Funny Nene: The Old Man On The Way Out

(Here is an excerpt from Karen Davila's talk with Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel, Jr this morning in HEADSTART at ANC.)


Davila: What's your legacy as a Senator?
Pimentel: Saying NO to the temptations of public office to enrich one's self.

Davila: One word to describe Enrile?
Pimentel: Authoritarian.

Davila: Escudero?
Pimentel: Very shifty.

Davila: Zubiri?
Pimentel: Should be out.

Davila: Describe Biazon?
Pimentel: Thank God, elected to the house.

Davila: Bong Revilla?
Pimentel: Fit to be local executive.

Davila: Describe Jinggoy Estrada?
Pimentel: Better than his peers in the movie world.

Davila: Lito Lapid?
Pimentel: Should go back to Pampangga.

Davila: Describe Pia Cayetano?
Pimentel: Good exponent of women's rights.

Davila: Legarda?
Pimentel: Good spokesperson for climate change.

Davila: Miriam Santiago?
Pimentel: The senate would be a sad place without her.

Davila: Joker Arroyo?
Pimentel: An old man waiting to retire.

Davila: TG Guingona?
Pimentel: Good man from Mindanao.

Davila: Drilon?
Pimentel: Getting sad over Kiko's challenge.

Davila: Pangilinan?
Pimentel: Trying to upset Frank.

Davila: Villar?
Pimentel: Man of the hour, he'll probably be Senate President.

Davila: Madrigal?
Pimentel: Very difficult to describe.

Davila: Honasan?
Pimentel: Stable under fire.

Davila: Angara?
Pimentel: Could be anywhere, anytime, very astute politician.

Davila: Laczon?
Pimentel: In hiding of course.

Davila: Bongbong Marcos?
Pimentel: He might prove a redeeming feature of the family.

Davila: Trillanes?
Pimentel: He should've been out a long time ago.

Davila: Describe Nene Pimentel?
Pimentel: Old man on the way out.

Seven Habits Application for Managers (Dec. 2009)

(Echos lamang po eto.. lol.. napilitan lang po akong isulat eto noon kasi hinihingi ng training management sa mga nominees para sa Seven Habits Application for Managers. Mangyaring huwag pong seryosohin.:D)

Name of Nominee: JOY FRANCES M. MONSANTO (DILG-Samar)

1. How do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

For seventeen (17) years of being in the Department, first, as an LGOO directly involved in the implementation of major programs at the Municipal Level, then, as an OIC-Assistant Provincial Director involved in the administrative and management operations at the Provincial Level, I could say that I have gained the knowledge and skills required to effectively promote and put into concrete action the Department’s mission and vision. Nevertheless, I know that I should not rest on these accomplishments. Instead, I should nurture everything that I have learned and turn it into something more valuable and contributory to the betterment of the Department’s Provincial Office’s operation. In order for me to do so, I should seek greater and better training in this area.

Our generation of Local Government Operations Officers came at a time when the Department was undergoing change from its previous regulatory and supervisory function to that of coordinative and facilitative.We were lucky enough not to have experienced the different transition dilemma brought about by the sudden shift, but were inauspicious to be in the frontline trying to content ourselves with what was left for us to do after decentralization and local autonomy. This had just been part of a dim past. DILG withstood its trying times; and today, it remains as an agency that continues to develop programs and strategies which brings and spells, relevance to local governance and development. Now considered as a knowledge-centric organization, there is a need for its people, specifically the LGOOs, to be equipped with enough familiarity and understanding of its major programs, share it with the clientele, and ensure that it is utilized to produce the expected results.

Banking on all these, I could very well see what I would become ten years from now. In a broader perspective, I could see myself still in the government service and proud to be part of a Department that has always required quality performance from its human resources. To further narrow down my option based on a self-imposed long term goal, I would probably be one of the DILG regional leaders with excellent capacity in converging development partners towards local development. Just like any other LGOO, I can see myself as a catalyst in its truest sense, a complete resource person with a key role in promoting a culture of learning for excellence in local governance through linkages and networking strategies, facilitating knowledge sharing and utilization processes, and brokering strategic knowledge to transform and apply data information for effective and responsive action.


2. With broader and deeper local autonomy, what strategic role should DILG play?

In a decentralized government like ours, there needs to be a convergence of stakeholders (i.e. the national government, the LGUs, business sectors and civil society, etc.), in administrative, political and environmental governance, that shall focus its concerted efforts on the main issues to be resolved. In the present set up, the national government, especially the DILG shall provide policy directions so that local governments shall be able to effectively and efficiently perform service delivery aimed towards the attainment of self-reliant and autonomous local authorities and active partners for national development.

The role that our Department plays in local governance has changed considerably from that of regulation and supervision during the pre-local autonomy days, to coordination and facilitation after the implementation of the Local Government Code of 1991. Capacity development for local governments has been a major concern since then, and being a proactive organization, DILG has introduced numerous initiatives through its different programs, projects and activities that would address related issues and help capacitate LGUs. Over the last few years, it has exerted effort to keep its new mandate as catalyst for excellence in local governance while trying to strengthen local autonomy in its real sense by practicing knowledge management through the use of performance data, identification, documentation and replication of exemplary practices, establishment of Local Government Resource Centers, and the convergence and synergy of local governance initiatives within the Department and with other national government agencies.

With this positive development in terms of building a culture of learning and knowledge sharing in the local governance sector, while at the same time maintaining the principles of local autonomy, DILG, then, shall be the capacity development enabler, specifically directing and steering the capacity building efforts of local government units and providing support both to the service providers and beneficiaries to ensure that these are sustained and utilized. In so doing it shall work hand in hand with the various leagues and the different level LGUs as direct partners; the academic institutions, local resources institutions, NGOs and Research Institutes as capacity development providers; and the civil society, people’s organizations, non-government organizations and the rest of the citizenry as indirect partners.

Today is June 9 - nueve - NoyBi.. pwede..

At past 3:00 Pm today the two people i voted for the first two highest positions in the land were proclaimed in a joint session by the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives. The choices of the Filipino people were officially made known to the world. Finally, the Philippines has its new leaders now in the persons of President-Elect Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino Cojuangco III and Vice President-Elect Jejomar Cabauatan Binay who are to be inaugurated into office on June 30, 2010.

For the first time since I had my rhinitis attack the other Friday (May 31) to the time I took my first antibiotic last Friday (June 5), It is only today (June 9) that I was thankful I ever had the attack, because I was able to watch the entire proceeding at home undisturbed by office works and walk-in clients.

UNTITLED

When I was a child, I had this notion that wise men don’t make mistakes. This impression didn't last long though because real stories of people I know tell me that just like any other human being, they are also capable of committing blunders. Some of these miscalculations were even sensationalized because the subjects were either scholarly or just plain smart. Time hasn't reversed these realities. Until now blunders committed by high profile individuals still happen every day: in government, in society, in business, and just almost everywhere.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to how we make good decisions, one of which is our perceived ability to rationalize or to make sound judgments. Yet, this is only possible with a focused mind and a conscious awareness of a given situation, virtues that smarter persons are regarded to posses. It is when we let our emotions set-in that we begin to refuse to see reason and we opt to deny ourselves the obvious truth. Eventually, in our effort to set something according to what our preconditioned minds want it to be, we over-rationalize.

Sometimes intelligent people fail, because they always give reason to almost anything: bad decisions are justified, wrong plans are given contingencies, negative effects are reinforced, and so forth. These reasons and many more consequently put these persons in complicated circumstances especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

In relationships, over-rationalizing individuals usually start off as hopeless romantics but eventually end up being romantic fools. Some don't even have the guts to get out of the situation they're in even if worse comes to worst. Their kind of rationalization sometimes don't come within reasonable bounds, hence they fail to define their exact masochistic limitations. They are afraid to let go of the status quo and some much-preserved memories, hence they find it hard to move on. Some are just plane rational to want to shield themselves from public scrutiny, and from the self-righteous glare of the very society that dictated to us what is moral and what is not. Afraid of the stigma attached to people involve in failed relationships, they put emphasis on what is right for society to see than what is actually good for them.

Things are different now though. It’s like we all have to dance to the latest craze, sing the latest tune, walk the latest pace, and act in conformity with what the world has to offer. The world is evolving and so must we. Have we ever wondered how things around us would have been different if we haven't shifted to what are already acceptable in present times? Would there have been automation in elections, or would we still be in caves till now? Let the future be the judge.

WHO AM I

by: Maegan Zeresh Mahinay Monsanto

(This was part of the portfolio she submitted to her English teacher, who gave her 5 points each for the following criteria: mechanics, artistry, creativity and neatness. She was 12 years old at that time and was a struggling first year high school student, MG Section at Samar National Scool.)

My full name is Maegan Zeresh Mahinay Monsanto. I have been in this world 12 years since the day I first saw light in the early morning of November 07, 1995. My mother delivered me through cesarean operation after 12 hours of maternity labor because I weighed 8.0 lbs at birth. The second child in the family, I was born 8 years after my first sibling was born and 3 years before our younger sister.

The family was living in Paranas, Samar at the time of my birth. We transferred to our new house in V&G Subdivision, Barangay San Andres, Catbalogan City in 1996. Due to the separation of my parents, my mother brought me and my siblings back to Paranas, Samar in April of 2005 and we live there for some time, while my father stayed in our house. In November of the same year, we went back to Catbalogan City and rented a house in Barangay 11, Patag District.

For my preparatory education, I went to Samar Christian Academy for Nursery, and at Catbalogan I Central Elementary Scool for Kinder I and Kinder II, where I graduated first honors. I had my elementary education at Catbalogan 1 SPED Center where I was a consistent honor student from Grade I to Grade VI.

I had so much learning during my elementary years. Being in SPED Center, I was given a lot of opportunities to hone my knowledge, talents and skills through academic and non-academic activities. I also had a lot of fun during those times together with my classmates and friends. My very first friends then were Camille Yboa, Jenssen Uy, Ara Linde, Kloster Saises, Quennie Resco, Nicole Dimaculangan and a lot more. We are still friends until now.

We have a big family both from my mother's and father's side. My mother is Joy Frances Mahinay Monsanto, 45 years old. She was born on October 18, 1962 at Bagacay Mines Hospital in Hinabangan, Samar. She is from Paranas, Samar and a descendant of the Mabulay, Babalcon, Figueroa, Jabinez and Quebec clans. My father is Alberto Villalon Monsanto, 43 years old, born on November 15, 1964 in Calbayog City. He traces his roots from both Calbayog City and Oras, Eastern Samar.

I have a 21 year-old sister, born on May 22, 1987 in Catbalogan City. She is Ashley May Alison Mahinay Monsanto who is now taking up Bachelor of Laws in San Beda College. She graduated cum laude from UP Diliman, and has a Bachelor of Public Administration degree. A younger sister, Zeimon Abijah Mahinay Monsanto, also born in Catbalogan City, will be truning 10 this coming August 05, 2008. She is currently enrolled Grade III at Catbalogan I SPED Center.

The writer is my second daughter, who from a very early age has already shown potentials of a good writer. She was into diary writing in elementary, and it was during those times that i found out she has penchants for writing. She has stopped writing though when she realized that her works were not private anymore because I was reading some of them, a violation to privacy which I have regretted doing. I am encouraging her to go back into writing again. I told her that instead of cutie diary entries, she might do some light and simple literary works. I also said she may start by creating her own blog, which she already did. As to when she will begin to write in that blog and eventually publish her works, that remains to be seen.

Power Offs and Quality Bonding Trade Offs

I learned about today's scheduled brownout late last night, but I didn't expect it to happen as early as 7:30 in the morning. I am sure of the exact time because when I was aroused from sleep due to the very hot temperature, I immediately looked at the clock to ensure that it was the pre-announced power off that was causing the unbearable heat. I even remembered wishing odtherwise as I slowly panned my gaze towards the time-piece.


I admit I really felt bad not having known early of the scheduled power-failure because had it been so, a family movie date for Sunday would have been set today. A last minute schedule adjustment would have been possible had it not for an earlier appointment with the house help for a Saturday house clean-up. Honestly I was satisfied that the house grooming did push through, but not without exposing all of us to an oven-like temperature that had us all sweating and silently cursing until 5:00 in the afternoon.


As I sit down to write this piece and ponder on what transpired during the day, I realized that power-offs have positive effects on people. First, my children and I found ourselves reading some books that we haven't even had the time to scan in the past. It was because all the while, we had either been glued to our television set or engrossed with the net. Second, children from the neighborhood busied themselves with outside games at mid morning; the much older ones watched and teased them. Third, people went out to talk with their neighbors; some tried to find time bonding with family members. All these happened because it was not possible to surf the net and watch television. I also assume a lot of cellphone batteries were half empty just before the brownout, hence texting was not maximized.


It may sound absurd, but I wish unannounced power offs will be more often if only to bring back age-old traditions: long quality talks with family members, pleasant conversation with neighbors, cheerful outside games among neighborhood children, and so forth. A powerless day could be worth all the sweat and the secret curses because during that moment, we tend to set aside leisurely activities that do not promote camaraderie and tight family bonding.

Breaking Loose..

At first i thought i could not make it, but i did. Then i thought it would take days or even weeks before i could even post my initial thoughts, but my excitement broke loose, and i did. This is just the beginning, I vow to make this a lifetime passion.