center of the universe

The lesson which life constantly repeats is to 'look under your feet.' You are always nearer to the divine and the true sources of your power than you think. The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars. Every place is the center of the world.

 ~ John Burroughs 

On doubt and fear

"He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. Doubt has killed more splendid projects, shattered more ambitious schemes, strangled more effective geniuses, neutralized more superb efforts, blasted more fine intellects, thwarted more splendid ambitions than any other enemy of the human race."

~  James Allen, 1864-1912
    British Author, Poet and Philosopher

the school of new things :- )

I turned 38 last September 25 and as a "gift" to myself, and with the blessing from my pretty wife, we paid someone to give me pain. I joined the local gym.

I was carrying apprehension and excitement to my first workout. But as I completed it, I realized that after an hour of a full body workout, they become exhaustion.

During the night, my body felt warm. The thermometer read 37.5 but I wasn't feverish. And as I woke up, exhaustion turned into pain. And he was a load for a companion.

I had to gingerly get up. My mid-section was aching. I can not lift my arms, much more the tabo to wash myself. I had to solely and exclusively use the shower for everything. I sit and I stand up like an 80 year old pushing 90.

It was frustrating. I realized that having the ability to run 10K under an hour, is simply an indicator but not a definitive one to conclude that I was healthy. I still have a long way to go.

Things started to be better on the 3rd day but it was the same day I am to see my fitness instructor, Maru, for the 2nd time. And I did not know what to make of that fact. I mean, I now know what happens the day after a workout. But I reminded myself that we paid for this. So, I soldiered on as my wife gave her trademark sheepish smile :- )

It has been three weeks since that day and I can say, and I do not know when it started, I am actually looking forward to that post-workout "exhaustion and pain". I can not believe I am saying that but I am :- )

It got me so curious that I am now reading and studying the human musculoskeletal system to understand what happens underneath our skins.

At the age of 38, gym class is my favorite course.

The workouts are reinvigorating not only my physical health but also making me a better learning facilitator and a reimagineer. There is so much parallelism. Truth is truth. Whether in mathematics, in management and in exercise. Truth cuts across fields. Fascinating.

By the way, the fact that I will be a Dad and I will see my kid in a few weeks time, God-willing, also helped. I truly want to be there for my kid. Raising kids is an opportunity and a gift. I do not want my health to spoil it.

"... why think like mere men?"

Roosevelt speaks...

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while DARING GREATLY so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

"... why think like mere men."

from the ground-up

I think...
... the Philippines, as a nation,
is... being built.

The momentum has been...
... accelerated.

Just read the news.
...the headlines.
...the comments.

Pikon :- )

How do I contribute?

Be a Dad. A good one.
A great one.

Be a Husband. A good one.
A great one.

Be a teacher. A good one.
A great one.

"... why think like mere men?"

This time, it's first hand :- )

Amazed
by: Desperation Band

You dance over me
While I am unaware
You sing all around
But I never hear the sound

Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You
How You love me

How wide
How deep
How great
Is Your love for me

"... why think like mere men?"

Moby-Dick

True places are never found on maps.

          ~ Herman Melville

As real as it gets :- )

Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty, believe me... the gift is there and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys too - be not content with them as joys. They too, conceal diviner gifts.

Fra Giovanni, 1435–1515
Italian Architect and Philosopher

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the student who choose not be moved

I teach. 

I facilitate learning in a university that's known for its engineering education. Our classes are 10 weeks long. The 11th is reserved for the Finals.

And today is Finals week.

I have checked all the quizzes. Graded their other learning activities. I have seen and read their term papers and it looks like some will breeze through. But some will be given another chance to learn it again.

Some will take that grade with a grain of salt and enter into a resolve, a promise to do better the following term. Some will understandably get angry and blame everybody else except himself and will never learn from the experience.

But some will get creative, as the word on the corridors, and enter to dangerous liaisons with professors to have leverage to negotiate their grades.

Sad.

Is a student still a student when the grades he received are negotiated and not earned? And school still a school?

Do the students see and understand that the worst thing a professor can do to a student is to tell them that they pass when they are not really ready for the next?

Don't they understand that there is a reason why they are not yet supposed to be there? Don't they realized that they are actually putting on the shackles and yoke of insecurity by insisting and negotiating to be in place where they are not yet suppose to be there?

There must be a logical explanation why they do what they do. And I know that that can be perfectly understandable. But is it right? Is it truly beneficial? To them?

Though students move through their curricula because of negotiated grades, in reality they have not moved. Because they choose to stay the same and lie.

The student(s) who choose(s) not be moved :- )

"... why think like mere men?"

38 Special :- )

A blessing from a very dear friend, Nards :- )

Joshua 1:1-8

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Amen :- )

"... why think like mere men?"

The Beauty of Time

"The chief beauty about time
is that you cannot waste it in advance.
The next year, the next day, the next hour
are lying ready for you,
as perfect, as unspoiled,
as if you had never wasted or misapplied
a single moment in all your life.
You can turn over a new leaf every hour
if you choose."

