The Philippine Online Chronicles

This is the State of the Filipino Nation.  First, institutions have slowly degraded and are crumbling as the tendrils of corruption extend beyond every strata of government and into every aspect of society.  Second, the stark economic reality as posited by the World Bank in a research paper is this: the Philippines’ public sector is constrained by serious fiscal pressures, a weighty debt service, and a high cost of input, and that it will be hard pressed to keep public investments growing at GDP growth rate^[i].

Cynics charge that nothing will change and the belief that 2010 is about good and evil is a mistake. The year 2010 and beyond is about ending the quarrel of our past and present. It is about building a future. The sad reality is that we cannot solve the Philippines’ serious fiscal problems and our people’s unanswered questions of poverty and surplus without Institutional Reform and yet, neither can the Philippines stand still as the world marches forward.

How is this best realized?  Where do we begin?

Institutional Reform

Graft and Corruption

The most problematic factor for doing business in the Philippines as listed by Global Economic Report 2009-2010 is as follows: Corruption (24.4%), Inefficient Government Bureaucracy (20.6%), Inadequate supply of Infrastructure (15.0), Policy Instability (12.6%), Access to financing (5.2%)^[ii].

This is endemic in the Philippines. Graft and corruption extends across every fabric of society. Even well meaning people are forced to bend to its mighty grip^[iii]. Word is, justice, whether court of law or Ombudsman can be bought and yet no one would come out on record to say so for fear of being harassed or worst. Graft and Corruption also accounts for leaks in Government spending and inefficiency. A parallel could be drawn between the state of Hong Kong in the 1960s and 1970s and the Philippines today.

In 1974, Hong Kong created the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that answered only to the Governor of Hong Kong. It rooted out corruption, with a mass purge in 1978^[iv]. ICAC used a three-prong approached: law enforcement, prevention and education and it required a first successful case by bringing Police Officer Godber’s extradition and prosecution to prove ICAC’s commitment^[v].

Something similar must happen in the Philippines.

The Office of the Ombudsman today is already patterned after ICAC but without political will to exercise that power, with political will directed at keeping the status quo, where then does it leave us?

In the Philippines, areas of priority to root out corruption must be in law enforcement and the judiciary. There must be an independent commission against corruption that prioritizes the following targets

1) Office of the Ombudsman;

2) Philippine National Police;

3) Department of National Defense and the Office of the President;

4) National Bureau of Investigation and,

5) Judiciary.

It must be answerable to the President of the Philippines.  While an Independent Commission deals with Law Enforcement, and lays down the foundation for for preventing corruption^[vi], it needs the Office of the Ombudsman and the Judiciary as a whole to be clean and efficient as much as it is independent in prosecuting cases and settling disputes.

Law Enforcement and a Judiciary that people trust must be top priority to bring civility into society. While this is an important and crucial first step, on the one hand this does not solve entirely the problem of corruption.

The Next Government must also sign the Rome Stature of the International Criminal Court as added safeguard that Future Filipinos can use to engage its government.

Taxes and Revenue Collection and Budget

For many years, revenue collection has been exasperated by corruption. It has led to raising of taxes to cover the myriad inefficiencies of the State.  Only when we guarantee that the agents of Justice are far from reproach will people believe the seriousness of any campaign against graft and corruption. With Agents of Justice far from reproach the road is clear to take down the ultimate target, which of course is to reduce inefficiencies in revenue collection and spending.

The National Bureau of Investigation must be reorganized and refocused to deal with the problem of corruption in the Department of Finance, specifically the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, organized crime and the private sector. Not only is this an imperative of institutional reform, but it is likewise vitally important to the economy by plugging inefficiencies and leaks in revenue collection. It improves our capacity to generate revenue, to pay for the nation’s weighty debt and to finance future programs.

It is not to say we cannot reduce taxes for people who are punished by excessive taxation. Expanded value-added tax (EVAT) already covers a wide range of goods and services that even the underground economy already pays tribute to.  So it becomes the salaried employee who carries such a heavy tax burden. It is this strata of our society which we must assist.

It becomes imperative to remove withholding and income tax from people earning PHP500,000 or less.

