Pictorial sa Mater Ecclesiae

Seniors' Retreat. January 29-30, 2008. Mater Ecclesiae.
Pictorial ng mga banal. ^___^

Apprentice ni Bob Ong

by Michael Arevalo

Alas singko trenta y kwatro ng hapon nang may isang gwapong lalakeng bumaba sa pangpasaherong jeep biyaheng Sabang-Naga. Mainit ang pahanon. Walang sign ng ulan. Pero masahol pa sa binuhusan ng tubig Pacific ocean ang nasabing binatilyo.

Ako yun. Naglalakad ako papunta sa sakayan ng pedecab habang lahat ay nakatikin, nagtataka kung bakit nga ba ako basang basa. Malas kasi akong tao. Hindi naman ako nag-attend ng basaan sa fiesta ng San Juan. Hindi rin nagdive sa lake buhi ang sinasakyan kong jeep para mapuntang Naga. Higit sa lahat, hindi ko sinalo ang laway ng katabi kong mahimbing sa pagkakatulog habang bumubulusok ang arangkada ng jeep. Hangang ngayun nagtataka ako kung panu siya nakakatulog gayung kaming mga pasahero sa loob ay gumugulong at tumitlilapon, (at nakakachansing na sa seksing pasahero) dahil sobrang professional ang driver.

Nagsimula ang lahat sa isang buwang pangungubinsi (aka pangungulit) sa akin ni mama na mag-take ng civil service exam. Naririndi na ako kaya napagpasyahan kong gawin ko na para matigil na ang araw araw na pagpapaalala ng importansya ng nakapasa sa exam. Kinabukasan, maaga akong nagising. Alas kwatro ng umaga. Masyado akong mabilis maligo at kumain kaya dumating ako sa Pili mga 8am. Lang ‘ya. Dami ng tao!! Pero nagtyaga parin ako. Last day na day kasi yun ng filing ng application sa exam. Ang application ay isa sa mga salitang mahirap tagalugin.

Mainit ang sikat nang araw. Sobrang init na natuyo kaagad ang pantalon kong naihian ko nung jumingle ako sa likod ng building ng CSC. Di nagtagal, sampung tao na lang (oo, maliit na ang sampu!) turn ko na. Pero biglang nagtext ang gagong Louie (klasmeyt ko) nagreremind sa 10am naming advance class. Malapit nang mag-ten kaya napagpasyahan kong iwan ang pila at tuluyan nang manghinayang.

Manghinayang. Sobrang hinayang. Pagdating ko sa Ateneo, apat pa lang kami sa klase. Wala si Louie. At higit sa lahat, nag-announce si Sir na walang PASOK !!Whaaaa !!! Uto-uto ako. Hay.

Napagpasya akong humiram ng Noli Me Tangere at El Fili ni Rizal sa Roco Library (wow genius!). Nagpapicture na din ako ng passport size na picture. Pinagpipilitan ko kasi na pwede ang 2x2. “Ayos nga mas malaki.” Pero alam kong hindi uubra sa kasungitan ng CSC officers ang kakulitan at kagaguhan ko. Naglunch ako sa office ni mama at nag-share ng aking sinapit… ang pagsu-sun bathing ko sa harap ng CSC at ang pagkatuwa ko sa weird na service ng civil service.

Kinahapunan, hinatid ako ni paderes sa padevelopan ng picture. Malas talaga. Maling size ang naprint. Ang resulta? Naghintay ako ng 2 oras para maprint na nang tama. Hay. Sobra kasing knowledgeable ang tagapicture sa kung anu ang dapat na picture para magapply sa civil service (rejected din kasi siguro siya).

Alas tres na ng makarating ako sa Pili. Doble ang kapal ng tao kesa kinaumagahan. Malas. Nakisiksikan ako at nagpretend na matagal na akong naghihintay doon. May number na pala na pasunod sunod (aba improving ang systema; palibhasa may nagsuntukan para sa linya bago ako dumating… stunned pa ang mga tao kaya hindi napansin ang arrival ko..haha). Nagclaim ako na number 84 ako, gumawa ng sariling number tag na kahawig ng tags nila. Salamat sa pentel pen na nadekwat ko sa SSG office nung topic head ako ng Alternative Class Program sa Ateneo.

Biglang umulan. Malakas na malakas. Yung tipong sobrang lakas. As in malakas.

Basang sisiw ako. Kawawa. Basa ang paboritong libro ni hudas ni pareng Bob Ong. Pero nagchaga ako. Kahit na mag-aalas singko na number 45 pa lang ang tinatawag. Buti na lang kahit basa ay may kumausap pa sakin (naawa lang siguro). She saved me from boredom. Naks! Ingles yun.

Andyan din ang mga nakakatuwang tao. Halata ang mga taga-bundok dahil hindi nagsasalita at jologs pumorma. Halata ang mga may anak dahil may dalang anak. Lakas bumanat ng isang manang na inadvertise ang anak niyang babae na maganda raw at hinahanapan niya ng mapapangasawa.

Andyan din ang mga Atenistang nagpaplano kung panu makakacheat sa SRA. Ang mga taga Partido State college na pasigaw naguusap at nagpaplano kung pano nila magogoyo ang CSC staff. At higit sa lahat, nandyan ang mga tricycle driver na nagbe-byutipul eyes sa mga nakapila nagaalok na sumakay na… “Wala kayong mapapala dyan” ata ang ibig sabihin ng paglabas nila ng dila.

Sa wakas, unti-unti nang umaalis ang mga tao. Paubos na kasi ang mga jeep pa-Goa at Legaspi kaya wala na silang masasakyan. Aba, swerte. Dahil dun, nakapasok ang basing sisiw na ako bago mag-aalas singko ng hapon only to realize na may mga mali pa rin sa requirements na dala ko. Bad trip. Hindi daw kasi pwede ang birth certificate dapat daw ID. At kapag Cum Laude daw din a kailangan magexam kahit na may gusto ka lang patunayan at gusto mo lang pagbigyan ang nanay mo.

At diyan natapos ang araw ko. Walang kwenta. Nanood na lang sana ko sa bahay ng One Tree Hill o kya nagworship kay Bob Ong sa book niyang kahihiram ko lang. Natulog na lang sana ko. Nagrelax at nagbasa ng Rich Dad Poor Dad ni Donna. Pero wala eh. Umuwi ako na pinagtatawanan dahil basa ako. Ano kaya ang nakakatawa dun?

Badtrip talaga ako. Pero ayus lang. Kahit papano, nag-enjoy naman ako. At madami akong natutunan at narealize. Ang ilan kasi dito ay akala ko di na kailangan pang pag-isipan, pero kelangan pa pala. Ilan sa mga ito ay ang sumusunod:

• Hindi mainam na batayan ng iyong birth date and original copy ng iyong birth certificate na certified pa ng National Statistics Office.
• Maari mong lagyan ng “N/A” ang mga blanko mong sagot sa exam dahil baka sakaling tumama. Ito ang payo sa akin ng CSC staff ng makita nyang blangko ang employment record ko.
• Kelangan ang photocopy ng iyong ID ay back-to-back kahit na blanko na (walang nakasulat) ang likod ng ID mo.
• Ang building ng Civil Service Commission ay sobrang laki ayon sa mga dwende. Bagamat ito ay may tatlong palapag, isang maliit na lamesa lng ang kasya kada floor.
• Isang gumamela plant ang tumutukod sa building ng CSC upang huwag itong matumba.
• Ang iyong height ay pwedeng umabot ng 2 square meters.
• Ang henyong tulad ko ay hindi kwalepikadong mag-exam kasi baka gayahin ang sagot ko ng mga katabi.
• Huwag kang mabibigla kung may nanay na mag-alok sayo na pakasalan ang mo ang anak niya.
• Huwag kang mao-offend kung kinikwestyon kung ikaw nga ang nasa larawan ng iyong passport size na pityur. Ito ang rason kung bakit ang tagal umusad ng pila. Mahaba ang intirugasyon sa bawat aplikante… halos isang oras mong kailangang kumbisihin na ikaw nga talaga ikaw.
• Maari mong inumin ang tubig-ulan kapag uhaw ka na para walang sumingit sa pila mo. Kapag kasi umalis ka, wala ka nang babalikan. Aabutin ka kasi ng tatlong taon bago mo marating ang canteen. Ngumanga ka lang sabay lagok. Hmmm.
• Kung babae ka, at sobra kang uminom ng tubig, wag ka nang magtangkang mag-apply sa civil service exam. Kasi, kapag najijingle ka na at hindi mo na kayang tiisin, ang CR ay sampung kilometro ang layo. Iihi ka lng, aabutin ka na ng isang araw. Kung mabilis kang maglakad, baka maabutan mo pa ang pagsasara ng CSC. Pwede kang tumulong mag-lock.
• Kapag may kachismisan ang tindera sa canteen, bawal bumili. Sasabihan ka lang na “closed” na ang canteen kahit alas tres pa lang ng hapon.
• Huwag kalimutan ang negative ng litrato mo para mapatunayan na litrato nga ang dala mo. Hindi pwede ang retokadong picture at walang pangalan. Bawal idikit ang picture sa form gamit ang bagong lutong butil ng kanin.
• Ang space para sa “right thumb mark here” ay hindi dinodrowingan.