~Arnold Bennett, British novelist

...wisdom

We do not receive wisdom,
we must discover it for ourselves,
after a journey through the wilderness
which no one else can make for us,
which no one can spare us,
for our wisdom is the point of view
from which we come at last to regard the world.

~ Marcel Proust

power of dreams ;- )

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.

~ William James

a serious hobby :- )

I am discovering that I can actually design and develop a contextualized Powerpoint presentation of a whole international edition textbook(s).

:- )

"... why think like mere men?"

On generic Filipino leaders and jeepney drivers

Movements of people who wake up at 5:00AM within an area of  636 square kilometer was never a problem of the past. Until, of course, the number creeps towards 12 million pair of eyes that open that early (or earlier) to go to work, to school or to wherever, then it becomes another story.


The only sane "solution" is to get used to it. I am joking, of course :- )


A few months back I was given the opportunity to facilitate a course on Transportation System. I read and studied to get a handle on how to present it. The more I read and the more I studied, it dawn on me that there is a need to admit, I lacked time to prepare to present the course the way I truly wanted it. But not to shortchange the students, what was written in the syllabus was delivered. Now, I am hoping to get another opportunity. 


When one uses their fingers and a mouse, an avalanche of information is delivered on one's plate. To make sense of it all, takes time. And to contextualize it to local flavor takes even more time. 


Ever wondered why our iconic jeepneys are only endemic to the Philippines? 


In the 1950s, the American car manufacturers, lobbied our congress to put the development of a true mass transportation to a screeching halt. This simple business strategy of American car manufacturers to increase top-line growth, ensured that the our children, our grandchildren (and hopefully not our great grandchildren) will still be riding jeepneys when their Asian counterparts will be riding bullet trains :- )


The Americans gave us a lot. But they also needed wealth. Sometimes, short-sighted wealth. 


This legal structure enabled the business, the politics, the pain, the poverty and the much maligned pedestrian and drivers to reach its present form. 


As I read what the world offered as intelligent solutions to mass transportation, the more I realize that we need to get creative. It will hurt us more if we simply import a solution and treat this as 'plug and play'.


For one, if we use rails - the question is how will we power it? Electricity? Nuclear? Like the Japanese? The question usually leads to where will we invest when it comes to power generation? Gas? Hydro? Geothermal? How's the carbon foot-print in that? And the cost of that to the environment? A metric that was not even used by the experts when they build their own mass transportation system when they were transitioning :- )


Or if we go towards the other side of the spectrum of building an commercial system that let's commuter acquire their own 'whatever shape and form cars'. (Which I think is the silent solution with the absence of a car phase-out policy and the market growth of previously-owned cars.) This actually runs head on to the fact that our current mass transportation system runs on a franchise model. Meaning, those who holds jeepney, taxis and bus franchises must earn money. If the system that proliferates encourages the commuters to get their own cars, who will ride on the jeeps, on the buses and on the taxis? Ever wondered why we often see public utility vehicles with few riders on it except on rush hours? And we have not even considered the fact that this 'whatever shape and form cars' actually use road space that further aggravates the situation by lessening the number of 'ikot' Manong Driver can do in a day. 


What if the true solution lies on the hope that the Filipinos will push the boundary of research and of engineering on alternative sources of power? Like solar and wind. Like how the French did it with nuclear power when they found out that their economic growth can not depend on other forms of power aside from harnessing the mighty atom?


Can the Filipinos do it? 


Or will we be stuck on the discussion of not in my backyard, or is it congressional district? Or you better pay me this mucho dinero if you build it in my congressional district? Will we drive  everyone, in the current form of our power generation industry, out of business if we pursue putting solar panels on all our roofs? Will we run against the deep-pocketed and highly influentials if we put time, brains and some money on this pursuit?  


Or are we really solving a lot of problems if we put solar panels on our roofs and then sell to distributors to power our rails? Which in return will give Manong Driver the kapalit income he desires so that he stops driving our iconic jeeps? :- )


In one of the things I read about transportation system, it states - "Solving transportation problems is not difficult. It is harder than that."

What will happen when a generic Filipino leader finally realizes that he is actually behaving like our generic jeepney driver, who only worries about himself, his pasada, loading and unloading wherever he wants? And that he actually forgot that he has a masters degree (or even a PhD) in some prestigious school outside of the Philippines?

"... why think like mere men?"

zen :- )

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."

~ Albert  Einstein

The root cause of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

From  CNN, 

"What must be admitted -- very painfully -- is that this was a disaster 'Made in Japan,'" the report said. "Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to 'sticking with the program.'"

But why was that ingrained in the first place? What was the journey of the Japanese people that they needed to ingrained such mindset, such habits?

Counterintuitive :- )

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others" 

~ from Coach Carter, movie

24 units

So, this is how it feels to finish 24 units of teaching load in 10 weeks - very tired and looking forward to that one week rest.

No, it was not intended.

Ophine, a co-faculty, gave birth to twins and the teaching load had to be divided. I got six units :- )

On top of that, Dean wanted to experiment on incorporating ISO14051:2011 in Mapua's Graduate Class of Supply Chain Management. That's an additional three units.

