ay nagsisimulang papagbaguhin ng puwersa ng weathering at erosion. Marami pang inaasahang madidiskubreng bulkan sa daratingna mga pana hon. Magmula sa Babuyan Islands pa baba sa Jolo, makikita ang maraming con ical hills at bundok sa kapatagan. Habang dumarami ang nadidiskubreng bulkan, lalong lumalaki ang nakaambang panganib. Kung kaya, nilikha ang isang lupon na ang tanging tungkulin ay alamin ang mga aktibidad ng mga bulkan upang maiwasan at mabawasan ang labis na pinsalang idinudulot ng mga ito. Ang magnetometer, isa sa mga instrument sa pagprediksyon ng pagsabog ng bulkan. II. Kasaysayan ng COMVOL I$ang taon pagkaraang sumabog ang Hibok-Hibok, isinilang ang Commission on Yolcanology. Isinailalim ito sa Na tional Research Council of the Philip pines. Ngunit dahil sa ang pangunahing tungkulin nito ay ang pagsasagawa ng pananaliksik sa bulkanolohiya, inilipat ito sa Tanggapan ng Presidente. Pinamunuan ito ng isang chairman at may apat na miyembro. Ang mga unang opisina ng komisyon ay isinama sa University of the Philip pines. Binubuo ito ng tatlong geologists hanggang sa ito ay,maging foundation para sa mga pag-aaral ng bulkanolohiya sa bansa. , Ginugol ang mga sumunod na taon sa pagtitipon ng mga geologic data ukol sa mga bulkan, imbestigasyon at geo logical mapping ng ibang mahalagang sentro ng mga bulkan na kulang at limitado ang impormasyong naisulat. Sa pamamagitan ng pinansiyal na suporta mula sa gobyemo at tulong na teknikal mula sa mga ekspertong lokal at dayuhan^ nakapagtayo ang Commis sion ng mga volcano observatories, o estasyon, una sa Hibok-Hibok, sumunod sa Taal, sa Mayon at sa Canlaon. Ang pagpasok ng 60s ay nagpabago sa kasaysayan ng Commission on Vol canology. Ang lumalaking kamalayan sa konserbasyon ng enerhiya ay nagpalawak sa nasasaklaw nito, mula sa pag-aaral ng bulkan hanggang sa geothermal research. Noong 1965, natuklasan nito ang geo thermal energy potential ng bansa. Gayunman, ang crustal unrest na gumulo sa bansa, pinasimulan ng pag sabog ng Taal Volcano sa kalahatian ng 1965 at nagtapos sa malakas na mga paglindol noong 1971, ay nagpabagal sa pagpapaunlad ng geothermal sa bansa. Kasabay ng isinasagawang pag-aaral sa lindol, ipinagpatuloy ng Commission ang pagsasagawa ng eksplorasyon at pagpapaunlad ng geothermal. Noong 1967 itinayo ang unang geothermal power plant sa Tiwi, Albay. Ang tagumpay nito ang nagpasimula sa eksplorasyon ng ibang geothermal areas sa bansa. Ang dating grupo na binubuo ng tatlo noong 1953 ay naging 60 sa katapusan ng 1974. Mula sa Tanggapan ng Presi dente, inilipat ito sa pamamahala ng National Science Development Board noong Disyembre, 1973. Sa paglaki ng kahalagahan ng bulkanolohiya sa ban sa ay kasabay na lumaki ang Commis sion on Volcanology. III. Paghahanda sa banta ng bulkan Sa kasalukuyan, ang bansa ay may 13 bulkang aktibo. Sa bilang na ito, apat ang madalas magpakita ng abnormalidad. Ito ay ang Mayon, Taal, Hibok-Hibok at Canlaon. Bawat isa sa apat na bulkang ito ay tinayuan ng estasyon na hinihimpilan ng walong observers at isang technical man. Tungkulin ng mga ito na iulat sa Commis sion ang anumang abnormalidad na mapapansin sa bulkan. Sa pamarhagitan ng radio transmitter, nagkaroon sila ng komunikasyon. Bilang pangunang hakbang ukol sa abnormalidad ng isang bulkan ,-nagdaraos ang Commission ng technical meeting o kaya’y emergency meeting. Sa meeting na ito, pinag-aaralan ang ulat ukol sa bul kan. Tulad sa isang tao, ang bulkan ay indibidualistiko. Bawat isa’y may iba’t ibang ugali kung kayat nangangailangan ng