Ready for AI...

or not
The Philippines, according to President Marcos, is “embracing” the future with artificial intelligence. He issued
the statement as he invited technology companies and venture capitalists in the US to be partners of the Philippines in
“navigating the AI future.”
The meeting with the tech entrepreneurs was among the highlights of the President’s participation in this year’s
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, California. He said the government is currently crafting a
National AI Strategy that “aims to position the Philippines as a center of excellence in artificial intelligence.”
Let’s hope the techpreneurs will be enticed and help Filipinos embrace AI. US-based digital tech giant Cisco, in a
recent study conducted among companies in the Philippines, found that while 98 percent of the firms want to adopt AI
to boost efficiency and competitiveness, only a low 17 percent are ready to employ AI technology in their operations.
Nearly half of the firms lack the proper infrastructure to meet AI challenges. Cisco assessed AI readiness based on
strategy, infrastructure, data, talent, governance and culture.
Apart from helping companies transition to AI technologies, the government must also address the impact of AI
on jobs. Experts have warned that one of the biggest generators of employment in the country, business process
outsourcing, is among the most vulnerable as AI increasingly takes over BPO functions. BPO workers aren’t the only ones
at risk of displacement. In May this year, management consulting firm Kearney estimated that up to 100,000 jobs in the
Philippines could become obsolete within three to four years. Among those expected to be badly hit, Kearney said, are
retail and back-office roles involving traditional manual data entry. It noted that the impact is already becoming evident
in areas such as financial institutions and telecommunications.
Another study conducted by the International Data Corp. ranked the Philippines 12th among 14 economies in
the Asia-Pacific on progress in automation.
Experts have been stressing the urgency of upskilling and reskilling vulnerable workers. Both the public and
private sectors are struggling to get the skilled workers needed for embracing AI technology. Many of the top talents
prefer higher paying jobs overseas. AI can also create opportunities for new types of employment, but this will require
proper training in a field that keeps advancing at warp speed. Responses to the problem must be able to keep up with
the rapidly evolving challenges.

