Food, Places & Philippine Society

Long Blog Break

2010-06-22T21:50:00.002+08:00

It's been 9 months since I last blogged. I got caught in the intensifying campaign for the passage of the Freedom of Information Act. I thought it was makeable, but I also had the sense to know it's not over until the ink of the President's pen dries on it.

We did not get it, and in classic Philippine scumbag politics fashion!

Greenwich, Greater London

2009-10-22T13:28:00.008+08:00

I was in Greenwich, London from 14-20 June for a meeting.

Visited the Royal Observatory, home of the prime meridian, although there's nothing much there than imagination :)

Among the Greenwich fare we tried were steak & ale pie, and fish (haddock) and chips.

Right to Information: Bridging Divides in Implementation

2009-10-11T21:46:00.003+08:00

UNDP India and the Government of India organized a two-day international consulation on access to ifnormation in Bangalore. It was part of a capacity building effort on the implementation of their right to information act. It was attended by India government officials and CSO reps, and a number of international delegates. I made a presentation at the panel on bridging divides in right to information implementation. See the presentation at http://www.aer.ph/images/stories/projects/id/right%20to%20info%20-%20bridging%20divide.pdf

Can't help but notice: most of the participants were men, That's one visible divide.

Bangalore

2009-10-11T19:08:00.002+08:00

Unfortunately my four days in Bangalore did not qualify me to write about the place. I spent three days cooped in the hotel, which for some reason did not even give a view of Bangalore sun. I ventured out on my fourth day, taking an auto rickshaw to Garruda Mall, a recommendation at the hotel reception. I would have gone to Mysore, but wasn't able to plan properly. Garruda turns out to be a modern mall, small by Philippine standards.

I decided to just visit a bookstore. It did not have an impressive collection though, unlike some bookstores in Delhi. Still I found myself Amartya Sen's latest book - The Idea of Justice.

I walked around the nearby streets. The weather was cool. However I did not find any place of particular interest. By 2 pm I decided to head back to the hotel getting another rickshaw.

This driver coming back happened to be one of the sort that gives a place a bad reputation. He asked for 200 rupees after I boarded. He reduced it to 120 after I asked to go down, although I know it was still overpriced (but I was not about to engage in extended haggling). It turns out he wasn't even familiar with the place I was coming back to, and I ended up having to call the hotel for directions. When I went down at the hotel, he was insisting to increase the fare again to 200 for the extended time spent looking for the hotel. I wouldn't haved minded, knowing the high cost of gas, but he was trying to sound threatening: "That's the last for you, sir!" Just the thing to set a batangueno off: "Are you threatening me?"

Coming back to the hotel I was prepared to just use up my remaining time doing internet and work at the lobby (I already checked out earlier, any my flight is midnight.) But the hotel offered to give me a room! That sure more than made up for the rickshaw incident.

The lesson as always: plan ahead on outside travel. Pity I was on such rush coming to Bangalore I didn't have time for that. Hope I can come back here some other time.

2009-10-07T20:12:00.001+08:00

To Alecks, a gentle warrior.

Disaster

2009-10-01T18:22:00.005+08:00

In Manila, either we were directly affected by the floods brought on by typhoon Ondoy, or it hit too close. For those of us who were fortunate to be on higher ground, there were friends or family that were not as fortunate.

Force majeure, or superior or irresistible force.

But there may have been part of it that would have been avoidable, or mitigated. And responses that would have been more prompt, or appropriate, or effective. Looking forward it cannot be business as usual. Similar events are bound to affect us all.

The analyses coming out in the aftermath are all instructive. Climate change is one context. The other is how urban development proceeded. Quoting from a news item with architect Felino Palafox Jr. as source:

"The Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project (Metroplan), which was finalized by Hong Kong-based consulting firm Freeman Fox and Associates, has been used as a blueprint by urban planning developers and various government agencies and urban planners. Unfortunately, he said corruption and lack of planning has led to the shelving of some of the plan's recommendations.

"You see the irony here. National government agencies are aware that there is a flooding level of so many meters, then another national government agency would approve subdivision plans for only nine-meter high houses. There are about 32 signatures to obtain just to do a development project. It's like an obstacle course," he said in an ANC interview last Tuesday."

We can expect the private sector to avoid internalizing the costs of its negative externalities, to maximize profits. Private developers will narrow or block waterways, cut down trees, flatten hills, and fill valleys. And we will buy what they construct. As the incentive of private interests push to overbuild and destroy nature, we look to government to look after the public interest.

Unfortunately, in government private interests also rule. Every government project is a personal opportunity; the public good is secondary. To this misfortune, the response of our economists for the last two decades has been to demonize and tear down government; to let the market rule. Alas, this strategy has only suppressed the drive for institutional reform and made many of us passive citizens.

We need to reclaim government.

The Tough Tasks of 2010-2016: We Will Rise to the Challenge

2009-09-18T21:05:00.002+08:00

Action for Economic Reforms

Michael Alba, Krupskaya Añonuevo, Manuel Buencamino, Jenina Joy Chavez, Lisandro Claudio, Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, Ramon Fernan III, Mario Galang, Yusuf Ledesma, Corinna Lopa, Nepomuceno Malaluan, Hazel Malapit, Cristina Morales, Rene Ofreneo, Rafael Paredes, Rene Raya, Jessica Reyes-Cantos, Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III

September 2009

Senator Noynoy Aquino has emerged as the people’s candidate. That he has made the accountability of Gloria Arroyo and her regime a central plank of his program boosts his position as the most suitable to preside over the next administration. We have identified Arroyo’s illegitimacy, plunder, and destruction of institutions as the main obstacle to our country’s progress.

