http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNation.htm?f=2010/september/25/nation2.isx&d=2010/september/25

by Florante S. Solmerin and Manny Marinay

THE military and police have put into gear a 45-day security alert for the local barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections Oct. 25.

Last midnight, the police also started the implementation of the gun ban of the Commission on Elections.

Police chief Gen. Raul Bacalzo and Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David Jr. signed the Joint letter directive to ensure smooth and coordinated action in implementing election security functions and to define their respective roles in the 45-day election security operations that takes effect at Friday midnight until Nov. 10.

David added the military is in the process of planning the deployment of troops to support the police.

At the onset, the police has placed on Friday check points all over the country to apprehend people unauthorized to carry fire arms during the 45-day election ban. PNP spokesman, Senior Supt. Agrimeron Cruz Jr., said only the police and military will be allowed to carry firearms.

The PNP will be closely watching election hotspots and private armed groups that may be used by politicians to disrupt the elections.

“We have on our lists around 107 suspected private armed groups and we are still in the process of validating, some may be delisted and there are some may be included in the lists,” Bacalzo said.

The PNP said some 2,000 out of 42,025 barangays in the country are being closely monitored based on history of election-related violence.

“There will be a total gun-ban, only policemen and military personnel that are in uniform will be allowed to carry firearms provided that they are on duty or in transit to their place of assignments,” he said.

FTV would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Productive 2010!

Likewise, FTV would like to thank everyone for a very wonderful and fruitful year, as always!

Aside from enjoying the holidays, FTV encourages those who are eligible to vote in May 2010 but have failed to register last October, to please visit your local COMELEC offices this vacation to register! You only need to bring one valid i.d., if you have a physical disability, make sure that you will be able to indicate in your application your physical/medical condition. You have to be 18 years and above old on or before May 10, 2010 to register.

While the extension of registration poses inevitable changes to the election calendar and difficulties for COMELEC, we hope everyone will maximize the given time. Let us not wait again for the deadline to register. Change starts to happen when we will it to happen. So find the will to REGISTER first.

To all those who intend to register this Christmas break, you may only register on these dates: December 21, 22, 23, 28, and 29, 2009.

Please see the rest of the schedule of the re-opening of registration below:

Last Day to Post Notice of ERB Hearing: January 04, 2010

Last Day to File Opposition to Applications for Registration: January 06, 2010

Hearing Approval/Disapproval of Applications: January 09, 2010

COMELEC is NOT accepting requests for transfer, change of status, reactivation and other registration services.

First Time Voters registration only!

Source: http://comelec.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/com_res_8719.pdf

Please be guided accordingly and kindly share this information.

Again, please don’t forget to bring one valid i.d., if you do not have an i.d., you need to bring someone from your place who is also a registered voter who can vouch for you or attest to the credibility of your personhood.

Again, thank you, for all the support and hard work in order to make FTV what it is now, a dynamic network of young people with the biggest hearts for this nation!

Register. Vote. Transform!

Sincerely,
FTV Secretariat and National Core Group

http://firsttimevotersproject.wordpress.com/
http://firsttimevotersnetwork.ning.com/

i Register. i Vote. i Transform.

Time: 08:00 AM to 06:00 PM Please confirm participation through these nos. +63.929.952.3774 or +63.920.739.2102 or through email ad ftv.project@gmail.com on or before November 15, 2009

Rizal Province – November 05, 2009, Juan Sumulong College Auditorium
Zamboanga City – November 07, 2009, Ateneo de Zamboanga University
Cebu City – November 13, 2009, Cebu Business Hotel
Iloilo City – November 14, 2009, 5th Floor of the Provincial Capitol, Iloilo City
Davao City – November 15, 2009

Naga City – November 20, 2009; Ateneo de Naga University
Cotabato City – November 21, 2009
NCR – November 21, 2009; Training Halls A & B, 13/F ELJ Communications Center, ABS-CBN Compound (take Mother Ignacia entrance)
Plus Bacolod, and Baguio!!!!

October 22, 2009

The youth group filed its petition last 15 October 2009 in the COMELEC National Office to ask for an extension of the voters registration for one month in areas severely affected by Ondoy and Pepeng [Regions I to III (Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon regions), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), National Capital Region (NCR) and Rizal province] and for one week in the other remaining regions nationwide.

“We appreciate COMELEC’s move to give more time for the voters’ registration. We just hope that people will come out in numbers to register and we hope that the Commission can handle them,” says FTV spokesperson Helen Joy Paulino.

COMELEC late last year announced that one Data Capturing Machine (DCM) could handle at best, 100 applicants a day. This, they later, clarified was only a way to standardize the results of voters’ registration every day, machine operators  could accept more applicants if they wish to.

DCM’s are used to digitally capture the biometric data of applicants, a requirement in the poll automation next year. There’s at least one DCM per local Election Office.

“COMELEC had intended and promised to give out more data capturing machines several months back to speed up the registration process but for whatever reason the new machines never came and we are just wary over COMELEC’s capacity to facilitate the influx of people in the coming days,” adds Gio Tingson, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines National Spokesperson and Ateneo Sanggunian Chairperson.