Ready for AI... or not

The Philippines, according to President Marcos, is “embracing” the future with artificial intelligence. He issued
the statement as he invited technology companies and venture capitalists in the US to be partners of the Philippines in
“navigating the AI future.”
The meeting with the tech entrepreneurs was among the highlights of the President’s participation in this year’s
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, California. He said the government is currently crafting a
National AI Strategy that “aims to position the Philippines as a center of excellence in artificial intelligence.”
Let’s hope the techpreneurs will be enticed and help Filipinos embrace AI. US-based digital tech giant Cisco, in a
recent study conducted among companies in the Philippines, found that while 98 percent of the firms want to adopt AI
to boost efficiency and competitiveness, only a low 17 percent are ready to employ AI technology in their operations.
Nearly half of the firms lack the proper infrastructure to meet AI challenges. Cisco assessed AI readiness based on
strategy, infrastructure, data, talent, governance and culture.
Apart from helping companies transition to AI technologies, the government must also address the impact of AI
on jobs. Experts have warned that one of the biggest generators of employment in the country, business process
outsourcing, is among the most vulnerable as AI increasingly takes over BPO functions. BPO workers aren’t the only ones
at risk of displacement. In May this year, management consulting firm Kearney estimated that up to 100,000 jobs in the
Philippines could become obsolete within three to four years. Among those expected to be badly hit, Kearney said, are
retail and back-office roles involving traditional manual data entry. It noted that the impact is already becoming evident
in areas such as financial institutions and telecommunications.
Another study conducted by the International Data Corp. ranked the Philippines 12th among 14 economies in
the Asia-Pacific on progress in automation.
Experts have been stressing the urgency of upskilling and reskilling vulnerable workers. Both the public and
private sectors are struggling to get the skilled workers needed for embracing AI technology. Many of the top talents
prefer higher paying jobs overseas. AI can also create opportunities for new types of employment, but this will require
proper training in a field that keeps advancing at warp speed. Responses to the problem must be able to keep up with
the rapidly evolving challenges.
 AI: a double-edged sword
Humanity is still figuring out artificial intelligence (AI), and our worries about this strange new technology, while
warranted, stem largely from the fear of the unknown. At the heart of our collective anxiety is the idea that people, for
all their talent and ingenuity, will someday be replaced by an object of their own creation far more talented and
ingenious than they can ever hope to be.
This fear will only grow over time as machine learning becomes more and more adept at simulating (or
appropriating) human knowledge, engendering questions that once belonged only in the realm of science fiction: Will AI
achieve sentience? Is any job safe from a takeover by machines? Can AI overrun civilization?
But even such existential crises-in-the-making barely touch the tip of the iceberg. We have yet to truly confront
the malevolent prospects that AI brings. Think of dictators tapping AI to influence elections, smear opponents and spy
on foreign governments. Or cybercriminals using it to develop sophisticated social engineering and phishing techniques.
Or terrorists making use of AI to invent new pathogens to attack populations. Or AI-generated deepfakes being used to
spread disinformation, instigating conflict and chaos the world over.
To a great extent, some of these scenarios are already occurring even without AI assistance, but imagine how
deep-learning algorithms can accelerate our descent into such a post-truth dystopian hell.
On the flip side, AI brings with it an alluring promise. World leaders believe AI can put an end to some of the
enduring ills afflicting the globe, via “new knowledge, new opportunities for economic growth, new advances in human
capability, and the chance to solve global problems we once thought beyond us,” as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
wrote in a commentary that appeared on this page on Oct. 30.
“AI can help solve world hunger by preventing crop failures and making it cheaper and easier to grow food. It
can help accelerate the transition to net zero. And it is already making extraordinary breakthroughs in health and
medicine, aiding us in the search for new dementia treatments and vaccines for cancer,” he said.
The possibilities are endless in either direction, but whether AI will be a force of good or evil ultimately depends
on what our government is going to do to mitigate the risks, while exacting immense gain from it—a tall order for a
country that is still struggling against online attacks and data breaches.
On Nov. 1, the Philippines joined 27 other nations and the European Union in signing the Bletchley Declaration
during the AI Safety Summit organized by the United Kingdom.
Among other objectives, the signatories resolved to “work together in an inclusive manner to ensure human-
centric, trustworthy and responsible AI that is safe,” and support “the good of all through existing international fora and
other relevant initiatives, to promote cooperation to address the broad range of risks posed by AI.”
Beyond signing this pact, however, the Philippine government has yet to devote any meaningful attention to AI
regulation. In May 2021, the Department of Trade and Industry launched an ambitious national roadmap to hasten AI
adoption in the country with the goal of becoming an AI powerhouse in the region. But not much progress has been
made since.
Six House bills and two Senate resolutions on AI concerns have been filed, but with little traction among
lawmakers to pursue them, and zero prodding from the executive branch.
To date, we have heard of only a few localized solutions for AI, such as guidelines by the University of the
Philippines to prevent cheating through apps like ChatGPT, as well as the Supreme Court’s plans to use AI tools to
streamline court processes.
Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy has warned that AI could deal a
catastrophic blow to our labor force. “Without proper regulation from the government, it could become dangerous, it
could become destructive as it evolves. And it’s evolving very, very fast,” he said in June.
But we are more interested in hearing his proposed solutions. What strategies are our officials forming in the
face of this looming threat? Are there even any?
Time is of the essence because, in the absence of a clear policy direction, we risk being caught flat-footed as AI
disrupts production chains and industries in the blink of an eye, from finance and health care to agriculture, logistics—
and even the arts and media communications.
In September, GMA unveiled its first AI sportscasters on air. How long before journalists are replaced by AI, too,
forced to abandon our bread and butter and the willful exercise of press freedom?
 Cha-cha fast break

