EDITORIAL - Fake documentaries  bad for our image

In a recent news report, police in Quezon City said they were set to file charges against three foreigners for “maliciously putting a Quezon City barangay in a bad light.”

The foreigners filmed then released on social media a “documentary” about a criminal gang said to practically rule an entire barangay in that city. They even did a “ride-along” where they filmed a gang leader boldly going about inspecting his turf and checking up on his men.

However, according to the police, the alleged “gang leader” as well as other gang members were actually paid actors, and not criminals.

Furthermore, the actors said they were not paid the full amount promised to them to pose as gang members.

It’s “documentaries” like these that give our country a bad name. We understand that some aspects of the Philippines and Filipino life can use improvement or can be even downright deplorable, but many of these so-called documentaries --and they are all over social media, produced by wannabe-filmmakers-- truly misrepresent the Philippines.

Like that one “documentary” declaring an entire province a zone that should be avoided by foreigners. We understand that that province may have certain areas that aren’t advisable for foreigners to visit. Heck, what place doesn’t? But the entire province? That’s just absurd.

What’s more insulting was that the content creator could not even pronounce the name of the province correctly, casting doubt that he ever went there.

It’s understandable why some filmmakers or producers want to deliver as much shock as possible in their films; they want to make an impact and attract attention. And because their audience is largely made up of foreigners, few can come out to make corrections or point out some exaggerated facts or figures.

There are many documentaries in social media that show the good side as well as the not-so-good side of the Philippines, and we should accept them all. However, those that grossly misrepresent our country or exaggerate some undesirable aspects of it for the purpose of drumming up viewership should be found and their creators made to explain their actions.

Filipinos have a tremendous online presence; we should use this to our advantage in correcting such “documentaries.”

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ARANGKADA

BY LEO LASTIMOSA

Mga imbestigasyon

sa paglubog

Lisod pagbilib sa mga imbestigasyon sa Kongreso. Gawas sa pipila nga nakatsamba. Pagbutyag sa mga anomaliya ug pagkurihir sa kasaypanan. Kasagaran gigamit sa mga senador ug mga kongresista sa pagsakay sa mga kontrobersiya. Ug pagpaukyab. Para sa pamolitika ug personal nga mga interes.

Dunay pipila nga makahatag og katin-awan. Sa tagsa kaayo nga mga higayon nga takos ug ligdong nga mga magbabalaod ang maningog. Pero kasagaran nipasamot sa kalibog. Duna gani mga imbestigasyon nga klarong gitumong sa pagpanlubog. Sama sa pakisusi sa nagkataas nga lista sa pinatyanay sa Negros Oriental.

 * * *

Nahisgutan nang ngan ni kanhi Presidente Rodrigo Duterte. Nga maoy unang timaan nga nasaag na ang pakisusi sa Senado. Sa bangis nga pagpatay ni Gobernador Roel Degamo. Ug laing siyam ka biktima sa masaker sa Pamplona.

Wa katabang pagpanimon sa imbestigasyon. Nga ang tagduma nga si Senador Bato dela Rosa mas naila sa ka-lunod-patay ni Duterte. Kay sa kahinog sa panghunahuna. Nibaha ang mga testimoniya batok sa mga Degamo ug pabor sa mga Teves. Human may saksing nangangkon nga nagpakitabang sa kanhi presidente. Nagpakita hain kapusta ang mga Duterte.

 * * *

Sa pikas nga bahin, nakatsamba ang imbestigasyon sa Senado. Sa pasangil sa coverup sa P6.7 bilyones nga shabu nga nasakmit sa bodega sa Tondo, Manila nga gipanag-iya sa kanhi polis. Nakatunong ang mga senador pagbisto sa pakigkonsabo sa mga polis sa negosyo sa ilegal nga drugas.

Di tungod sa kalantip sa ilang mga pangutana. Kon dili tungod sa kalihay sa mga tubag nga ilang nakuha gikan sa mga opisyal sa kapolisan.

 * * *

Oktubre pa sa niaging tuig nga nasakmit ang dul-an sa libo ka tonelada nga shabu. Sa niaging pito ka buwan, ang opisyal nga imbestigasyon sa Camp Crame wa gyod kaila, ni kasubay, sa mga kauban sa ilegal nga negosyo ni kanhi Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr.

Ang kataphaw sa tinubagan atubangan sa Senado sa mga operatiba nga nakasikop ni Mayo, apil nang kalit nga pagkalimot sa mga ngan ug mga numero sa telepono, maoy nakapalili sa katawhan sa posibleng hinungdan sa kainutil sa imbestigasyon: Dili ganahan ang mga imbestigador nga mobisto sa ilang kadagkoan. O kaubanan. O sa ilang kaugalingon.