The network said that they received some feedbacks from their volunteers on the ground regarding the registration process at present and that the reports were not exactly surprising but were starting to become alarming.

“For instance, our members from Marikina had mentioned that the lines for registration in their COMELEC office were out of order already, there were lots people registering, and obviously the COMELEC staff were outnumbered. We really hope that Typhoon Ramil will not aggravate this predicament which is true not only for Marikina but for other areas as well” says FTV NCR Coordinator, Leandro Perez.

The network had gone out last Friday, 16 October 2009, to give out flyers on voters’ registration to students in Manila, Quezon City and Mandaluyong.

“We are asking students to register this sembreak, it’s very crucial that they recognize the urgency and importance of this matter. Obviously, a lot of young people were inspired to help out in the recent tragedies and we hope that this will translate into a deeper desire to effect change in our overall system of governance and politics,” states Tingson.

The group is continuously encouraging young people to register in the local COMELEC offices until October 31, 2009, the voters’ registration deadline. With several activities lined up in the next 2 weeks, FTV Network hopes to get the most number of young people registered for the May 2010 elections.

Author is Gio Tingson, Ateneo de Manila Sanggu Chair

The following are some of my reflections written down in my personal journal that my friend urged me to post… [maybe because I had shared this in DS class, I now have the guts give a few of my thoughts] hehe. Everything is in my personal (hand-written- sorry old school talaga haha) entry especially my moment of thank yous to all those who shared their time in any way possible – even if it was not in Ateneo.

Think whatever… haha.

P.S. My never ending thanks to Mrs Anne Candelaria who gave the hard truth of development management

Describing the onslaught that typhoon Ondoy caused, I would say that the prevalent condition of the Filipinos has only been magnified. We face issues of environment, health, security, government, and poverty that we ourselves have put in place. One step in this scenario that we are challenged to do is not just to trace the origins of this major problem but also determine factors that sustain this condition. In a paradoxical sense, what scares me the most and what provides the biggest insight is that as the events unfold, our vulnerabilities are exposed out into the open. Ondoy tells us that there is no social protection for Filipino people, and in our situation, we are deemed helpless most of the time. In circumstances such as a major externality as Ondoy, the only room for action is government. It is the government that should prevent and mitigate such disasters. In moments of crisis, we look to our leaders, especially in local and national positions, whoever they are, and await their response. Not that we will just leave it to them but, because we engage with them as one community. I guess because we could not merely depend on the role that government should be playing – we look at private institutions in which Ateneo is one of.

As a private institution, we cannot fully handle mitigating and preventing disasters. What we can do is to initiate and partner democratic institutions in doing this. On the other hand, what we can actively partake in, and what we are currently experiencing is helping those who are affected cope with the situation. Since the typhoon hit our country, the Ateneo community has been helping in relief operations and is getting ready for the second phase: rehabilitation. The following are observations in our experience with operations:

Power Play

One of the vital points that maximized and derailed our relief operations was that of decision making. In order to do this, we had to manage the power structures moving within us. After our temporary set-up, the students went on a private discussion. We had to know where to position ourselves and the area of our focus – at our hands was a stakeholder analysis table. We mapped out power sources and authorities prevalent in an educational institutional structure so that we can be ready when we moved to operate. We placed major and secondary players in the whole university, analyzed their role by determining strengths and weaknesses, until finally the level of influence they can create in the operations. And as the days progressed, we had to include more stakeholders such as members of Gawad Kalinga, the Armed Forces Reserve and the Philippine National Red Cross. As operations went on, I noticed that the politics of decision making is not just about resources, knowledge and skill but in a community such as Ateneo, there is heavy reliance in authority. Some authority figures slowed down, disrupted, and unmotivated volunteer operations because they asserted their position in the power structure even if their capability is not needed. I can’t help but sometimes listen to the feedback of other students, alumni, and external groups saying that these authorities are in it for PR – “Nagpapalakas, nagpapapansin, diva,” as they put it. But the decision process was not slowed down entirely. I was humbled at many authorities who made flexible the power structure in the Ateneo by giving way for others with the knowledge, skill, and resources to maneuver regardless of age, standing and position. Relief distribution, medical missions and clean-up, was a success because in this particular instance, we valued the quick wins against the long-term implications of assessments.

In the final analysis, I understand that power structures make things move (maybe this is one of the reasons why some teachers had negative reactions to the VP memo. hehe). We have to place big weight on so many factors in a time of crisis putting into mind questions such as – does legal authority with the rational power structure be effective? Or does streamlining the process that pluralizes power become more efficient? Such questions need further thinking over in further experiences.

Tooling

A major frustration that arose was the fact we were not ready for major scale relief operations in the Ateneo – we had to do everything from scratch. As Task Force Ondoy functioned day to day, we could not just rely on our own experience, we needed the advice of many who have been exposed to this type of wide-scale action. From operations management teachers, to doctors, Jesuit brothers and individuals who were greatly exposed in these circumstances such as sir Tatot, Boyet, kuya Edcel and Jerry. Each day was a struggle to be more effective and efficient that is why we had to move and rethink the operations. After Ondoy, it was clear that we had to place into a manual the best practices, and recommendations that took place.

