This is the text of the speech I gave today at Centro Escolar University’s Quality Awards -

The Search for a Filipino Culture of Quality
By
Atty. Adel A. Tamano
President
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

Bismillah Hi Rahman Hi Raheem. Assalaamu aliakum wa Rakmatullah Hiwa Barakaatu. Peace and God’s blessings on us all.

I always start my speeches by invoking God’s name for two reasons – firstly, so that I will be compelled to only speak the truth, something that may be difficult at times for a political spokesman, which is my other vocation, and secondly, to remind people that the speaker is proudly Filipino and proudly Muslim. Particularly in the context of the recent kidnapping of media personalities by the Abu Sayyaf, there are some who may have taken an unfairly negative view of Filipino Muslims. It goes without saying, that the majority of Filipino Muslims are peaceful and law-abiding.

I would like to thank the President of CEU, Dra. Ma. Cristina Padolina and Dr. Jim Fernandez for inviting me here today. CEU’s advocacy of quality, particularly within the educational context, is an advocacy that is very close to my heart. As I mentioned earlier, some of you may know me more as the spokesman for the opposition and not as an educator, particularly because of my exposure during the 2007 elections. However, I have been in the educational field for 15 years, first as an instructor in Economics, later a Professor in Constitutional Law, and, finally, as President of PLM.

The grand venture of education, the shaping of minds and hearts through the transformative power of learning is – and will always be – my main passion. A passion that I share with all the educators here, many with better credentials and experiences than myself.

But for those of us with a passion for education, particularly quality education, we cannot help but be saddened by the current state of Philippine education.

In a recent test of English proficiency of our primary school teachers, 70% failed. In the secondary level, 80% failed. This is alarming. How do we maintain our competitive advantage, which is our facility with English, against the other growing economies in the region when our very own teachers cannot even speak or write English properly?

In the realm of Math and Science, in an examination taken by high-school students from 45 countries, ranking from the highest to the lowest, our country ranked 41st in Math and 42nd in Science.

These dismal statistics only consider those who actually have access to education, even a poor one. In the Philippines, of ten school age students, only six will graduate from the primary level. Of the six, only four will graduate from high school. Out of these four, only two will complete their college education.

I refer to these alarming statistics to show how important CEU’s advocacy is. We see, very clearly, from the deteriorating performance of our students compared to their counterparts in other countries, how the quality of Philippine education has deteriorated and why educational reform is now a national imperative.

Unfortunately for us, our fast food, consumer-obsessed, instant-gratification culture is unconducive to creating a culture of quality. Quality demands sacrifice, patience, and, most importantly, time and effort. Quality is never easy because excellence is always forged through effort.

Take for example my being the first Filipino Muslim to be accepted to and to graduate from Harvard Law School. Modesty aside, to be able to study at Harvard, you not only need to pass through a highly competitive application process where only about five per cent of the world’s best legal scholars are chosen but you also need a great deal of money, nearly One Hundred Thousand US dollars for tuition, board and lodging, airfare, living and other expenses. I am not ashamed to say that in order to study at Harvard, aside from the scholarship given to me by the University, I had to work as a librarian – tolerating the, at times, abusive behavior of students and guests many years my junior when I was already a partner in a law firm in Manila - and my wife even had to mortgage her house to come up with funds, not only for my studies but also to support her and my son while I was away. But because of our sacrifices I have now set a standard and a benchmark for all Filipino Muslims that they too can aspire to study at the world’s premier law school. In a real sense, the message that I hope will be obtained from my experience is that even if you belong to a marginalized and disadvantaged group – like Filipino Muslims - with hardwork, effort, sacrifice, and support from our loved ones, you can achieve excellence. You can create quality.

We can apply this idea of quality and excellence to our country. I’m certain that it will be not difficult for us to agree that the Philippines is far from the society that we hope – and know – that it can be. According to the latest SWS Survey, 11.9 per cent of our countrymen suffer daily the scourge of hunger. The Human Development Report states that 36.8 per cent of our population, more than 1 in every 3 Filipinos, live below the poverty line. Poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and misgovernance are fast becoming the hallmarks of our society. But instead of us despairing and giving up hope – perhaps like many Filipinos, both young and old, who have decided to leave our country for greener pastures abroad - allow me to say that with enough Filipinos who believe in, are committed to, and will strive for quality and excellence, like today’s awardees, then we will be able to turn this country around. This is why CEU’s quality awards are important. Today’s awardees are examples for all of Filipinos.