An overload due to a dash of serendipity. Thank You, Lord!:- )

Looking back, the past 10 weeks were packed.

And by packed, I mean the following:

1. I was given the opportunity to run a ISO14051:2011 learning session.

2. Beb, my wife, and I received the most wonderful news that we just became a Mom and a Dad! :- )

3. I was given the opportunity to run a re-imagined 5S learning session, dubbed Super 5S :- )

4. Learned a new course, SVM 161 - Transportation System. :- )

5. And because of the former, crystallized and proved my hypothesis on why jeepneys is "endemic" to the Philippines :- )

6. Ob-Gyn visits and heartbeats! :- )

7. Heard a very troubling face-to-face confession with a co-faculty. It's very troubling that it may deserve an (psychiatric?) intervention, if my colleague is really telling the truth, because of the impact of this on how students perceive Mapua's IE-EMG Faculty. It definitely hampers the ability of the school to be true to its first function - to teach. :- ( 

8. A former co-faculty, Ma'am Precy Tagala, moved on :- (

9. Mapua's deepening love affair with Outcomes Based Teaching and Learning :- )

10. The impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona. :- )

11. The life lessons of the Up Dharma Down's concert at Mapua.

12. The integration of new set of MEMO leaders. :- )

13. The 2nd batch of Imaj Summer Acting Workshop. :- )

14. Imaj has now a new set of manpower complement. Time to build anew.

15. To be one of the recipient of The Cardinal's Excellence Award. I am humbled.

16. Developed and delivered "EMG Goes Back to its Social Scientist Roots" seminar @MIT.

17. Developed and delivered "Getting That First Job" seminar for graduating Electrical Engineering students @MIT.

18. Lastly (but certainly not the least!), Beb's promotion. :- )

Not to be forgotten is the drastic change I witness with Chris and Rewel. Keep it up, boys! You are now walking on a straight path. And to top all that, I had the chance to receive a student-work-cum-a masterpiece.

Lord, the past 10 weeks and 24 units was tiring but I am grateful You allowed me to take the journey. Thank You po, Lord! Maraming salamat, po! :- )

"... why think like mere men!"

looking back to move forward

God willing, he will be born on December.

As I reflect on this, I can't help but look back on how I was raised by Nanay and Tatay in a place known for its violence, struggles and turmoils - Tundo.

Growing up I did not know I live in a place outsiders calls "lugar at tahanan ng siga".

Tundo was home for me. A safe place.

Though we have kababata-kalaro-at kaibigan who ended up becoming drug addicts, drug pushers, holduppers, snatchers and some, I heard, killers and murderers - most turn out to live decent lives, positively contributing to society. Good fathers and loving mothers.

Looking back, I think we, Elisalde, Ellis and I, having Nanay and Tatay always at our side made the difference for us. We were sent to good schools. Tuto and I went to Colegio de San Juan de Letran in high school. Ellis got accepted at Manila Science High School. And earlier, Ellis and I got accepted in the government's special education program. We got accelerated. Jumped from Grade 3 to Grade 5.

It also helped that when we were growing up, our house was always full of relatives. Manang Nining, Manang Suling, Manang Helen and Manang Neli helped Nanay raised three energetic boys. And for everyone else who we call Manong, their situation of being transients, seamen waiting for their names to be called bago sila sumampa sa barko, on hindsight, gave us this belief that with work - one can change his lot in life.

And it is always a positive when young boys grow up in the company of men. Boys know how to become a man with men. And we, thank God, have an abundance of examples to look up to. Beginning with Tatay.

Thus, what could be a place of despair for most was home for us. A safe place.

I don't know if Nanay and Tatay knew it but it was their love for one another and their decision to welcome our relatives, who came from Iloilo and from Bacolod, into our home that helped me and my two brothers feel that Tundo was a safe place to grow up. A place where dreams begin, held and turned into reality :- )

"... why think like mere men?"

heartbeats

I am grateful.

That I am being entrusted to be a Dad. My wife, Beb, is 14 weeks pregnant. She's sleeping now. She has to. She's having morning sickness at 10 in the evening for the past week now :- )

This I can tell you with absolutely certainty - morning sickness is a misnomer!

We already have agreed on the first name and we are still deciding on the second one. I am smiling as I write this :- )

Now, I fully understand what the fuss is all about a grainy ultrasound pix. I was inside the room when the doctor took it. I saw the pea size heart beats and the sight took my breath away. So little. So fragile. So strong. Relentless. I was smiling. My heart felt light. And once again, Beb and I had another moment to keep and to cherish in our hearts.

When the doctor asked me to leave, as my wife got dressed, I can help but slump in that typical uncomfortable hospital benches and get misty.

I am grateful.

And after four weeks, I heard it - the heart beats. And it was beautiful. I still hear it when I go back to that moment. I always want to go back to that moment.

I am grateful.

Lord, prepare me to be the Dad You want me to be. May I be reflection and a good witness for You.

"... why think like mere men?"

Teach?

I have to remind myself.

:- )

I have to remind myself that I teach not for those who simply want to pass. I teach because of a few good men and women who come to class to become different, better. I see them. I feel them.

Those who really want to learn.

Some even knows what they truly want as early as today. Something better is very clear in their minds. Yes, by better is really better and not simply something different nor lip service.

Lord, let me be consumed by this.

"... why think like mere men?"

towards the light :- )

The vote of the Senate President
HON. JUAN PONCE ENRILE
On Article II of the Articles of Impeachment
against Hon. Chief Justice Renato C. Corona
 

In the entire course of this impeachment trial, I have faced many difficult challenges to my own and the Court’s collective wisdom, our sense of justice and fairness, the delicate balancing act we must perform to ensure that we do not stray from the strictures of the Constitution, the law and our rules.
 
This trial began and unfolded against the backdrop of a highly charged and emotional atmosphere, acrimonious debate in and outside the confines of this Court, and a deep political fissure which threatened the stability of our democratic institutions.
 
But the impact of the many events that transpired since December 12 last year to this very day, taken altogether, cannot compare to the sense of heaviness that I feel at this very moment.
 
The culmination of this national drama is at hand, and the time has come for me to render judgment on the person before whom I took my Oath of Office as a Senator of the Republic…no less than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Renato C. Corona.
 
The Respondent Chief Justice and his family understandably feel deeply hurt, pained and aggrieved.
 
As a lawyer, I must confess that I was personally frustrated by the loose and hasty crafting and preparation that characterized the presentation of the charges contained in the Articles of Impeachment. It seemed that the case was being built up only after the charges were actually filed. The repeated recourse to this Court’s compulsory processes to obtain evidence which normally should have formed the factual basis of the charges in the first place further burdened and, at times, taxed the patience of this Court.
 
We have witnessed with disdain the indiscriminate, deliberate and illegal machinations of some parties who have been less than forthright with this Court in presenting dubiously procured and misleading documents which were spread to the media obviously to influence this Court’s and the public’s opinion.
 
The letter of the Administrator of the Land Registration Authority which contained, as an attachment, a list of 45 properties supposedly owned by the Respondent Chief Justice, was fed to the media even before we could begin the actual trial of this case.
 
Even before the Hon. Ombudsman, Conchita Carpio Morales, was called to testify before this Court, her letter to the Chief Justice requiring him to explain in 72 hours an alleged aggregate amount of US$10M in several dollar accounts was leaked to the media right before the resumption of this trial last May 7.
 
We have sternly cautioned against unethical and unprofessional conduct, the penchant to engage in trial by publicity, to use the media to disseminate and advance so called “information” or “evidence”, to provoke and disrespect this Court and its members, and to irresponsibly hurl disparaging insinuations and accusations.
 
We have tried to impress upon everyone who may be similarly motivated and inclined to test our will that this Court means serious business and would not succumb to nor allow such underhanded tactics and gimmickry to deter us from our task.
 
Prudence and justice dictate that in determining the guilt or innocence of the Chief Justice, we must try our best to confine ourselves to the pieces of testimonial and documentary evidence that have been presented to this Court, to pass upon their relevance, and to measure and weigh their value in the light of the charges before us.
 
After all the accusations levelled against the Chief Justice  -  eight (8) charges in all comprising the Articles of Impeachment  -  the Prosecution chose to present evidence only on three Articles (Articles II, III and VII), and abruptly rested its case.
 
I have always believed that of these three, the case for the Prosecution and the Defense will rise or fall on Article II, which is the subject of this vote.
 
This Court, at one point, had extensive discussions and differences of opinion, to be sure, regarding the charge contained in Paragraph 2.4 of Article II that the Chief Justice was “suspected and accused of having accumulated ill-gotten wealth, acquiring assets of high values and keeping bank accounts with huge deposits”. 
 
We ruled to disallow the introduction of evidence in support of Par. 2.4 which, to this day, I strongly maintain was an invalid charge, it being based on mere “suspicion”, on so-called “reports”, rather than on factual allegations.
 
The Defense and the Chief Justice himself somehow revived this issue of the nature of his assets by introducing evidence to prove that his income and assets were legitimate, and by testimony to show how he and his wife had saved and invested these savings in foreign currency over so many decades.
 
I wish to reiterate, for the record, that the Chief Justice does not stand accused of having amassed any ill-gotten wealth before this Impeachment Court.
 
Paragraph 2.2 of Article II of the Articles of Impeachment accuses the Respondent Chief Justice of failing to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth as required by the Constitution.
 
I submit that the Chief Justice had justifiable and legal grounds to rely on the Supreme Court’s procedural and policy guidelines governing such disclosures as embodied in a Resolution promulgated way back in 1989 when the Respondent was not yet a Member of the Supreme Court.
 
Under the said guidelines, the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court, who is the repository of the SALN’s submitted by all the Members of the Supreme Court, may furnish copies of the SALN’s in his or her custody to any person upon request, and upon showing that there is a legitimate reason for the same.
 
The Constitution, in Article XI, Sec. 17, states that “in the case of the President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Commissions and other constitutional offices, and offices of the armed forces with general or flag rank, the declaration shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law”.
 