The mission for the next six years is gargantuan. The next President carries the responsibility of resuscitating our institutions of democracy, transparency, and accountability from the vicious blows inflicted by Arroyo. But to get there, Arroyo’s forces must first be overcome. This will not be easy, given the state machinery that Arroyo commands.

This is where the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino finds relevance. By far, he appears most capable of generating the broadest coalition that stands the best chance of defeating the vilest, most dangerous enemy.

Noynoy’s democratic credentials have deep roots. He is personally closest to the legacy of Ninoy and Cory Aquino, two Filipinos to whom people and country mattered most. Noynoy, as he proclaims to continue the fight of his parents, resonates as well the people’s unfinished fight for democracy and decent governance. He also lays claim to a moral uprightness that the likes of former president Joseph Estrada cannot hope to match.

Moral uprightness and the fortitude to fight for people and country – nothing less is needed to be up to the daunting tasks of 2010-2016.

To be sure, most aspirants to the presidency will put forward their respective platforms to address the most critical development challenges for the next administration. We offer below a focused program.

First, we need to launch an economic recovery that is broad-based, and powered by the resurgence of the domestic economy that is not confined to the service sector. The growth strategy must target chronic unemployment, food insecurity, ecological degradation, and persistent poverty.

An immediate binding constraint on growth is the very low tax effort, which can lead to another fiscal crisis. Resolving the fiscal problem requires implementing serious reforms in tax administration, fighting smuggling and other forms of tax evasion, reformulating the excise taxes on sin products to become robust, rationalizing fiscal incentives, stopping the indiscriminate creation of special economic zones and free ports, and rectifying spending anomalies.

On infrastructure, we must address not only the backlogs but also the geographical imbalance. We give special attention to boosting agriculture and uplifting the rural poor. Among other things, we must rethink the agrarian reform program, which has failed both on equity and efficiency grounds.

And once the global recovery sets in, we must not allow our currency to overvalue and thus lose competitiveness. Strategically, we have to undo the failed trade, industrial and agriculture policy of the last four decades.

Second, towards diminishing the politics of patronage and avoiding a repeat of elections being stolen, we need to make elections clean, honest and fair as well as to even the playing field in political contestation.

Third, we have to resolve the crisis in Philippine education. At all levels (primary, secondary and tertiary), education is beset with serious problems of quality, attendance and mindless commercialization. Complex problems in human resources in agriculture and the vast informal economy are hardly being tackled. Already we are suffering from the consequences of poor education outcomes. This will hobble the country in the long term if not effectively addressed soon.

Fourth, the next administration must move the process of achieving peace, especially in Mindanao. The long-standing conflict has continued to cause peoples and communities untold suffering. Learning from Barack Obama, the next leadership should junk the ideological and bellicose stance of previous administrations and be open to principled concessions to secure a just and long-lasting peace.

The most decisive issue that the next president must confront is to make Mrs. Arroyo and her accomplices account for the crimes they have committed in public office. These include rigging the elections, plundering the public coffers through various scams, flouting the rules of accountability, and committing human rights violations including extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.

The next president should vigorously resist the idea of forgetting the past and moving on. Forgiveness, reconciliation, and mercy should not be used as a shield against accountability. The issue is not just about personal guilt or redeeming souls, but principally about rebuilding institutions that have been decimated.

As support for Aquino’s candidacy snowballs, care should be taken that the emerging movement is not hijacked by opportunistic forces and self-interested operators as well as by exclusivists.

We also share the hope that Aquino can unite the broad spectrum of the anti-Arroyo opposition, from the revolutionaries and reformers to decent conservatives as well as the other mainstream political parties. The broadest coalition not only ensures the defeat of Arroyo’s party. Such unity is likewise critical as we embark on a tough reform program and as we shape the nation’s collective identity towards a bright and prosperous future.

The change we seek cannot be the sole responsibility of the political leaders. A responsible citizenship—informed, vigilant and active—will deter cheating in the 2010 elections, push back the forces of darkness, and sustain the reform struggle. Responsible citizenship means helping out the new government. We cannot leave to government alone the fulfillment of so many tasks. The post-Arroyo period will be an opportunity to recover our sense of community.

At the same time, responsible citizenship will call on the new President and his coalition to account for his and their action or inaction on crucial matters. We must guard against giving false hopes to the people.

To reiterate, the fight is against Arroyo and those like her who use their position for personal aggrandizement. Arroyo is the symbol of what’s despicable with the system. This is a struggle between change and more of the same.

Humba

2009-09-08T09:12:00.005+08:00

Another dish sure to be cooked during Batangas fiestas is humba. Unlike the embotidos and asados, however, humba is not served to guests. It is for the family, to stay perhaps a week after fiesta. Like chicharon sa sariling mantika, humba is a dish to maximize meat from the pig butchered for the fiesta. Only the choice cuts go to the regular fiesta dish, and there's a lot left over for home cooking. To dinuguan go the intestines, lungs, heart, kidneys and blood; to chicharon go all the fatty parts; and to humba go the head of the pig and the patas.

Humba is best cooked with overnight marinating in soy sauce, a touch of cane vinegar, tahure, brown sugar, garlic, peppercorns, and laurel leaves. Tahure is soya bean cake, similar to tokwa, but soaked in brine. It gives the humba its distinct flavor. Remove the tahure and the humba becomes adobo or pata tim in taste.

