Guidelines on the Availment of the Special Leave Benefits for Women Under RA 9710

Special Leave for Women

Here's a link from the Civil Service Commission web site about the guidelines for the availment of special leave for women under Republic Act 9710.

Massacred Death: After a Year of Remembrance

Who could not forget the gruesome massacre of almost 52 innocent people? It literally left a taint at the history of the Philippines, even for the whole world. As I recall, I saw the faces of people marching raising banners shouting "JUSTICE", lighting candles of hope and praying unceasingly.

My friend's father was one of them. A broadcaster, who only wished to bring truth and light to every news he delivers was brutally massacred. Who would have thought a guy like him, so giving and passionate to his family and job, be buried together with other mediamen. You could see the pain in every tears they cried, the hurts in every shout, the love in their hearts for their father.

Now, a year after, we remember them. As we've talked to the family, we could feel the pain still lurking in their veins. If only their hearts could talk, we could hear the cry of pain and justice. A year after massacre the case, justice was not been brought. They still clamor for the system to be just and to hasten the case. System after system, we seek its trustworthiness.

May this verse in the Bible inspire you today.

PSALM 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul; He leads me to the path of righteousness for his name sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
for you are with me. your rod and staff they comfort me;
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil;
my cups runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Has North Korea gone mad?

This is what all people is buzzing about. Has North Korea gone mad? do I sense jealousy to South Korea? Are they just getting attention so as to boost their economy? no matter what the reason(s) is better prepare for the worst. Here's a link from the yahoo news of their analysis on the incident. 


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101123/ap_on_an/as_koreas_clash_analysis

Evolution of Public Administration

Here's an excerpt on the origin of public administration in the Philippines. Others have difficulty on understanding PA as a science or a study. I hope  this article would shed light on that question. This article is a copy given by our Professor during my Masters degree class.

A.      Historical Evolution

While Public Administration gained university recognition as a field of study only after the World War II, it is as old as civilized society. It was responsible in the building of cities; in the construction of public works; and the management of the state, among others.

It has been argued that for public administration to qualify as a discipline or field of study, the teaching of the subject matter must be systematic rather than a scattered thought. For modern public administration to evolve, the government as an institution must be delineated from other societal institutions. It must be distinguished from political economy, military or political organization.

In Europe, where public administration has first evolved, studies in modern public administration was intended to prepare prospective public servants in Prussia for government service. In terms of scope, public administration was mainly a description of the machinery of the government, the activities of public servants and the code of conduct of public servants taught by the so-called “cameralist” professors. It was unfortunate to observe that public administration was limited to the educated class. The cameralist approach in the study of public administration was very influential in Europe up to the 20^th century until it was replaced by administrative law and legal studies. Under this approach, administrative law and legal studies are the important courses that should be taken by those aspiring for positions in the government. In effect, the teaching of the subject became the responsibility of the law faculties rather than the cameralist professors.

After World War II, public administration was able to gain some sort of disciplinary independence from the influence of cameral sciences and administrative law. However, the strong influence of administrative law in the teaching was still felt in most Asian and Latin American countries.

In United States, it was noted that the development of public administration as a discipline was very slow. Potential public servants were not taught about courses in public administration which would make them more effective public servants. It was thought to require only some kind of vocational training. Before the 20^th century, the atmosphere in the English speaking countries was not favorable for the emergence of a discipline of public administration. For instance, civil service training in Great Britain and United States was not given serious attention not until after World War II.

In the United States, the emergence of the discipline could be significantly traced to the publication of Woodrow Wilson’s essay entitled “The Study of Administration” in June 1887. The Wilsonian essay was actually a satire on the prevailing socio-economic and political condition in the United States wherein partisan politics and graft and corruption were rampant.  According to Wilson, the most effective method of strengthening the political system is to separate politics from administration. The Wilsonian idea more particularly his politic administration dichotomy was sustained and expounded by Frank Goodnow to the point that he earned the title of “Father of American Public Administration” because of his effort in making public administration as a recognized discipline, among others.

B.      PARADIGMS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

According to Nicolas Henry, the development of public administration can be described in terms of four (4) successive paradigms. Each of this paradigms can be described as well as differentiated in terms of their “locus”, the institutional WHERE, or based on their “focus”, the specialized WHAT of public administration. In these four (4) paradigms, the locus and the focus of the field might be altered or changing.

Paradigm 1:        Political/Administration Dichotomy (1920-1926)

Under this paradigm, the emphasis of public administration is the “locus”. According to Frank Goodnow and his disciples, as well as supporters, the locus of public administration is the government bureaucracy.

Furthermore, in the book of Goodnow entitled “Politics and Administration”, he argued that there are two different functions of the government, namely: politics which has something to do with policies and administration which has something to do with implementation of the policies. Following the line of thinking of Woodrow Wilson, Goodnow suggested that politics should be separated from administration in order for the public administration through the governmental bureaucracy to operate effectively and efficiently.

In 1926, another classic book was published. This was the book of Leonard White entitled “Introduction to the study of Public Administration”. Among the important things mentioned are the following:

a.       That politics should not interfere into the area of administration;

b.      That public administration is capable of becoming a value-free science; and

c.       That the objectives of public administration are economy and efficiency.

Paradigm 2:        The Principles of Administration (1927-1937)

In this paradigm, the emphasis was on the “focus” of public administration. According to the book of F. Willoughby entitled “Principles of Public Administration” (1927), the specialized focus of public administration is on certain scientific principles of administration. In as far as the “locus” is concerned, no serious attention was given because of the assumption that “principles are principles” which implies that public administration is everywhere. The belief was that there are universal principles which can be applied both in the public and private sectors or adoptable to both public and business administration.

Another classic book published in support of the so-called principles in administration was the book of Luther Gulick and Lyndall E. Urwick entitled “Papers on the Science of Administration” (1937).

2.1          The Challenge (1938-1950)

The first to challenge the two (2) aforementioned paradigms in public administration was Chester Barnard through his book “Functions of the Executive” (1938). However, the influence of the book was not immediately felt not until the publication of Herbert Simon’s “Administrative Behavior” (1948).

By and large, there was a widespread objection during this period about politics-administration dichotomy and the existence of so-called principles of administration. In other words, the popular belief during this time was that politics and administration cannot be separated from each other, and that principles in administration are inconsistent with each other. Fritz Marx “Elements of Public Administration” (1946) was the first major volume of works written questioning the feasibility of separating politics from administration. On the issue regarding the “principles of administration”, the most devastating criticism came from Simon who argued that for every principle in administration there is a contradictory principle and that these principles are as good as “proverbs”.

2.2          The Reaction to the Challenge (1947-1950)

Simon proposed for an alternative paradigm which calls for two (2) kinds of public administrationists, namely: (a) those scholars concerned with the pure science of administration which require solid background in social psychology; and (b) those prescribing for public policy.

However, Simon’s proposal was criticized by his contemporaries based on two (2) major grounds: (1) most of them have no solid ground in social psychology and (2) public administration as a pure science would prevent them from using the normative approach which in value-loaded as distinguished from science which is value-free.

Paradigm 3:        Public Administration as Political Science (1950-1970)

In this paradigm, there was a renewed emphasis on the locus of public administration, that is, government bureaucracy. As a discipline, the locus of public administration was said to be in the Political Science Department. In short, public administration was considered as a subfield of political science.

Unfortunately, in 1962, it was found that public administration was losing its importance and prestige as a sub-field of political science. More specifically, public administration faculties have been treated as second-class citizens by political scientists. In fact, even the political science journal did not allocate space for public administration. In effect, devoted public administrationists started looking for an alternative discipline of public administration.

Paradigm 4:        Public Administration as Administrative Science

As an alternative to political science, administrative science became the nearest discipline to public administration where it could find its place. In this paradigm, the locus was lost in favor of the focus because “administration is administration” whether in public or private organizations. As an alternative paradigm, public administration had become the sister-field of business administration.