R.A. 6713, known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, recognizes the public’s right to information on the assets, liabilities, net worth, financial and business interests of public servants. But it likewise declares it unlawful for any person “to obtain or use the same for purposes contrary to morals or public policy or for any commercial purpose other than by news and communications media for dissemination to the general public”.
 
Whether the said guidelines violate the letter and spirit of R.A. 6713 and the principle of public accountability is not for this Court to pass upon. I grant that the Chief Justice believed in good faith that after periodically filing his sworn Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court were sufficient to allow the Clerk of Court to comply with the Constitution and the law.
 
We cannot ignore the fact that the failure or refusal, particularly of public officials in high government positions, to provide the public or the media with copies of the SALN’s,  continues to be a raging issue to this day. In fact, some, if not most of the members of the Prosecution panel itself, the Members of the Supreme Court, members of Congress and other high officials of the government have been challenged by media organizations to make their SALN’s available to the public and to the media.
 
Paragraph 2.3 of Article II further accuses the Respondent Chief Justice, based on “reports”, of not including some properties in his declaration of his assets, liabilities, and net worth, in violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices act.
 

The Prosecution, based on the list it procured from the LRA, claims that the Chief Justice owned and failed to fully disclose in his SALN 45 real estate assets. Based on the evidence, I am convinced that the Defense has presented credible evidence to refute this charge and to explain the exclusion in the Respondent Chief Justice’s SALN’s of certain properties which have either been sold or legally transferred, properties which are actually owned by his children and/or third parties, and properties which were never owned by the Respondent in the first place.
 
I am likewise convinced that the Defense has sufficiently established that there was no ill intention on the part of the Respondent to understate or misrepresent the value of his real properties.
 
Proceeding now to the most significant charge involving the non-disclosure of the Respondent Chief Justice’s cash assets, the Ombudsman, at the instance of the Defense, testified with a presentation of a report from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), showing 82 bank accounts allegedly belonging to the Respondent.
 
She further testified that based on her analysis of the report, aided by the Commission on Audit, the Chief Justice had cash assets in the examined bank accounts of anywhere from US$10 Million to US$ 12 Million.
 
Even if we grant the existence of these 82 accounts, the amount of deposits corresponding to each of these could not just easily, fairly or logically be summed up to arrive at exactly how much cash assets or deposits, in actuality and in totality, the Respondent Chief Justice had or has at any given point in time.
 
Hence, the Ombudsman’s reference to a “transactional balance” of about US$12 Million should not mislead this Court in its appreciation of the facts.
 
Regrettably, both the Prosecution and the Defense panels decided not to present the concerned bank officers or the AMLC to ascertain the veracity of the data allegedly provided by the AMLC to the Office of the Ombudsman, despite the Respondent’s submission to this Court of a written waiver to cause the opening of all his bank accounts.

Laudable as this belated act on the part of the Respondent Chief Justice may be, it would have served him better if he had just presented bank documents as evidence to either confirm or refute the documents showing his bank transactions as presented by the Ombudsman.
It has not escaped this Presiding Officer that initially, last May 22^nd to be exact, before he walked out of the halls of this Court, the Chief Justice signed the said waiver in open court but made the release of the same conditional, that is, after all the 188 signatories to the Articles of Impeachment and Senator-Judge Franklin Drilon have signed a similar waiver. It was only during the hearing last May 25 that the Chief Justice decided to submit the waiver to the Court without any conditions. 
 
Moreover, even as the Chief Justice had full access to his own bank accounts and all the opportunity to introduce evidence to disprove the data, findings and analysis presented by the Ombudsman or the report of the AMLC, the Defense did not introduce any such evidence.
 
As it is, the Impeachment Court could only rely on the documents supplied by the Ombudsman which show the Respondent’s bank transactions but which do not show the actual bank balances of Respondent’s bank accounts.
 
Instead, the Defense presented the Chief Justice himself as its last witness and pleaded for the Court’s permission to allow the Respondent to deliver an “opening statement”.
 
This Court, out of courtesy to the Chief Justice, decided to extend its understanding and to exercise liberality in granting the request.  
 
The long narration, where the Chief Justice touched on a wide range of issues, assertions of facts, accusations, opinions and personal sentiments, which the Respondent said he found necessary to narrate in order to clear his and his family’s name, was later adopted by the Defense as the direct testimony of the Respondent. The Prosecution, on the other hand, waived its right to cross-examine the Chief Justice, provided the Defense would not conduct any further direct examination.
 
Nevertheless, the Respondent Chief Justice testified and admitted, in answer to questions from a member of this Court, that he had around P80 Million in 3 Peso accounts and US$2.4 Million in 4 US Dollar accounts, but that he had purposely not declared these assets for 2 reasons:  (1) That his Peso accounts represented “co-mingled funds”, and        (2) That he was not required to report or declare his foreign currency deposits in his SALN because they were absolutely confidential under R.A. 6426.
 
I disagree on both counts.
 