I ask the butcher to cut the pig head into fist-size chunks. So you don't get all fat and bones, it is best to add a few chunks from the pigue. I mash into the meat the tahure, brown sugar, garlic, peppercorns and laurel leaves. Then I pour in soy sauce just enough to coat the meat, add a small amount of cane vinegar, and let the preparation stay overnight. In the morning the preparation is cooked in a big iron caldero in slow heat until the meat is very tender. I add enough water to dissipate within the two-hour boil in slow fire. Because the humba is not stirred while cooking, traditionally the meat is set on a thin bamboo weave so the meat at the bottom won't burn.

Remembering Cory, Remembering EDSA

2009-08-03T09:35:00.006+08:00

I was a freshman in college when the EDSA People Power Revolution happened. Days before during the canvassing of the snap poll returns, I remember my fraternity had an Anti-Fraud, Anti Dictatorship motorcade within UP and up to Batasan, but the atmosphere was eerily silent. When people power ignited I went to EDSA together with my sister, my brother-in-law and one of their officemates - they were all employed at a government agency then. We were there from the start, until the oath-taking of Cory Aquino at Club Filipino in Greenhills. Without the convenience of mobile phones and the internet, I wonder whether organized forces had time to regroup. People just went to EDSA. The radio was the main means to keep informed of developments.

Twenty-three years hence, with failed economic development and fucked-up politics, the spirit of EDSA dissipates. The Marcos period appears more and more benign, especially to those otherwise not directly or immediately harmed by the dictatorship. Cory's passing away reminds us what EDSA stood for, and what the dictatorship did to the Filipino people's freedoms and security.

One problem the People Power Revolution had was that it had no program beyond a return to democracy. In the economy, the economists with their prescription of free markets and dismatling and demonizing the state, in alliance with international financial institutions, had an open field. We now reap the results: a formal democracy hobbled by failed economics and bad government.

Still we thank Cory, and the genuine opposition who struggled against the Marcos dictatorship. The economy is for all of us to address, the government is for all of us to rebuild, the economists for all of us to reject, and Gloria Arroyo for all of us to hate. But People Power was there to reclaim for us our freedoms to do so. What endears Cory, the person, to us is her consistency in being on the side of our freedoms.

We will remember.

Yahoo Slow

2009-07-23T00:08:00.003+08:00

Yahoo mail and groups have have become an integral part of my work, as I am sure it has been with large populations worldwide. It's been reliable and convenient.

In the past two weeks or so, however, it's been performing erratically. The home page, or the mail, or the groups, or parts of these, won't load. It's becoming quite frequent, and frustrating. And I haven't seen any advisory from yahoo of what is happening. I think an advisory should stay right at the top of its feaured section in the home page, and remin there until the situation is addressed adequately.

On the positive side I get to blog.

Well that's market for us yahoo users. Yahoo's been quite successful, and congestion must at certain points be increasing at a rate that is more than its technical capacity or upgrade. It may be said that competition is tough, and glitches like this can trigger out-migration until a new equilibrium is reached. But there is some lock-in, and out-migration is not really that simple. We have our e-mail addresses and e-mail history all stored in yahoo; it takes time to learn alternative providers; for e-groups we need to notify and consult before decisions are made.

And so we hang on until yahoo fixes itself, but it better be soon.

Bicutan Bottleneck

2009-06-27T06:57:00.007+08:00

The construction of SLEX is almost finished. Driving between Manila and Batangas at least twice a week, I would say that the traffic impact of the SLEX construction was not that bad.

Contrast that with the ongoing construction to extend the skyway from Bicutan to Alabang -- this has really snarled up traffic to a slow crawl between Alabang and Bicutan.

The bottleneck is located at the on-ramp/off ramp of the Skyway at Bicutan. I am not sure who is responsible for addressing the traffic situation in the area, but they are doing a very bad job. In their defense I can expect them to say that they have introduced a counterflow arrangem,ent at certain times of the day. I say it is not enough. The traffic has remained very bad and increased travel time considerably.

I am sure they can do more. Just three immediate observations:

They should immediately finish constructing the Bicutan structure to allow removal of the road sbarrier to widen the bottleneck.
They are now strictly enforcing the yellow lane at the Bicutan exit (Southbound) -- they should instead relax this and allow a freer flow of traffic.
I wonder why they put road barriers immediatly after the Bicutan exit going South. This only lengthens the bottleneck instead of allowing it to immediatly open up.

The way they are doing it, it looks like they are interested only in the project -- to hell with the motorists. Which gets me curious about the construction contract there; hope I can have time to look into it.

Batangas Tamales

2009-06-09T13:59:00.011+08:00

One native delicacy in Batangas City is the tamales. I remember in the second half of the 1980s when it was being sold around the streets of Batangas City by a singular vendor on some days early in the morning. The vendor was a fat woman, whom I presume was also the one preparing and cooking this snack. She carries them in a bilao on her head, shouting ayyy tamales! at the top of her voice. She had no specific route, and you would really just chance upon her once in a while.

I liked tamales a lot. I know now that it is made of ground sticky rice, and comes in banana leaf wrap similar to suman. But unlike most rice-based snacks, Batangas City tamales is not sweet. It is salty, with a bit of spice. It is double colored, with a white part, and an orange colored part. The spicy, salty, nutty taste is concentrated in the orange portions. I've been told that these two parts are prepared separately and combined only at the point of wrapping. On top of the tamales is a few shreds of chicken meat, and a small slice of hard-boiled egg.