If gathering the required number of signatures nationwide for a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution
proves so easy, with the threshold allegedly already met even before the month is over and a nationwide plebiscite
planned for July, the nation can be sure it will not be the last time that this mode of amending the basic law of the land
will be employed.
And the nation can be sure that it can quickly deteriorate into a bad habit, based on the whims of whoever or
whichever group is in power. Amendments can be reversed with every change of leadership, and reversed again, with
plebiscites not even coinciding with elections. If provisions can be changed with such speed, simply through legislative
action, even annual amendments are possible.
Like many rules in this country, and business contracts especially those involving the government, constitutional
provisions can quickly lose their integrity if these can be changed at the drop of a hat, or as quickly as the funding for a
signature campaign is rolled out. Yet this is what proponents of the ongoing fast break for Charter change are doing.
President Marcos is correct in saying that the 1987 Constitution “was not written for a globalized world.” But the
means is just as important as the end in making the Charter attuned to globalization. It cannot be done through
deception, or by buying support, as Cha-cha critics say the proponents are doing. An amended Constitution cannot
simply be presented to the nation, with the people being told to sign blindly on the dotted line, and to just read what
they signed after the fact.
Making the country more competitive in a globalized world also requires so much more than just easing foreign
ownership restrictions. Local business groups and foreign chambers alike have long pointed to the problems that make
the Philippines unattractive to investments, and these have nothing to do with constitutional restrictions.
Apart from inadequate infrastructure and high power costs, the investors have long cited red tape and
ineffectual rules and processes for ease of doing business, the failure to enforce the sanctity of contracts, a weak and
compromised regulatory environment and judicial system, and uncoordinated business rules of national agencies and
local government units. Simply acquiring right of way even for a critical project can take years.
These problems require resolute action and cannot be cured by instant Cha-cha. A country’s constitution can
always use amendments, but the objective is just as important as the method for its attainment.

Cha-cha fast break

If gathering the required number of signatures nationwide for a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution
proves so easy, with the threshold allegedly already met even before the month is over and a nationwide plebiscite
planned for July, the nation can be sure it will not be the last time that this mode of amending the basic law of the land
will be employed.
And the nation can be sure that it can quickly deteriorate into a bad habit, based on the whims of whoever or
whichever group is in power. Amendments can be reversed with every change of leadership, and reversed again, with
plebiscites not even coinciding with elections. If provisions can be changed with such speed, simply through legislative
action, even annual amendments are possible.
Like many rules in this country, and business contracts especially those involving the government, constitutional
provisions can quickly lose their integrity if these can be changed at the drop of a hat, or as quickly as the funding for a
signature campaign is rolled out. Yet this is what proponents of the ongoing fast break for Charter change are doing.
President Marcos is correct in saying that the 1987 Constitution “was not written for a globalized world.” But the
means is just as important as the end in making the Charter attuned to globalization. It cannot be done through
deception, or by buying support, as Cha-cha critics say the proponents are doing. An amended Constitution cannot
simply be presented to the nation, with the people being told to sign blindly on the dotted line, and to just read what
they signed after the fact.
Making the country more competitive in a globalized world also requires so much more than just easing foreign
ownership restrictions. Local business groups and foreign chambers alike have long pointed to the problems that make
the Philippines unattractive to investments, and these have nothing to do with constitutional restrictions.
Apart from inadequate infrastructure and high power costs, the investors have long cited red tape and
ineffectual rules and processes for ease of doing business, the failure to enforce the sanctity of contracts, a weak and
compromised regulatory environment and judicial system, and uncoordinated business rules of national agencies and
local government units. Simply acquiring right of way even for a critical project can take years.
These problems require resolute action and cannot be cured by instant Cha-cha. A country’s constitution can
always use amendments, but the objective is just as important as the method for its attainment.
Secessionist aspirations
After initially ignoring the call for Mindanao secession aired by his predecessor, President Marcos said it was
“anchored on a false premise” and is a “sheer constitutional travesty.” Any Mindanao secession is “doomed to fail,” the
President said, as he reiterated that the national territory “will not be diminished, even by one square inch.”
He subsequently emphasized that a stronger Mindanao will mean a stronger Philippines. And a critical component of
a stronger Mindanao, he said, is making the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao stronger. The BARMM
sprung from secessionist aspirations of the group now in control of its government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose
leaders have rejected the call of former president Rodrigo Duterte for Mindanao secession.
With the BARMM administration getting billions in funding from the national government, to do largely as it pleases
under the autonomous arrangement, it would be counterproductive for the region to support any secessionist aspiration,
especially one that springs from political warfare rather than from a genuine dream of carving out an independent state.
The MILF has been down the secessionist path for decades, along with the original separatist group, the Moro
National Liberation Front. The MNLF forged a peace pact with the government and its leaders were given autonomous control
over the original ARMM.
As MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari famously lamented, however, rebellion was easier than governance. He became
enmeshed in corruption, and when his hold on power was threatened, he staged a mini rebellion that exacerbated the
problems in Mindanao. The ARMM bred warlords led by the Ampatuans, who had the impunity to massacre 58 people in a
single assault when their stranglehold on power was challenged.
Today the BARMM remains the poorest region in the country, with poverty incidence at 37.2 percent as of 2022. With
the poverty are its concomitant elements: inadequate health care, malnutrition and undernutrition as well as undereducation.
Armed violence remains high, keeping away tourists and investors who can be drivers of economic growth.
Transparency, accountability and good governance are critical in creating a stronger BARMM. But studies have shown
a low capacity for effective governance among those in charge of the region. The regional leadership is given an overly wide
discretion, with little accountability, in the utilization of public funds, including those billions provided by the national
government.
Poverty, underdevelopment and social injustice fuel desperation and drive people to take up arms. If the BARMM
goes the way of the ARMM, secession can be revived in the region. Preventing this from happening is the best way to ensure
that aspirations for secession will be eliminated in Mindanao.