In a reply to a comment, Dean dela Paz wrote on income tax scrapping: “Good idea on scrapping income taxes for those below a certain income bracket. The scrapping of the income tax for those earning at the minimum wage level (about Php 3,200.00 a month, I think) or the poverty line (about Php 6,195.00 a month or Php 265.00 a day for a family of five) is contained in a draft bill but has not been deliberated on. Those below the poverty line are 30% of the population (its 11% for the USA), so the effect should not be that substantial for government tax collections.” ^[vii]

Translated into human terms, tax reduction for this income bracket opens a door to allow people to either save more, or spend in the economy.

There must also be substantial Budget Reform^[viii].  It becomes prudent that the Next Administration make this a top priority, as part of the overall strategy of Institutional Reform.

New Labor

There is a sad truth in the Philippines that hiring is like marriage and firing is like a messy divorce.  This is no more than apparent as the Philippines did not rate very well in the Global Competitive Report 2009-2010 when it came to labor laws, particularly in the hiring and firing of employees^[ix].  There must be a reassessment of Philippine labor laws.  The stark reality is that Philippine labor laws need to equally treat both employer and employee, fairly. It must also give employers greater liberty in providing just compensation just as it ought to give employees the freedom to leave, with due notice.   A push must therefore be made to bring Philippine Labor Code into the 21^st Century.

Government Transparency and Civil Rights

The last decade has seen a degradation of the Democratic foundation. Civil liberty has constantly been under assault. It does not help the Philippines that the growing trend across the world is to exchange more of essential liberty and freedom with assurances of temporal safety. In the Philippines, government has evoke executive privilege to shield the public from knowing the truth. It becomes a massive imperative to reverse this course by taking a first step.  Essential information about government officials and government transaction must be transparent. The Philippines must enact a Freedom of Information Act, which is languishing in obscurity in the Senate^[x]. Making information free is a first and important step to creating true government transparency.

In keeping with this freedom of expression and speech is best preserved by the decriminalization and a rethinking of defamation law.

The Internet and Network Neutrality

As increasingly Filipinos go online and participate with the larger Network, whether through a computer or through mobile phone, there is a clear and present danger that the Filipino’s right to Free Speech and Free Expression are trampled.

Telecom companies seek to impose tiered service model to control the flow of information.

Proponents of Network Neutrality argue that Internet users ought to be in control of what content they view, what applications they use because this is how the Internet has operated since its inception^[xi]. The father of the World Wide Web, is also for Network Neutrality^[xii]. On February 7, 2006, the co-author of the Internet protocol, Vinton Cerf testified before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Hearing on “Network Neutrality” and he said: “Allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success.”^[xiii]

The Philippine government must legislate the principle of network neutrality to safeguard Filipino users’ Internet rights. It means that all networks in the Philippines must not have restriction on content, site or platform, on kind of equipment attached or the modes of communication allowed on said network and communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams.

It becomes not just a moral imperative but a matter of economic development that the Philippines enact Five Freedoms of Internet Rights for Filipinos^[xiv]:

We must hold these five truths to be self-evident that a free nation such as the Philippines is expected by our people to have these simple inalienable rights:

To lower the bar of access, to accelerate distilling Information Technology a two fork approach must be made.  First, government must remove EVAT on broadband, computers, and mobile phone to ensure the free flow of information and to guarantee the cheapest, and lowest access to information.  Second, a massive training focus must occur via the public and private education sector.  It must push front and center that the Internet and that the computer and the mobile isn’t just a tool for social networking but a power platform for innovation.

Social Justice  and Welfare

As a people is allowed to speak out, there is a grave injustice existing in our society. The problem of juvenile delinquency in the Philippines must be addressed^[xv] It must be a cause for alarm that many are caught with petty crime, and this is symptomatic of the languishing state of society^[xvi].

It is in keeping with a theme of Justice that children and child welfare must therefore be a top priority. We must protect their rights to be children. What kind of nation will we hope to build if they are allowed languish and be abused?

National Capital Region

In keeping with defeating inefficiencies and raising revenue and a forward looking outlook, there is a problem with how Metro Manila operates and it must be remedied. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Metro Manila had P2.24 trillion gross regional domestic product in 2006 and the news item noted that that is thirty seven percent (37%) of the Philippines’ gross domestic product for that year, which was over P6 Trillion^[xvii]. Therefore, the National Capital Region did not return a “bang for its buck” with its perennial flooding, constant traffic congestion and problems with garbage collection.

