Binay says we need more discipline

Vice President Jojo Binay had a gem of an idea when he spoke before a group consisting mostly of economists last week. During the Q and A portion of his talk before the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), Binay talked about the benefits of the ROTC in instilling discipline among our young people. No longer compulsory as it was during our days, Binay was likely thinking that something like ROTC would also imbue a sense of nationhood.

Indeed, an enhanced ROTC similar to but not exactly like the National Service in Singapore may be just what we need to imbue the kind of discipline and values that make a governable nation possible. We are divided across social, religious and regional lines and we need to transcend these loyalties for us to progress along the path of finally becoming one Filipino nation.

The closest model we have that provides a glimpse of the potentials of this concept is the annual program of Ayala Corporation that gathers some of the most promising young student leaders selected from the best colleges and universities across the country.

For four days the young people listen to respected leaders from government, civil society, business, the arts, media and entertainment. In the process the young leaders learn leadership skills and build their own confidence to lead in their communities.  

Best of all, just being together already works to break down social class, religious and regional barriers that prevent us from having a national perspective. An Assumption Convent girl being exposed to a PMA cadet and a Muslim student from a state college in Mindanao should open minds and help kill preconceived notions of what folks from the other side are like.

If this interaction happens over six months to a year in rougher conditions than a week-end in a comfortable corporate training center, the positive impact on the character formation of our youth should be significant. The bonding developed at this stage of their lives that transcends social, regional and religious lines should help develop a sense of common good that is lacking in our national life today.

Of course such a national service program should be designed to not only hone leadership skills but more importantly, as the website of the Ayala Leadership program promises, “to nurture commitment to integrity and principled leadership, to foster nationalism and idealism, and to encourage faithful stewardship of their communities and the country’s future.”

It need not be a military type ROTC experience. Given our country’s needs today, helping communities cope with everyday problems will be more appropriate. We had something like that in our days at UP but it was not sanctioned by the UP administration. It was called Learning from the People. It was deemed subversive.

In a way, some colleges and universities today already have so-called “immersion” programs in their curriculum. My kids had to spend a weekend living with informal settlers along the Laguna de Bay and other parts of Laguna before they graduated from Ateneo and Miriam. My niece had to spend months in Bay, Laguna before she could get her medical degree from UP.

As a parent I had my worries at the time my kids did their weekend “immersion,” but from their stories afterwards I think it did them some good. Exposing well-off kids to life on the other side of the tracks should be part of their education.

Come to think of it, just studying in UP is a good way to expose young people to peers from different socio-economic classes. Some of those from the exclusive convent schools may be initially shocked at the experience but soon enough adjust to a peer group that is more representative of the national community. 

I don’t know if Vice President Binay realized he had the gem of an idea when he responded to a question in the FEF Forum. A task force from DepEd, CHED, Tesda, DSWD and the Anti-Poverty Commission should be able to structure a worthwhile National Service program. Perhaps, being assigned a family under the Conditional Cash Transfer program could be part of the assignment.

Of course the impact of such a National Service program even if it is carried out well can only be felt many generations ahead. But we need to start something like this now. We are deteriorating as a nation and no change in the form of government will produce what only a drastic change in the national character can.

Maybe the Israelis and the Singaporeans are on to something. We need to find out how the concept can work for us too.

Binay

Speaking of Jojo Binay, it seems he is once again working below the radar. In the same way that he surprised everybody when he scored an upset victory in the last election to become vice president, people will be surprised to learn he is accomplishing so much in a position known to be nothing more than a constitutional spare tire.

Jojo told the FEF group that he requested P-Noy to give him some significant assignments and he said he is grateful that the President did just that. Now the Office of the Vice President is responsible for OFW special concerns in addition to housing. This has to do with, for example, urgent requests for repatriation.

In 2011, Veep Jojo secured the repatriation of over 4,500 Filipinos from Saudi Arabia. He also managed to get special pricing from Etihad Airways that enabled the OVP to fly 799 of our countrymen back to Manila.

Veep Jojo also concerned himself with fighting human trafficking and illegal recruitment. He claims solid gains in these areas as well. “In previous years, the efficiency of our country’s efforts in these areas of concern was less than optimal with only seven trafficking convictions gained before our term began.”

Veep Jojo said he unified the efforts of concerned agencies and worked with NGOs to obtain 44 convictions in two years. He launched a hotline to provide a channel for reporting human trafficking cases and within the first year, processed over 7,000 calls which led to 68 actual cases.

The Vice President also reported that in May of this year, he shut down a recruitment agency and filed 29 cases against illegal recruiters for hiring Filipinos to work in Syria, despite a prevailing ban on deployment. Veep Jojo said his efforts also led to the filing of show-cause orders against 25 personnel of the Bureau of Immigration.

To prove he is getting results, Veep Jojo reported that Ambassador Luis Cdebaca, head of the office that monitors and combats trafficking in persons in the US State Department said that our anti-human trafficking initiatives can be a model for the ASEAN region and the rest of the world.

But Veep Jojo’s main achievements are in the socialized housing area. Some 114 areas around the country have been proclaimed as socialized housing sites, with about 280,000 beneficiaries, mostly very poor families and low-income government employees such as police, military and teachers.  If the Veep succeeds in getting Delfin Lee of Globe Asiatique to answer charges already filed in court against him, that will be another signal government means business.

Incidentally, a program of the FEF is helping Veep Jojo’s housing efforts and it is called Property Rights for Economic Progress Project (or PREP)”. It is being undertaken together with the Asia Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (or USAID). Working through Local Government Units (LGUs), the program helps facilitate secure tenure to qualified beneficiaries through the existing residential Free Patent Act or Republic Act 10023.

In January 2012, 65 owners of untitled land in Pakil, Laguna became land title holders with the help of the local government of Pakil. In February 2012, in cooperation with the Makati city government, 523 land titles covering a total area of 53,630.22 square meters in 8 barangays, were distributed to qualified residents. In May 2012, land titles were also handed over to residents of Mabini, Batangas with the help of the LGU in Mabini.

There you go… a very energetic Vice President delivering results. Makes you think the sovereign Filipino people made the right choice in 2010. 

Maybe Jojo should be named Foreign Secretary at some point. He has the politician’s skill in diplomacy. In the past, the Vice President was traditionally entrusted with the foreign affairs portfolio. The fact that he is an elected Vice President rather than just an appointed Foreign Secretary gives him clout when negotiating with foreign governments. It also gives Jojo a better platform to care for our OFWs. But politics will prevent this from happening, I guess. 

Motto

Came across this one liner and thought that it is probably the motto of a high profile cabinet member we know.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

Guess who?

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco