BEHIND THE SCENES

Intono mi / Enticing foreign students
Alfred Dizon

It always amazes me when government officials make grand announcements or promises like our favorite Speaker who never ceases to entertain us when he is on TV. He has copycats in the Cordillera but then, we would like to reserve that for another topic. The latest amazing statement was that of the Regional Development Council: “after two tries, autonomy for the Cordillera would now be attained.”

Maybe, our RDC officials have come straight from Disneyland during a junket that they were still thinking of Mickey Mouse and forgot their history and realities of the day. Or maybe, they have become immune to criticisms that they think every barb is a comic joke which could be made into money-making idea.

]You see, the Dept. of Budget and Management approved the release of P15 million from this year’s national budget for a third drive to establish a Cordillera Autonomous Region that people are now saying “Ada manen maitono, kalla pinikpikan (There would be something to be broiled like chicken cooked the indigenous way.) I guess some of our comedians are again formulating magic tricks in creatively using this huge amount of money like making it disappear into thin air.
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Don’t get us wrong, but in the past, staff of government officials who have been privy to how funds were allocated for the purpose of getting sentiments of the people on past autonomy drives, said these have been naituno. Pigs have been butchered asking Kabunian (God) to show the way in the quest for autonomy. Of course, some so-called tribal elders were reportedly paid just to see how the bile was positioned, utter a few mumbo-jumbo and say all would be well.

To our non-Ilocano-speaking readers, the drift – government money in large amounts without specific details on how to use it could disappear courtesy of a treasurer, an accountant or auditor who knows to weave magic. To erase suspicions that money would be pocketed, the RDC should come up with a detailed plan on how they propose to use the funds in relation to making the region autonomous. I wouldn’t mind attending a media kapihan wherein they could explain how to use the moolah. Maybe, I could improve my math during the occasion.

If they are thinking of going to the US to get the sentiments of our kakailians there on autonomy and justify their spending spree, they better forget it. It maybe a creative idea – a global one at that but then, one shouldn’t discount the investigative powers of those who were left out.
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You see, when an official embarks on a junket, any foreigner who sees how some of our officials spend money would think twice whether this Banana Republic is really bankrupt. The P15 million autonomy fund is so juicy that according to our bubwit, some of our elected magicians are holding caucuses on how to spend it. I would like to give unsolicited advice on how to spend the money not necessarily on autonomy. But then, I guess, it is late in the day to propose how the money would be used judiciously. You see, the DBM specifically mandated that the fund would be used for the drive to make this region autonomous.
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The autonomous setup is provided for in the 1987 constitution but another thrust to attain autonomy this time would be a waste of taxpayers’ money. It would be like another shot to the moon using an expensive but broken arrow.

Juan Ngalob, interim chairman of the Regional Development Council in the Cordillera and regional director of the National Economic Development Authority is saying his “office will bank on a new strategy to push concerns of the people in the proposed third organic Act for the creation of an autonomous region.”

“Instead of the controversial Cordillera bodies, particularly the defunct Cordillera Executive Board, the Cordillera Regional Assembly, and the Cordillera Bodong Administration, it would be the RDC which would spearhead the drive for a revitalized autonomy movement in the coming months,” he was quoted as saying.

According to Ngalob, the RDC will conduct a survey in the grassroots level to determine what the people want in terms of governance and other aspects of autonomy. He said the results will serve as basis to jumpstart a renewed campaign for autonomy that is acceptable to all sectors.
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Sure, the RDC can conduct surveys anytime they want. But for sure, another proposed Organic Act would be rejected by the people. I’m betting my last centavo it would not be ratified by regional constituents if subjected to a plebiscite. If I had my way, the money could be used for livelihood or housing projects for marginalized sectors in the Cordillera.

But then, since the part of the money would be utilized, I hear, to buy pigs and hold canaos to appease Kabunian so that he would show us the way to govern ourselves as a region, at least, people can forget their hunger for a while they engage in “cultural talks.” Bring out the gongs! P15 million deserves at least a celebration.
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I received an email saying the Commission on Higher Education started a program to make the Philippines an alternative educational destination where neighboring countries could send their overflow student populations.

The CHED program seeks "to position the Philippines as an alternative education destination to China or Russia where most Korean students normally go" and complement the government’s tourist promotion program.

In Baguio alone, there are a lot of Korean students and language schools. The country, according to the CHED, is an "attractive alternative" destination for Korean students because of three main factors: the short distance between Seoul and Manila, the affordability of Philippine education, and the Filipinos’ fluency in English.

Already, an estimated 100,000 South Korean students are reportedly enrolled in various private and state-run colleges and universities in the country.

Chinese students are also expected to arrive as the Philippine government and China’s Ministry of Education signed recently a memorandum of agreement "allowing Chinese students who could not be accommodated in China’s universities to study in the Philippines."

According to the CHED, Chinese students find it very attractive to study in the Philippines, considering that they would be paying only half the price ($1,000 per semester in the Philippines compared to $2,000 per semester in China.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye earlier cited the need to raise the level of the country’s educational system to world standards, but then, one can always dream. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s "initiatives in education" program also targets the four education levels- daycare, grade school, high school and college-- with specific plans and programs for development. These initiatives are encapsulated in her 2004-2010 Medium Term Philippine Development Plan.

Well and good. But government should clean up its act like on education. There are petty bureaucrats who think they own the country. It is a pity when members of this ilk like those in the TESDA make it hard for those who are starting private schools by not granting their accreditation or permits citing insignificant requirements.

Proponents of one school I know were only able to get their TESDA permit after eight months despite submitting all requirements. I should know because I personally followed up the permit and had to play bully just to get it.

One reason why the permit took so long to be approved was because one trying-hard lady in the department said an adverb was not exactly placed in a sentence in the proposed curriculum making it ungrammatical. I didn’t see anything wrong with the sentence so I asked her to define what an adverb was. I said if she could tell me exactly what was wrong with the sentence and explain why, we would change it.

She got red in the face and became speechless. Since I felt her embarrassment compensated for our difficulty in getting the permit, I let it at that. We later got the permit since there were no more petty requirements after that. So much for government bureaucrats.