Now I buy my Batangas City tamales in the wet market. There are two vendors selling it, and there are some differences in their preparations. The orange part in one is paler and smoother in consistency. I like the other preparation, which is closer to the original version (although I notice that the ornage part gets runny when stored), better. With the banana wrapping, you can tell them apart by the color of the string that ties the wrapping around. I go for the one with the yellow color sting (the other is tied by a red string). Once I asked the vendor, who is my suki for various native snacks, about that old woman who used to sell tamales. She's long gone, and the two vendors are both family.

The tamales, however, is not exclusive to Batangas City. Perhaps even more famous is the one coming from the municipality of Ibaan. However, it is very different in taste, consistency and appearance, even though it retains the same basic flavor. The orange part is embedded as a filling, unlike the Batangas City version where the orange and white part are both immediately visible. The Ibaan version stores much better.

The Munipality of Taal, also in Batangas, has a version very similar to that of Ibaan. The only difference is with the meat used in the preparation. Instead of chicken, Taal uses beef tapa (Taal is also known for its tapa).

Over the years I have learned that various versions of tamales can be found in different parts of the country. Close to the Ibaan version is the one from Ragay, Quezon. I have also tried the Pampanga version, which is bigger and less tasty. While Kapampangans I suppose will say theirs is better, I didn't like it much.

I've heard there are also versions from Bulacan. I would love to try them, and other variations, when I get the chance.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT TO GO THROUGH FULL DEFENSE

2009-06-04T09:27:00.000+08:00

Last night Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, tried to make a go for passage of the FOI Act. In the end it was not taken up. Advocates need to regroup for a full defense of the bill.

Earlier in the week there was a commitment from Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Majority Leader, to include the FOI bill in the agenda for the last day before the Senate goes into recess. This is the day when the Senate holds marathon session to pass most pending measures. Senator Cayetano came prepared with his sponsorship speech and answers to anticipated questions. Later in the night it was still unclear whether the bill will be taken up. Senator Cayetano negotiated, but at about 10:30 pm, the word from Sen. Zubiri was that there were Senators reserving to interpellate, and one of them was Senator Santiago, who was not present. It was clear that the bill will not pass that day.

The implication of this is that the bill will go through a full defense on the floor. We will know whether there are efforts to block the passage of the bill, and by whom, when the bill gets to the floor. In this context, the role of advocates becomes more crucial if the bill is to be passed by the Senate. The passage needs to be done as quickly as possible, considering that it may have to go trough the bicameral conference committee, and considering as well the complications that could arise from the Con Ass moves by the House of Representatives. It will be tough work for the advocates in the coming two months.

On a positive note, the Committee Report has been signed and filed, still within schedule. We now have a committee report number and a consolidate bill number: SENATE BILL NO. 3308 UNDER COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 534. I also look at the full defense at the Senate on the bright side: as an opportunity for advocates to consolidate and increase public awareness on the bill, get more champions, and sweat this one out hopefully for a well-earned FOI Act by the third quarter of 2009.

HOUSE RESOLUTION 1109: CON ASS

2009-06-03T07:17:00.000+08:00

Last night the House of Representatives adopted, in marathon session, House Resolution 1109 titled "A RESOLUTION CALLING UPON THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO CONVENE FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING PROPOSALS TO AMEND OR REVISE THE CONSTITUTION, UPON A VOTE OF THREE-FOURTHS OF ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS." The resolution portion states: "Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the members of Congress be convened for the purpose of proposing amendments to, or revision of the Constitution upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members and that upon its being convened shall adopt its rules of procedures that shall govern its proceedings."

This move commences the House Majority's march to "amend" or "revise" the Constitution through its interpretation of Article XVII (Amendments of Revisions), Section 1 (1) of the 1987 Constitution which states that any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by "The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members." The specification of the words "amendment" or "revision" in the same phrase is not an enumeration of mere synonyms. From the records of the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission, amendment envisages a change of specific provisions only, while a revision may involve a rewriting of the whole Constitution. Thus, if a constituent assembly is validly convened with powers to revise the constitution, it possesses extraordinary powers beyond mere executive or legislative powers but going into the hear of the fundamental law of the country, subject only to ratification by a majority vote of the Philippine electorate in a plebiscite.

HR 1109, adopted reportedly on voting viva voce, on its face does not appear to be the act making Congress a constituent assembly. However, what it actually does is unclear from the Resolution itself (I do not have information on whether this was clarified in the House debate last night). One possibility is that the resolution authorizes the Speaker of the House to convene a constituent assembly under authority of this Resolution, which will then come into being only after such convening is approved by Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of its members. But it is also possible that the House leadership position is that the Resolution has already made itself into a constituent assembly, ready to adopt a rules of procedure to govern its proceedings. Its output, assuming this will involve proposed amendments or revisions, is the one that will require the approval of Congress by a vote of three-fourths of its members. We will know how they propose to implement the Resolution when the House leadership makes its next move. We will also know what the Senate's position is on its participation in the constituent assembly.

Already there are calls for meetings to organize a public opposition to the move by the Lower House. There is one happening today, 9am, at the Clubhouse in Cubao (former Seafood Market).

