The Badjaos - Sea Gypsies of Planet Earth

The concern/issue regarding the BADJAOS is shared principally among the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and incidentally with any country in the Asia-Pacific region, where this nomadic, motley ethnic group of several closely related indigenous groups, appear suddenly from the sea during a certain month/s, stay for an unpredictable period of time, and just as suddenly, leave for reason/s that are not immediately discernible to the non-Badjaos. The collective quandary or perplexity of the governments of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and virtually all countries in the Asia-Pacific region, where they may appear out of nowhere from the sea, on how to deal properly with the Badjaos lies in the inherent differences between the perspectives of the land-based and those of the sea-based ethnic groups. The fundamental mistake committed by the governments of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, principally among the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, in addressing the concern/issue about the Badjaos is to include the Badjaos among all other indigenous ethnic groups, that are land-based.

Reaching the most equitable, fair, just and humane resolution of the concern/issue should really be easy if only the governments involved in the geo-politics of the Asia-Pacific region will remember and recognize the two (2) basic conditions of the Badjaos. The first condition is with regard to the historical context: the origin of the Badjao ethnic group pre-dates the "modern" nations of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and any other country in the Asia-Pacific region. The second condition should be immediately discernible: land-based territorial concepts are not applicable to the "sea gypsies" who look at their sea-world as "without borders".

With these two (2) basic conditions at the forefront, it should be easy to recognize that there are also two (2) complementary approaches for "managing" the situation. The first approach is contingent on the Badjaos being sea-based, and to respect therefore their inalienable right to "freedom of movement" as inherent in their privilege ["damnation" from the point of view of those who can not fathom the wonders of being a "sea gypsy"] to be treated as "without borders". This should relatively be easy on one hand, since the Philippine Government does not have to impose the perplexing rules and regulations regarding entry and exit at the airports and/or the sea-ports. That fact should spare both the Badjaos and the Philippine government from the possible inanities or insanities that have been occurring in the case of those who have to use passports and/or visas. On the other hand, since the Badjaos do not have the required minimum literacy to read and understand the "road signs" or "land marks" [you have to pardon the language constraints of a land-based communicator, despite the availability of the dictionary and thesaurus, whether virtual or hard copies] commonly used along the coastline of the Philippine Archipelago, it is virtually impossible for the Philippine Government, whether at the National level or LGU levels to "manage" the entry and exit of the Badjaos within the Philippine territorial jurisdiction over 7,107 islands. Interestingly, this phenomenon highlights the gross incapability of both the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy since the time of the Commonwealth Government up to the present illegitimate government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which must be taken up in another expository rambling of a delusional mind, as others seem to perceive the kind of exchanges of ideas among members of PPP - whether the "Movement" or the 'Political Party".

The first approach requires the Philippine Government and its constituents to treat the Badjaos with utmost courtesy and respect, far higher than whatever accorded to those with passports and visas, along the entire coastline of the Philippine Archipelago. At the same time, the Philippine Government has the prerogative to "delimit" or "demarcate" the Badjaos' movement over land. Thus, while the Philippine Government may not prevent the Badjaos from getting inside the Philippine territorial waters, it may designate specific areas, where the Badjaos may disembark.

The second approach is contingent on the frequency and/or duration of the Badjaos' "stay" at any particular site along the entire coastline of the Philippine Archipelago. There are specific locations where they have been living in "communities on stilts", in harmony with the land-based communities since "time immemorial", i.e. no living resident can remember the first time when the Badjaos appeared - instead, the present generation of the land-based were born and became aware that the Badjaos have been there earlier than their last surviving ancestors. Those "communities on stilts" qualify to be treated exactly like the "ancestral lands" of land-based indigenous ethnic groups. The Badjaos' "ancestral coastlines" [the term will suffice until the Honorable Senators and Representatives of the Congress of the Philippines reach agreement of whatever particular term or phrase to adopt instead of the anachronistic term "domain"] must be included as the sea-based counterpart of the "ancestral lands" of land-based indigenous ethnic groups. The only difference will be in recognizing the unique conditions and requirements of the sea-based Badjaos, that's all.

For as long as the Philippine Government will recognize and acknowledge the inalienable human rights of the Badjaos as a distinct sea-based indigenous ethnic group, theoretically there should be no problem with regard to specific legislations, both at the National and Local levels, and specific programs for governance that will be appropriate for the Badjaos, whether to be treated as "Special Citizens of the Republic of the Philippines" or as "Special Guests being Sea Gypsies Without Territorial Limits on Planet Earth". This recognition of the unique inalienable rights of the Badjaos does not preclude therefore the need for specific Amendments in or of Specific Provisions in the 1987 Philipppine Constitution.

Pedestrian Observer: Campaign Supporting Good Governance in Pampanga

Pedestrian Observer: Campaign Supporting Good Governance in Pampanga

Partidong Pandaigdigang Pilipino (PPP) Preamble

We, the Partidong Pandaigdigang Pilipino, respond to the clamor of the Motherland for moral governance. We dedicate ourselves to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of our heroes and forefathers for a better and brighter future for the Global Filipino Nation, whether in the Homeland or wherever the quest for progress and development may prompt us to go all over the face of the earth.

We profess that the Philippine Constitution reflects the Sovereign Will of the Global Filipino Nation. We affirm that every Filipino citizen has the inalienable right and supreme obligation to protect the inviolability of the Constitution. We uphold that whenever any form of government ceases to reflect the Sovereign Will of the Global Filipino Nation, it is the presumptive Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government.