***nakakahawa si Bob Ong

Friendship

January 26, 2007, Fr. Wilmer Tria had a talk regarding Bikol's perspective when it comes to friendship. Held Arrupe Convention, the talk tackled the way Bikolanos view the word "Friendship" and how they actually value it.

The talk started with word origins, particularly Bikolano words that are somehow related to what a friend would mean including "amigo" (everything that is about friendship), and "barkada" (group of friends, gang, clique). Bikolanos are actually friendly people and the way they treasure a friend is really extraordinary. There is a very close relationship between individuals who consider themselves friends. I believe that is inherent in the Filipino culture as they really establish good communications with their friends. Their culture shows how hospitable and loving people they are. Being remarkably known as the Texting Capital of the World, Philippines indeed has its value when it comes to good relationships with their friends. Most Filipinos couldn't even let a day pass without sending an SMS message to a friend- probably a forwarded message to reflect about life and love or just to say hi. Millions of telecom subscribers actually showcase not their value of security through communication, but beyond that, it is leaned towards our inherent personality of being friendly.

Unlike Tagalog which has its very translation for the word friend (kaibigan), most Bikolanos barely even know the existence of their own native term that goes hand and hand with the word friend. Such word is called "katuod", from the root word tuod, which, according to the dictionary published by Malcolm Mintz, is synonymous with being accustomed to, acquainted with, experienced, familiar with handy, proficient in, and used to.

Friendship is a product of long acquaintance. It is never earned overnight or in a one time meeting of two people. It takes a long process and in such process, they shall encounter problems and obstacles that would test the strength of their grip over each other. The main rule is to trust and never let go. Their values may clash at first, but in through passage of time, they will soon recognize their own values and understand more each other. One needs to have patience and learn to forgive. For, a genuine friendship is composed of people who are able to adjust with the difference of each other's value. It is a group composed of people ready to learn from each other and be sensitive enough about each other's feelings.

It has been said a dozen times that no man is an island. Companionship is an inherent human need. One desires to have a companion because having such provides security and assurance that he can have someone to lean on when he is down and he feels like the entire universe is against him.

Betrayal in a friendship also happens. It is a disvalue for friendship or an act that can destroy the foundation of a real friendship. In the people's life here on earth, they encounter dilemmas, and quarrels between some friends. People needs to realize how much they had and are willing to sacrifice for them so they can easily forgive them.

Friendship, according to Fr. Tria is like a relationship between the pitcher and the catcher in a baseball game. Both of them need to have good communication for it is the bloodline and the best tactic to win. Friendship, thus, is the value that must be present in a team to attain teamwork.

Management Control and Information Systems

Introduction

An effective management control considers all aspects of the managerial processes, applications, and strategies by analyzing all possible areas that can further be improved. It is essential that the firm is able to effectively make use of its resources to reach the goals to continuous improvement and profit maximization. Analysis of the company performance must show a reliable data that depicts the company’s utilization of assets, the input and output exchanges, labor force participation, and other internal and external activities. Through this, all aspects are seen independently and as a whole to detect areas that needs ample amount of control.

Responsibility Centers: Revenue and Expense Centers

Responsibility centers, being the first topic discussed is one essential consideration in the management control process. It is an organization unit headed by a manager that measures performance through use of criteria of efficiency and effectiveness, Revenue centers and expense centers are separated for analysis to fully understand the process being implemented in each centers. Thus, for revenue centers, revenues are analyzed distinctly from incurred expenses while for expense centers, all expenses are also distinctly analyzed. There are two broad types of expense centers- engineered and discretionary. In the engineered expense centers, it is possible to estimate the “right” amount of costs that should be incurred to produce a given level of output. In the discretionary expense centers, on the other hand, budgets describe the amounts spent but are not possible to determine with exactitude the optimum levels of expenses. The use of responsibility centers therefore is significant to effective management control because it gives greater focus on the revenue and costs in each departments. An effective control must incorporate effectively the information in the different responsibility centers in the overall analysis of the company growth. One application of the responsibility center is process done by the AIM Global Corporation. The multi-awarded company for marketing excellence was just operating for more than a year but its sales amounted to 189 million because of amazing strategies they have conducted. The company recognized the necessity to have individual analysis of the different departments of their huge firm. With such process, the company is able to view both the company’s performance as a whole and the internal system of operation through the different areas it has. Another application/significance of making use of responsibility centers would be with regards to creating budgets. Each department with their specific analysis of their past performance- considering historical data such as the amount of input and output, the total incurred cost, and justifications for certain questionable expenditures, is able to formulate better analysis of the department’s activities, thus, formulation of company budgets is easily facilitated. This is done by almost all companies because there would not be any other basis of the budget preparation than the historical data. G110 Multi-Purpose Cooperative makes use of the internal analysis of the revenue and expense centers to forecast possible disbursements and inputs in the succeeding year.

Profit Centers and Transfer Pricing

Profit centers provide top management with ready-made information in profitability and performance in the internal individual components. Profit centers simply put, measures the financial performance in terms of profits (the difference between revenues and expenses). Profit center’s analysis actually improves the quality and speed operating decisions because the decision does not have to be referred to corporate headquarters. Also, with the use of this system of analysis, profit consciousness is reached and ultimately leads managers to consistently aim to sustain the increase in profits. On the other hand, transfer pricing’s fundamental principle is that the transfer price that would be charged in the product were sold to outside customers or purchased to outside vendors. The question of the price of product produced inside when transferred between profit centers is a transfer price decision. Ideally, the transfer price should approximate the normal outside market price, with adjustments for costs not incurred in intracompany transfers. Even when sourcing decisions are contained, the market price is the best transfer price. If competitive prices are not available, transfer prices may be set on the basis of cost plus a profit, even though such transfer prices may be complex to calculate and the results less satisfactory than market-based price. Cost-based transfer prices can be made at standard cost plus profit margin, or by the use of the two-step pricing system.
A method of negotiating transfer prices should be in place and there should be an arbitration mechanism foe setting transfer price disputes, but these arrangements should not be so complicated that management devotes an undue amount of time to transfer pricing. There are probably few examples in complex organizations of completely satisfactory transfer pricing systems. As with many management control design choices, it is necessary to choose the best of several less-than perfect courses of action.
The profit center is usually adopted by most firms in the analysis of the internal control. One company that makes use of such process is the Smart Telecoms Corporation. The very advantage of the analysis of the profit center is the improved speed in decision making. With profit centers, the company is viewed as a whole and seen predominantly on a large scale. The swift speed in decision making results to effective and timely implementation of new strategies: advertisements and promotions like Alltxt Plus, Smart Unlimited Texting, Wap Services, and many more others. These strategies make the company well-known and gain competitive advantage. The analysis of the profit centers therefore, facilitates the fast assessment of company’s performance in terms of its financial aspect, particularly with the profit. Upon seeing the profit (both actual and projected), the top executives can be able to brainstorm alternative courses of actions that would sustain the constant increase in the profit or improve the company strategies to meet the required sales and/or cut down costs. The same process is done by the top competitor of Smart, Globe Telecoms but the only difference is with regards to the target market. Smart focuses on the prepaid subscribers while Globe focuses on providing a number of advantageous services to its Plan Subscribers. Again, the reason is because they make use of the profit centers to assess company performance and upon knowing some areas for improvement, they can be able to formulate new strategies. Transfer pricing, on the other hand, must not be so complex to be given a large amount of time. It is essential to be updated with the prevailing market price as it becomes the basis for the analysis and formulation of the transfer price. The important thing is to be aware of the areas of imperfection and to be sure that administrative procedures are employed to avoid suboptimism decisions. Usually, transfer pricing is done by manufacturing firms since the additional cost is carried on to new assembly departments to ultimately determine the total cost incurred in the entire manufacturing process. Charlie Marvel Enterprise, for instance, decides on the unit price by determining first the unit cost- the accumulated transfer price in the whole process of producing the products divided by the number of units produced. The industry captured by CM Enterprise, candle industry, somehow also influence determining the price. The prevailing market price is considered to arrive at a reasonable pricing scheme. The same process is conducted by student-owned firms like PhotoMoto, Chawerry Enterprise and Basiad Pili Oil Products.

