Eight Exemplary Women - From the blog of Mr. Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development, European Commission

Eight exemplary women

24/03/2010

Yesterday I was sincerely impressed by the W8, a group of brave women brought together by Oxfam and MEP Michael Cashman from Central America, Africa, Europe and South East Asia, who testified at the European Parliament on their fight against poverty. Their stories help us to remember why it is so important to comply with Millennium Development Goals.

They told us about human daily lives, about the need for better education and health, but also about hope and will for self-improvement. We heard for instance the strong story of Elba Rivera Urbina from Nicaragua, who was illiterate when she was 18, and eventually succeeded to become a teacher and an activist for human development.

They focused on education, which is a paramount issue when trying to improve living conditions in developing countries. Professor Leonor Magtolis Briones, from the Philippines, specifically pointed out that “educating women is a priority because it is a way to educate a family, a village, a nation and to address health issues. “It was also important to Kadiatou Baby Maiga, from Mali, who was right to underline that “in my year at high school only two of the 80 pupils were girls. This made me realize that education was not as normal to other girls as it was to me.”

Education and health sectors are a priority for the EU development policy. We help the poorest countries by budget support and specific projects. But this is not enough: more resources are to be put on the table, as we all committed to. This is all the more important since “Maternal health” and “children mortality” are the MDGs where we are the most off-track. We therefore have to bridge the gap between current official development aid figures and our 0.7% commitment. The gap is substantial, but I am confident that by 2015 the European Union and the Member States will show that they stand up to global solidarity.

With only five years remaining to reach the Millennium Development Goals, progress is uneven and there is no time to waste. The question is not “if” Europe is going to do, but “how”. On April 21st, I will propose a concrete European Action plan in support of the MDGs, as a contribution to the High Level Event in New York in September. This ‘Spring Development Package’ will provide a credible pathway to delivering Europe’s aid commitment in 2015 and implementing it in a more efficient way.

I have already said it, and I will consistently repeat it: Millennium Development Goals are too big to fail. Faced with such stories, we realize quite bluntly that our credibility is at stake.

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Opening Windows

Opening windows

Opinion

Written by Liling Magtolis Briones / Boiled Green Bananas

BUSINESS MIRROR, Monday, 22 March 2010 21:01

‘Good morning, girls! I am from the Philippines, a country with 7,100 islands and 91 million people. I, too, have a long name, like many of you. My first name is Leonor, which is the Spanish version of the English name Eleanor. The Philippines was a colony of Spain for more than 400 years. My second name is Magtolis, which is the original name of my family long before the Spaniards came. My last name is Briones, another Spanish name. I am a Filipino.” The above words started a memorable morning which I shared with 250 young girls in the Mulberry School for Girls in London. I was there as one of eight Oxfam ambassadors to the G8 group of countries. My task was to campaign for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and convince them to write to the United Nations. The girls were all dressed up in identical pink Muslim wear, complete with head covering. I said to myself, how beautiful they will look in a picture, with their shy and solemn faces! I talked about how fortunate they are because they live in a country where most of the health services are free. I reminded them that millions of other young girls from many other countries are not so fortunate. Many of these deprived girls come from the home country of their parents. I also told them that not all girls their age are able to go to school because of poverty. In many countries, there are not enough schools, teachers and textbooks. I stressed that there are more girls who are out of school than those who are in school. They are fortunate to have parents who allowed them to go to school and prepare for their future through education. Education opens the doors and windows of the mind. It makes available opportunities for further training and for holding meaningful and useful jobs. I also told them stories, for who is the child who does not love stories? They were obviously moved by these stories which described the difficult lives of young people just as old as they are. The girls then wrote notes addressed to the United Nations, asking the latter to make sure that all children are free from disease and are able to go to school. After the assembly, I had a question-and-answer session with the student leaders of the school. To my surprise, they asked a lot of intelligent questions. How does one give information about health issues without offending religious and cultural values? Who determines how aid will be utilized? Should donor-countries share the responsibility for failed projects? How can they be part of the MDGs campaign? How can children in advanced countries help in projects which are implemented in a developing country? My answer: Children don’t have to wait till their hair is gray before joining the campaign. They can do many things: establish contact with other children of developing countries; contribute to the work of Oxfam; initiate projects which can be supported by donor-communities, and many more. As we talked, I could literally see windows opening in their minds. Their eyes were opening wider even as their glances shifted direction. Their facial expressions were changing. They were obviously thinking. As I looked at their faces and into their eyes I knew we were connecting and communicating. After the session, many of the young girls approached me and thanked me. Two of them solemnly promised that they will take up medicine to help their fellow young people in the poor countries. I had come to “teach” them about the MDGs and the need to support health and education for poor countries. Actually, they gave me a wonderful gift—the opportunity to see windows opening in their minds. Prof. Leonor Magtolis Briones is one of eight Oxfam ambassadors to the G8 countries, a professor at the National College of Public Administration, University of the Philippines, Co-Convenor of Social Watch Philippines and a nominee of Kaakbay Party-List.