Why is this?

Metro Manila is made up of a loose confederation of sixteen cities and the municipality of Pateros. There is no central governing authority, meaning each city tries to solve both distinctive problems and similar problems separately while sharing a common infrastructure. They have interconnecting roads, sewerage, garbage disposal problems. Whether crime, garbage, quality of roads, traffic affect every city but there is no common thrust to systematically solve them. So the problem of traffic on one end of Makati can find itself stretching all the way to Quezon City, passing through Mandaluyong, as an example. Excessive traffic along Espana caused by flooding (however fast it recedes) affects traffic in Quezon City. All the cities share the same problem of waste disposal, and pollution and a population that constantly travels across city lines.

There is a Metro-wide service agency called the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) that does planning, monitoring, and other functions. The MMDA council is composed of mayors that approve of the plan but the agency is headed by an appointed official by the Philippine President.

More often than not, Metro Manila Mayors are up in arms against the head of the MMDA. From the mayors’ point of view, this is understandable. They are elected officials. They are subject to the will of their constituents. The MMDA Head is not and subject only to the whims of the sitting President of the Republic.

The position of the MMDA Head is likewise understandable. He has a job to do. His job is urban planning, monitoring but he needs to do more: he needs to solve traffic among other things. Given the limited funds he has and given the limited powers of his office. That and we the people can’t fire his behind, or reward him with a new term if he does a great job.

The existing structure promotes conflict between various stakeholders and makes the delivery of infrastructure and city-services much more difficult.

A number of models already exist that provide an answer to the festering problem of Metro Manila. Montreal^[xviii] and New York City^[xix] are perfect example of what Metro Manila can be.  New York magazine recently asked why New Yorkers are living longer than most Americans and it described the city with its massive subway and stairway system as a citywide stair master^[xx] and it is attributed to urban design and how well the city is run.

A capital is a metaphor for what the country is, and what it hopes to be. It can be a source of national pride. It is vital that Metro Manila be reorganized and integrated and be the crowning symbol of what the Philippines is.

Local Government

There is a need for greater local government autonomy. The National Government can control or harass a local government official by suspending or removing said elected official or by delaying or withholding funds to a local government. This policy must change to ensure local government autonomy and to protect the will of the people who reserve the right to elect their leaders.

Infrastructure

Transportation

In keeping with a social capitalist thrust, there is a massive need to create cheap, and efficient transportation in Luzon. The Philippine National Railways, renamed “FilTrack,” by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a good step forward in rehabilitating the railway system.

To further this interest and to accelerate development, as well as to ensure its future commercial viability, this organization must be separated from politics. While it must remain as a government corporation, it must be reconstituted into a separate legal personality from the Philippine government.

New Energy

With Energy the challenge of the 21^st century, government must lay down the foundation to embrace both alternative and renewable energy and nuclear power and reduce energy dependence on oil.

When applicable and cost-effective, all planned infrastructure, building, street lamps, traffic infrastructure, will use solar powered lamps and power efficient technologies.

It must be a practical, methodical approach that must be forward thinking.

Healthcare

The ten leading causes of disease in the Philippines according to the Field Health Service Information System 2007 include: ALRI and Pneumonia, acute watery diarrhea, bronchitis, hypertension, influenza, TB respiratory, diseases of the heart, dengue fever, malaria and chicken pox^[xxi]. Women’s health and rights, a timely issue that likewise play a huge role in any national healthcare strategy^[xxii]. On the other hand, the National Objectives for Health 2005 to 2010 note that Cancer, is among the leading cause of disease in the Philippines^[xxiii].

Two point approach need to be done here. The first is the continued strengthening of basic health service in the local government level. This will form a first line defense in preventing disease as well as basic health education. The second approach is to strategically upgrade four or five government run tertiary hospitals, one in Baguio, Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao to fully equip medical centers that can address a wide range of services including oncology.

The Philippine General Hospital and Medical School need to be independent of University of the Philippines Manila. Its facilities need to be rehabilitated, and equipment upgraded. Its staff need to be professionally paid as much as it is professionally run.