In addition to what the people will do to oppose HR 1109 and however it will be implemented, an equally important battle will be on the manner of voting for the proposal by Congress to amend the constitution. Under the 1935 Constitution, Article XV (Amedments), Section 1, the Congress, "in joint session assembled, by a vote of three-fourths of all the Members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives voting separately, may oppose amendments to this Constitution..." HR 1109 argues that "in joint session assembled" and "voting separately" are "essential words" deleted and no longer contained in the 1987 Constitution, and that such deletions embodies a "clear and manifest" intention of the 1987 Constitution to change the manner of proposing amendments or revisions to the constitution by Congress.

The debate on this issue, affecting as it will our political future, cannot be left to the lawyers that will argue this matter before the Supreme Court. We all need to have our own position on this. The matter should be debated as widely, publicly, and popularly as possible.

Off the bat, without having looked at the Records of the 1987 Constitutional Commission and whatever jurisprudence on the matter there is, the deletion was first introduced in the 1973 Constitution when there was shift from the then bicameral system as we have now to a unicameral legislature (the Batasang Pambansa). Thus the provision on the matter of voting must also necessarily change as there was no more Senate and House of Representatives to speak of. It is possible that in the 1987 Constitution there may have been an oversight not to reinstate the manner of voting, even if there was a shift back to bicameral legislature. Of course it is farfetched to think that the Commission would commit such serious oversight. In fact in the commentary by Bernas on the 1987 Constitution on the provision, he gives a one-sentence assertion: "It should be understood that the two houses of Congress vote separately." This statement is footnoted by "I RECORD 375", however I do not as yet have the contents of such record.

Will have a more definite take on the matter on my next post.

Adobo in Vinegar

2009-06-02T13:55:00.000+08:00

Adobo is that Filipino pork (sometimes chicken) dish cherished for its adaptability. It's eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It goes with rice or bread (specially pan de sal). It is very easy to cook that one will never go wrong with it -- it is every Filipino's next step to frying egg and pork chops in terms of learning how to cook. Adobo doesn't spoil easily. It will stay edible for days, and in fact will get tastier at every reheating.

Most likely it is for these reasons that Filipinos got to develop a 101 ways of cooking adobo. From having thin to thick sauces; from the bland to the spicy; from soupy to dry; from chunky to flaky; from tough to melting. I bet a lot of these recipes are by accident.

Adobo has four basic ingredients: pork cubes, soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic. All others are optional: onions, ground black pepper, laurel leaves, sugar, and potatoes. All ingredients are to one's taste.

I like my adobo dry. In a frying pan I simmer the meat in soy sauce, a bit of vinegar, and some water. After a few minutes of simmering, I remove the broth and set it aside. I then cover the frying pan and allow the pork fat to come out, stirring occasionally to avoid overcooking the meat. When fat has come out I stir in the garlic, onions and pepper. Finally I mix in the broth, and stir/saute until the broth dries up.

In college, I stayed in one of several "boarding houses" rented by fraternity brods at a university residential area called Pook Dagohoy. Weekends were cooking days for us, with drinking beer (when we were rich) and Tanduay Rhum (when we were poor) for the main course. It was in one of these sessions that I was introduced by a brod, also a batangueno, to adobo in vinegar.

Pork is cut in smaller cubes and simmered in a good amount of pure vinegar until it dries and fat starts to come out. It is sauted in its own fat, and generous amounts of chopped garlic is sauted in, along with ground black pepper. As final touch a generous dash of sugar is added, for a sweet-sour-garlicky-fatty-hot adobo.

My Take on Guacamole

2009-06-01T00:43:00.000+08:00

On a visit to San Francisco in 1994, I was treated by an American host to what to me then was an intriguing salad. I loved it from my first taste. There was a mix of flavors: salty, tangy, a tad spicy, and with a refreshing smell of coriander. The use of avocado as main ingredient in that salad surprised me. Coming from the Philippines and not familiar with Mexican food, all I know about avocado is sweet. We mash it in sugar, we put condensed milk, or we get it as ice cream flavor -- I didn't like any.

Recalling from my host's description of how it was prepared, I tried it at home. Nepo's guacamole has become an occasional salad shared with friends and family.

The meaty avocado is best for my guacamole. I don't mash it like Mexican restaurants do for their guacamole dips. Instead, i scoop avocado in 3/4 inch cubes.

The key with my guacamole is the dressing. I put chopped tomatoes in a wooden salad bowl, then put a pinch of salt and a dash of ground black pepper. After mixing a bit, I squeeze in lemon and add garlic juice with a garlic presser (I've been looking for an aluminum garlic presser, but could only find the bad quality plastic ones!). More mixing. The final ingredients will be chopped coriander (I use the lemony wansoy as substitute) and chopped jalapenos (best fresh, but we don't get it in the Philippines; we have to make do with the pickled). A bit more mixing, and the avocado is ready to be tossed in.

Perfect for Joy's baked honey rosemary pork ribs.

Batangas Kaldereta

2009-05-27T16:00:00.000+08:00

I spent my childhood in a rural barangay of Batangas City. We moved to the city center when I was already 11 years old.

The fiesta in our barangay, surely like others, is a big community event. The festive mood starts the day before, signaled by novelty songs and a sprinkling of hard rock blaring from public address horns set up at the chapel. The sound system is supposedly meant for the mass to be celebrated in the morning, but might as well use it to induce a party mood the night before.

Amid the blaring music is the occasional shrieking of pigs being slaughtered. The preparation of the meat dishes will start at night and go on well into the early hours of the morning. The fiesta goers -- friends, relatives, and strangers from nearby barangays -- start arriving early lunch. Typical fiesta meat dishes are embotido, afritada, menudo, lechon kawali, pochero and asado. The cooks of meat dishes are men, while women take care of desserts, typically leche flan and buko salad.