However, it is not enough that our awardees and our institutions be the only ones that achieve excellence and quality. We must create a Filipino culture and orientation towards quality and excellence. This is why I raised the point about poverty earlier: even if we create these pockets of quality and excellence in our institutions, it will mean very little if it does not, in the long run, create genuine change in our country for the better. Personally, I do not believe that personal quality and excellence is enough. To strive for quality and excellence, on a purely personally level without regard to how it affects others, is not only selfish but, given our Philippine context, foolish and shortsighted. On this point, allow me to quote this beautiful passage by Martin Luther King –

All this is simply to say that all life is interrelated. We are caught in an Inescapable network or mutuality; tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. As long as there is poverty in this world, no man can be totally rich even if he has a billion dollars. As long as diseases are rampant and millions of people cannot expect to live more than twenty or thirty years, no man can be totally healthy, even if he just got a clean bill of health from the finest clinic in America. Strangely enough, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.

Perhaps the real benchmark of success from today’s activities and awarding ceremonies is how our awardees will help transform the lives of others. From their families, to their students, and hopefully, to the rest of our country.

Lastly, we have a saying in Islam that God has enjoined excellence in all things. This is also one of the core values of CEU, “excellence in all endeavors.” I honor you, the awardees and the Centro Escolar University, for your pledge to excellence and quality and I stand here inspired myself, aspiring to become my better self, to live a life of genuine quality.

Sun Star Dumaguete
www.sunstar.com
Published July 12, 2008

YOUNG politicians from Manila visited Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental recently in their series of campus tours throughout the country. The young politicians who call themselves “Young Turks” visited Silliman University first.

They engaged Silliman students in a forum discussion held at the Silliman Church, as well as in addressing concerns on education, politics, economics, and cultural concerns in two earlier forums.

The Young Turks is composed of Danton Remoto, chairman of Ang Ladlad Party List and professor of English at Ateneo; Representative Gilbert Remulla, a former congressman, broadcaster and television personality; Adel Tamano, spokesperson of the United Opposition (UNO); and Representative Lorenzo “Erin” Tanada III of Quezon City, the son of former Senator Wigberto Tanada and the grandson of nationalist Senator Lorenzo Tanada. The forum was also initiated by the Arts and Sciences Department of Silliman University.

The Young Turks called on the students to organize among themselves and help in forming a new political landscape that would directly benefit the youth sector. Tamano, who is designated by the group as its spokesperson, said they set out on campus tours to get the sentiments of the youth across the country, be it in the politics involving the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The group has also expanded its discussion on family planning, reproductive health and music, among others. The Young Turks advocated equal rights for both sexes and an end to discriminatory traits for women and gays, since we all belong to one Filipino race and nation.

Tanada, for his part, explained that there is still hope in our country although several crises have been besetting it. He said this could be done if people reclaim their rights. Their visit, said Tanada, is considered a way of conversing the youth and, at the same time, hearing the youths’ sentiments direct from the grounds. “We want to engage you, we want to hear you, and we want to mobilize you,” he said. (EBS)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos.

By Lito Banayo
Ang Pahayagang Malaya

Romulo Neri will soon assume his new posting, as administrator of the Social Security System, which husbands some 250 billion pesos of the blood, sweat, and tears of the working class and their private employers.

To make certain he is classified as cabinet rank, his president created a new cabinet cluster, and made him chair the “national social welfare program” of the Boss Woman. Being in cabinet, he can always and ever invoke executive privilege.

And true to form, Romulo Neri tells the country that “executive privilege will stay with me for the rest of my life”. Their secrets (his and hers) till the grave he shall carry. Till death do them part. Married to each other’s prevarications - Romulo and Gloria.

In defending himself against accusations that he is out to use the workers’ fund as his Boss Woman would order, he claims that when he was appointed to the Department of Budget and Management, they likened him to “Dracula” sent to the blood bank. But there was, Neri maintains, no such “Dracula phenomenon” under his watch.