We denounce the failure of all past and present political parties to maintain absolute moral ascendancy for effective governance. We condemn the nefarious presence behind the titular government of an invisible government owing no allegiance and contravening the Sovereign Will of the Global Filipino Nation.

We, the Partidong Pandaigdigang Pilipino, advocate absolute moral ascendancy for effective governance. We commit ourselves to represent the Sovereign Will of the Global Filipino Nation at all times and at any cost, even if we have to lay down our own lives, to maintain the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace in order to promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy.

The Quest for Leadership to Forge a Vision for a New Nation

It is time to put to rest the illusion that political spin-doctors and demagogues have been dishing out for so long - about the need for a particular person as a capable replacement of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The problem is not just Gloria Macapagal Arroyo - for she is merely a puppet: a nominal figure used by the personalities around her, who are actually "running the show" from "back stage".

There is no single Filipino leader, even with the stature of the real heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, Emilio Jacinto, Antonio Luna, Gregorio Del Pilar and all the others long dead, who can single-handedly bring up the Motherland from the pits,where we are now. What we need starting January 2008 is a series of teams of truly patriotic and capable Filipinos, who will serve at the sacrifice of their respective individual interests for only just 6 years, without any extension, to run the Executive Branch of the Philippine Government. That is the real issue.

It is time to acknowledge that the Presidential seat is just symbolic. No President can truly manage the Executive Branch without the assistance of those who are to be appointed as Cabinet Secretaries and all the other major functionaries. Thus, the task is to identify who among the non-politicians can be given the trust and confidence of the Filipino People to run each Department for the next 6 years, starting 2008.

No compromise with regard to the personalities who have been used and those who are being used by the immoral government of GloriaMacapagal Arroyo. We need a completely new team of Department Secretaries and major functionaries, whose common task is to pick up the pieces, clear the mess, and set up a new direction for our Motherland, that shall be relentlessly pursued by the next and subsequent teams that will be formed every 6 years.

The proposal to focus on "teams of truly patriotic and capable"Filipinos to run the Executive Branch of the Philippine Government is nothing other than the application of the principles and procedures for sourcing and selection of corporate officers done at the microlevel (business enterprise) to the macro level (National Government),with additional qualifications attuned to the requirements of publicgovernance. The basic premise of the proposal is that inspite of "vacancy" of the Presidential seat for any reason (disability,death, resignation, termination or retirement/end of tenure), the organization/country will continue operating in line with the vision and mission already laid down (e.g. Philippines 2050), steered by the selected members of the "Executive Team". What is "new" in applyingthe "Executive Team" concept to public governance is the basic implication that it will no longer be possible for one single individual, the "nominal Head" / President, to change the vision and mission of the organization, i.e., National Government. Any change in the vision and mission will have to be secured through a stringent "Strategic Review, Evaluation and Re-direction Program" - the mechanics are well-known by professional corporate executives and automatically applied at prescribed intervals, which can easily be linked with the 6-year tenure for the President of the Republic of the Philippines. We have enough professionals in the academe and practitioners in the private sector, who can be tapped to lay down the framework and the mechanics that will be adopted for the purpose.

To put the proposed "Executive Team" approach to an "acid test", we have to assume that there is an existing vision and mission for the Philippine Government, e.g., Philippines 2050. Rest assured that we will have to get back to this and forge one, for there is none! To counter-check my claim, all anyone of you has to do is to log into the Official Website of the Republic of the Philippines at http://www.gov.ph and what you will only find is the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP 2004- 2010) prepared by NEDA. Thus, it should be no wonder that the Philippines had always been in such a mess, since time immemorial for there is no vision and mission whose time-frame should at least be 20 times the tenure of the Presidency.

With this constraint, we just have to imagine that the Medium TermPhilippine Development Plan (MTPDP 2004 - 2010) is the current phase of the Long Term Philippine Development Plan (Philippines 2050). Now, how do we apply the proposed "Executive Team" approach for sourcing and selection of the candidates to be appointed as Department Secretaries and major functionaries in the NationalGovernment? Unfortunately, the practice of "appointment" is the second major organizational issue all along.

It is time to discard the practice of "appointment" and institutionalize an honest-to-goodness "Career Executive ServiceOfficers" (CESO) Program UP to the level of Department Secretaries and major functionaries. In short, the "nominal Head" / President will have to lose the power to "appoint". Corollary to this, Congress will have to lose its "Committee on PresidentialAppointments". For those who still think that radical changes can be achieved through "constitutional means", i.e., merely following the existing provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, it is time to re-consider what you have been mouthing all along. The radical changes that have yet to be unfolded from the proposed "ExecutiveTeam" approach definitely require "clipping the wings" or "limiting the powers" of the President and the Legislative Branch!

As a transitory measure, therefore, an "Interim Batch" for the "Executive Team" will have to be formed, inevitably through extra-constitutional measure. The prescription is that within the next 6-year period, the full-blown "Career Executive Service Officers"(CESO) Program would have prepared the "First Batch" of CESOs for Department Secretaries and major functionaries of the National Government. I have to stop at this point, considering the pandemonium that this particular posting would have stirred up in the halls of Malacanang and Congress.

Until the next posting to continue the "acid test" for the proposed "Executive Team" approach ....

A Blessed and Peaceful Christmas for everyone.