I learned my cooking from watching our fiesta cook prepare meat dishes. They cook not based on written recipes, but on mixing ingredients based on estimated proportions. No doubt this was passed on through generations of fiestas. I cook meat dishes pretty much the same way -- through free-flowing, discretionary mixing of ingredients based on my estimated proportions.

While most fiesta meat dishes are pork dishes, there is one non-pork meat dish that is also always prepared. This is Batangas kaldereta using goat meat. This dish is not intended for all visitors; it is for the beer (SMB pale pilsen), brandy (Fundador), or whisky (Johhny Walker Black Label) drinkers.

I prepare my Batangas kaldereta pretty much the same way I learned it from our fiestas. Goat meat is cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes, bones included. The meat is washed and drained well, and then marinated in worcestershire sauce for a few hours. Then I chop generous amounts of red onions (1 portion of onions: 3 portions goat meat), and some garlic. I saute the garlic and onions in margarine or butter before adding in the goat meat with the marinade. More worcestershire sauce will be added, plus a chunk of butter or margarine, and ground pepper. The wok will be covered and simmered in medium heat until the goat meat starts to tenderize. At this point I add minced cucumber pickles (pickle relish). When the meat reaches near-desirable tenderness, I finally add all the remaining ingredients to thicken the sauce, put in more flavors, and give it the hotness that Batangas kaldereta is known for: canned liver spread (Reno brand); peanut butter; grated cheese; and hot chili juice extract. Simmer a bit, and it's done.

Campaign Logo: Freedom of Information

2009-05-27T06:36:00.000+08:00

Today the Access to Information Network launches the "Right to Know. Right Now!" push for the Senate to approve the proposed Freedom of Information Act. We hope this will be the last leg of more than a decade's advocacy for the passage of such law by Congress. We kick off with a press conference today in Manila, and then proceed to the Senate to meet our Senators.

We thank Rocky Sanchez-Tirona, co-manager of the advocacy division of Campaigns and Grey for making our beautiful campaign logo possible.

At the launch:

Right to Know. Right Now!

2009-05-26T20:32:00.000+08:00

The proposed Freedom of Information Act will be up for consideration by the Senate plenary on Second Reading once it hurdles the vote at the Senate Committee on Public Information. The House of Representatives has already done its work, having approved its counterpart measure (House Bill 3732) as early as 12 May 2008. On Second Reading in the Senate, the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media chaired by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano will present to the senate plenary the consolidated/substituted version after undergoing committee hearings and consultations. Floor debates and amendments, if any, will follow, culminating in the Senators’ vote on the Second Reading version of the bill.

What happens to the bill at the Senate plenary will be a test of every Senator’s commitment to transparency, accountability, democracy, and respect for human rights. At stake too at this crucial juncture is the country’s strategic future, given the critical role of public access to information in combating corruption that has weighed down development, as well as its role in securing meaningful public participation to facilitate effective and responsive government policies.

We trust that none of the twenty-three incumbent Senators of the 14th Congress will work to water down or to block the passage of the bill.

What the Constitution Provides

The 1987 Constitution secures for us Filipinos our right to information. Section 7 of the Bill of Rights states: “The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents, and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to limitations as may be provided by law.”

Moreover, the Constitution in Article II (Declaration of Principles and State Policies) Section 28 declares it the policy of the State to adopt and implement “a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.”

In addition to the foregoing main provisions, there are also specific classes of information that the Constitution requires to be made public. Article XII, Section 21 requires information on foreign loans obtained or guaranteed by the government to be made available to the public. Article XI, Section 17 provides that the declaration under oath of the assets, liabilities, and net worth of the President, the Vice President, the members of the Cabinet, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Commissions and other constitutional offices, and officers of the armed forces with general or flag rank, shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law. In Congress, Article VI, Section 16 (4) requires each House to keep a Journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same. Section 20 of the same Article requires further that the records and books of accounts of Congress shall be preserved and be open to the public in accordance with law, and such books shall be audited by the Commission on Audit which shall publish annually an itemized list of amounts paid to and expenses incurred for each Member.

The clear mandate by the Constitution for transparency in government links to other Constitutional principles. It gives flesh to Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution which states that “(T)he Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” As expounded by the Supreme Court in the case of Valmonte, et. al. vs. Belmonte (G.R. No. 74930, February 13 1989): “The cornerstone of this republican system of government is delegation of power by the people to the State. In this system, governmental agencies and institutions operates within the limits of the authority conferred by the people. Denied access to information on the inner workings of government, the citizenry can become prey to the whims and caprices of those to whom the power had been delegated.”

A working right to information likewise gives flesh to the principle, found in Article XI, Section 1, that “(P)ublic office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.” The Supreme Court emphasized in the case of Chavez vs. Public Estates Authority (G.R. No. 133250, 9 July 2002), that “unless citizens have the proper information, they cannot hold public officials accountable for anything.”

The right to information is also a necessary condition for the effective exercise of other rights by the people. The freedom of the press, of speech and expression, as well as the right to petition the government for redress of grievances can only be fully and responsibly exercised by an informed press and citizenry. The same is true for the right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political, and economic decision making, as provided in Article XIII, Section 16 of the Constitution.

In the case of Valmonte vs. Belmonte earlier cited, the Supreme Court explains that “an essential element of these freedoms is to keep open a continuing dialogue or process of communication between the government and the people. It is in the interest of the State that the channels for free political discussion be maintained to the end that the government may perceive and be responsive to the people’s will. Yet, this open dialogue can be effective only to the extent that the citizenry is informed and thus able to formulate its will intelligently.”

Our fundamental law finds support in emerging international law on right to information. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966 are considered by many to be a codification or evidence of international custom or general principles of law binding even upon non-state parties. Article 19 of the UDHR states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” The same is also embodied in Article 19 (2) of the ICCPR. These provisions are increasingly being regarded as embodying a distinct right to information. In his fifth report as UN Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Abid Hussain (India) stated that “the right to seek and receive information is not simply a converse of the right to freedom of opinion and expression but a freedom on its own.”

The Consequence of Lack of Legislation

The right to information under Article III, Section 7 has been held by the Supreme Court to be enforceable even without an implementing legislation. In the leading case of Legaspi vs. Civil Service Commission (G. R. No. 72119, May 29 1987), the Supreme Court said that the guarantee provisions are “self executing”; that “they supply the rules by means of which the right to information may be enjoyed by guaranteeing the right and mandating the duty to afford access to sources of information." The Court concluded that the right may be asserted by the people without need of ancillary legislation, and where it is denied, the people have recourse to the Courts through a Petition for Mandamus[1].

Given this ruling by the Court, is the passage of the Freedom of Information Act still necessary?

The answer is yes. While the Supreme Court has upheld the enforceability of the right to information, its effective implementation has for the past two decades suffered from the lack of the necessary substantive and procedural details that only Congress can provide. The legal gaps that legislation must address include:

The absence of uniform, simple and speedy procedure for access to information. Access to information is differently and inconsistently applied across government agencies. There is no uniform manner of making and responding to requests. Agencies are thus able to use the absence of uniform procedure to frustrate the exercise of the right. The closest to a procedure that Congress has provided can be found in Section 5 of Republic Act 6713 (Approved on 20 February 1989), or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which lists the duties of public officials and employees. Letter (e) of this section states: “Make documents accessible to the public. – All public documents must be made accessible to, and readily available for inspection by, the public within reasonable working hours.” In practice, government has evaded the application of this plain provision by applying instead letter (a) of the same section: “Act promptly on letters and requests. — All public officials and employees shall, within fifteen (15) working days from receipt thereof, respond to letters, telegrams or other means of communications sent by the public. The reply must contain the action taken on the request.” Thus, requests are generally met with a letter within fifteen days from request acknowledging receipt of the request, and stating that the request is being considered. If one does not actively follow-up on the request, often the acknowledgement letter will be the end of it.
The specification of the coverage of the guarantee, particularly the general rule on what information may be exempted, needs legislation. The constitutional provision states that access to information shall be afforded our citizens “subject to such limitations as may be provided by law”. Congress has yet to fulfill this mandate. To address the gap, the Supreme Court has stepped in by enumerating a number of exceptions through jurisprudence, but the expected lack of exactness in the absence of legislation opens the enumeration to wide interpretation. To highlight the lack of legislation, the Supreme Court in the case of Chavez vs. PCGG (G.R. No. 130716, December 9, 1998) noted that “there are no specific laws prescribing the exact limitations within which the right may be exercised or the correlative state duty may be obliged.”
Because of the lack of definite procedure as well as the absence of a definite scope, it is difficult to enforce any available administrative or penal sanctions for violations of the right. There is thus no compelling deterrent to the unlawful withholding of information.
The present judicial remedy of mandamus is inaccessible to the public. In a survey by the Social Weather Stations, when respondents were asked what the most likely action they will take if an agency refused access to a document, only 12.7 % said they will file a case in court. Almost 40% will look for help in another agency, while 36.7% will report the case to the media. But also to highlight the importance given to the right by people, only 10.6% will not do anything about the refusal.

But the self executing nature of the provision under the Bill of Rights is not true for the policy of full disclosure of all transactions involving public interest under Article II, Section 28. In the case of Chavez vs. NHA (G.R. No. 164527, August 15, 2007), the Supreme Court distinguished between the two provisions. It said that Sec. 28, Art. II compels the State and its agencies to fully disclose all of its transactions involving public interest without need of demand from anyone. Under this provision, government must bring into public view all the steps and negotiations leading to the consummation of the transaction and the contents of the perfected contract. In contrast, under the Bill of Rights provision, the interested party must first request or even demand that he or she be allowed access to documents and papers in the particular agency. The duty to disclose without demand covers only transactions involving public interest, while the duty to allow access has a broader scope of information which embraces not only transactions involving public interest, but any matter contained in official communications and public documents of the government agency. Unfortunately, there is no enabling law that provides the mechanics for the implementation of the compulsory duty to disclose transactions of public interest without demand under Article II, Section 28 of the Constitution. The Court observed: “It is unfortunate, however, that after almost twenty (20) years from birth of the 1987 Constitution, there is still no enabling law that provides the mechanics for the compulsory duty of government agencies to disclose information on government transactions. Hopefully, the desired enabling law will finally see the light of day if and when Congress decides to approve the proposed “Freedom of Access to Information Act.””

The result of the lack of legislation is the routine violation by government agencies of the people’s right to information. To cite a few examples: the refusal of access to text of the proposed agreement during the negotiation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA); the denial of access to the report of retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. on electoral reform; the initial denial of access to the report of the Independent Commission to Address Media and Activist Killings; and the denial of access to various government loan agreements and government contracts.