Measuring and Controlling Assets Employed

Assets are essential factor in the analysis of the liquidity and overall performance of any firm. The number of assets is directly proportional to the capacity of the company to conduct its operation. Firms continually invest on acquisition of assets (current and fixed) to entice investors to put their share in the company. Assets are considered in the analysis of the company’s ability to finance their debts. (Liquidity Ratio)
Investment centers have all of the measurement problems involved in defining expenses and revenues. Investment centers raise additional problems regarding how to measure the assets employed, specifically which assets to include, how to value fixed assets and current assets, which depreciation method to use for fixed assets, which corporate assets to allocate, and which liabilities to subtract.
An important goal of business organization is to optimize return on shareholder equity (i.e. the net present value of future cash flows.) It is not practical to use each measure to evaluate the performance of business unit managers on monthly or quarterly basis. Accounting the rate of return is the best surrogate measure of business unit manager’s performance. Economic value added (EVA) is conceptually superior to return on investment (ROI) in evaluating business unit managers.
When setting profit objectives, in addition to the usual income statement items, there should be an explicit interest charge against the projected balance of controllable working capital items, principally receivables and inventories. There is considerable debate about the right approach to management control over fixed assets. Reporting on the economic performance of an investment center is quite different from reporting on the performance of the manager in charge of that center.
The application of analyzing a business through assets employed is with regards to the cash-on-hand of the company (compared to other accounts). There are companies that are having huge amount of cash as part of their financial statements. This may seem be good but there is an opportunity lost with the cash that they have. It is essential that the company must aspire for continuous improvement by utilizing their cash to improve the company’s performance. A company with large sum of cash usually has lesser marketing campaigns, lesser product innovation strategies, and does not acquire additional equipments (assets) that should have become the company’s core competency. Competition is inevitable so the company must aggressively be able to make use of the cash that it has to improve the process of production, to lessen the unit cost and other expenses and of course to improve the lead time and manufacturing time. Too much cash therefore may seem be seen negatively, not unless the company has plans of using such cash for any future business ventures. The amount of cash, as one of the most important assets can be analyzed thoroughly through the measurement and controlling the assets employed.
Another application of the assets employed was the investments done by SM Corporation. The company invests on real estates, huge groceries and department stores, malls (in fact one is being constructed in downtown Naga), and a whole lot more. The company has grown big and now not being associated with merely as “Shoe Mart”, but a well established business in the Philippines and some parts of the globe. Measuring and controlling the assets employed is essential to effectively assess the returns of the investments they have ventured into. It helps in the analysis of the company’s performance based on the growth strategies it has done such as construction of new facilities like new branches of malls (long-term assets) and acquisition of new technologies, gadgets, and machineries (current assets). It is a necessary condition to be concerned on where the cash is allocated and disbursed to ensure that each strategy is on the right track towards meeting company goals.

Strategic Planning

A strategic plan shows the implications, over the next several years, of implementing the company’s strategies. It is a broad topic, in fact could not be discuss in a single semester. Strategic planning is the process of formulating corporate, functional and divisional strategies that may be oriented to marketing, production, sales, human resource, product development, research and development and other areas.
In period since current strategic plan was prepared, the organization has made capital investment decisions. These decisions usually entails large sum of money and are long-term based, The process of approving proposed capital investments does not follow a set of timetable; senior managers make the decisions as soon the need for them is identified. Planners incorporate in the strategic plan the implications of these decisions, as well as assumptions and guidelines about external forces such as inflation, internal policies, and product pricing.
Using on this information, the business units support units propose new strategic plans. If the resulting corporate plan does not indicate the profitability will be adequate, there is a planning gap, which is dealt with by second iteration of the strategic plan, sometimes entailing painful curtailments to business unit plans.
Several analytical techniques, such as value chain analysis and activity-based costing, can aid in the strategic planning process.
A strategic plan, once formulated and effectively communicated from the top management to the down line employees, becomes the corporate objective. All members of the company would work towards the attainment of such goal. A strategic plan, which is leaned towards attaining a 5% increase in the annual sales, for instance, by making use of new technologically advanced process must be followed by all employees in the company- the workers in the manufacturing area utilizing the new technology, the managers doing an effective control with the way it is being implored, and even the top management in justifying the cost incurred associated with the research and development.
Strategic plan is what leads businesses towards continuous improvement and strengthening the barriers for new businessmen who would want to engage in the same industry. Thus, it develops distinctive competencies (competitive edge) that are often associated with positive brand image (intangible asset), hard-to-imitate technology and many more. Strategic plan must be done to achieve company growth not just in terms of higher income but also towards improving product quality and features, and also improving the services the company offers to its consumers. That is the purpose of strategic plans.
Strategic plans need effective control since all plans must be implemented effectively in line with the company’s objectives. Fern-C’s strategy of recruiting new members to patronize the product by ensuring health benefits and possibility of having discounts is effectively done by the company. Control comes in when all networks of each member are analyzed to ensure that the all members are provided with all promised benefits. The company must ensure that the members are happy with the benefits that must be rightfully given to them. If the company fails to give due emphasis on the concerns of the members, the company will surely at the verge of its downfall.
The strategic plan of Monde Nissin Corporation is to have Step-Ip programs to some universities that will comprise the team of well-chosen graduating students that has equal chance of working eventually for the firm. Consequently, management control comes in with regards to establishing contacts with schools and universities, with possible applicants, with venues for assessment of each student’s qualifications and many others. Control must always be considered to ensure that the goals set of the program are effectively met.

Budget Preparation

A budget is in a sense a one-year slice of the strategic plan. However, it is prepared in more detail than the strategic plan, and its preparation involves managers at all levels in the organization. An operating budget shows the details of revenues and expenses for the budget year for each responsibility center and for organization as a whole. It is so structured that amounts are identified with specific responsibility centers. The process starts with the dissemination of guidelines approved by senior management. Using these guidelines, each responsibility center manager prepares a proposed budget, which is reviewed with his or her superior, and an agreed position is negotiated. When these individual pieces reach the top of the business unit or of the whole organization, analysts review them for consistency and adherence to the overall corporate goals. The whole process is primarily behavioral. Responsibility center managers must participate in the process, but they do so within constraints decided on by senior management. Participative budgeting, in which managers feel they have influence on the process, has benefits generally for the organization.
Budgets lead to effective control because it is formulated based on historical data and justifiable changes with regards to strategic plan. Firms would simply follow the trend with the expenses they incurred in the previous years and use such data in the formulation of next year’s projected costs. Budgets are somehow guidelines that limit excessive expenditures, specifically with each department. If a department allocates only one million pesos in its annual expenses, it should not exceed the budget allocated for it. Budgets are prepared prior to the start (or at the start) of a new year of operation to aid the departments in forecasting the possible expenditures they might incur for the year.
For instance, if the company reaches the total projected monthly expenses on the second week of the month, it becomes a call that the department must limit its expenditure since it might go beyond the allotted expenses for each month. Thus, it serves as a signal to analyze the reason why the department is having such expenses when in fact it should not be. The head of the department must investigate the reasons why his department spends to much than what is expected. He must. Ideally, roam around the office and detect possible reasons for such excessive expenditures- from the number of papers and pencils used each day to the utilization electric supply (computers and air conditioners). The data that he will gather must be reported to top management especially if they would question the excessive expenses of the department. Furthermore, the top management would deliberate and make of concrete plans to resolve the problem in the said department.
Even in the government agencies, formulation of budgets is very vital. For instance, if a certain government official would like to pursue a pro-poor program, he must first submit all necessary papers for the City/Municipal Treasurer to approve the disbursement for the funding of the program. Effective control comes in the proper allocation of funds by the government agencies particularly the treasurer. In the same way, control comes in with the disbursements made on each process for the implementation of the program.
That is how the budget becomes an effective measurement for control. It is not a budget per se written on papers, but rather a budget that serves as a guideline in the controlling process of expenditure.

Analyzing Financial Performance Reports

Business unit managers report their financial performance to senior management regularly, usually monthly. The formal report consists of a comparison of actual revenues and costs and also the budgeted amounts. The differences, or variances, between these two amounts can be analyzed at several levels of detail. This analysis identifies the causes of the variance from budget profit and the amount attributed to each cause.
Although it may seem be true that some companies focus on the performance by comparing the actual with the budget, competent operating manages nevertheless must adopt a continuous improvement or kaizen mentality; a company therefore should not assume the optimal performance as “the budget”.
Variances are analyzed to be able to see the company’s efficiency in allocating its resources to ultimately meet its objectives. One application of this way of control is with regards to company’s with more than one product categories. Each category or product line is analyzed in the context of its cost of production, the variable and fixed cost plus other expenses, the unit cost, the level of supply and raw materials, the labor force, the selling price and the prevailing market price of the product in the same industry. The company analyzes by putting emphasis in each product categories and the factors that are vital in its selling and production. Each product are then compared with the data of those unrelated product lines to effectively analyze the performance of each. A company could not say that it is having an income of 50M when in fact one of its product lines is at net loss and just being compensated by the income of those other products of the company. Therefore, the company could have reached higher income if only it has better control over the product that is of net loss. That is where management control comes in.
Another example would be with a company analyzing its profitability based on the comparison with previous year’s performance and the present year’s. Variance comes in with the comparison with the projected and the actual data. By comparing the two, the company is able to make conclusion with the attainment of the corporate goals based on the company’s financial aspects. If the variance leads to a negative, there must be an internal problem that needs to be addressed by the company. Management control then becomes the core of the strategies that they will implement to resolve the problems associated with the negative variance. Almost all companies do this, which is why specification of a company isn’t necessary to prove the advantages of analyzing financial and performance reports.

Conclusion


Management control is indeed of great importance. It is essential that a company must focus on its control systems since it is the key towards attaining the goals set by the company. Through management control, the company is able maximize its resources and detect problems that would hinder company growth. That is the true essence of the management control process.

Europe’s Version of Rizal

The renowned movie dealt on the transition made by one notorious criminal towards becoming a man of great honor. In Jean Valjean’s quest of forgetting his miserable past as a convict, he was able to win the trust of people and became the mayor of a certain town while simultaneously running a factory, but again lost against the prejudices of the court of law. The issue raised by the movie is the value of impartiality as seen in the perspectives of different classes of people. Should they, or should they not give chance to a culprit who was able to redeem himself from the core of his severe past and live anew serving other people? Was it just to rely on the prevailing written laws to direct courses of action to enact punishments to violations committed by common people?