Alternative Parties, Alternative Programs - Election and How to Choose Leaders

Prof. Leonor Magtolis Briones

UP National College of Public Administration and Governance

UP Academic Congress:

Election and How to Choose Leaders

Malcolm Hall, UP College of Law

February 04, 2010

The importance and significance of the 2010 elections: country in crisis

· Economic and financial

o state of the economy, state of public finance, looming fiscal crisis due to huge deficit.

§ 0.9 % GDP growth for 2009

§ P272.5 billion deficit as of Nov 2009

· Social crisis

o rise in poverty; crisis in health and education

§ 26.9 % poverty incidence among Filipino families (2006)

§ 27.6 million poor Filipinos (2006)

§ 7.6 % unemployment rate or 2.9 million jobless Filipinos (as of July 2009)

§ 19.8 % underemployment rate or 7 million people (as of July 2009)

§ 37,925 permanently displaced workers due to establishments resorting to permanent closure/retrenchment due to economic reasons, Jan-June 2009 (per DOLE)

· Political crisis

o ineffectiveness and corruption of the present political system;

o non-democratic elitist character of dominant political parties

· Environmental crisis

o climate change and climate change adaptation frequency of natural disasters, disaster management

§ P206 Billion or 2.7 % of GDP – total damage and losses due to typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng

§ P207.88 Billion – estimated needs for recovery and reconstruction over 2009 to 2012

• moral crisis; governance crisis

The clamor for reform and change

• the general mood is that of change -- change in leadership, in governance and ways of selecting leaders
• increasingly active participation of the youth in the electoral process
• the search and challenge of out-of-the box solutions to persistent problems
• dissatisfaction with traditional political parties
• search for alternatives and the emergence of alternative parties

Alternative Parties

• Some National Parties
• Ang kapatiran
• Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan
• Bangon Pilipinas
• Some Party Lists which typify alternative programs
• Akbayan
• Bayan Muna
• Kaakbay Partylist
• MDG’s
• budget reform

Alternative Programs:
The case of ABI/Social Watch

· Partnership between CSOs and legislators for greater participation in budget process

· Capacity building;

· preparation of alternative budget;

· campaigning for alternative budget;

· Monitoring and budget tracking;

· advocacy for legislative budget reforms.

ABI Gains in 2009 Budget

Environment	Environmental Management Bureau, Bantay Gubat and Bantay Kalikasan Program, Recycling of Agricultural and Forest Wastes	1,154,700,000.00
Basic Education	Teachers, Pre-School, MOOE, GASTPE, Computerization, Science & Math Equipment, Library Hub Program and Education Learning Centers, IT Equipment, Basic Education Madrasah	4,581,951,000.00
Higher Education	State Universities and Colleges	559,225,000.00
Agriculture	Additional certified inbred seeds and production support for organic producers	650,000,000.00
Health	Rural Midwife Placement Program, Resident Physicians, Health Promotion, Hospital and Health Facilities, Purchase of Mercury Free Thermometers	71,355,563.00
Total (Php)		7,017,231,563

Choosing a Leader

• at present, selection of a leader is highly personal; many voters select with

hearts; others with their stomachs

• choosing a leader ideally should be issue-based

• careful consideration of party platform and programs for social development is essential

• ideology is an important consideration

Giving alternative parties a chance

• alternative parties, party-lists and alternative program should be seriously considered

• many tired old formulae have failed; the time has come to consider alternatives

• Role of the academe to participate in the electoral process and inform the public of alternative programs