If, indeed, any of the Respondent’s cash deposits were co-mingled with the funds belonging to other parties such as the Basa Guidote Enterprises, Inc. (BGEI) or his children, the Respondent was still duty bound to declare these deposits in his SALN, they being admittedly under his name.
 
The evidence is devoid of any indication that the Chief Justice was holding these funds in trust for or that they were actually beneficially owned by any one other than himself or his wife.
 
Assuming that any part of such deposits in truth belonged to third parties, the Respondent could have indicated such third-party funds as corresponding liabilities in his SALN. That would have reflected his real net worth.
 
With all due respect, I believe that the Respondent Chief Justice’s reliance on the absolute confidentiality accorded to foreign currency deposits under Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6426 is grossly misplaced.
 
The Constitution, in Article XI, Sec. 17, provides that “A public officer or employee shall, upon assumption of office and as often as may be required by law, submit a declaration under oath of his assets, liabilities and net worth. x x x ”
 
Are we now to say that this Constitutional command is limited to a public official’s assets or deposits in local currency? If so, would we not be saying, in effect, that the Constitution allows something less than a full, honest and complete disclosure?
 
It bears noting that the prescribed form of the SALN quite simply requires public officers and employees to declare their assets, real and personal, the latter to include cash and bank deposits, bonds, etc. It does not require the public officer or employee to indicate whether or not he or she has foreign currency notes or deposits. Neither does it require details such as account numbers, account names, bank identity nor any branch address. All that it requires is a declaration of the total amount of the funds deposited in any bank account or accounts maintained by the public official or employee concerned.
 
Surely, the Chief Justice knows the equivalent value in local currency of his foreign currency deposits to be able to declare the same as part of his assets, especially since the aggregate amount of these foreign currency deposits, by his own account, amounts to US$2.4 Million.
 
The non-disclosure of these deposits, in both local and foreign currency, would naturally result in a corresponding distortion of the Chief Justice’s real net worth.
 
Consistent with the position taken by this Court in the case filed by the Philippine Savings Bank before the Supreme Court last February, pursuant to which the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order, I maintain that the Constitutional principle of public accountability overrides the absolute confidentiality of foreign currency deposits.
 
The provisions of R.A. 6426 cannot be interpreted as an exception to the unequivocal command and tenor of Article XI, Sec. 17, of the 1987 Constitution, and I regret that the Highest Magistrate of the land, no less, would think otherwise.
 
Section 8 of R.A. 6426 provides that except with the written permission of the depositor, “in no instance shall foreign currency deposits be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office whether judicial or administrative or legislative or any other entity whether public or private.”
 
The so-called conflict of laws between R.A. Nos. 6713 and 6426 is more illusory than real.  Section 8 of R.A. No. 6426 merely prohibits the examination, inquiry or looking into a foreign currency deposit account by an entity or person other than the depositor himself. But there is nothing in R.A. No. 6426 which prohibits the depositor from making a declaration on his own of such foreign currency funds, especially in this case where the Constitution mandates the depositor who is a public officer to declare all assets under oath.
 
Some have raised the question:  Why should the Chief Justice be held accountable for an offense which many, if not most others in Government are guilty of, perhaps even more than he is? They say that hardly anyone declares his true net worth anyway.
 
Here lies what many have posited as a moral dilemma.  I believe it is our duty to resolve this “dilemma” in favor of upholding the law and sound public policy. If we were to agree with the Respondent that he was correct in not disclosing the value of his foreign currency deposits because they are absolutely confidential, can we ever expect any SALN to be filed by public officials from hereon to be more accurate and true than they are today?
 
I am not oblivious to the possible political repercussions of the final verdict we are called upon to render today. I am deeply concerned that the people may just so easily ignore, forget, if not completely miss out, the hard lessons we all must learn from this episode, instead of grow and mature as citizens of a democratic nation.
 
Those whose intentions and motivations may be farthest from the lofty ideals of truth and justice are wont to feast upon this man’s downfall should this Court render a guilty verdict.
 
I am equally aware of the tremendous pressure weighing heavily upon all the members of this Court as we had to come to a decision on this case, one way or the other.
 
But to render a just verdict according to my best lights and my own conscience is a sacred duty that I have sworn to perform.
 
As one who has been through many personal upheavals through all of my 88 years, I, too, have been judged, often unfairly and harshly. But I have constantly held that those who face the judgment of imperfect and fallible mortals like us have recourse to the judgment of history, and, ultimately, of God.
 
And so, with full trust that the Almighty will see us through the aftermath of this chapter in our nation’s history, I vote to hold the Chief Justice, Renato C. Corona, GUILTY as charged under Article II, Par. 2.3, and that his deliberate act of excluding substantial assets from his sworn Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth constitutes a culpable violation of the Constitution

"... prove me wrong?"

"Maybe, you really do not belong in college."

I uttered those words last Saturday inside the Faculty Room to a group of three students who tried but failed to show a late project they were suppose to present from 9:00 - 10:30 am. They were Group 8, I think.

It was close to twelve. I ate my lunch and I am in the middle of reading the sports pages in preparation for my Engineering Management class to lead a discussion on organizing and staffing, Management's second function.