kani-kaniyang atensiyon. Sa kasalukuyan, matatagpuan sa Mayon Volcano ang Mayon Rest House Observatory, Sta. Misericordia Vol nological Station at Cale-Tiwi Seismic Station. Samantalang sa Taal, matatag puan ang Taal Volcano Island Volcanological Station at Taal Volcano Ob servatory sa Talisay Batangas. Sa HibokHibok naman, makikita ang Hibok-Hibok Volcano Observatory at sa Canlaon ay Canlaon Volcanological Observatory. Samantala, ang isang sangay ng Com mission, ang Field Observatory and Disaster Mitigating Division, ang siyang nagbibigay ng babala sa mga naninirahang malapit sa bulkang sasabog. Ipinaaalam sa mga ito kung hanggang saang layo sila dapat lumikas. Sa kaso ng Mayon Volcano, lumikas sila sa layong walong kilometro mula sa sentro ng panganib. Samantalang sa Taal Volcano, kinakailangang iwanan nila ang buong isla. Sa kaso naman ng Hibok-Hibok, may layong tatlong kilometro ang ligtas na pook. Samantalang sa Canlaon naman ay walong kilometro. Isa sa pangunahing tungkulin ng Commission ang pagsasagawa ng prediksyon ng pagsabog ng isang bulkan. Ang mga pamamaraan na isinasagawa nila ay ang seismometric method, gravity at magnetic method, thermometric method at tilting method. Sa seismometric method, ang instrumentong ginagamit ay seismograph. Dinisenyo ito upang sukatin at itala ang mga pagyanig sa ilalim ng daigdig at ng lupa. Sa thermometric method, thermo meter ang instrumentong ginagamit. Ibinabaon sa paligid ng bulkan ang mga thermometer upang malaman ang tempe rature nito. Kapagmataas ang tempera ture, nangangahulugang may peligro itong sumabog. Sa gravity at magnetic method na man, ang ginagamit na instrument ay ang gravimeter at magnetometer. Saman talang sa tilting method, ginagamit ang tilt meter upang sukatin ang density Ang gravimeter na nagkakahalaga ng $20,000 ay ginagamit rin sa pagprediksyon ng pagsabog ng bulkan. variation. Ginagawang lahat ng Commission ang mga hakbang upang mabawasan ang pin salang dulot ng pagsabog ng isang bulkan. Nakikipagtuwang sila sa National Dis aster Coordinating Center sa mga pana hon ng panganib. Nagkakaloob din sila ng impormasyon at serbisyo sa Philippine National Red Cross at iba pang relief organizations, mass media at publiko. Pamuli’t muli, ang bulkan ay magiinit, mag-aalab,' magngangalit, magbubuga ng panganib, ngunit pamuli’t muli ring kikilos ang Commission on Volcanology-upang harapin ito. 1-15 August 1978 11 Paano gagawing kapanapanabik ang iyong trabaho ni Marilag T. Bautista « X, Naranasan mo na bang mainis sa iyong trabaho?’Yun bang pakiramdam mo’y sawang-sawang ka na, pakiramdam mo’y ayaw mo na. Kuwidaw, nababagot ka! Natural lamang ang mabagot paminsan-minsan. Dumarating ito kahit kanino. Pero kung maya’t maya naman ang pag-atake nito, abnormal na. Patungo ito sa tuluyang pagkaloko. At, baka mawalan ka ng trabaho . .. ! Kapag nabagot ka sa isang bagay, nangangahulugang nawawalan ka na ng interes o kasabikan dito. Sa mga pagkakataong tulad nito, itanong mo sa iyong sarili: mahal ko ba ang trabaho ko? Kung gayo’y bakit kailangang mawalan ako ng interes sa ginagawa ko? Totoong nakaka-kunsensiya! Kasi’y hindi dapat kabagutan ang isang bagay na minamahal, ’di ba? Hindi mo mahal ang trabaho mo? Pero, mahal mo ang sarili mo? Kung gayon, kailangang masustinihan mo ang mga pangangailangan ng iyong sarili: pagkain, damit, bahay. Napapasaiyo ang mga ito sa pamamagitan ng iyong trabaho. Mula pa rin sa iyong trabaho, naibibigay mo ang mga pangangailangan ng iba pang mahal mo. Makatwiran lang na mahalin mo ang trabaho mo. Maiiwasan ang pagkabagot, bakit hindi. Kung nagsisimula na itong umatake, magpahinga ka sandali. Suriin mong mabuti ang sarili mo. Al am in mo ang ugat *o dahilan ng pagkabagot mo at sikapin • 7 mong patayin iyon. Alisin mo sa iyong isip ang ideya na nababagot ka„ Maging ’ •'PCJitibs.