Creative Education

As we face an education system that spend US$ 138 per student per year as compared with Thailand, US$ 853, Singapore US$ 1,800^[xxiv]; the growing reality is that University degrees become less useful, we must rethink what education is. As Ken Robinson put it: "we must see our creative capacities for what they are, and to see our children for the hope that they are. Our task must be to educate their whole being so they can face this future because it is our job to get our children make something of it."^[xxv]

In line with this, Government must continue to abide in the strictest sense with the Florence Agreement^[xxvi].

It will not happen over night but Government must lay the foundation on producing diplomas, but more about developing a whole person.

Investing in the Future

Future Technologies

Alessandro Magnoli Bocchi of the World Bank sought to answer the question of GDP growth rates in the Philippines while investment continued to decline and Bocchi argued that the Philippine economy needs to move to a “high capital stock” equilibrium through “better performing eco-zones, a more competitive exchange rate, greater government revenues and fewer elite capturing regulations.”^[xxvii]

How does one “force” the private sector to reinvest?

As Institutional Reform slowly levels the playing field and brings down the cost of doing business, government should behave itself like a corporation that manages the public sector and the nation in total to create greater profit opportunities. It becomes the government’s duty to ensure public responsibility and it must spark private incentive. At the same time, since the Philippines is behind in technological innovation. It needs to invest in future technologies to serve its national interest. The Philippines must act as a venture capitalist.

In 1998, the Central Intelligence Agency started a not-for-profit venture capital firm that invests in high-technology companies to keep the CIA abreast with information technology to support its intelligence gathering capability. Each year, 40 Million dollars is used to fun In-Q-Tel whose charter is based on Title 10, Subtitle A, Part IV, Chapter 130. Sec. 2371 on research projects: transactions other than contracts and grants^[xxviii].

This sets the stage to move beyond BPOs and electronics assembly and target areas of interest that so far been caped because of oligopolistic markets.

The Philippines will need to create a non profit venture capital firm but funded by the Philippine government to foster research and development. This firm must encourage new, emerging information technologies. This firm must be independent of government, including political appointments. Its board and management must be composed of entrepreneurs. This firm needs to invest on primarily but not limited to local companies or academia, specifically on firms focus on software, infrastructure and materials science. This company’s mission is to build partnerships with the private sector. It needs to network extensively with academia and the banking industry. It must create avenues of collaboration, see through product prototyping and demonstration.  Technology developed from this venture ought to be used by the Philippines in its pursuit of national interest.

Agriculture and Contract Food Sterilization

There are growing questions on food and food security.  In an age when we must meet the the demands of a young population, efforts must be made to revitalize a dying agriculture industry.  It must be a holistic approach of combing information generated by Weather, by scientists from the department of agriculture and by training farmers on the ground.

Proponents of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, must take into account the stark reality that famers are not the most technological savvy.  The failure of CARP is that it leaves farmers to do all the heavy lifting when they don’t know the first thing to do.  It isn’t simply a question of lack of irrigation, drying facilities, farm to market roads or the absence of fertilizers or of funds.  Those are definitely needed and government and the private sector must push for it.  However, any agrarian reform push must take into account that the reality is that Farmers are not savvy or fast enough to adapt.

A push must be made to how best to get the agriculture sector moving.   There is a growing need to inject technological innovation into the agricultural sector.

For instance, the Philippines will need contract food sterilization facilities. Food irradiation exposes food to ionizing radiation to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and insects. Other ways by which this technology is use is through sprout inhibition, delay of ripening, increasing juice yield and improvement of re-hydration.  Food irradiation also increases shelf-life of food for transportation. It is an essential step to ship mangos to other parts of the world.

The absence of a private sector push (no one with money is interested in it), the Philippines will need to create a for profit Contract Sterilization Firm to provide contract food irradiation by investing in it.

Threats

There is great skepticism that any leadership in the Philippines can accomplish the needed Institutional Reform. The Philippines will be hard pressed to accomplish everything given its limited resources.  While a balanced budget is desirable, a massive, sweeping reform may make it difficult to achieve that.

There is a wide range of issues that naturally need to be met. The threat is to try to solve everything at the same time. It becomes the job of the chief executive to focus attention and to prioritize pressing issues. A fervent, revolutionary-like Institutional Reform will naturally bring with it great opposition and great skepticism. It will surely test the steel of any government.