Secessionist aspirations
After initially ignoring the call for Mindanao secession aired by his predecessor, President Marcos said it was
“anchored on a false premise” and is a “sheer constitutional travesty.” Any Mindanao secession is “doomed to fail,” the
President said, as he reiterated that the national territory “will not be diminished, even by one square inch.”
He subsequently emphasized that a stronger Mindanao will mean a stronger Philippines. And a critical component of
a stronger Mindanao, he said, is making the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao stronger. The BARMM
sprung from secessionist aspirations of the group now in control of its government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose
leaders have rejected the call of former president Rodrigo Duterte for Mindanao secession.
With the BARMM administration getting billions in funding from the national government, to do largely as it pleases
under the autonomous arrangement, it would be counterproductive for the region to support any secessionist aspiration,
especially one that springs from political warfare rather than from a genuine dream of carving out an independent state.
The MILF has been down the secessionist path for decades, along with the original separatist group, the Moro
National Liberation Front. The MNLF forged a peace pact with the government and its leaders were given autonomous control
over the original ARMM.
As MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari famously lamented, however, rebellion was easier than governance. He became
enmeshed in corruption, and when his hold on power was threatened, he staged a mini rebellion that exacerbated the
problems in Mindanao. The ARMM bred warlords led by the Ampatuans, who had the impunity to massacre 58 people in a
single assault when their stranglehold on power was challenged.
Today the BARMM remains the poorest region in the country, with poverty incidence at 37.2 percent as of 2022. With
the poverty are its concomitant elements: inadequate health care, malnutrition and undernutrition as well as undereducation.
Armed violence remains high, keeping away tourists and investors who can be drivers of economic growth.
Transparency, accountability and good governance are critical in creating a stronger BARMM. But studies have shown
a low capacity for effective governance among those in charge of the region. The regional leadership is given an overly wide
discretion, with little accountability, in the utilization of public funds, including those billions provided by the national
government.
Poverty, underdevelopment and social injustice fuel desperation and drive people to take up arms. If the BARMM
goes the way of the ARMM, secession can be revived in the region. Preventing this from happening is the best way to ensure
that aspirations for secession will be eliminated in Mindanao.
 Catch up Fridays: Vital initiative in raising education quality

Last week, on January 12, the Department of Education (DepEd) launched Catch-Up Fridays, a program “to strengthen
foundational, social, and other relevant skills necessary to realize the objectives of the basic education curriculum.”

The program title conveyed in three words a problem that will affect the next generation – a lack of learning
competency which starts from being unable to read and understand age-appropriate texts. The “learning poverty”
problem was seen in the dismal performance of the Philippines in the 2022 Program for International Student
Assessment (PISA) which has been discussed many times by legislators, educators and opinion leaders.

Catch-Up Fridays is intended to bridge the learning gap. The program aims to bolster the basic education priorities in the
MATATAG Agenda and accelerate the achievement of education targets outlined in the National Learning Recovery
Program (NLRP).

Through the initiative, DepEd expects the students' abilities in reading, critical thinking, analytical, and writing will be
enhanced.

As a start, for the whole month of January, the sessions will focus on the “Drop Everything and Read (DEAR)” activity
which was also part of the National Reading Month activities in November last year. The DEAR session was supported by
other activities to develop a love for the reading habit, if not a value for reading as a basic tool for learning. Among
them were the “Read-A-Thon” sessions where students related stories about favorite books, listening to a “book
ambassador” read a story, and share-a-book fairs.