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WHAT MATTERS MOST

BY JOSEPHUS JIMENEZ

Firing company executives

and managers for fraud

and breach of trust

The Supreme Court has been very strict when it comes to dishonesty especially when committed by corporate executives, managers, supervisors and highly trusted confidential employees. One Supreme Court Justice even called dishonest personnel as “scoundrels” and: “rascals” who have proven themselves unworthy of the positions they occupy.

Corruption is not the monopoly of the government officials. There are many acts of frauds, defalcation, malversation, forgery and falsification committed by private corporate executives and managerial personnel. In the case of San Miguel Corporation vs. RAG (we hide her identity to protect her honor) in Case number GR 200815, decided on August 24, 2020, a lady manager was fired by SMC due to a written report from a contractor pointing to her as demanding kickbacks and accepting bribes  for every billing that she would approve and process. Her case of illegal dismissal was dismissed by the Labor Arbiter in 2004. The NLRC took pity on her and reversed the Arbiter in 2008. The Court of Appeals affirmed the NLRC. But the highest court reversed the appellate court and held that she deserved termination due to her blatant dishonesty. She lost all her retirement benefits for working in San Miguel since 1986.

The case of Apo Cement vs. ZEB (GR 176671, June 26, 2012, a high ranking manager based in Naga City (Cebu) was fired for demanding and accepting kickbacks from suppliers. In the case of Wesleyan University vs. NR (GR 208321, July 30, 2014), a university in Nueva Ecija fired its University Treasurer for alleged multiple irregularities, including handling of funds and multiple financial transactions, including millions of unliquidated cash advances (P9.7 million), unsound accounting practices and many alleged questionable transactions. In YTB vs. Urios College (GR 199066, June 7, 2017), the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a School Comptroller for an act of conflict of interests when the comptroller allegedly gave salary increases to himself. In Baguio Central University vs. I G (GR 188267, December 2, 2013) a Dean was fired because he put up a training and review center in direct competition with his employer university.

 In the case of CVS vs. San Miguel Corporation, ( GR 149416, March 14, 2003), a highly paid and long term Finance Director was fired by management for her series of irregular financial transactions. She used to go to the sales outlets of San Miguel which are subject to her moral ascendancy as the Corporate Finance Director, and she would get cash and exchange them with personal checks, many of which bounced due to lack of funds. The Supreme Court dismissed her appeal and ruled that SMC was right in firing her. In Pepsi Cola vs. NLRC, et al (GR 106831, May 6, 1997), a high ranking manager committed a fraudulent transaction involving Pepsi products and a big sum of money. He was fired and the Court found a basis to discipline him.

In the DDS vs. Metro Bank a retireable branch manager in Davao City lost more than P10 million in retirement benefits. He was fired in his last few months before retirement due to the pernicious banking practice of “kiting” to accommodate some friends. He did not derive any monetary benefit but he merely helped some businessmen in Davao who were short in cash. He worked so hard for the bank and stayed there as his only employer since college graduation. His career ended in tragedy just because he had some friends in need who took advantage of his kind disposition. In another Metro Bank case, AAA vs. Metro Bank (GR 170542-43, December 13, 2010) a regional officer based in Cebu was fired because he organized an employees’ coop that engaged in lending money in competition with Metro Bank operations. They used his employer’s bank premises, facilities and company time in transacting coop activities. He was fired and perhaps he deserved it.

In Herma Shipping and Transport Corporation vs. C C, (GR 244144 January 27, 2020) the company fired a ranking employee of an ocean-going vessel for stealing crude oil from his own vessel where he worked. In St. Luke’s Medical Center vs. MTVS (GR 212054, March 11, 2015), the hospital fired a nurse for attempting to take home some hospital supplies. In Manila Pen Hotel vs. EAJ (GR 225586, July 29, 2019), a Manila Pen waiter was fired for pocketing a mere P6,500. Dishonesty, even involving little money, is always a legal ground to dismiss.

Well, that is the tragedy in life. If you are a small fry caught with a small dishonesty, for sure, you will be meted the harshest penalty. But if you were a senator or congressman, charged with pocketing multi millions, you may even be reelected overwhelmingly by a very forgiving people. Even ex-convicts can be elected to high places. But if you are an unknown entity, be prepared to be crucified by a self-righteous society.