-isipin mong kailangan ka ng trabaho mo katulad ng pangangailangan mo nito. Ayon nga sa isang Protestant ethic: “If you expect the world to re ward you, you must give the world something in return. ” Kasi’y nabubuhay ang tao sa ilalim ng tinatawag mgive-and-take relationship o mutualism. Hindi puwedeng lagi na lamang tumatanggap gayong hindi naman ibinibigay ang bahaging dapat ipagkaloob. Mawawalan din ng puwang ang pag kabagot kung isasagawa ang trabaho sa paraang magigingkasiya-siya saiyo. Ikaw na ang bahalang tumuklas sa paraang akma sa iyo para m aging isang uri ng libangan ang pagtatrabaho. Isa pang paraan ng pag-iwas sa pag kabagot ay ang pagkakaroon ng kuryusidad sa mga bagay-bagay. Huwagkang mag-aksaya ng mahabang panahon sa mga bagay na alam mo na. Ang buhay ay isang patuloy na pag-aaral. Isangmainam na paraan ng paglaki at pagkatuto ang pagtuklas at pag-alam sa iba pang mga bagay sa paligid. Hindi magiging kabagut-bagot ang pagtatrabaho kung hahaluan ng kuryusidad. Bagkus, magiging kapana-panabik pa nga. Sa tulong nito, laging may matutuklasang “bago.” Banggitin na lamang halimbawa ang mga imbensyon. Ang mga ito ay resulta ng malaking kuryusidad ng tao sa mga bagay-bagay, na pinag-isipan at hinangad tuklasin. Kapag lagi kang mausisa, ang lahat ng bagay ay maliliwanagan mo kahit hindi sinasadya. Higit mong makikilala ang tao, ang kani-kanilang pakikipagsapalaran, tagumpay at kabiguan.Gayundin ang ukol saambisyon,pag-ibig at pagmamahal, pagseselos, kahinaan, pagkasuklam at iba pa. Matutuklasan mo rin at mahahanap ngkatugunan ang hiwaga at kasalimuotan ng buhay; maging ang hiwaga pa ngkamatayan. Lahat ng maibibigay ng buhay ay maaari mong matamo sa tulong ng pananaliksik. Hindi ba kapana-panabik ito? Bukod sa kung minsay kakailanganin mo ang mga nasabing kaalaman para sa mas epektibong pag sasagawa ng trabaho. Ang mga kaalamang matatamo mo bunga ng kuryusidad sa mga bagaybagay at paghahangad na tuklasin ang mga ito ay maipapasa mo sa iba. Sa paraang ito, mapagtutulung-tulungang sagutin ang mga katanungan, maipaliliwanag at mauunawaan ang maraming bagay sa daigdig. Lumitaw sa mga pagsusuri na marami sa malulungkot na tao ang nawalan na ng kuryusidad sa mga bagay-bagay. ’Yung mga taong humihinto sa pagtatanong, sa pag-iimbestiga, sa pananalik sik, sa pagtatamo ng mga bagong kaalaman. Sila ang mga nakuntento sa mga dati na nilang nalalaman at huminto na roon. Sila ang mga taong nawalan na ng-pakialam sa mundo! Ayon sa isang kilalang psychiatrist, “Curiosity is one of the most life-enhancingof human qualities-the cement that holds society together, the enricher and prolonger of human life. ” Ayon naman sa isa pang psychiatrist: “Curiosity is the same quality that sus tains and enlarges your inner life-that life from which every thing you are takes its energy and its character. ” Nangangahulugan kung gayon na ang kuryusidad sa mga bagay-bagay ay isang mahalagangsangkapngbuhay. Kailangan ito upang maiwasan ang pagkabagot at maging kuntento at maligaya ... hindi lamang sa larangan ng trabaho kundi sa kabuuan ng buhay. Ito ay hindi biro ni Jose C. Umali, Jr. Taun-taon, mula Agosto 13 hanggang 19, ipinagdiriwang ng Pilipinas ang “Linggo ng Wikang Pilipino” upang bigyang-pansin ang kahalagahan ng pagkakaroon