Yet this guy, over wine and fine cheeses and pica-pica, used to regale his close friends with stories of how his cell phone kept ringing during those stressful days of the impeachment case of 2005. His Boss Woman was besieged by those blood-sucking congressmen, he used to tell, with unlimited requests for funding here and funding there. And her Boss Woman, counting every vote of every crocodile, would call him (a la Garci), to release this and release that to whomever. Exasperated at the incessant ringing of his phone, he decided to go to her palace, and sit beside her, calculator in hand, so his responses, which trigger the SARO’s and the NCA’s, would be direct.

He, he, he. He may be no Dracula, but he certainly was Dracula’s valet and faithful gofer. He would open the casket dutifully each night, and close it as soon as the blood-sucking spree was over. And he would make certain the heavy drapes of secrecy are closed, lest the rays of truth permeate and set his bosses’ victims free again.

To the Energy Regulatory Commission, there’s one political appointment after another. Exit Rodolfo Albano of Isabela, enter Zenaida Ducut of Lubao in Pampanga, faithful maidservant to the Boss Woman, and faithful lawyer of the Boss Woman’s faithful comadre, Atcheng Lilia or Baby Pineda of jueteng infamy. Again, can the public expect this Ducut lady to protect their interest, or do as her Boss Woman bids, whatever that may be, and however inimical such may be to public interest? Don’t look now. And don’t be surprised if one of these days, a Pineda from Lubao sits in the board of Meralco.

Bad governance is not just the flavor of this month; it is the order of this dispensation. They have run out of people who they can trust to carry their secrets to the grave along with them. The ability to do whatever they bid, no questions asked, no ifs and buts, along with the promise to keep everything secret - these are the most “sterling” qualifications for employment in this government.

As for those former senior government officials (FSGO) who keep objecting to her “good” governance style, and critique every new appointment under the principle that bad appointments are the hallmark of bad governance, well, she just couldn’t care less. “Manhid” in Tagalog. “Insensitive and callous” in English. My lola would have said, “sin verguenza”.

Recall what Rear Admiral Mata, that member of the Board of Marine Inquiry said about the quality of officials asked to head the regulatory agency for shipping, the Marina? “Kung ikaw binigyan ng trabaho, sana naman sabihin mo, Ma’am hindi ko kaya iyan! O ngayon…walong daan ang namatay?” referring to the Princess of the Stars tragedy.

But that’s the problem, folks. The men at the helm of Marina and Philippine Ports Authority are there precisely because the cronies of the Dona y su esposo want them to be there. These are the same people Romulo Neri railed and ranted against in his lectures on his Boss Woman’s “praxis of regulatory capture by the oligarchs.”.

Corruption and bad governance not only sucks. It kills.

Boiled Green Bananas
Column in Business Mirror
by Liling Magtolis Briones

During the past week, I was deeply engrossed with two seemingly disparate activities. The first was the visit of the Young Turks—Adel (Tamano), Danton (Remoto), Erin (Tañada) and Gilbert (Remulla) to Silliman University, Dumaguete City, on July 10 and 11. The other activity was the “Magkaisa sa Awitan” choral festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of the United Church of the Good Shepherd (UGCS).

It is starting. The young are singing a different political tune. It is the music of New Politics. Young people are responding to the call for New Politics in talk shows, blogs and assemblies. They are moving away from apathy and are starting to march to a different drum. They are talking to the Young Turks.

Who are the Young Turks? During the first leg of their university tour in Silliman University, many asked this question. Are they similar to the young men of Turkey who started the Young Turks Revolution that brought down the monarchy? Or are they like the young Filipino politicians who defied their party elders?

Adel says it was the media who gave them the name, which was quickly picked up by young people who responded to their blog, the opposite of apathy.wordpress.com.

The call of the Young Turks is addressed to the young—not necessarily in age—but in terms of hope, fresh ideas, and relief from the cynicism and sense of hopelessness pervading the country. They call for the participation of all sectors, especially the marginalized, in the political process. They challenge the youth to engage the government on urgent national issues.

Coming from different political parties, the Young Turks cross political, ideological, religious and social boundaries imposed by the traditional political process.

For their visit to Silliman University, they got up at the crack of dawn to board the first flights to Dumaguete. Upon arrival, they gamely followed a strenuous schedule, which included three major fora with the political science and history majors, business and economics students and the all-university convocation held in Silliman Church.