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OFF TANGENT

BY AVEN PIRAMIDE

No facemask

for the beautiful

I once attended a meeting of the Queen City Toastmasters Club which had a member delivering a speech project entitled “Work with Words.” We called him Jerome but his family name now escapes my memory, no thanks to the senior years that I carry. The word he introduced to us was “humorful” which was quite uncommon for me then. In fact, in our post meeting discussion, most of us candidly admitted that we were more familiar with the word humorous than humorful. To our delight, we learned that humorful was only a little different from humorous because it tended to be used more appropriately to describe something comical.

I remember that very word “humorful” when I heard, few days ago, the officialdom of Cebu Province announcing that Covid-19 is no longer an emergency. We could not hide our enormous pride to learn that our province was ahead of the World Health Organization in finding that the coronavirus no longer posed a threat. Wow! How humor-filled were we, Cebuanos, to have heard that our leadership realized much earlier than WHO, that there is no more pandemic I have mostly been an admirer of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and her pronouncement of a Covid-free Cebu predating the WHO declaration made me even more proud of her. Mas bright gyud ni si Gov kay sa mga scientists sa WHO.

Actually, the announcement that the viral pandemic was over came only as an aside. It was not a main topic, Governor Garcia was, in point of fact, holding a press conference on a different matter not related with the coronavirus. She was in the process of addressing a legal concern presented by Justice Secretary Crispin Jesus Remulla. Earlier, the justice secretary issued, in writing, an opinion that a Cebu provincial ordinance was not in order, to say the least. His position, anchored on a constitutional authority of control and supervision by the president over local government units, appeared theoretically correct. In other words, the ordinance which would require national government agencies to secure first the approval of Cebu Province before implementing a project was a legal aberration.

The governor had a different view. She thought that the Local Government Code granted autonomy to local government units to legislate on subject matters they are more familiar with. To her, the justice secretary was wrong. It was at this point that the side issue of Covid-19 surfaced rather irrelevantly. Like the off tangent nature of this column, Gov. Garcia said that her administration is so in touch with the ground that she knew that the coronavirus has ceased being a pandemic. So, the protocols designed to prevent the spread of the virus need not be observed anymore.

From where I sat, Governor Garcia sounded humorful, like how Toastmaster Jerome wanted us, in the audience, to take the word to mean. Like Jerome’s, the governor’s face did not show any sign of trying to be funny. She might have dwelt on a side issue but she drove home a huge point. The lady governor said that wearing the facemask, a Covid-19 protocol, would only be optional. It was no longer necessary. But, I almost fell from my seat when she stated further that it would be mandatory for those whose faces are ugly. Her words were “wala nay Covid facemask mandatory sa mga bati ug nawong.”

The humorful message was clear. To me, her declaration was, in fact, comical. Those who have beautiful faces or those whose facial features have undergone restructuring (by Belo), need not wear facemasks. What’s your say, Toastmaster Jerome?

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CONVERGENCE:

For citywide, participatory segregated

waste management

Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama himself suggested the holding of last Friday’s CONVERGENCE.

Why?

 Before more than 200 participants at the crowded Social Hall, in his message (lengthy yet lively because of his dancing and singing), Mayor Mike made clear that he wanted a clean Singapore-like Cebu City by June 12.

 Had he only remembered to say/announce even just one short rallying call for all to commit and pledge their contribution for Cebu City’s participatory/segregated waste management not only for, but sustainably beyond June 12, that would have been a dramatic step for him to leave a legacy of an inclusive/genuine Cebu City cleanup/segregated waste management campaign!

 Some suggestions for an effective/participatory citywide waste management presented by three groups of CONVERGENCE participants who remained through/after lunch included:

1) An Information, Education, Communication (IEC) team/outreach campaign about composting/community gardening/waste segregation and other environmental topics, through onsite/online methods in schools (NSTP), barangays, others and with specific tasks and assignments for IEC among the group members from USC, USP, Lions, and DILG, (same RCE-Cebu pledge);

2) Focused Composting Drive (and steps to do composting) as well as Paper Charcoal Ball production were shared by the 2nd group (Bob Bajenting, USJ-R, Homeowners’ Associations, Barangay Bulacao/Capitol), and,

3) Barangay-level initiatives- such as activating all barangay SW Committee, Barangay 10-year SWM plan formulation, have junkshops/recyclers’ linkages, BEOs(barangay environmental officers), conduct trainings on recycling of various segregated waste types, to be led by EMB and ABC- and having barangay MRFs (material recovery facility) and create a model barangay (Mambaling) from the 3rd group composed of representatives from these 15 barangays: Cambinocot, Duljo-Fatima, Sirao, Sinsin, Hippodromo, Mabini, Mabolo, Zapatera, Day-as, Binaliw, Budlaan, Capitol Site, Sawang Calero, Basak San Nicolas, and Inayawan.