One of the essences of using what we are learning is to share our good experiences by making it replicable. To date, with the help if information design majors, we are now creating a manual for disaster relief operations. We have to be systematic, high in impact and visible – this is what we mean by institutionalizing efforts. Then again, it got me thinking.

Should students be creating a disaster response tool? Where does this come in, where the setting is the school where a traditional concept of disaster response is relief donation and aid? Yes it is true we could apply operations in classes in management, development studies, and the like but why do we need to focus on disaster management? I am not certain where government should intervene but upon further reflection, as students, and Filipinos citizens who are hit by an average of 21 typhoons a year, we must consider this competency in our proper education.

Synthesis

From the moment we examined power structures, to finding the rights tools to maneuver in operations, it was clear that we could not do everything. For example we could not have handled deployment to areas because the Office of Social Concern and Involvement was more knowledgeable. Or finding-out how many faculty and staff were affected by the flood was clearly easier done by the Office of Administrative Services. As a student representative, it is clear that we could not get a full grasp of tasks at hand. This is where systems thinking came in.

As all situations do, we had to respond in a manner that was integrative. The condition only overstated the need that we had to go beyond our comfort zone, circle of influence and control, and our own doing. We geared away from the snapshots of isolated elements and see the beauty of the whole montage. We face the complexity of intertwining structures, interrelated movements, knowledge and many more factors, to exert effort as one, head-on with our deepest problems. We see how the grade school contingent, synchronized their endeavors while the high school diverted all their effort, energy and resources toward centralized operations in the college covered courts. The volunteerism exerted by people during these hard times cannot be claimed by the Sanggunian, the Loyola Schools, or Ateneo. Our experience even exceeds being Filipino – it is an act attributed to the nature of mankind with the Divine.

I am reminded by a phrase shared by father RB Hizon, SJ, when he talked of the challenge of today’s priests, “Before, we [priests] were made to be a synthesis of ministry, but now, our calling is to become a minister of synthesis.” I was moved by this statement as I remembered my experience with Ondoy. This in essence is systems thinking taking place. To be a leader, we are made not to posses all traits and skills in the community but challenged to bring people together and share their competencies in building our nation. And part of the challenge of synthesizing efforts is, making the diverse skills in place, adapt to the changing environment. We had to tweak efforts in order to fit the situation. On the other hand, this also meant that we let others take the lead not by forcing or pushing them to do so but by taking away all the hindrances for them to grow. In this sense, we don’t just learn from others but in one way, there is a chance to define the next leaders when the time comes for the current to step down. In the end, we all come together in the understanding that there is no greater human action than to save a life.

Some Final Thoughts

On the final reflection, I go back to the reality at present – we have a long journey ahead of us. As we ready our organizations and communities for a midterm rehabilitation commitment of three to five years, we must stay with truths such as, for the past decade, the Philippines has been averaging 21 typhoons a year, we must set the expectation that there are downsides to volunteerism (i.e. your car getting a broken window while delivering to evacuation centers), that the institutions we belong to are not equipped with the proper tools to respond to these types of disasters and that as the years have passed, we do not only expose our vulnerabilities, we magnify them. The only thing we can do to any given situation thrown at us is to respond. My experience with Ondoy clarifies how, amidst the chaos, we will always strive for logos – this is the essence of our being. We see in each other a certain hope that is not quantifiable by any tool or success indicator that makes us act, but makes us believe that all our efforts, whatever they may be, are worth doing. We see hope at the core of the human person. And as we gather ourselves, and re-organize to start anew, we bring in a positive agenda for our country.

My optimism is that as we engage people to carry a consciousness of nation-building that learns from its past; an agenda that is not just for our candidates in the national and local elections of 2010, but for institutions such as the family, the school and the industry. This perspective is not something that should be in the consciousness of the government, but also of every Filipino.

With this, we launch Kadakila – a three to five year rehabilitation program that actualizes the spirit of nationalism with media, different universities and other groups… Lets see how the second semester unfolds.

Join us on 26 October 2009 from 1pm to 5pm in ABS-CBN Compound for the first youth summit of FTV Network with Kadakila, a movement that seeks to harness the youth’s spirit of volunteerism and bayanihan in times like these.

Dubbed as “Kadakila, Simulan Mo!,” the the FTV and Kadakila youth summit hopes to convene youth leaders from NCR and nearby areas who are willing to walk the extra mile for our fellow Filipinos.

Click HERE to register online!

Limited slots available! Hurry!

Once you have registered online, all you have to do is to wait for our confirmation! We’d like to accommodate as many youth leaders as we can but due to logistical restraints, we are only allowed to accept limited number of reservations.

If your reservation is confirmed, please bring your voters’ slip and a 20.00 php worth of school supplies as donation and registration/entrance fee to the event! [How bad can that be right? Tulong tayo! ]

Thanks! And we are looking forward to seeing you there, kadakila!