I hold this belief that the students only heard the later part of my statement, the "... do not belong in college" part and miss the most important word - "Maybe..."

If this assumption will be proven correct, I knew what happened. 

Out of the 13 groups in my Introduction to Service Management class: 11 came in prepared, one was absent and they, though physically present, effectively did not show up.

Weasels do not stand a chance with me once they are caught in the act of weaseling:- )

Serious. Dead serious.

I'd rather that they own up to their actions and not weasel their way out by offering a lame excuse that they had this 'earth-shattering' problem. I mean, who does not have a problem? Who is not dealing with a challenging situation any given day?

I'd rather that they apologize, own up and prove me wrong in thinking less of them.

How could they run with horses when running with mere men make them stumble?

"... why think like mere men?"

ISO 14051, a shout out :- )

Yesterday, I was given the opportunity to facilitate a public learning session on what is now called ISO 14051:2011. Then, when I was sent to Japan, it was simply called Material Flow Cost Accounting.

According to the ISO website, "Under MFCA, the flows and stocks of materials within an organization are traced and quantified in physical units (e.g. mass, volume) and the costs associated with those material flows are also evaluated. The resulting information can act as a motivator for organizations and managers to seek opportunities to simultaneously generate financial benefits and reduce adverse environmental impacts."

Though the web has a generous amount of information on the  topic, I was pleasantly surprise to received requests from the audience for the softcopy of my presentation.

So to Ms. Jocelyn Ventocilla (President, Tri-Phil International, Inc.), Mr. Johnny Blas (Program Manager, ON Semiconductor Phils, Inc.), Ms. Eyley Gaw (General Manager/CFO, Integrated Packaging Logistics Manufacturing Inc.) and Ms. Ma. Ivy Molino (Asst. Finance Manager, Broad Electronics Inc.), please use it well. It is a hope from hope that it could assist you in making your respective companies better.

The work that ISO 14051:2011 represents is generational. Though we have to learn and to acquire this knowledge now, it will be basic for the next Filipinos - Asians.

Again, use it well.

And lastly, "... just take the next logical step." :- )

"... why think like mere men?"

making sense (?) of metro manila's traffic

First, a disclaimer.

There's no solution here. Just a bit of insight why it "could be better" :- )

The jeepneys. Truth is they were supposed to be a temporary fix to the transportation situation after World War II but because of its easy to implement dynamic or low barrier to entry characteristic of "driver plus a refurbished World War II jeep", it endured up to our present time. But mind you, it was, again, supposed to be a temporary fix.

But why did the "jeepney system" only happen in such scale in the Philippines when much of Asia was on both side of World War II? The answer is, the Philippines was the most beloved place of our American colonizers in Asia. That when the Japanese invaded us, the same passion was shown but rooting from a different feeling. Manila was the second most devastated city after the war. Its infrastructure was in tatters. The jeepney was a quick fix both for transporting people and for employing them.

And then our "2nd" independence day came, 04 July 1946. Less than a year from the formal surrender of the Japanese on September 1945. How could a "new" country devastated by war and released from being a colony survive? Will it have enough?

Though the 1950s could be argued as better than the 1930s, it was simply, on hindsight, a halo effect of being an American colony. The spirit of nation building was simply not there, thus the slide. A temporary fix. Forgotten that it was supposed to be temporary. It was because of this that the jeepney system endured.

But it is not all bad.

Really.

It has some benefits that most people do not see because of the congestion it creates.

It's all bad if you need to have a constancy and if you need to cram more valuable activities in a day. A four (4) kilometer distance, at the height of the morning traffic, will take a little over 30 minutes to make riding a jeepney. And to me, that's bad. I'm not a seasoned marathon runner but I can run four (4) kilometers in less than 30 minutes but my students would not like that when I conduct our class. Plus of course the exhaust :- )

But the benefits kick in when you are looking for a very cheap mode of transportation. A transportation system where you pay for the same fare even if you choose to ride the more modern versions of it with Filipino rap on the background coming from jeep's surround sound system. On top of that, the customer is given the power to command where he wants to be picked up and where he wants to alight. That's a very customized service.

But this "customized" characteristic actually aggravates the situation. Transportation system experts like to use the "elevator system" as an analogy to understand transportation. For one, they share the stop-egress/ingress-close loop characteristics.

Experts would say that the jeepney system is like an elevator that stops on all floors and waits on all floors to be filled by people. Seen this way, what could be a cultural mark for Filipinos is actually an absurdity to most.

But who does not have an absurdity in their culture? :- )

Still, it must get better.

"... why think like mere men?"

Democracy according to the Greeks

"When voting started, democracy ended." Apparently, one of the fundamentals of democracy is to talk and talk until the real talk begins. When democratically elected leaders ability to talk is limited to "This project was done through (name of the politician)." and they won because of it, it was not a democratic exercise. It was a popularity contest :- ) "... why think like mere men?"