In between, they walked from one part of the campus to another, talked with students, faculty and staff. The only thing they could not do was sleep.

The questions raised by the students in the three fora were both disturbing and inspiring. A recurrent theme was the disappointment and apathy of the youth. One student complained that their hopes had been raised and destroyed so often. What guarantee is there that they would not be disappointed again with New Politics?

Another student talked about his province, which is one of the poorest in the country even as their governor is wallowing in wealth. A son of a former mayor spoke passionately about how his father was impelled to change political parties in order to access funding for their poor municipality.

A student wanted to know why Gilbert proposed the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan even as Erin wanted it reformed and strengthened. More questions about gender equality, exploitation of natural resources and exclusion of minorities in politics. And always, the despairing query, “Is there hope?”

Gilbert kept repeating like the Lord of the Rings’ Arwen, “There is hope. The hope is in you.” Erin challenged the young to “reclaim the government!” Danton called for more inclusiveness in politics. Adel urged the youth repeatedly to continue engaging the government and the political system. He said everyone should have a place at the table.

A different kind of music, indeed!

I am reprinting Prof. Liling Magtolis Briones’s succinct and moving account of our campus tour in Silliman University last July 10. Prof. Briones is a professor at the UP, former National Treasurer, and chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Silliman University. She invited us to the field of dreams, and we said “yes.” Imagine waking up at 4 am, then giving three speeches that should not leave the young audience comatose?

I was happy to be with Adel, Gilbert and Erin. We may not agree on all issues — we shouldn’t — and we may be supporting different presidential and vice-presidential candidates in 2010, but we talked about the issues from different perspectives. That, I think, added depth, substance and quality to the discussions.

I was tired but happy, only to know that next day, the faculty of the English Department and the undergraduate students were also waiting for me to speak. Uh-oh… — Danton

***

I am afraid we drove the Young Turks [Adel Tamano, Danton Remoto, Gilbert Remulla, Erin Tanada] to exhaustion. Imagine two small group discussions (meaning 200 young people as in the case of the Poli-Sci majors and standing room only in the College of Business Administration), culminating in an all-university convocation turned talk show that filled Silliman University Church to overflowing, attended by President Malayang, the Vice-Presidents, and the faculty?

All the questions were raised by the students. A persistent query was: the youth have been disappointed so many times. Is there still hope? Yes, there is still hope, answered Gilbert. The hope is in you, young people! We must reclaim government, was the rallying call of Erin. Everyone must have a seat at the national table! Make room for the marginalized! This was the message of Adel. Danton told stories of poor gays who care for their old and sick parents, beauticians who scrimp and save to send siblings to school, gays who contribute to literature, music and philosophy. And gays who help build this country and continue to do so.

Everything was discussed–-GMA, corruption at national and local levels, the search for oil in the Sulu Sea, gender equality, OFWs, employment for competent people from the provinces, alternative systems of government, and yes, recognition for gay organizations in the universities.

The four guys had to wake up at 4:00 A.M. to catch the first flights to Dumaguete. Upon arrival, they just grabbed a bite and started walking to the Udarbe Chapel, where more than 200 students waited for them. They hardly had time to catch forty winks before they met the business and economics students in the early afternoon. They were in the middle of coffee when they had to rush for the university convocation at the Silliman Church, like “a good Christian soldier,” according to Danton, describing himself.

I am a jaded veteran of countless symposia and talk shows. But I have never seen and heard before such a superb combination of panelists-–eloquent, knowledgeable, and brimming with fresh ideas –- but most of all, humble in spite of their degrees and positions. They said they came to listen to the young, and they did. They did not always have the same views-–especially on economic policies-–but they were one in saying that the youth must engage government and society, and that there should be room for everyone regardless of faith, religion, or sexual preference.

Yes, the young people and the rest of the Silliman community were very fortunate to have such an intense series of discussions, with lots of laughter and teasing in-between.

Next stop is University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance. See you there!

The Young turks offer this video as a way of thanking all the wonderful people of Silliman University who welcomed us with open arma and open hearts - Prof. Liling Briones, President Ben Malayang, Stacy, Sara, Meryl, Raymond, and all our new friends.