ng sariling wika. Sa kabila ng ganitong pagdiriwang, nakalujp^gkot isipin na hanggang ngayon, inc_.s pa rin ang pangunahing wika sa Pilipinas—hiram na wika pa rin ang pinababayaang mangibabaw, dayuhang wika pa rin ang pinalalaganap. Kaya nga isang ganap na tagumpay ang pananakop ng Amerika sa Pilipinas, sapagkat nabihag nito pati ang isipan ng mga Pilipino. Nagawa nitong pag-isipin, pakilusin at pagsalitain ang Pilipino na parang isang Amerikano. Kailan ganap na lalaya ang Pilipinas sa ganitong uri ng pananakop? * * * Itinaas na sa P574 ang buwanang suweldo ng mga elementary schoolteachers. Maliit pa rin, kung talagang tutuusin ang kamahalan ngayon ng mga bilihin, ngu nit malaki na rin itong biyaya sa libulibong titser ng mga eskuwelahang publiko. Dapat lamang taasan ang suweldo ng mga titser, kung maaari ay umabot Sana nglibo, para naman ganahan ang mga ito sa pagtuturo at ang propesyon ay pasukin ng higit na maraming matalinong kabataan. Maselan ang tungkulin ng mga titser. Isinasalin nila sa mga estudyante ang kanilang nalalaman, kaisipan, paniniwala at maging ugali. Kung bopol mismo ang mga nagtuturo, paanong maaasahang ma giging matalino ang mga tinuturuan? Kapag nagkaganito, ang Pilipinas ay ma giging bayan ng mga bobo! Pinag-uusapan ngayon kung dapat suwelduhan ang mga pinuno ng mga barangay. May mga nagsasabing “dapat” bilang pagkilala sa malaking naitutulong ng mga barangay sa bayan. May nagsasabi namang “hindi dapat” dahil sisirain nito ang tunay na diwa ng barangay-iyong pagtulong sa mga proyektong pangkaunlaran nang walang hinihintay na anu mang kabayaran. Ano man ang kalabasan ng mga paguusap, isang bagay ang tiyak: pinalakas ng barangay ang diwa ng bayanihan at demokrasya, isang “kasaysayan” ang nagawa at ginagawa nito para sa bayan. Isipin na lamang, habang pinagtatalunan kung dapat o hindi dapat suwelduhan ang mga pinuno ng barangay na taiagangmalaki ang nagagawa, sa gobyerno ay may mga empleado na sinusuwelduhan dahil sa “pagtunganga” sa loob ng walong oras. Ordinaryong plate number na ang gagamitin ng mga opisyal ng gobyemo, hindi tulad noon na ang ibinibigay sa kanila’y yong mabababa ang numero. Ipinagbawal ito upang mawala ang tila pagkakaroon ng “special class citizens.” Noon nga namang araw, kapag mababa ang numero ng isang sasakyan, sikat, bigatin, kaya espesyal ang ibinibigay ha pagtrato ng mga pulis. Puwedeng pumarada sa bawal pumarada. Puwedeng pumasok sa bawal pumasok. Aba, kotse yata ni Senador, bakit huhulihin! Siguro, kung maaari lang, dapat na ring ipagbawal ang paggamit ng mga RP plate. Maraming sasakyang RP na abusado. Parang mga hari sa daan: ayaw mabubusinahan, ayaw mapapalusutan. Walang bawal-bawal, aba, RP yata! May mga supervisors na kailangang kumuha ng mga seminar tungkol sa manage ment at human relations. Lalo na iyong ang nalalamang paraan ng pamamahala ay matanda pa kay mahcma, iyong kung tratuhin ang mga subordinate ay parang mga robot. Nakakalimutan ng mga ito ang “human side” ng pamamahala, na ang mga tao ay may “motivation” upang kumilos, hindi mga makina lamang na sa isang pindot ay mapapakilos. Operators ang mga ito, hindi super visors! Laging malaking kontrobersiyal ang paggamit o hindi paggamit ng “bundy clock” sa mga opisina, gobyemo man o pribado. Dapat bang orasan ang mga empleado para makapagtrabaho nanghusto? O ang ganitong sistema ay sagabal pa nga at nakasasama? Para sa akin, ang paggamit ng bundy ay “dapat” at “di-dapat.” Dapat ito para sa isang partikular na trabaho at di dapat para naman sa isa. Halimbawa: dapat ito para sa isang telephone operator, ngunit di-dapat sa isang information writer. Nasa opisina lang lagi ang operator sa mantalang ang writer ay palabas-labas Gayunman, may mga empleado na kahit na may bundy clock pa ay lagi ring wala sa opisina—walang magawa ang bun dy sa kanilang paglalakwatsa! 