The great hazard on the horizon is the Continued and Persistent Danger of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  Her push towards a congressional seat, the moves her allies are creating to establish a House of Representatives allied with her is a shot across the bow of survey leader and frontrunner Noynoy Aquino.

Mrs. Arroyo will not make it easy for any government to take hold on.

Count on a Scorch Earth policy to leave any future administration without funds to navigate with  post election day.  Expect the current administration to lay down every obstacle and bog down the next Administration.  Don’t be surprised to win a palace that has no value other than the title home of “President of the Philippines.”

This is why the negative article, “The Cult of Noynoy Aquino”^[xxix] is wrong.  It is impressive in how shallow it looks at what’s important in our national life and how deeply unmindful it is at what the dangers are.   The story of 2010 isn’t about, if an Aquino is fit for the job of President, the story is about, “Do you want another six years of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?”

The story of 2010 isn’t that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is no longer president and that a new administration can usher in change, the story is that May 2010 is just choosing who will fight for the ultimate crown.  The day after the election it will be President versus Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her legislative Army she raises to continue to be the power in the Philippines.

The story is that post election day, our politics will be about political compromises because that’s how things get done.  It isn’t perfect but like the American government passing a Health Reform Bill, the important part isn’t the substance of the bill, but that there is a Health Care Law.

It will be the same for the Philippines.

This is why I think Platforms are less important than Credo.

The ultimate danger is that the Philippines will be bog down with trying to keep its democracy, its freedom to do anything substantial.  The Great Trial of tomorrow is that any Future Administration must over come the danger of fighting a holding action and mount significant change.

In Warfare, Armies choose the condition for victory.  What constitutes, “Mission Accomplished?” What is the one thing in all the things an Administration needs and wants to accomplish is most important?

The State of the Filipino Nation is that remove everything else, strip it to its bare essential and the top priority must be to rebuild our fallen Democratic institutions. That means having credible law enforcement.  That means our people can have a credible and impartial judiciary.  That means, the Rule of Law must be respected and not the perversion of what the rule of law is as defined by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s government.  That battle, before the question of poverty; before the question of Mindanao; before the question of food or debt service is the only thing that will open the door for Future generations to accomplish anything is the only thing that matters.

Thus, the Next Administration much choose amongst the long laundry list of things to do, which one of those will determine what the condition of Victory.

And we the people must accept that.

This is how nation building gets done: one bloody, frustrating step at a time.

Conclusion

Filipinos want genuine choice. The clear and present danger is to let opportunity to shatter the status quo slip by as well as to let people to believe, to lead on that any leader is a Messiah who can take up all the problems today.

Honesty, integrity, treating people fairly form the basis for a mandate that will be needed to take decisive action. An opportunity is presented to bind our nation’s wounds, to douce anger from our past failures, to quench the Filipino’s thirst for that elusive dream that the Public Trust was not given in Vain.

To look at the next presidential election and to look at the presidential candidates without taking into context that the fight is about Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her brand of politics is missing the point on what the 2010 election is about.

The threats are real.  To expect any administration to change dramatically anything the day it steps onto the plate is a pipe dream.  To expect any administration to solve every problem at the end of its term is even more ludicrous.

The biggest challenge of the Philippines is Institutional Reform.  To ignore it, is to keep repeating the same problems of the past.  The biggest danger to the Philippines is the Clear and Present Danger of Congresswoman Arroyo.  To dismiss Mrs. Arroyo as a thing of the past post election day is deluding ourselves.

The only question must be, “What makes [enter name of presidential candidate] different from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?”  Whoever substantially fills that question, on election day that’s who you should choose.

This is how nation building gets done: one bloody, frustrating step at a time.

This is not a time for fear. It is not the moment to be timid. There is only one recourse: decisive action must be taken to build a true and lasting future for all Filipinos.  As we are mindful of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the threat she represents, we must also realize that it is through “a system of open markets, unambiguously regulated by an activist state, and one in which the state intervenes to reduce the greater inequalities that competitive markets will inevitably generate.”^[xxx] It is through properly balancing public responsibility with private incentive that we can Invest in the Future and it is through Institutional Reform, of building Infrastructure, of meeting New Energy challenges, of engaging Healthcare and rethinking creatively Education that becomes our nation’s Call to Arms, for tomorrow; “para sa kinabukasan.”