The film was set in Europe in the 1800’s, when people were suffering the extreme oppression due to the strong imposition of laws. The governing laws were implemented strictly, guided by authority’s rationality and not by emotions. This has been showcased by the film’s antagonist, Javert, an inspector. Javert was the one who took all efforts of searching facts to prove that Valjean was indeed the sought-after criminal. For years, he took action in searching the convict, and willfully embraced the written laws that would apply to Valjean’s case.

Jose Rizal’s fate and personality were not much different as with Jean Valjean’s. Our national hero, just like the main character in the film, was a devoted patriot and was very eager to serve his fellow countrymen to prove such. He promoted justice and lived by his belief of what humanity should consider a more acceptable perspective of viewing life and creating a standard that would direct the way of people’s judgment.

The film was set on the time when people felt powerless against the strong military forces of the nation state. In the latter part of the film, for instance, Cosette, the daughter of the whore once loved by Valjean, fell in love with a man leading a quest and rallying against the rule of law. Such man represents the people of those times that were serious about waging gruesome battles to restore their freedom as a Republic, even to the point of sacrificing their lives.

In such aspect, the history of the Philippines was of no difference. During the time of the Spaniards, Filipinos endured the effects of the colonizer’s brutalities. Filipinos seemed deprived of their rights, thus, injustice raged.

This was one serious matter that Rizal observed, pushing him to take the responsibility of putting an end to such scenario. Rizal, just like Valjean, was a man who fought for what he believed in, a great attribute common to all heroes. He pioneered a lot of things leading to immediate transitions. He even sacrificed his own life to actualize the fulfillment of his mission of changing the system and of persuading the people to revolt and never be afraid. He said that there was hope for the country and when all together, they could create a big effect towards something positive.

Indeed, Rizal and Valjean were great people, not just because of what they did, but because of their individuality and amazing exercise of their rationality to counter the loopholes of the existing law- the injustice. What they did in line with their personal way of viewing things has touched the lives of the vast array of people around them, thus, has gained them respect even by their foes- the Spaniards for Rizal and Javert for Valjean. Their remarkable bravery which came along with accurate assessment of situations was among their best weapons that they have used not to fight back but to promote their desire to secure the welfare of the majority, especially of those in their native land, not just of themselves.

The message of the film for the youth is for them to never lose grip of their faith. They should never lose hope and always be optimistic. Do what they want with no hesitations, for it is the only way to actualize their individuality. They must learn to take risk and during certain circumstances never be afraid to face the consequences that may come along with what they do. Do things within the core of their responsibility and consider themselves as heroes in their own simple way of touching lives.

Why Are WE Poor?

About 4.3 million Filipinos are now living below poverty line. Poverty incidence in the country, which refers to the proportion of families with per capita income below the poverty threshold, was placed at 28.1 percent in 1997 and 28.4 percent in 2000 based on the new provincial poverty methodology recently approved by the NSCB Executive Board. Poverty estimates released by the NSCB also show that in 2000, 4.3 million families or 26.5 million Filipinos, more than one-third (34.0 percent) of the country’s population, were living below the poverty line. These figures indicate an increase over the 1997 levels of 4.0 million families or 24.0 million Filipinos striving to make ends meet. The annual per capita poverty threshold or the amount required to satisfy food and non-food basic needs at the national level, reached
P11,605 in 2000, 17.9 percent higher than the 1997 threshold of P9,843. Thus, a family of five members should have a monthly income of at least P4,835 to meet their food and non-food basic needs. Among the 77 provinces of the country and the four districts of
Metro Manila, Sulu consistently posted the highest poverty incidence in 1997 and 2000 with 67.1 and 63.2 percent, respectively. Also included among the poorest provinces are Masbate, Tawi-Tawi, Ifugao and Romblon.
Four provinces of ARMM are among the 10 poorest provinces in the country. What could be the possible causes of these? What are the reasons why we are poor?
There are various aspects that should be considered to analyze the answer to such questions. The Philippines may be considered poor because of the present situation and problems that it is facing nowadays.
Included in the problem are the following:

1. MISMANAGEMENT
Philippines is rich with natural resources. However, most of these resources are not well-managed. Some people engage in activities that harm the environment.
The cutting down of trees has resulted in the rapid denudation of forests. The use of dynamite and sodium cyanide in fishing has killed large amounts of fishes and other marine life. Kaingin and improper disposal of wastes has also added in the poor quality of soil and water sources.
Laguna de bay, for instance, once the largest fresh water lake in South Asia has become the dumping site of domestic and industrial wastes from surrounding areas. The Philippines, which has a total land area of
30,000,000 hectares, is only composed of 15,854,922 hectares of forest land, mostly not managed properly and still being degraded by human activities. When such things continue to happen, when we cannot make use of our available resources, Philippines will continue to be poor- even poorer in the succeeding years. The main lesson is to take care of the environment and use them for our own good.
Mismanagement not only comprises our resources but also our government. For years, there has been several changes in some policies and constitutions, which are costly. This is because our government can easily be influenced by people. It is good that our government concerns in the protection of the majority, however only a few of such laws are being implemented.
Likewise, mismanagement also concerns with the way money flows in the country. Tax collected by the government is used for infrastructures and bridges.
But some of these projects are not useful to people. Such things are called “White Elephant Projects”, or those that the government spends for least useful buildings. When such things happen, there will be higher expenditures over income and thus, the government can mo longer accommodate to spend for the other needs of the people. This leads to two possible implications: (1) they will collect higher tax, and
(2) they will borrow to the World Bank and add to the growing deficits. No matter what you chose in the options, it would still make us poor.

2. CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
When someone becomes an official of the country, they are committed in helping and guiding everyone. However, they are higher probability for them to be involved in graft and corruption. Almost 80% of our government officials all over the country are all corrupt. Not to mention Major Gen. Carlos Garcia and his unexplained wealth. And even our 13th president, Joseph Estrada is involved in such case. This would probably explain why no official lives in his old house and rides in his old car after winning the election. Thus, the money that is meant to be spent for the people flows only in their hands. They continue to be rich as the poor continue to be poor. Truly being an official is synonymous with being rich.

3. LOW LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE
Job Opportunity has been hard to find nowadays. Our labor force participation rate as of July 2004 is only
67.2%. Our unemployment rate is 11.7%. Our underemployment rate is 17.6%, though only 10.6% is visible. This is alarming because when people cannot find jobs they also cannot sustain the needs of their families. And in the end, they are on their way to poverty.

4. OVERPOPULATION
As of year 2000, our population reached 76,504,077, from 7,635,426 in 1903. And it continues to grow with an annual rate of 2.36%. Filipino families now normally have more than two children and worse, those poor ones have more kids than the rich. Having a big family requires a big responsibility.
Parents must find sustainable job to raise their children and provide for their needs- food shelter and education. According to National Statistics Office, a family of five members must have a family income of at least php4, 835 per month to meet their food and non-food basic needs, an amount that is hardly attained by those families living in squatter’s area.
This is in a severe case since 4.3 million families are now living below the poverty line. Truly, overpopulation is one of the biggest problems being faced by the country these days.

5. POOR TOURISM AND LACK OF BUSINESS INVESTORS
Advertisements in magazines and televisions have been the major strategies of our Department of Tourism.
However, it doesn’t work that perfectly. In a famous magazine in England, Philippines has been excluded in the countries being promoted in south Asia. This may be the reason why we seldom have tourists in the country. Tourist6s actually adds for the good of our economy, but we have very minimal.
Lack or less business investors also is a reason why we are poor. Total approved foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the first quarter of 2002 amounted to P5.1B, or 66 percent lower than the first quarter 2001 level of P14.7B.Based on the 1994 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC), approved FDIs in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in the first quarter of 2002 was placed at P0.5B, down by 95 percent compared to the same period in 2001.
This represents about 11 percent of the total approved FDIs in the first quarter of 2002 .Total approved investments from both Filipino and foreign nationals in the first quarter of 2002 amounted to P9.0B, or 79 percent lower than the 2001 level of P43.2B.
Business entities is where the government collects the money it spends for the people. Lesser business entities mean lesser government income. Also, lesser businesses mean lesser chance for available quality resources, which leads to poverty.

6. HIGHER PRICES IN THE GLOBAL MARKET
The increase in fuel, diesel and gasoline prices has affected everyone in the country. In the 2nd quarter of 2004, Caltex Phils., Petron Corp. and Pilipinas
Shell increased the prices of their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 30 centavos per kilogram due to the continuous rise in international crude oil prices.
This has caused transportation problems for commuters all over the country. This also caused other companies to align their prices with the rapid changes. The one greatly affected with these changes is the Filipino household. When a price of a necessity gets higher, the people need to pay for them and they will have lesser money to spend for other things. They become poor. Same thing happens in an indicator of peso-dollar exchange.

7. IMPORT OVER EXPORT
The rate of export of Filipino products has been in great downfall nowadays. We became very dependent on other countries, importing products, before we can export our own. Seldom will you see handicrafts being exported to other countries. As far as I know, it is only Bagiuo and Cebu that actively exports their native products. The inability to produce goods for export may have been the reason why among the 81 provinces, Masbate has the biggest poverty gap at 22.6 percent, followed by Saranggani at 19.4 percent and Maguindanao at 19.1 percent. The poverty gap figure for Masbate implies that, on the average, the income of families living in that province should be increased by 22.6 percent of the poverty threshold or about P3,051.21 to completely eradicate poverty.
The resulting estimates based on the newly approved poverty methodology showed that among the 81 provinces in the country (including the 4 districts of NCR), Sulu consistently posted the highest poverty incidence in 1997 and 2000 with 67.1 and 63.2 percent, respectively. Also among the poorest provinces in 2000 are Masbate (62.8%), Tawi-Tawi (56.5%); Ifugao (55.6%),and Romblon (55.2%). Also included among the poorest provinces are Maguindanao (55.1%), Lanao del Sur (55.0%), Sultan Kudarat (54.3%), Camiguin (53.1%), and Camarines Norte (52.7%). All four provinces of ARMM are among the 10 poorest provinces in the country. Also included are 2 of the 6 provinces in the Bicol region. Likewise, more import adds to the problem.

8. INDUSTRIAL OVER AGRICULTURAL
Philippines is rich with land and resources for agricultural means. Many suggested for us to focus on agriculture rather than industrial because it is our strong point. However the sudden shifts from rural to urban can still be noticed. At year 2001 and 2002, the rate is 1.18% and 1.17% higher respectively. When people focus more on industrial, we are taking a really big risk- a risk that often leads to poverty.

9. LOW FAMILY INCOME AND HIGH EXPENDITURE
Some Filipinos nowadays has insufficient incomes for themselves. This is because their wages are not aligned to the changes in prices in the market.
Poverty incidence in the country or the proportion of families with per capita incomes below the poverty threshold increased from 28.1 percent in 1997 to 28.4 percent in 2000, up by 0.3 percentage points. As a proportion to the population, poverty incidence was placed at 34.0 percent in 2000, deterioration by 1.0 percentage point from 33.0 percent in 1997.
When people face probable problems, they tend to borrow money to satisfy the need. In the end, they
will have more debt and it would make them poor. Likewise, the government spends more money than it actually has that’s why we have a growing deficit.

10. NATURAL CALAMITIES AND CARELESSNESS
The Philippines is nearest to the Pacific Ocean where storms and typhoon actually originated. The possibility of it striking the country is very high, and when that happens, several properties will be destroyed. Thus, every year during rainy season, we encounter 3 or 4 typhoons and it affects our trade and the Filipino household. Some lose their houses and belongings. Earthquake, typhoons and other natural events surely make us poorer.
Filipinos can often be careless, by means of decision and other means. We have more than 20 cases annually of fires- killing and burning houses. We also have several vehicular accidents. When people die, andproperties gone, they would actually leave ther families poor.

11. TERRORIST ATTACKS
Tourists fear terrorists. Business investor fears terrorists. Everyone fears terrorists. When such thing continues, we’ll have no profits for ourselves.

12. FILIPINO VIEWS
Crab-mentality, inggit, and the view that the only way towards wealth is through moving to other countries comprise our present major problems. This are the famous beliefs associated to Filipinos. With these things in mind, we will never be out of poverty if we will not change the way we think.

These are the factors that needs to be considered if we want be out of poverty. It doesn’t end by just reading and understanding them. What we truly need is unity to face the problems we are encountering today.
What we truly need is action.

Source:
www.nscb.gov.ph

Some Solution to Philippine Economic Problems

Posted last February 21, 2005 in Inquirer news Service, Dennis Arroyo’s article is about some solutions to the Philippines’ economic challenges. He pointed out that according to the Eagle watch briefing of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, the economy is in great for growth- the stock market and other variables being in particular- yet, there are still major problem areas.

Share telecom growth
The first challenge he cited was the share telecom growth. The growth is led by the services sector (7.3 percent growth), specifically by the hot streak in communications (16.7 percent growth). He therefore believes that the government should democratize these gains by reaping from giant telecom companies out of their text message services. He proposed for a wider array of mechanisms to benefit the lower income classes by engaging ordinary folk in selling cell phone cards. The proceeds of these special edition cards are reserved for pro-poor projects like building more classrooms, buying more chairs and printing, more textbooks.
The intention of the first challenge is actually a good one. It is one of the proposals that no one in the government has never thought of proposing even though they see a lot of growth in the service sector. Thus, alleviating poverty and adding service for the poor should be two of the aspects that the government should focus on. If the service sector will help finance and support the public schools, the rate of employment will be higher and therefore we can make maximize the use of our workforce inside the country.
How can giant companies help in the national poverty concerns? Despite the fact that all other sectors are in great downfall, it is only the service sector that still has the capacity to earn profit. This is mainly because of the telecommunications companies. Two big giants, smart and Globe can actually help by manipulating the cost they earn from the millions of subscribers here in the Philippines. They can basically make the price of each text higher or lower since the consumer’s demand for their services never vary. Having up to 10% from their total profit is never an expense to them but rather an investment for those families who are below the poverty incidence and needs support financially.

Fight tax evasion
Data of the National Statistical Coordination Board states that the deficit of Php186 billion lies below the official target of Php198 billion, which is according to Mr. Arrroyo. Still remains very large. Thus, rating agencies have responded by downgrading Philippine sovereign bonds, making it costly to borrow.
The writer therefore suggests charging correct prices since the massive tax evasion has already caused the fiscal crisis.
I believe that tax collection is a major problem in the country nowadays and increasing VAT is never a solution. It is important to charge the correct prices for the public services like electricity, highways, and light rail fares. It may be a big expense for the government but the benefit will come soon after.
Government corporations therefore must be able to collect prices from the people to provide proper services to the people. Poverty can sometimes be an excuse if the government does not use the country’s money for good. The money belongs to the people so it is rightful to spend it for them and not to the selfish government officials. I therefore conclude that the issue does not talk only about tax evasion but also with tax collection and the way the money is spent.

Agriculture
The agriculture rose by 4.9% in the whole 2004, but slowed down to only1.2%. Primarily, the reason is because harvests are threatened by a new cycle of natural disasters like el niño tide and drought.
The writer points out that the solution to all these is to ensure enough water for crops through cost-effect irrigation, and likewise, diversity away from water-intensive rice to the less demanding vegetables and cash crops.
The proposal of having proper irrigation is excellent. The government should invest mainly on agriculture because I believe that it is our strong point. Having water storage is the best solution to survive drought and el niño phenomenon.
I don’t agree with diversifying from water-intensive rice to less demanding crops. Storms and other catastrophic disasters happen naturally. The people to be blamed are the weather agencies like PAG_ASA and other meteorologists. If timely information are given to these farmers, they could have prepared for such calamities and extraordinary event.

Diversify Exports
Exports are back to double-digit growth: they rose by 19.5 percent as of November 2004. However, they are heavily concentrated in electronics, and this makes the sector vulnerable to swings in the world market. Competing with fully developed countries like Japan and US by means of electronics is like taking a big risk. It is therefore advised to diversify the export mix of the country. We must focus on agriculture because primarily, Philippines is an agricultural country. Let us bring back the times when we were the ones who lead in exporting rice-and not our “students” (Thailand and Vietnam) because today, we are mainly relying on them by means of rice. It was not too long ago when factories here suffered from the slump in global demand. The challenge then is to put more eggs in other baskets.

Promote Direct Investments
Portfolio investments are actually those that come easily but are easily spent. It is not necessary to focus or to base on this data, but rather to the direct investment. The writer cited that to promote direct investment means making the country more competitive particularly by filling the gaps in infrastructure. The effort focused on the Clark and Subic area, which the government is trying to develop into the logistics hub of Asia.
Personally, I only partly agree with the writer’s proposal. Direct investment is good but it somehow has ill-effects, Let the Philippines first focus on its own export and ideas and limit direct investments since these investments benefit more the investors and never the country as a whole. Mining industry, for instance, may let us earn a lot of national income but it will “rape” our natural resources. Let us first focus in exporting agricultural products and invest more in developing it.

Offer cheap imports
In 2003 the inflation rate was 3.1 percent. Then in 2004 the official target range was 4.5 to 5 percent inflation. But it actually hit 5.5 percent last year, likely because of election spending. In fact it even reached 7.9 percent in December 2004.
The challenge, according to Mr. Dennis Arroyo is to find ways to lower the price for other items as to provide some relief. We must import more rice from Vietnam and Thailand and medicines from India since it is just half the price of Philippine rice and medicines respectively.
With that statement, I certainly do not agree. Importing more products means killing rice and medicine companies here in the Philippines. Consumers have more alternative sources with lower price. This has a great impact on such companies and probably it may even cause the Philippines to rely predominantly on these countries in the succeeding years by means of such products. Therefore, this will lead us to a more complicated situation in the future.