In its story “Multiple requests for access to info meet with flat denials”, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reports that its own writers and editors, even though patient and diligent in their effort to secure access to documents, have met with routine denials and flimsy excuses from public officials. Over the last 10 years, the PCIJ has documented 14 major requests for information vital to its investigative reporting projects that have been rebuffed by 12 national government agencies. The requested data and documents included civil works contracts, contractors of government projects, loan agreements, and the assets and liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of justices of the Supreme Court, generals of the Armed Forces and political appointees of Malacanang and other executive agencies. The requests made in writing and followed up by multiple phone calls to the agencies concerned have been denied for the most incredulous reasons. In the most difficult cases, the PCIJ had to wait for 56 days to six months, file 3 to 5 request letters, make 18 to 21 follow-up phone calls, and deal with 6 to 9 various officials in the same agencies, to get action or response on its requests.

If denial of access is experienced even by seasoned journalists, we can expect that it gets even more difficult for ordinary citizens. For instance, the farmers support group Kaisahan shares the experience of the Sumilao farmers denied access to important decisions/orders and documents relating to the sale/transfer of ownership from Norberto Quisumbing to San Miguel Foods Inc. from the relevant government agencies. Kaisahan laments that if only the government agencies gave farmers vital information, many arguments could have been explored earlier on.

The Proposed Freedom of Information Act

House Bill 3732 passed by the Lower House is already a very progressive bill. The passage has been made possible through the persistent efforts of key allies in the Lower House, particularly by Rep. Erin Tañada who chaired the technical working group in the House Committee on Public Information, and long-time supporters Representatives Joel Villanueva, Del De Guzman, Riza Hontiveros, and Satur Ocampo. It also received impetus from the various authors and co-authors of freedom of information bills.

While even in past Congresses the proposed Freedom of Information Act has moved in the Lower House, in contrast it has languished in the Senate. The Senate legislative mill only moved when Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano assumed chairmanship of the committee. As a result of the hearings and technical working group meetings involving representatives from government agencies, public interest groups and the media, the Committee substitute version has introduced further improvements to the House version. If passed in its present form, the proposed Freedom of Information Act will be a robust legislation which will be instrumental in addressing the grave problems in Philippine governance.

The proposed law has the following key features:

It is expansive in scope. It covers all possible government agencies whether they are in the executive, legislative, or judicial branches, or are independent Constitutional bodies. It covers all information made, received or kept in or under the control and custody of any government agency regardless of the form or format in which they are stored.
It provides only a narrow list of clearly defined and reasonable exceptions. While the general rule is that all information in the hands of government must be accessible to the public, there are information that are in the public interest to keep secret. For example, it is reasonable to withhold information on a planned operation against known criminals, for to disclose such plans would alert the criminals and cause the operation to fail.
It provides an opportunity and right for citizens to override an exception whenever there is greater public interest in the disclosure of information.
It provides clear, uniform, and speedy procedure for public access to information.
It provides the mechanics for the compulsory duty of government agencies to disclose information on government transactions pursuant to Article II, Section 28 of the Constitution.
It provides adequate and accessible remedies in cases of denial of access to information.
It provides clear criminal liabilities for violation of the right to information.
It spells out numerous mechanisms for the active promotion of openness in government.

The Need for Immediate Action by the Senate

The lack of legislation on the right to information has grave consequences for the country. The resulting overall lack of transparency in government has impeded the country’s development. This relates directly to the persistence of rampant corruption that has weighed down Philippine economic performance. Free flow of information is a vital safeguard against corruption and rent seeking. Secrecy in government gives public officials and rent seekers alike a wide room for maneuver and greater cover for evidence of corruption. In contrast, transparency exposes the vested interests involved and leads to the identification of corrupt officials.

Lack of transparency has also compromised the quality and effectiveness of government policies. A free flow of information is needed for better government policies. It will enhance the capacity of the public to provide timely feedback to government, promote informed debate among stakeholders, and build consensus around policy objectives and design. The availability of information on rules and government policies, programs, and resource allocation will enable the private sector to make sound long-term economic decisions. In critical enterprises such as electricity and water, public access to relevant information through regulatory agencies will help guard against undue exercise of market power.

We remain optimistic that the bill can still be passed in the 14th Congress. However, we note the narrowing window of opportunity as general election fast approaches. We need to act together, and push for the passage of the Freedom of Information Act. Our right to know, right now!

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[1] A Petition for Mandamus is a special civil action under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court whereby any tribunal, corporation, board, office or person that unlawfully neglects the performance of an act that the law specifically enjoins as a duty may be ordered by the courts to do the act required to be done.

Bit by the Blog

2009-05-23T23:18:00.001+08:00

Will blog.

We have a family blog (gardenflies) but it is Joy that has really been maintaining that. I am happy to simply observe. But realizing that I get to visit a lot of places, that I love food, and that my work involves a lot of research and writing on Philippine issues, I've decided to finally blog.

Thinking about what my first entries will be, I've decided on kicking-off with my foremost advocacy: freedom of information. Will do that on Monday.

On food, it will be Batangas Kaldereta.

On places, I've just been to Bali for the NGO events around the Asian Development Bank Annual Governors Meeting and could write about that. However, on second thought I will wait for my next out of town or out of country trip. I feel knowing that I will blog about it will make me extra observant.

Thanks to Bianca for showing me how to set this up.