Mayor Mike’s special assistant for Solid Waste Management, Ms. Emma Ramas, presented a proposed Cebu City SW plan for the information/review/acceptance of the participants, the highlights of which included:

1) Paradigm Shift: away from a mindset of collect and dispose waste in the landfill- problem solved”- to a mindset of reduction of waste to the landfill and recovery of resources, and, 2) to a more-participatory, community-based approach to solving our solid waste management problems;

2) “Push, pull and enable” strategy emphasizing the role of the barangays in managing biodegradable waste and the recyclables: Push (enforcing the laws and ordinances related to waste management and environmental protection; imposing penalties on violations), Pull (providing incentives and measures that will motivate the people to properly manage their waste; recognizing best effort), and, Enable (equipping implementors (e.g. loaders) with appropriate tools and protective gears and health insurance benefits; educating the people on the necessity of managing waste and training them on different ways of reducing, recycling or upcycling waste).

Some specific recommendations:

1. raise the capacity of the barangays in the implementation of solid waste management for biodegradable waste and recyclables through training barangay officials/members of Ecological Solid Waste Management Committees and diverting part of the budget allocated for solid waste collection/disposal to setting up temporary storage facilities for recyclables/composting facilities;

2. break up the implementation of solid waste management in the barangay into- a. Sitios/Puroks, b. Residential Subdivisions/Urban Poor Communities, c. Schools, d. Inter Faith Organizations, e. Private Establishments;

3. Make composting of biodegradable waste mandatory in households/schools/churches/ private establishments/institutions through an executive order, beginning with Cebu City and barangay employees/scholars/senior citizens/4Ps beneficiaries;

4. City-wide trainings on segregation/composting-Beef up the IEC program on SW management;

5. Mandatory city-wide food gardens, including in vacant spaces in barangays;

6. Reward WM efforts/best practices;

7. Develop the solid waste management industry through incentives for small/medium SW related enterprises; and,

8. Return/ rationalize number/supervision of BEOs.

Will Mayor Mike walk his talk, implement the CONVERGENCE suggestions?

Or will CONVERGENCE be wasted, with no follow-up/achievements/action like the 2022 Waste Summit?

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HINTS AND TRACES

BY FR. ROY CIMAGALA

Christian joy

and the cross

A SAINT once said that Christian joy has its roots in the form of a cross. I suppose this affirmation can find validation in some words of Christ who once told his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.” (Jn 16,20)

In another part of the gospel, Christ also said something similar: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33) We have to convince ourselves that despite whatever happens in our life, we always have hope and we can always manage to be cheerful and at peace because Christ in the end will take care of everything, as long as we would just exert effort to be faithful to him.

But let’s always remember that our joy in and with Christ comes always as a result of the cross, of some struggle, of keeping our faith alive despite the many things in our life that can undermine it. We should just learn how to react properly to these faith-harming elements.

If our faith is strong and vibrant, we can always manage to have a sportsman-like attitude toward the unavoidable drama of our life where the forces of good and evil will always be at work.

It’s important that we don’t lose sight of our need for joy even as we go through the indispensable exercise of penance as we traverse this vale of tears we have in this world. And that’s because, as St. Paul said, the Lord is near. He is always around and eager to help us especially in our worst predicaments. This piece of news should gladden our heart even as we intensify our penitential acts to prepare ourselves properly to receive him.

This Good News, which with faith we can consider as already done, should remind us of the bigger picture about ourselves. We come from God and not just from our parents. We are meant to be with God in our definitive state of life in eternity. Our life here on earth is simply a training and testing ground to see if what God wants us to be is also what we want to be.

We should develop the appropriate sense of nostalgia and expectation that should bring us beyond the limits of time and space, and lead us to God in eternity. That’s where we came from and where we are meant to be. And for this, we have been given the adequate means, none other than Christ himself who told us that he is “the way, the truth and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14,6)

We might find this idea incredible at first. We might even consider it as inhuman. But we need to be clarified about one thing. What our faith tells us, what God wills for us is not against our human nature. It simply goes beyond our nature. And since it’s beyond our nature, our faith precisely tells us to rely mainly on God who is omnipotent and wise to be able to follow God’s will for us that always gives us peace and joy.

The joy and peace that comes from God are always a fruit of a continuing spiritual battle to keep God’s love burning in us. It’s a joy and peace that is compatible with the cross, with all forms of suffering. It is not afraid of suffering which also has an important role to play in our life and in the redemption of mankind. With God, everything works for the good.