YPS

STATISTICS SHOW HOW INADEQUATE OUR education system is in providing the quality and level of standards needed by Filipino students to learn, develop and acquire skills. From low enrollment rates, high illiteracy rates, low achievement rates to a mismatch between acquired skills and industry requirements, not to mention poor teacher quality and morale, the Philippine education system has shown little improvement through the years. Changes in leadership and poor governance are only some of the factors contributing to the decline.

I suppose everyone knows by now that many parts of Metro Manila and other areas outside the city are not in the best of shape.

The flooding still persists in some areas, right now its 240 dead and probably rising, and I think I’m in some sort of empathetic shock over what happened over the last weekend.

This disaster has really showed us all how this government has wasted so much of our money on useless things, held back money for truly important projects, and how much money government officials have stolen for themselves.

Climbing the Marcos Highway at sunrise, one is greeted by “cloud-kissed mountains” to borrow a phrase from my grandfather. Today is the celebration of Baguio’s Centennial as a chartered city. Today I am coming home to a city I have not lived in for 23 years. My memories are of a kinder and gentler city. The images I return to again and again in my mind are greener and filled with characters a young girl grew up fascinated with. All of us have that place we call home, a repository of our identities and an anchor for our idea of family.

Some people refer to certain points in the future as make or break.

Many say that 2010 is make or break.

I believe every day is make or break.

I believe that the future is only a product of the way we have taken our past to influence our present.

1986 was make or break. Every impeachment was make or break. Every scandal we don’t deal with properly is make or break. Every day a petty theft happens with impunity is make or break.

Every day is make or break and in our recent history we have break-ed more than we have make-ed.

Disclaimer!

While I am a full supporter of automation I still believe that there is much to be done on the COMELEC and SMARTMATIC side to make this election credible on both the process and the automation aspects.

I am also worried about the possibility of a failure in elections. But I would rather approach the problem from a solution building one rather than an adversarial one.

Ok Game!

As an IT practitioner and a member of www.youthvotephilippines.com I’ve been following the discussions about the automated counting procedure with much interest.

How does one mark the passing of an icon? Philippine Democracy is richer for the lessons we have learned from Cory Aquino. Some inspiring, some painful, some regretful, some healing, but all necessary. How does one mark the closing of an era? Our country learned that the impossible was possible, people power was power and the street was the parliament. We have painfully realized however that these are not enough. That the workings of democracy need everyday possibilities, everyday power and everyday parliament.

My Facebook status today reads “Maxine Tanya is rightly where her advocate heart lies., in the State of the Indigenous Peoples Address. Whose nation, what nation do we all speak about?” If Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has a facebook account (does she?) it would have probably read” Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not step down after the SONA. She will keep a heavy…(pause) steady hand on the ship of state”.

Live blog from the Come Elect! National Conference of the Ateneo School of Governance and the Transparency and Accountability Network : Ensuring Successful Automation in 2010.