However, it became apparent that public administration and business administration have significant differences. For instance, while public administration is situated in a political environment and is service-oriented, business administration is supposed to be situated in a non-political environment and is profit oriented.

Paradigm 5:        Public Administration as Public Administration (1970 – present)

In this paradigm, public administration is in the course of finding its real identity which is independent of political science or administrative science. At least with a paradigmatic focus of organization theory and management science, and a paradigmatic locus of the public interest as it relates to public affairs, public administration can already start its institutional autonomy as a separate discipline.

As t its academic status in the university, such could be determined by how it is defined by the University. The so-called “identity crisis” issue concerning public administration is still very much alive, thus, contributing to the difficulty of a complete autonomy for the field of public administration. We have to settle the controversial  issues surrounding the “theory and practice” of public administrations such as the politics-administration dichotomy, science or art controversy, scope and boundary problem, principles or “proverbs” issue, among others, before we could clear the discipline of its present crisis. On the other hand, if one believes that the “identity crisis” of public administration is an inherent characteristic of the field or its unique feature, then perhaps we could argue that the search is over. Public administration can stand on its own as a field of study.

Moving Forward

I
This has been my toughest decision yet
Am I willing to spend eternity with her, I set;

man moving forward

Does God glorified in what’ll I do?
God help me decide so I may please you.
II
As I go along asking this question
I saw my life as a person;
Is she also willing to spend her life with me?
Another question to decide on thoughtfully.
III
Seeing my life not worthy of her
I ask God’s forgiveness ’cause He cares;
Now I am ready to try again
Learning from the past, I can now begin.

A REFLECTION ON THE FILM THE OTHER MINDANAO

Watching a film that talks of your culture, tribe and place you grew up opened up my senses as it was indeed an eye opener. Journalists Howie Severino and Samirah Ali Gutoc have told the other side of Mindanao. That Mindanao is not what most people perceived but rather a diverse people living in unity in a land they call home – Mindanao.

I realized that there are so many stories of hope to tell in Mindanao. Cultures and traditions that are not known to me, stories of war and conflict that has been long here that I only knew just now and the realizations of what their struggles and of what the government has been doing to capture the needs of the Mindanaons.
When war broke out in Mindanao, many displaced people including children have suffered. Children cope through drawing what they experienced; their trauma of war and escape. Some left their livelihood just to escape the cruelty of life. Scared for life, they don’t even know who to trust. As Howie Severino had said, only a smile can bridge a gap to tell if they are friendly or not.

Peace, I realized is hard to find if human basic needs are not met. Conflict broke out because of two warring families and groups who have different principles fighting for their own. Truce as they say is a fragile peace. Families and groups talk peace to end this cruelty. Those who have suffered experienced problems that needs to be addressed by the Government.

One basic need that has to be addressed by the government is water. The people who are affected by the conflict in Mindanao are crying for clean, potable water.  According to Dr. Parouk Hussin, only 29% of the villagers in ARMM are supplied with potable water. Without clean water, water borne diseases have affected most of the children. Secondly, rehabilitation for the refugees. Government provided for homes for the conflict affected areas; however, it was just homes without walls. Schools now become the refuge of the homeless. This led us to the third issue, lack of education. Children have to cross rivers just to be educated. Others don’t have any schools at all. A school in Buluan, Maguindanao has become an abode. Because of displacement, others don’t have a livelihood. Farming equipments they cry and safe roads for transport.
Sec. Jesus Dureza, Presidential Assistant for Mindanao, addressed the issue by rekindling the trust of the people in the government, building livelihood programs, reopening of the schools and convincing the teachers to go back and teach. He said, there are about 800, 000 people are affected in Mindanao and before it will grow it has to be addressed now.

Through community consultation with the local leaders, focus group discussions and interviews led social workers and even Non-Governmental Organizations in organizing community mapping and in creation of project proposals to aid them in rebuilding their place. Negotiations between and among groups is continually been doing by the government to settle this issue. Roads, irrigations, and employment became a tool in reducing conflict in certain towns in Mindanao.