The Young Turks will be in Silliman University, Dumaguete City, tomorrow July 10 until July 11.

Professor Liling Magtolis-Briones, our tireless mother in Dumaguete, gave me this schedule for tomorrow:

10 am — meeting with History and Political Science majors, Odarve Memory Chapel.

2 p.m. — meeting with students from the College of Business Administration, Presentation Room.

4:30 p.m. — town hall meeting with students, teachers, administration, the public at large. Silliman Church.

I was at the Silliman Writers Workshop in 1983, returned as a panelist in 1998, and am coming back tomorrow as part of Young Turks.

The word here and everywhere is change. You are deaf if you cannot hear it. And a fool if you do not follow it.

Let us blaze a trail, change business as usual in politics, let us go.

Change.

Editorial
Malaya
www.malaya.com.ph

I went to a meeting in Manila last Sunday and took the LRT. At the Doroteo Jose station, the huge tarpaulin of GMA — “Ramdam na ramdan ang kaunlaran” — has two fangs drawn on her mouth. Am sure Anthony Golez will not be happy about this. In the show of Ted Failon and Korina Sanchez, he claimed that GMA is the only President who did a lifestyle check on her Cabinet. Hellow!? Liar, liar pants on fire! Even Ferdinand Marcos was already doing that in the 1980s. Kawawa naman ang gobyernong ito. GMA did everything that Marcos did — and never succeeded. No guts, no glory, no originality. — Danton

***

On reports that inflation hit 11.4 percent in June, the highest in 14 years, Malacañang said the price surge was expected and the government is looking at measures to soften its impact.

Is looking at measures? What kind of statement was that? Do they mean to tell us they were twiddling their thumbs all the while when the signs have long pointing at the approaching perfect storm of surging fuel and food prices?

The Palace said among the measures are a stepped-up program to expand production to answer the food problem and energy conservation, tapping of alternative energy sources and intensified search for oil in response to runaway global crude prices.

Let’s look at these proposed measures to ease the impact of spiraling fuel cost. Conservation of energy will come by itself and not through government effort. With gas at P60 a liter, there will be fewer private vehicles on the road. Public utility vehicles will have to rationalize their operations, plying their routes only when assured of full capacity (no more empty buses careening on EDSA during off-rush hours). Households and business will also be forced to cut costs as a matter of survival.

The Palace should not promise the people pie in the sky in the form of biofuels, solar and wind powered generating plants which will take years to put in place and at a probably higher cost than hydrocarbon-based energy sources.

Food production, on the other hand, is indeed quickly responsive to expansion of areas under irrigation, introduction of high-yielding seeds and liberal use of fertilizers and insecticides. Rice has a cycle of three months from planting to harvest. So bigger investment in farms now will yield dividends in a relatively short time.

Is the government putting extra-ordinary efforts to boost food output? The way we are hearing it from Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, rice production is no longer a problem. The last summer harvest was bigger than last year’s. The main October harvest is expected to post another record-breaking yield. But didn’t we hear the same thing sometime in March just before prices of rice shot up from P24 to P34 a kilo?

The public needs convincing. Instead of admitting the country faces a crisis, the first step toward crafting a workable response, the Arroyo, however, continues to live in the never never land where “ramdam na ramdam ang kaunlaran.”

We need a 180-degree turn on how we will surmount the crisis. Let’s forget about grandiose blueprints on how to pole vault to First World status in 2020. Let us first ensure that our people can fill their stomachs. We succeed in licking hunger, pulling ourselves by the bootstraps to the status of a developed country will follow as a matter of course.

Written by Carmela Fonbuena
Thursday, 03 July 2008
www.newsbreak.com.ph

Uh-oh. The new Comelec commissioner did not ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its admonition because he did not want to suffer from “more stress.” As if the Comelec is not a stressful place to be? With all its political operators who wait for you in the dimly-lit canteen, their fingers like claws. Mukhang pabalik na naman sa kumunoy ang Comelec — Danton

Newly-appointed Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Leonardo Leonida has a tainted record in the judiciary, where he served in the last two decades. In a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court in 2006, he was admonished for violating four rules in the Code of Judicial Conduct.