Widen scope of outsourcing
Then there's the unemployment rate, which hovers at a formidable 11.8 percent. The state does not have the funds to generate all these jobs but it can set the direction for the private sector.
To solve the problem, the writer proposed to limit overseas worker who goes to other countries but still be an overseas worker even by just staying in the country. They can just therefore e-mail their outputs to corporations in New York, London, Melbourne, and Vancouver. They can prepare and e-mail financial statements, marketing analysis, industry overviews, software, animation, even songs. It's like being an overseas worker without leaving the Philippines.
I think the proposal is very unique. Though, I know that no country (or company) will ever take risks of employing an invisible worker. No matter how good Filipinos works can be, companies are less assured because they cannot deal with their workers properly. Communication is really a big problem in this suggestion.

Identify small enterprise winners.
According to Mr. Arroyo, to create jobs for poorer classes, it is vital to diffuse technology to the rural sector, particularly to micro, small and medium enterprises.
I agree with the writer. Agro-processing activities can truly create a legion of jobs. It is necessary for the government to invest on rural businesses because it will be a help in the economy. With this strategy, local supply can keep up with demand abroad. The state would do well to identify market opportunities and empower the poor to seize them.

Rizal’s Life: A Devotion of Patriotism

Rizal was a great man worthy of respect and honor because of his brilliant works which pioneered the Philippine Revolution. The film “Ang Buhay ng Isang Bayani” depicted a brief description of the life-long years of our national hero and his process of transition towards being a nationalistic individual with an indescribable ingenuity in expressing the magnitude and intensity of his love for the land of his birth. The film was highly inspiring and is truly illustrious because of its ability to capture the important myriad experiences of Rizal and his personality of being observant and curious about his environment, being inclined in various fields such as arts and science, and being admirable in touching the lives of the people whom he interacted with through his unique and pleasant ways.

The movie showcased several events that seemed to be new to me about Rizal. The most striking of which was his death and his "not-so-good" burial at Paco, Manila- being refused to be put in a coffin and to have a descent burial ritual. It was perhaps the most unpleasant way of paving goodbye to such a great personage.

Rizal was very motivated to lead the Philippines to freedom from the Spanish regime and his actions and decisions manifest a genuine desire to achieve such goal. He has never forgotten the welfare of his homeland in his voyages in pursuit of learning other culture systems and attaining a higher level of learning. His literary works were famous for their ability to penetrate the privacy of the reader’s deep feelings, proving that his intelligence and versatility finds no match with his contemporary figures.

He was a common person just like all of us, but his remarkable deeds were really of great distinction. He may be a full-fledged womanizer, but he never lost grip of his well-set purpose of prioritizing the welfare of his countrymen who were experiencing the sufferings caused by the brutalities of the colonizers. The gruesome attempts of his people were of no effect, making Rizal realize the urgency to make further action towards relieving their hopelessness, an impact of their desolate despair and sorrow.

In one of the books I read, "Rizal in Life and Legends" by Alfonso Santos (1974), I was able to grasp an idea of how people in those time view Rizal. The book was actually a collection of factual and somehow fabricated stories retold and compiled to prove the huge impact of Rizal’s life in the society at large. There were stories about Rizal’s amazing conquests, strategies of attracting women, magical abilities and healing powers, use of his skills to play tricks with his collegues, practice of his professions as a surgical doctor and teacher especially in sword fighting, and even his (for me questionable) apparitions after his execution on December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan.

Rizal’s family greatly shaped his individuality and influenced his thought of uplifting the people from their miseries, and ultimately eradicating the societal crisis faced by the country in his time. He came from a religious and prominent family and was a brother to his 10 siblings. His mother, Teodora Alonso-Realonda, being his first teacher, introduced him to God and spiritual life, maintained his strong faith and gave him encouragement to develop his gift of intelligence. He felt genuine love and care from his family who supported his quest of knowing his potentials even in his early childhood years.

Rizal was an intelligent man. During his years as a student in prestigious universities and even in his studies at Biñan with professor Justiniano, he has shown an amazing craving to learn more and grasp new ideas about the life's realities, undoubtedly the clear reason for his excellent grades. He balances “work” with “play”, a value that is worth idolizing by the young people of today.
Rizal deeply believed in education as one, if not, the sole solution to achieving economic and social growth. He tagged the youth as the “hope of the nation” which means that the youth is the ultimate key towards a brighter tomorrow. Such is embedded in his writings, along with the goal of promoting nationalism of Filipinos in particular as a core principle towards development.

The movie was indeed amazing. It was able to depict Rizal in the realm of simple understanding. It presented Rizal's values and works anchored on the core of his family-oriented roots and deep desire to create societal change. He is truly a person we can proudly call, a national hero.

Education in the Philipines

According to Wikipedia.com,”Education is a social science that encompasses teaching and learning specific skills. Also, intangibly and profoundly, it is the imparting of knowledge, good judgment and wisdom.” Education has as one of its fundamental goals the imparting of culture from generation to generation. It is the best way to improve one’s living standards or social standing. Just like Ramon Magsaysay who was just a poor mechanic and Joseph Estrada who was a third-year engineering dropout, who both became the president of the country. The better your educational attainment, the better is your economic standing going to be. In Cambodia, for instance, 81.7 percent of the wealthiest 20 percent has had high school education. Only 5.2 percent of the poorest 40 percent has had secondary schooling.
However, in the recent statistical data gathered by National Statistical Coordination Board, 94 out of every 100 elementary graduates are not qualified to be in high school. Out of 100 pupils who start a Grade I, only 66 will graduate after six years. The 34 cannot because of sheer poverty, despite elementary school being free. Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus has been trying mightily to retrain elementary school graduates before they can get to high school. Some even suggest an additional year in the elementary education to enhance the knowledge and skills of the elementary students. But, is there really a need for such?
I personally do not agree with such proposal. As we all see, the problem lies with students themselves and in the learning environment where there are in. And the government should focus on this problem. I can raise four possible points why there should not be an additional year in the elementary years of students in the Philippines.
First is the quality of education in the Philippines. Philippines used to have one of the highest enrolment ratios of college-age population actually in school out of the total population. Not anymore. Among the Philippines’ top universities, none are among the top 25 in Asia. The best, the University of the Philippines, is in the lower 25 of the Top 50. Ateneo and La Salle are near the bottom of the Top 80. With poor quality schools that does not have care for there students, the Philippine students is on its way to nowhere.
Second are the expenses for the families of these students. Another year in elementary years means additional expense for the family. As of now, the cost of education to every family affected is P5,000 a year. There are 8.26 million families with children in elementary school. Assuming just five million graduate from elementary school a year, multiply that by P5,000, and you have a whopping P25 million in additional expenses for these families, not to mention the expense of the government. Even assuming one million Grade 6 graduates, the cost is still staggering—P5 billion a year in extra expenses. Poor families don’t have that kind of money. If all the congressmen and senators were to pool their pork barrel funds for one year, just one year, they would be able to send these kids back to school—for one year. It’s a big if—because our lawmakers look at their interest, not at the interest of the next generation. That is the difference between politicians and statesmen. The first group looks after the present, its present interest. The other group looks at the next generation. Perhaps, many of our congressmen and our senators are not educated enough to know the difference.
Third is the lack of well-equipped teachers. The proposal still will never solve the problem of having good teachers for our Filipino students. According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, as reported by the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics on its Labstat Updates (Vol. 7, No. 12, July 2003), the number of teachers who left the country every year to practice their profession abroad grew from 112 in 1992 to more than five times as many in 2002, with 586 teachers taking teaching jobs overseas. From 1992 to October 2002, 2,289 teachers were deployed abroad. Almost half (45.2 percent) went to teach in the United States; 18.2 per cent, in Saudi Arabia; and 5.9 per cent, in Brunei. In the last three years of the survey, the US alone accounted for more than half (55.5 percent) of the total deployment. Short-Term Solutions
The statistics prove conclusively that the fields of primary and secondary education in the Philippines are suffering acutely from brain drain. However, despite a large supply, many eligible teachers are not being employed by the educational system. Data from the Department of Education show that the number of the country’s elementary and secondary teachers, both public and private, remained almost the same within a span of ten years. From 433,701 in 1991, it increased by only 71,658 to 505,359 in 2000, for a growth rate of only 1.7 percent or 7,962 newly employed teachers per year. The country’s public schools accounted for 86.5 percent of the total teacher employment in 2000.
Compare these to figures released by the Professional Regulation Commission for the same decade (1991-2000), which show that 35,238 graduates on average passed the teachers board examination annually, out of which only 7,962 were absorbed by the educational system. Furthermore, in February of this year, the DepEd released an order adopting austerity measures through the non-filling of vacant positions, although its online newsletter dated April 2005 reported a search for 10,000 new teachers.
In its search for teachers, the DepEd is of course competing with foreign institutions. According to Bulatlat.com, US school districts need to hire around 200,000 teachers each year. But because fewer and fewer Americans want the job, private recruiters plan to place at least a million foreign teachers in American classrooms by 2007. The Philippines, with a system of education patterned after the US’s and high proficiency in English, is emerging as the chief source of recruits.
With only a little over a fourth of those eligible to teach gaining employment in the Philippines, the brain drain of teachers in elementary and high schools could in fact be a catch basin for the excess supply of teachers. But to see the brain drain as a solution rather than a problem is in itself a problem.
Lack of Teachers
The truth is, the number of teachers hired each year is insufficient to address the country’s needs in primary and secondary education. The new-hires cannot keep up with the fast-rising number of students. It is especially hard on the public schools where student populations are growing, as more and more students enter into the stream, some of them transferring from private schools. Owing to bureaucratic, financial, and logistical constraints, the hiring levels of public schools cannot keep up with the need. The result is a worsening teacher to student ratio. Figures from the DepEd show that as of 1991 the national ratio was 1:33. In 2000, it was 1:35. Latest data from the department show that in public schools, the teacher to pupil ratio in the elementary level for school year 2001-2002 stood at 1:36, while the teacher to student ratio in the high school level stood at 1:39. A quick count of enrollment in 2003-2004 indicated an alarming 1:42 ratio for public high schools. Extreme cases are experienced in highly urbanized areas where the classes swell to more than 70.
Consider also that those leaving for teaching jobs abroad are generally those with better credentials. For example, recruitment in the US must meet a federal mandate for “highly qualified” licensed teachers. Teachers seeking employment abroad still compete not only among each other but also against teachers from other countries, such as India, in terms of qualifications. Thus, the Philippine educational system is losing some of its most qualified teachers. This is especially true for high school teachers. High school teachers are required to specialize, i.e. have mastery of the subject they teach, unlike elementary education teachers who may teach all subjects. High school math subjects, for example, are ideally taught by an education graduate who majored in Math. When high school teachers leave, people with the same qualifications must take their place, and suitable replacements are not easy to find. The country also loses the investments it made on those teachers. For example, DepEd is reported to be developing the Science and Math teaching competency of its teachers through training and scholarships. This enrichment may very well translate into better qualifications for their applications abroad. While the DepEd is also reported to be tightening its recruitment policies so that only the best qualified will enter the system (Education Post, Vol. 37, No. 3, April 16-30, 2005, www.deped.gov.ph), the bigger question is: once hired, how will the teachers be retained?
In a country where teachers in primary and secondary education are overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated—if not unemployed—working overseas, is undeniably an attractive option despite its hazards and difficulties. When the state is unable or reluctant to hire the number of teachers it needs, and when it is unable to improve school conditions in order to retain its best teachers, it is failing to fulfill its role in providing a decent future for its children. As the brain drain escalates, the biggest losers are the Filipino children.
The last is the lack of funds of the government for additional facilities. In Asia, the Philippines has the highest pupil to teacher ratio—36.4 (in 2000, the latest comparable year). Compare that to 17 in China, 21 in South Korea, 19 in Cambodia, 14 in Indonesia, 22 in Laos, 19 in Malaysia, 22 in Thailand, and 27 in Vietnam. Also, public schools don’t have enough books, and other needed facilities. DepEd reinforced its corruption efforts aimed at reforming anomalies in finances, particularly in hiring and procurement, as well as refined its 12- Point Agenda (or Education Roadmap under Secretary Edilberto C. de Jesus) by expanding it into the Schools First Initiative(SFI) under the leadership of Secretary Florencio B. Abad, which will strive for the decentralization of the management of schools, and for the greater involvement of the community in taking responsibility and ownership for the achievement and performance of their students. But, it is not good enough.