A responsive government is what we need in our country. A government where basic needs of the people are met is all we need to achieve peace in Mindanao. I realized that there are a lot of things to be done but in order to realize these goals we need to start it now from ourselves and be responsive to the needs of people that surrounds us as well.

Maguindanao Massacre: Justice before Forgiveness

A year ago from now, a gruesome massacre was recorded on the Philippine soil. A National Day of Remembrance was declared to commemorate this event. How would a person feel if one of your family were a victim? Maybe Justice is your best bet to append what had happened. True enough that was their cry.
Here’s a news from ABS-CBNnews.tv by Ira Pedrasa that Justice for the Victims is still elusive. Kindly read and pray for justice for all the victims and their family and relatives.

Maguindanao massacre one year after: Justice still elusive

By Ira Pedrasa, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 11/23/2010 12:39 AM | Updated as of 11/23/2010 12:39 AM

MANILA, Philippines – It will be a year on Tuesday (Nov. 23) since news of the massacre of 57 civilians in Maguindanao shocked the whole world – news that further catapulted the Philippines high in the impunity index.
But while the nation commemorates the so-called Maguindanao massacre, the families of the victims continue to hope for that elusive justice.
In a press statement, Amnesty International Asia-Pacific Programme Director Sam Zarifi said the trials continue to be characterized by delays.
Of the nearly 200 implicated in the murders, a big percentage remains at large.
Another hitch is the government’s failure to crush private armies that continue to sow fear in the hearts of many, he said.
“How the Philippine government handles this case will demonstrate how serious President Aquino is about reining in private armies and curbing human rights violations,” he said.
“The government has to show that the Philippines has the ability and will to deal fairly but resolutely with a massacre that constituted the worst ever attack on journalists anywhere in the world,” he added.
A look back
On November 23, 57 civilians were brutally killed and their bodies dumped in a mass grave on a hillside above the town of Ampatuan, rightly named after the powerful clan there.
The victims include members of the Mangudadatu clan, who were on their way to file the candidacy of then Buluan Vice-Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu. The latter was to run for the province’s gubernatorial race—one that has solely belonged to the Ampatuan family in the past.
The convoy included journalists.
Immediately, the government under then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo proceeded to rein in on the Ampatuans by imposing martial rule in some parts of Maguindanao.
The multiple murder case is now before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, but not without hitches along the way: initial inhibition of a judge, the death of a possible witness, a ruling that absolved 2 Ampatuans, and a couple more.
Arroyo herself was linked to the case.
Lakmudin Saliao, a former trusted aide of the Ampatuan family, revealed that former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. only agreed to surrender his son and namesake to authorities after getting assurances he will be put “under the care” of the then president.
Several of her men were also supposedly bribed to ensure that the family would still be living in fairly good conditions.
The court has since discussed a case management system that both the prosecution and defense teams approved in order to hasten the resolution of the case. Even the Supreme Court has relieved Judge Jocelyn Solis Reyes of her many tasks.
Some, however, say that the systems put in place are not enough. Some fear that the case will take years and years.
Commemoration
On Tuesday, a series of mass actions will be done in commemoration of the Maguindanao massacre.
In Manila, different groups will be assembling for a torch parade leading to the Mendiola Bridge for a short program.
Cultural group Ugat Lahi will present a 9-foot effigy called the “Ampatuan Backhoe” featuring the grotesque face of Ampatuan, Jr.
NUJP chairman Nestor Burgos said they are still asking different broadcast stations to air 5 television commercials meant to remind the public of the worst massacre case in the country.
Emotions are expected to run high most especially in Mindanao, where the families of the victims will retrace the doomed route.
These groups want more, however. The government should be at the forefront of the search for justice, they said.
In a separate statement, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy said “beyond punishing the guilty, PCID also urges government to take effective action to prevent the reoccurrence of such barbaric acts on Philippine soil.”
Amnesty International’s Zafiri added: “If President Aquino is serious about ending the violence associated with private armies, he should revoke Executive Order 546 at once…The fact that private armies continue to operate a year after the Maguindanao massacre is an affront to the victims and an invitation to further disasters.”