12 THE REPUBLIC People on the move Edith B. Guitilen and Nora G. Bangalan, senior re searchers of the Surian ng WikangPambansa, Ministry of Education and Culture, left last month for Singa pore on scholarships awarded by the Southeast Asian Ministry of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Lan guage Center. They are taking up courses in applied linguistics. Guitilen is a graduate of the University of Baguio and has a Bachelor of Science in Education. She has also finished the academic requirements for M.A. in Pilipino at the Philippine Normal College. Bangalan is an education graduate of the Philip pine Normal College and has Masters in Education (major in math) from the University of the Philippines. They will be away for eight months. Daniel Tuazon, Junior Technology Officer of the Computer Services Center, Technological Resource Center, was awarded a scholarship to study geographic information systems in Paris. A geodetic engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines, Tuazon will stay in Paris for one year. At the Ministry of Local Governments and Community Development, Victor R. Sumulong was named Assistant Secretary for Personnel Management and Development. Sumulong, who holds a B.A. in political science from Ateneo and an LL.B. from the University of the Philippines, began working as a consultant of the Ministry in 1975. He was later promoted to Senior Executive Assistant II, a position he held until his most recent appointment. Another LL.B. graduate of the University of the Philippines, Eulogia Cueva, recently won a Dewitt E. Cueva S.R. Cuevas scholarship to the University of Michigan to v rk toward a Masters in law. Ms. Cueva had worked as a Senior Research Attorney at the Court of Appeals. Taking up a new position as a j ustice of the Court of Appeals is Serafin R. Cuevas. A law graduate of the University of the Philippines, Cuevas worked for one year in private law practice and then moved on to a position as trial attorney with the U.S. Veterans Administration. He entered government service in 1957 as Assistant City Fiscal in Manila. He has since held various positions with the Ministry of Justice, including Judge of the Court of First Instance (CFI) in Cabanatuan City ; Acting Associate Judge, Court of Industrial Relations; and, since 1975 until his most recent appointment, First Vice Executive Judge of the CFI, Manila. by Evangeline N. Carillo The Integrated Reorganization Plan of 1972 created, among other tilings, a Career Executive Service pro gram . The idea behind the program, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission, was to build a core of "development-oriented career ad ministrators,” men and women who, in making govern ment their life work, would be professionals first and politicians second (if ever). Because the success of this program depends primarily on the kind of people who enter it, applicants for Cl-S positions are rigidly screened. A basic require ment for entry into the Career Executive Service is satisfactory completion of the Career Executive Serv ice Development Program (CI SDP), an educational program of the CES Board designed and implemented by the Development Academy of the Philippines. The CESDP consists of two phases. Phase I is for those already holding CI S positions. Phase II is for selected middle managers in government who will either immediately fill vacant CES positions or are identified as potential appointees to CES positions and who can be helped to do a more effective job as middle man agers while awaiting promotion to appropriate CES positions. The nine-month CESDP Phase II program is more comprehensive and detailed than the Phase I program. The curriculum emphasizes the acquisition of specific skills and provides opportunities for immediate ap plication in concrete developmental situations. The program was launched in February of this year, and by the end of October, the first group of graduates will be ready to assume hi levels of responsibility in the CES. Better than rural service A special part of the CESDP Phase II is the "Barrio Immersion” program. The nine-week program (which ended June 30) gave 48 men and women from 17 gov ernment agencies the opportunity to apply at the barrio level classroom theories on planned change and on capability-building for community problem-solving Bureaucrats brainstorming with barrio officials. Executive training in the barrio and citizen participation. The 48 Phase II participants were divided into four groups, each of which went to one of four barrios in Cavite Province: Talon in Amadeo, Bunalejos and Bancod in Indanang,and Kanggahan in Trece Martires. There the CESDP trainees lived, interacted and worked with the barrio folk. The “Barrio Immersion” program is more proc ess-oriented than the 15-day rural service required of all government employees. The CESDP participants help the barrio folk determine and prioritize their needs, look for solutions to those needs and formulate action plans using indigenous resources. Only when indigenous resources are unavailable or inappropriate are government services sought, with the “Barrio Immersion” participants acting as brokers between the community and government agencies. The primary aim of the program is to develop participation and problem-solving skills in the barrio, to help the people decide for themselves what they want and how to get it rather than waiting for the gov ernment to provide. The CESDP Phase II has been fairly successful in bringing technology to the barrios and restoring the people’s trust in the government. Expanding the pro gram to a larger scale, however, is not feasible at the moment because of the huge amount involved. The estimated per capita cost of CESDP Phase II is P50.000. REPUBLIC ________ Isang bansa.isartg diwa Board of Advisers Chairman: Francisco S. Tatad Members: Lorenzo J. Cruz, Florentino S. Dauz, Amante Bigornia Board of Editors Managing Editor: Manuel Abad Gacrlan Associate Editor: Marcos D. Agayo Pilipino Editor: Jose C. Umali, Jr. Editorial Staff: Marilag T. Bautista, Myrna M. Castro, Rowena M. Lumen, Virginia V. Paculan, Paul S. de Quiros, Juanita G. Trinidad Photo Editor: George S. Gascon Production Supervisor: Marcelino N. Palisoc Circulation Manager: Bruno R. Dabu The Republic is published fortnighjly by the Ministry of Public Information, Malacariang, Manila, for government managers. The Editors welcome contributions of manuscripts and pho tographs which should be sent to: The Repub lic, BNEI, UPL Building, Intramuros, Manila, Tel: 49-87-61. While they will take reasonable care, the Editors assume no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts. Entered as second-class mail matter on March 5, 1973 at the Manila Central Post Office.