A gift we give ourselves - electing the right public official :- )

Here's an advise from a former employee of the city hall in electing local executives: Go to the city hall and ask for the City's financial position. If the debt ballooned during the incumbent's watch and you didn't see any improvements in the city's infrastructure and services, that local executive does not deserve to sit again. I think it's time we hold our official accountable for the trust we give them. Here's a wish. I wish that the transparency-phile Aquino Administration come up with a website to show the financial position of all cities in the Philippines :- ) "... why think like mere men?"

Fear and Liberty

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

~ Marianne Williamson

Milan's, No Alarm Clocks and a re-acquiantance with a classic

Surrounded by large mango trees, we had lunch under a nipa hut. To top it all, the wind was lulling us to a perfect daze. That was how Talisay, Batangas got imprinted in my memory. The Tilapia Supreme is to die for. Everyone must stop at Milan and order this inspired meal.

Imaj, the advertising talent agency I co-own and work for as their Chief People Officer, had an early vacation last week. Tuesday. We drove to Balai Isabel for some rest and personal recreation.

It was fun. Specially when we did a version of Pinoy Henyo and played charades up to the wee hours of the morning as red wine flowed generously. It was a great bonding moment for a team where the new outnumbers the old. A good and firm first step in developing a fresher and more agile Imaj.

The thing I like about last week is the fact that I do not have to set the alarm clock. My wife and I woke up when we feel like it already. Things were slower. Pronounced, maybe. We can hear our breathing but we were not bored. Just chilling. Reading. Breathing. Eating.

In short, it was a very long moment and I enjoyed it.

This rest and pause felt more dramatic and more deserved than usual maybe because I have been invited to quite a number of speaking engagements the past months. (The last one was in fact a day before I made the Talisay trip.) Mostly because of what was entrusted to me during the Shibuya Trip - MFCA. Some call it ISO 14051. But I personally call it as Productivity 2.0. Yes, guilty as charged for the crime of creating, or to be more precise - trying to create a buzz word :- )

I am not complaining. I am actually stoked to be contributing this way. At the very least, the burden is being creatively expressed and shared in the most appropriate avenues. It is a journey I will not miss.

Which I can described as serendipitous because I was essentially doing the same thing last year. The difference though is in the expression. This year was grander than what I imagined it to be. I am humbled.

I do not know what is it about the first quarter of the year but I always catch myself immersed with everything quality management system. In fact, I just finished a first cut for a re-imagination of a classic, 5S. I am hoping it gets its screen time but if it does not, all is well :- )

Tay, salamat po. Thank You for entrusting me with this responsibility, mission. I am humbled.

"... why think like mere men?"

This is what it means to have a new day :- )

How would you feel if you had no fear?
Feel like that.
How would you behave toward other people if you realized their powerlessness to hurt you?
Behave like that.
How would you react to so-called misfortune if you saw its inability to bother you?
React like that.
How would you think toward yourself if you knew you were really all right?
Think like that.

~ Vernon Howard

the road less travelled

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.

~ Dr. Scott Peck

I'll Behave :- )

How would we live life if we know for sure that in the end, and in spite of all the setbacks, the pain and the failures, we will succeed?

Towards Impossible

One day, much too soon, the end will come to each of our precious brief lifetimes; knowing this, live fearlessly; leave unchallenged not a single obstacle between yourself and the realization of your most joyous dreams.

"... why think like mere men."

a lifted inspiration

"...Nothing is fun until you are good at it. Being good at anything requires more work than most want to do."

by Jen Floyd Engel
a news feature linking Jeremy Lin's ascent with his Tiger Mom :- )

educating the educator :- )

"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best,and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!"

~ Christian D. Larson, Author & Educator

On Jeremy Lin, Ben Wallace and Avery Johnson

All three were un-drafted.

Simply put, they were not chosen by any NBA teams to play for them when they said that they wanted to become a pro. Simpler put, they were not good enough.

All three had to fight to belong. To be included. Their path and their journeys started on the opposite spectrum of Kobe or of Lebron. Both players were drafted out of high school :- )

The first one, Jeremy Lin, is currently the toast of New York. The place that was immortalized by Sinatra's lyric, "... if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere!". The jury is still out for him. He still have to win a ring.

But the last two, Ben Wallace and Avery Johnson, were very integral parts of championship teams. Ben Wallace as the defensive force of Detroit when they defeated LA's Shaq-Kobe-Malone-Payton back in 2004 and Avery Johnson as a diminutive point guard who brought San Antonio's first championship back in '99 with Duncan and Robinson.

Jeremy Lin's ascendance reminded me of why I was drawn towards the story of the two champions. Why their stories resonates in the heart of my heart. The "I will prove you wrong" stories. The quintessential stories of breaking highly-paid expert's held beliefs about what is. The redefinition of things. The peeling of layers for a deeper truth about a thing.

And then to be given this chance to reveal the beautiful result of the battle within. The battle between doubt and certainty. The battle between fear and courage. The battle between giving-up and pushing through.

The battles prepare us. The chance reveals us.

I get it. I am from Tundo.

May my fire be not extinguish until the reason is accomplished. "I press on and fight a good fight..."

"... why think like mere men!"