Burning Passion

The reason why I decided to venture into business all by myself is certainly not because I am not capable to work effectively in a group, neither because I am too egoistic nor because I inflict a conflict within the previous group I had. As a matter of fact, I feel the same amount of pressure and responsibility now that I am engaged in business as a sole proprietor as compared back when I was still a part of the partnership of Soyworks.

The main reason why I decided to take risk and carry on business operation on my own is because I wanted to learn more about the business arena- which I believe can only be attained through having a deep personal focus. Being in a group lessens the degree of business risk especially if the partners that you are with are your friends and your comfort zones. A partner has limited power to decide for the group not unless such power has been rightfully given and/or all the partners agreed that a certain strategy is very much ready for implementation and execution. This complex structure of partnership hinders us students from having a full grasp of business realities- with the presence of constraints as to long lapse of time in decision making, and failure to observe authority and power.

Being a sole proprietor manufacturing utility and decorative candles, I was able to realize more things about running a business. Being tagged as the “captain of my own ship’, I am in charged of all aspects of business including production, financial and marketing aspects. All decision I make has a significant impact in the business as a whole because I am responsible to lead the business towards profit realization (short-run) and continuous growth (long-run).

In the course of managing the business for the first four consecutive months, I learned that the nature of my business which is manufacturing is not as easy as others may think it is. I am concerned with the production schemes which are a very vital aspect in any manufacturing firms. Constraints as to time of production, maximization of the use of available raw materials to achieve higher number of units at lesser cost, inadequate supplies, inventory systems and labor requirements are a few of the problems that are needed to be addressed consistently.

The first month was not easy. I had to face problems as to acquiring the raw materials, securing technology and equipment, settling manpower requirements, furnishing business plan and some legal documents in the business name registration, soliciting approval of the department to partake in the proposal, and of course ensuring the availability of funds for the start-up capital.

I can say that I learned a lot of things now that I am alone taking the overall control of the firm. I learned to manage my time more efficiently, to properly deal with people (both with my workers and my distribution networks/consumers), and to implement strategies that would make a significant positive results for the firm. I also learned the importance of being responsive not just to customer orders but also with regards to making solutions to unexpected problems that may arise. In addition, I learned the importance of having synergy within the firm and the significant effect of taking part in the business operation.

These learning give me a more subtle approach in taking risks in business. It gives me confidence by lessening the fear of failure and by giving me a clear and optimistic foresight of the possible pitfalls that might be a hindrance in the business operation. Knowing my responsibilities and imploring the right approach gives me a greater chance to take action towards success. And that is my burning passion, my motivation and heartfelt desire.

BAKIT NGA BA?

BAKIT "SINGLE" ANG STATUS KO, AT STATUS MO?!?!

Kaya heto ako at sasabihin ko sa inyo ang ilang mga rason kung bakit. Kesa kinukulit nyo ako kung bakit single ako at kung bakit d nyo rin maubos isipin bakit single pa kayo!

10. Perfectionist/ Mapili

Yes, isang taong perpeksiyonista. Yung tipong dapat ganito ang magiging kapartner ko. Pag may nakilala, nakita lang na pangit ang kuko o may dumi lang, turn-off na agad. O kaya ang daming ayaw. Ayaw sa mabait boring daw, gusto bad boy/pilya pero kapag pinaiyak ka tatanungin ka bakit ang sama mo bakit mo nagawa yun! Adik ka ba?! Ayaw sa cute, ayaw din naman sa panget. meron dyan gusto ka ayaw mo naman.. ung gusto mo halos magtambling ka pero
deadma parin yang stunts mO sa kanya! Pasaway ka rin e! Ano ba talaga kuya?

9. Busy Busyhan

Opo, eto yung ang mundo e gumagalaw lang sa libro at ballpen kung estudyante ka o kaya naman sa computer at files kung office staff ka. YunG tipong aalis ng bahay ng alas 6 o alas 7 ng umaga at uuwi ng bahay ng 6 hanggang alas 8 ng gabi [baligtad naman para sa mga nag tratrabaho sa call center]. Sabay tulog na. Kapag sabado masaya na sila sa tv, sa pagkain na niluluto ni mama at sa linggo naman sisimba at maghahanda na ng kelangan para sa lunes hanggang byernes. Pssssst... ka muna and pause for awhile...

8. Friendship Theory

Ano naman ito? Eto yung ang buhay ay kay bestfriend o kaya kay special friend na hindi masasabi sabi sa friendship nya sa loob ng kanilang mahabang panahon na pagsasama dahil baka daw maapektuhan ang pakikipagkaibigan at iwasan sya. Yung tipong pag may kasama si friendship na iba, nagseselos na wala naman sa lugar, pero syempre wag pahalata, kunyari happy sya for friendship. ABA! Oi lakasan mo ang loob at baka mamaya forever mong pagsisihan yan kaw rin.


7. Born-to-be-one (Authestic)

Eto yung nasa palad na ang pagiging single daw... Walang reason... Basta lang nabuhay sya sa mundo na mag-isa at feeling nya mamatay sya sa mundo ng mag-isa. Kesyo magmamadre o magpapari na lang. Asa kang tatanggapin ka pa noh!

6. Happy-go-lucky

Eto yung taong walang alam kundi kasiyahan at trippings. Kahit sino nalang basta no string attach. For fun lang daw... Walang halong seryosohan. ABA hoy! yang init ng katawan mo e ikiskis mo nalang sa pader. Makakahanap ka rin ng katapat mo!!!


5. Wrong Place

May nakaranas na ba nito? Yung pakiramdam mo nasa ibang mundo ka. Yung ang nakakaharap mo e yung mga hindi mo gusto, yung mga hindi mo hinahanap. Alam mo yun? Halimbawa nasa ibang bansa ka, pero ang hinahanap mo e yung amoy ng nasa sariling bayan mo. O kaya naman e nasa sarili mong bayan ka, nasa normal na lipunan, pero ikaw ang abnormal at hindi mo kayang sabihin na abnormal din ang hanap mo kung ayaw mong ibitin ka nila ng patiwarik.