He and another appointee, newly-retired Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Lucenito Tagle, took their oaths this morning before Comelec Chairman Jose Melo. Prior to his appointment to the Comelec, Leonida was a Malabon regional trial court judge.

Leonida was appointed to serve the unfinished term of the late Comelec Commissioner Romeo Brawner, which ends in 2011. Tagle, on the other hand, was appointed to a full seven-year term.

One position remains vacant in the seven-man poll body.

SC’s Admonition
When he was presiding judge of the regional trial court, branch 27, Sta. Cruz, Laguna, Leonida was found to have compromised the integrity of the court because of his irregular judicial conduct, earning him an admonition from the Supreme Court (SC).

“The fact alone that he allows surety agents to freely enter his chambers and discuss with their business with him and either wittingly and unwittingly permit these agents to give instruction or orders to members of his staff already indicates that there is something wrong in the way he manages his office,” the SC said in an April 2006 en banc decision penned by Justice Alicia Austria-Martinez.

In a phone interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, Leonida expressed his disappointment with the Supreme Court decision. “It’s not true. I don’t entertain visitors inside my chambers. I don’t know why the Supreme Court believed it,” he said.

“And it was only an admonition. I was not charged,” he added.

The administrative case was rooted in his attempt to punish four of his staff—legal researcher Alegria Ramos, stenographers Irma Agawin and Veronica Nequinto, and court aide Mauro Callado—for issuing release orders without his approval. An investigation by the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) found 20 spurious release orders issued by Leonida’s court, resulting in the unwarranted release of detention prisoners.

“I wish I didn’t file the case,” Leonida said. “I was the one who reported it. How can I be involved? I did the right thing. I have a clean conscience. I never received even a single centavo from the surety agents,” he added.

The court found Leonida’s staff guilty of falsely certifying release orders as true xerox copies of the originals even when, as the OCA found out, the originals do not bear Judge Leonida’s signature. The staff relied on the instructions of the surety agents like a certain Ana Marie Reyes coming out of Leonida’s chambers to issue the release orders of their clients without verifying these instructions with Leonida.

But these errors were partly a result of Leonida’s dealings with the surety agents and were not prompted by corrupt motives, the court said. The decision noted that the staff were “one in saying that surety agent Reyes possesses some clout in their office considering that she can freely enter and exit the chambers of Judge Leonida and even instruct the stenographers to type release orders upon alleged authority of the judge.”

“It’s easy to create stories. They were afraid that they will be dismissed from service,” Leonida told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.

He said he did not pursue his plan to ask the court to reconsider its ruling. “I don’t want more stress,” he said.

The staff were found guilty of gross neglect of duty and were suspended for two months to six months. Leonida was told to observe four provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct:

RULE 2.01 - A judge should so behave at all times as to promote public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
RULE 2.03 - A judge shall not allow family, social, or other relationships to influence judicial conduct or judgment. The prestige of judicial office shall not be used or lent to advance the private interests of others, nor convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge.
RULE 3.08 - A judge should diligently discharge administrative responsibilities, maintain professional competence in court management, and facilitate the performance of the administrative functions or other judges and court personnel.
RULE 3.09 - A judge should organize and supervise the court personnel to ensure the prompt and efficient dispatch of business, and require at all times the observance of high standards of public service and fidelity.
‘Very Jealous’ Wife?
Leonida is not well-known outside of the judiciary. When he became Malacañang’s bet for Comelec commissioner, the legal community was in the dark. Close observers of the Comelec were clueless of his background and of who backed his nomination. He made the second short-list submitted to Malacañang in May, which was expanded from 10 to 20 allegedly because of politics in the Palace, a source privy to the selection told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.

But in Laguna, Leonida’s reputation was affected by the administrative case. It was not so much due to his dealings with surety agents, but with the alleged involvement of his wife in the filing of the administrative case against his staff and her reasons for doing so.

Court records show that during the investigation, the staff also alleged that the report submitted to OCA by the Office of the Clerk of Court, RTC of Sta. Cruz, Laguna, which sought to punish them for the spurious release orders, “were just orchestrated by the wife of the judge who wanted to ease out [stenographer] Mrs. Agawin from the court. They claimed that Judge Leonida’s wife is very jealous of her and in fact is always present in their office, presiding over even in their staff meetings….”