Challenge in choosing the next leaders

• To choose a leader with clear and viable program for addressing the critical condition of public finance – taxation and revenue, deficits and debt

– P 272.5 Billion deficit (Jan – Nov. 2009)

– P 4.42 Trillion outstanding debt (as of Oct. 2009)

– P 74.38 Billion revenue shortfall (Jan – Sept 2009)

• Candidates should be challenged to present their program on how to provide for critical social services which is key to development

FINEX Book Launching

Bird talk

Opinion

Written by Liling Magtolis Briones / Boiled Green Bananas

Business Mirror, Sunday, 17 January 2010 20:23

‘Bird-watching? Gusto big bird!” This was the laughing response of Social Watch convenor Jeck Reyes Cantos, to the invitation of Kaakbay president Alain del Pascua for the Social Watch convenors to have its next planning meeting in the great Candaba swamp in Pampanga. “Puwede bang hawakan?” joked another naughty convenor. The rejoinder: “You can only watch, but don’t touch!”

As convenor of the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), Social Watch actively campaigns for more budgetary allocations for the environment. Kaakbay is an active member of the Social Watch Network and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. It is a duly accredited party-list organization campaigning for the Millennium Development Goals.

And so, a vanful of Social Watch/ABI nature lovers left Manila at 4:30 in the morning on January 9, eager to “catch the early birds” with their cameras.

We knew what to expect, having read articles and watched television shows on the thousands of migratory birds which converge at the Candaba swamp from October to April each year. Nonetheless, the sight of thousands of wild birds flying high in the sky, their brilliant wings glinting and flashing under the sun, was an unforgettable and moving experience.

‘Wings in the Water’

A few years ago, Kaakbay produced a beautiful documentary, Wings in the Water, about the birds in the Candaba swamp. There were shots of different wild birds soaring to heaven, and ducks diving straight down to earth. It was nominated Best in Cinematography and for Citation on Rivers and Lakes in the Moonrise Film Festival of documentary films.

The Candaba swamp covers 32,000 hectares of wetlands and is an important staging and wintering area for migratory wild birds.

It is a part of what is called the East Asia-Australian Migratory Flyway which includes Alaska, Russia, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan in the North and Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia in the South. Thus, more than 100 species of migratory, resident and endemic birds can be spotted in the area.

One watcher commented that the wild birds must be holding an international summit in the swamp, considering the many countries they came from. Our Kaakbay guides identified more than 30 species of birds during our short visit.

We had always thought that all egrets are alike. Now I know there are little egrets, intermediate egrets and great egrets. The little ones are the long-necked white birds which we usually see perched on top of carabaos. I also thought a heron was just a heron. Now I know that there is the purple heron with its brilliant plumage, the gray heron, Rufous night heron and the black-crown night heron!

One lesson we learned is that teeny-weeny birds are just as great-looking as the big birds. Another lesson is that the Philippine wild duck is totally different from the flocks of domesticated ducks which give us balut. For one thing, it can fly to breathtaking heights!

Threatened species include the streaked reed warblers, Baer’s pochards, Philippine mallards, and spot-billed pelicans. They have gained sanctuary in the swamp.

Bird-watching and bird-counting

In 1982 about 100,000 ducks were observed in a single day in the swamp. It is said that the number of birds and species has declined dramatically with the clearing of the birds’ natural habitat, draining of water, conversion of land, as well as irresponsible hunting and poaching.

In 2004 the municipality of Candaba, Pampanga, declared the entire town a bird sanctuary. Hunting and poaching of all kinds of wild birds are now banned. The mayor has built a rest house where watchers can shoot all they want—with cameras, not guns.

Things might be improving. The Asian Waterbird Census in 2006 has recorded more than 11,000 birds and more than 80 species in just three hours.

Yesterday the environment department, in cooperation with Kaakbay and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines started the Asian Waterbird Census. Counting birds calls for expertise, especially in the identification of different species and their distinctive characteristics

That’s strictly for the birds!

The phrase means “trivial, worthless and only of interest to gullible people.” However, bird-watchers of Kaakbay have taught the Social Watchers that bird talk is serious talk. They are part of the balance of nature and add to its dazzling beauty.

They need a place where they can find shelter and food. Yes, the Candaba swamp should be strictly for the birds.