4. Wrong Time

Eto yung mga tao na sinasabi na, "hindi pa ako ready e bata pa kasi ako" o kaya naman "hindi pa ako handa sa panahong ito, wala pa ako kayang ipagmalaki." Yes meron pong ganyan. Yung feeling nila may tamang panahon para sa love. Awwwwwww. Aba kelan yun? Pag uugod ugod ka na at yung time mo e bitin na? O baka naman pag pang out of time ka na? Oist, sugod lang ng sugod...


3. Si parents kasi...

Yes, factor din ang komyunidad na ginagalawan mo. Una, ayaw pa ni mader o pader na magkaron ka kahit 22 anyos ka na at kelangan umabot ka muna raw ng 40 bago magkaroon ng gf/bf. O kaya naman ikaw mismo! Takot sa sasabihin ni parents at ni kapitbahay na tsismosa sa magiging kasama mo. Aba ikaw na nga ba ang sabihan na "Alam mo hindi kayo bagay. langit at lupa kayo." Sus! Payo ko sayo, Pakialam nila diba? Palibhasa inggit!


2. Traumatic Experience

Eto kalimitan ang reason ng marami. "Ayaw ko na!!! takot na ako mangyari pa ang nangyari dati!" O diba ang drama ng layp? Yes, tama ka. Eto yung dahil sa past relationship mo, e until na ayaw mo ng magkaroon at sinumpa mo na ata ang magmahal. Dahil sa pinagpalit ka sa mas pangit, o kaya naman iniwan ka ng walang word na "bye-bye", o dahil binugbog ka!, ano pa ba? Madami yan... wag na nating isa isahin at baka tumulo si tears...heheh Gayunpaman, eto lang masasabi ko mga hija at hijo. Ibat iba ang lasa ng pag-ibig. May mapait, may mapakla, may matamis at may maasim. Aba mapalad ka at natikman mo ang ibat ibang lasa nito. Kaya ikaw, Do not be afraid to fall in love
again... malay mo sweetiness na ang malasahan mo next time. E di panalo ka sa lotto. Yan ang nagpapalakas sayo... Yang ang bumubuhay sayo, ang pag-ibig. tsk! drama!



1. EX to the nth power!!!

Oi aminin!!! LOVE parin si Ex kahit 1 - 2 yrs na ang nakakalipas. .. May ganito naman. Yung tipong ilang taon ang nakakalipas, hindi parin makalimutan si ex. Yung pinagsamahan, yung tawanan, yung iyakan, at lahat ng nangyari sa inyo nung kayo pa. Malungkot man at sa kung anumang kadahilanan, maganda man o masama ito, kelangan nyong magpaalam sa isa't isa. YES, after a year sasabihin natin, im over him/her na, pero pag-usapan natin ang love at ang nangyari sa ating relastionship from the past, TADANNNNNNNNNNNNN, eto na, sya agad ang naalala mo. At habang nagkukwento ka, ouch may kirot, o kaya may ngiti at may bumabagabag sa ating kalooban.... Ano kaya yun? AMININ mo na kasi.... MAHAL mo pa si EX.... Isa lang ang masasabi ko, well mahirap sya kalimutan alam ko yan... pero open your heart and makipagdate ka, lumabas ka, at try to entertain someone. Wag mo ikumpara si ex sa iba. At give urself KITKAT, take a break..

Immersion

Several preparations were done before the immersion activity. The teachers were all busy reminding the students what to bring and the rules and regulations that while in the site. As for the h11 block, the week before the activity was really a tough one. We were all busy doing several computer works and other requirements due for the week, finishing our research papers, doing case analysis and a whole lot more! Generally, the immersion truly has become our break from the tiring 7-day work for almost two months.
Our site was on Magdacanan, Libmanan, a small barangay compose of six zones. My house buddy was Jun Tibi, my fat and hilarious classmate. We were close friends, that’s why we never had a difficulty in dealing with each other. We were assigned to Mr. Armando Reyes’ family, somewhere in Zone 6. According to ma’am Elaine, he has eleven sons and daughters and they don’t have electricity, which is why we were nervous thinking how to adapt in their way of living for three days. Then, the day came. At about 9:00a.m., our jeepney arrived at zone 5 and we were immediately guided towards our household families. The guide said that it was just walking distance but as minutes of continuous walking passed, as we perspire with the summer heat, and as we feel the thirst within our throat, it was just then that we realized how far one kilometer was. It was like walking in the desert with extremely heavy luggage!
Finally, we arrived at our household family-tired and hungry. When we came in, there were three little boys playing while watching channel two’s Mission: Odyssey. We befriended them and decided to play with them. My new friend’s name was Jason. He was three years old, with really white complexion and really cute smile. Jose (oti), Jun’s five-year old alaga, was Jason’s uncle. Jason and Jose were complete opposites. Jose was dark, short and barely smiles. Perhaps, the only thing they have in common was their love for dancing. Jose even won the dance contest at the socials night.
Jun and I started to take a few photo shots of the place. We were assigned to document the happenings in the immersion as a requirement in our NSTP class. Just as we were about to take a few pictures of the ampalaya plants, Jason’s dad came-a huge man, half-naked, with long hair and big tattoos at his arm. How would we react? It was really scary. Are we about to live with him for three days? Can we? Then, another group of huge men went in carrying bolo and again half naked…that was the time when we really got scared.
Our first impression lasted after the first day. We were able to talk with those guys (at least some of them) and we were able to talk about a lot of things, from text mates to their business of exporting vegetables. They were cool. They were often out busy, I guess. But they have their own mobile phones-with camera and really handy. It may be the reason why we haven’t charged our phones for three days considering that they have electricity…because our phones are not updated as theirs.
The three-day activity was thrilling. It was like a game of trying to belong, picking the right words to say and being brave to talk to scary strangers. Well, this was applicable to our brothers and sisters who often ignore us and even call us gays. Maybe they were not used to our jokes that led to misinterpretation.
Our ‘mother’ and ‘father’ were really kind to us. Our father was really approachable just like our mother, Salvacion Reyes. Mom would never let us do any kind of work, not even wash the dishes. But still, when they were both out (which usually happens), we do a lot of things by ourselves like washing the dishes, filling the water basins, watering a hectare of newly planted ampalayas, and of course playing with the kids.
Our ulam would always be a kind of vegetable- mongo, balatong, natong, upo and ampalaya. They even gave us some when we left.
We will never forget the place and the experience. In their house, they have their own big television with a really loud stereo that can be heard all over the barrio. During night, they would watch a lot if movies and invite some folks (neighbors) to watch with them. They watch James Bond Movies, Finding Nemo, The skull 2 and more. They even played April boy and Andrew E’s CD at almost maximum sound level. That’s the reason why we couldn’t sleep properly until the lights were shut and they all fell asleep.
With what was happening in our house, we feel bored so we would carry our alaga and visit adjacent houses for two valid reasons-(1) to take some photographs and (2) to eat. We can say that we stayed more in other’s houses than with our own family- because no one was at home during day, they were all busy.
I learned a lot of things from the immersion. I learned how to deal with people and how it is to be in other’s home. It also led me to understand the severity of poverty here in the Philippines which are seen in the farmers who are hardly reached by the programs and government assistance.
I also learned how to deal with kids which I admit I am not used to. I learned how to talk to them and take care of them. I also learned how hard it is to face responsibilities for the benefit of other people. And likewise, it made me realize how important it is to take action with what is happening to the society nowadays and how we should open our mind and take part to resolve the problem.
I consider myself lucky. I need not work in a huge farm and sleep in a really tight room. I also study in such a prestigious school which is never attained by ordinary people who are not financially stable. Thus, the best learning that I gained from the activity is love and joy that Filipinos share even in times of crisis, and this is one of the things that we should all be proud of. In fact, the Philippines ranks second in the most cheerful individuals around the world. Our assigned family may be in a state of extreme poverty but they still have time to enjoy and have fun. They watch movies together and it serves as one of the reasons why they have a special kind of bond that keeps them intact.
I adore the way their family works together. Each one functions as someone very important to be the one to do a work. Some works in the house and the others works in the house. Their Organization is really amazing!
They may not talk a lot but I can see their eagerness to try to welcome us. They may not serve us delicious food, but still they try to make us taste the love that is present in their hearts. They may not be very sociable, but you can approach them anytime you want. That is all that matters. Letting us feel that we are welcomed to come into their lives is more than enough…
In the site, I also have learned about God’s love for the poor. Our household family may not be rich but still we can see how much they love one another. That is what God wants us to do. To love, have hope and care for our neighbors. With loving, we can attain peace and strengthen faith in God.
I also appreciated innocent people who were embodied in my alaga, God’s child. My alaga was really nice and kind and truly depicted the lack of status, power and honor. As discussed by Robert Nolan, Jesus loves children because of their littleness and lack of responsibility in the cruel world. God wants me to learn and attain this littleness in order to enter the His Kingdom.
With all this learning, I offer to God this sincere prayer:

Dearest God,
Thank You for letting me learn in actual how you value love for humankind and children. Thank You for letting me feel that all the people in the world is loved by You equally, no matter whether we are poor or rich, or sinner or believer. Thank You for letting us understand that it lies upon us that we are judged to come in your Kingdom. And that it depends on the way we use all our freedom according to Your will.
Please continue showering us with Your blessings specially those little ones who truly needs Your guidance. May You also forgive all the sinners and lead them to the right path towards Your Kingdom.
Thank You!