Leonida denied all these allegations involving his wife. He told the investigators that his wife only goes to his office to provide him moral support. The Supreme Court found “no substantial evidence” to support the allegations.

Other Cases
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak was able to talk with five sources who either had recent dealings with Leonida or was familiar with his track record in the judiciary. All of them said separately that he has a “bad reputation.”

In response to this, Leonida said, “These people don’t personally know me. As you said in your earlier report, I am unknown.”

Asked who backed him to get the appointment, Leonida said, “It was a personal application. I sent to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.”

Asked to confirm reports that Tuguegarao Archbishop Eduardo Talamayan and Iglesia ni Cristo leader Erano Manalo who backed his appointment, Leonida said, “Bishop Talamayan was among those who helped me. If Bishop Manalo also helped, I would like to extend my personal gratitude.”

Fighting the Banks
Aside from the administrative case involving his staff, Leonida is also facing another complaint filed by a law firm on behalf of a group of lenders involving at least one of the country’s biggest banks. The complaint involves alleged irregularities with his decision on a case on “corporate rehabilitation.”

“Cases like this are a matter of discretion,” Leonida said, when asked about this complaint. “We wanted to give distressed companies another chance. It’s natural that the banks will complain.”

We failed to obtain copies of this separate administrative complaint from the OCA because pending cases are confidential in nature. According to one source familiar with the complaint, “The case would not have been filed if it was just minor.” The administrative case was endorsed by Chief Justice Reynato Puno to the OCA, a source said. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

By Harvey Keh
Team RP
www.inq7.net

LAST March, I was invited as commencement speaker of the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) in Zamboanga City, one of the biggest state universities in the Philippines. During my brief stay, I was able to sit down and talk with some student leaders. I started our discussion with a question. “Who among you here still believes and supports President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?” I asked. About a third of them raised their hands. “Who among you here wants the President to resign and step down?” I continued. About half of them raised their hands. I pressed on and asked again, “Who among you here are still undecided?” still some few raised their hands. But when I asked, “Who among you here wants change and reforms in our country and government?” All of them raised their hands.

When I got back to Manila, I held the same discussion with some student leaders from Miriam College in Quezon City and I got a similar response. What am I trying to say?

1. Yes, our country is divided on how we view President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. You have, on one side, a group supporting Arroyo despite all the anomalies, allegations of corruption and scandals that have rocked her administration, while on the other, you have groups and highly-influential leaders that have called for her immediate resignation and ouster from power.

2. However, it seems that judging from my experiences in dealing with these student leaders, the people I talk to and the e-mail I get from Filipinos here and abroad, we all want to see positive and lasting change and reforms happen.

That is why I think that if we want to help in bringing our nation together towards a common vision to move our country forward, this unity should not be based on certain personalities like President Arroyo or other politicians. Rather, we need to work together towards building, strengthening and transforming our democratic institutions. That would make them more responsive to the needs of the poor and the powerless in our communities.

Isn’t it sad that we are now facing a food crisis when we were once one of the world’s top agricultural countries? This could be an indirect effect of the almost 800-million-peso fertilizer scam that was allegedly used to fund President Arroyo’s election. If it was used properly and for the right purpose, then we might not be facing this crisis now or if we do, the effect wouldn’t be as worse.

We at Team RP believe that a fight for change and reforms continues regardless of who becomes the president, vice-president, senators, congressmen, etc. We are doing this because we believe that many of our government leaders have failed us and that its time for all of us to take control of our own future and work together for that genuine and lasting change that we all want to see in our country.

Let’s quit making excuses, being inactive, hopeless, indifferent and whiny; these all amount to nothing if we ourselves don’t participate in proactive solutions. 2010 is a big deal for all of us. We will vote for the Philippines’ next top leader in less than two years. Our decision on who will lead us to progress and prosperity is a very important one that could potentially change the course of the country’s future.

Change is now. Hope lies not in our country’s leaders and those in power but in every Filipino. Change does not happen overnight, but when we work together, it can happen in 22 months.

IamChange2010 is a joint project of the Ateneo de Manila School of Government and Team RP. It aims to get the young Filipinos to register and vote in the coming 2010 presidential elections and educate them on the various issues concerning elections. For inquiries, you may also contact Kai at +63 2 4265657.