______

The original version of this position paper was written several months ago and has been rewritten in several areas to reflect the current political climate.

Printable version is here.

Acknowledgement

The author would like to express his profound gratitude to fellow bloggers Tony Cruz, The Jester-In-Exile, @caffeinesparks, Manolo Quezon, Flowell Galindez, to friends A., Ian, Con, L., and to Roch. Our conversations shaped insight and ideas that ultimately found themselves in this work.

Thank you.

^[i] “Rising Growth, Declining Investment: The Puzzle of the Philippines Breaking the ‘Low-Capital-Stock’ Equilibrium”. Alessandro Magnoli Bocchi. The World Bank. p 5.

^[ii] “The Global Competitive Report 2009-2010” World Economic Forum. 2009. p. 256.

^[iii] “Tale of Greed, Corruption--- and hot pink boots,” Philippine Daily Inquirer. September 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-18.

^[iv] "119 forced to retire in graft purge" (PDF). South China Morning Post. April 9, 1978. pp. 1, 26. Retrieved 2006-10-24.

^[v] “The Birth of ICAC”. ICAC website. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

^[vi] “Prevention is Better than Cure”. ICAC website. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

^[vii] “The Fiddle-faddle Fuel Fudge” Dean Dela Paz. Filipino Voices. September 4, 2009.

^[viii] “Budget Refrom is TG Guingona III’s Main Advocacy,”  Rochelle Sy Chua, HeaRty’s Haven.

^[ix] The Global Competitive Report 2009-2010” World Economic Forum. 2009. p. 257.

^[x] “An Act Implementing the Right of the People to Information on Matters of Public Concern Guaranteed Under Section Seven, Article Three of the 1987 Constitution and the State Policy of Full Public Disclosure of All Its Transactions Involving Public Interest Under Section Twenty Eight, Article Two of the 1987 Constitution, and For Other Purposes” Senators Revilla Jr., Roxas, Ejercito-Estrada, Legarda, Cayetano (A.), Cayetano (P.), and Zubiri. Senate Bil 3308, Fourteeth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines. June 03, 2009. Reteived 2009-09-19.

^[xi] “A Guide to Net Neutrality for Google Users”

^[xii] “Net Neutrality: This is Serious” Tim Barners-Lee.

^[xiii] Prepared Statement of Vinton G. Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google Inc. Before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Hearing on “Network Neutrality” February 7, 2006.

^[xiv] “The Five Freedoms of Filipino Running Code”  Cocoy Dayao

^[xv] “Family and Community-Based Actions towards the prevention of Juvenile Delinquency: The Olongapo City Experience”. Leopoldo M. Moselina, UNICEF-Manila. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

^[xvi] “Juvenile Delinquents from the Philippines”. Alexmitchelle. YouTube. May 20, 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

^[xvii] “Metro Manila GDP” Cyril L. Bonabente. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

^[xviii] “Charter of Ville de Montreal”

^[xix] “Charter of New York City”

^[xx] “Why New Yorkers Last Longer” Clive Thomspon. New York Magazine. August 13, 2007.

^[xxi] Field Health Statistics Annual Report 2007. Department of Health. p. 139.

^[xxii] “Reproductive Health Bill: Facts, fallacies” Philippine Daily Inquirer. August 3, 2008.

^[xxiii] National Objectives for Health 2005 to 2010. Department of Health. p. 184-194.

^[xxiv] “Philippines Faces Classroom Shortage” Seth Mydans. The New York Times. August 24, 2009.

^[xxv] “Do Schools Kill Creativity” Sir Ken Robinson. TedTalk. 2007.

^[xxvi] “The Great Bookblockade: Timelines and Readings (victory edition!)” Manuel L. Quezon III. May 10, 2009.

^[xxvii] “Rising Growth, Declining Investment: The Puzzle of the Philippines Breaking the ‘Low-Capital-Stock’ Equilibrium”. Alessandro Magnoli Bocchi. The World Bank. p 36-42.

^[xxviii] “Tittle 10, US Code: Transactions other than Contracts and Grants”

^[xxix] “The Cult of Noynoy Aquino,” Carlo Ople, The Philippine Online Chronicles

^[xxx] “The Global Financial Crisis”. Kevin Rudd. The Monthly. February 2009.

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