Now, Catch-Up-Fridays will follow-up the reading programs with more specific targets primarily focused on
strengthening reading skills, and also values, health and peace education.

The enthusiasm to bridge the learning gap, though, should not over-crowd Catch-Up Fridays with too many topics that
nurturing the reading habit may not have enough time to blossom. According to reports, half of the day's schedule will
“focus on operationalizing the National Reading Program (NRP) while fostering values, health, and peace education for
the second half.” Homeroom guidance program will also be included in the program.

According to DepEd Memorandum No. 001 series of 2024, all Fridays throughout the school year are designated as
Catch-up Fridays.

The initiative to encourage students’ interest in reading is not a new DepEd program. It was established through a DepEd
memorandum signed in 2011, which included an Araw ng Pagbasa (Reading Day) declared as a regular working holiday
by Republic Act No. 10556 signed in 2012 “to support “endeavors that promote reading and literacy, motivate
awareness and uphold our Filipino heritage and culture.”

DepEd said its current initiatives provide opportunities to enhance the students’ academic performance, particularly the
“low proficiency levels in reading based on national and international large-scale assessments.”

This can be achieved not only through the programs of DepEd, but also needs the participation of the private sector.
Book donations to schools for the DEAR program and volunteers who can be “book ambassadors” to read stories to
students are among the areas that need private sector support.

Reading is a productive habit, it leads one to learn more, understand concepts, upgrade one’s skills, make better choices,
and benefit from a better job – and it results in more productive citizens.
Catch-up Flydays?

The haste by which the Department of Education, or DepEd, launched its Catch-up Fridays program can be deduced from the fact
that the agency issued the memorandum rolling it out only on 10 January, or just two days before its implementation.

Naturally, the abrupt start of the program meant to address learning gaps among grade school and high school students, who are
emerging from the pandemic saddled with the learning challenges it brought about, caught teachers and students off guard.

Issues that cropped up in schools with the rollout of Catch-up Fridays were dismissed offhand as mere birth pains to be expected in
dedicating every Friday of the whole school year to reading (first half of the day) and lessons on values, peace, and health
(remainder of school hours).

In the memorandum, DepEd ordered all schools nationwide to set the National Reading Program in motion with catchy phrases like
“Drop Everything and Read or DEAR” and “Read-A-Thon.” Likewise, the Homeroom Guidance Program was included in the initiative.

DepEd maintained that the program would actualize the intent of the basic education curriculum by strengthening the
“foundational, social, and other relevant skills” that students must acquire by being voracious readers.

Teachers quickly found out that they would require students to read supplementary materials, and some, according to recent
reports, have taken to making money by selling those reading materials to their wards, something which DepEd said it is
investigating.

Early on, teachers took on the challenge of making reading more exciting and appetizing so that the attention and interest of
students in reading would be sustained, which is not an easy task since the idea is for students to do nothing else.

“For us who have students classified as frustration readers, this is a positive way to focus our efforts on them and properly guide
them on how we can improve their reading skills. Instead of extending for one to two hours for remedial classes, we can do it for a
whole day during Fridays,” a Philippine Information Agency media release quoted one teacher in Laguna.

It’s too early to pass judgment on DepEd’s Catch-up Fridays, which groups pupils according to their reading abilities, namely, as
independent readers, who need little supervision; instructional readers, who need some guidance in absorbing materials; and
frustrated readers, or those who can hardly read.

As the program is about enhancing students’ reading skills, teachers have been given the leeway to use integrative approaches in
their teaching, whereby the contents of their learning area serve as catalysts to develop reading skills.

As made evident by the program’s name, inclusivity is the objective in that no students would be left behind in acquiring the reading
skills that serve as the foundation of learning. That’s the theory, at least.

The problem is reports of widespread absenteeism by both learners and teachers, including the sub-set of pupils that the program is
targeting, the so-called “frustration readers” who require tutorial or close supervision.

For the “independent readers” and “instructional readers,” some mentors have taken to just requiring them proof they are reading,
like by sending pictures at their homes while “reading.” What happens after the photo shoot is anybody’s guess, especially if Call of
Duty calls, or the bed three steps away from the study table beckons.

Foremost among the questions being asked by many parents is: Are we not wasting one whole day — Friday — in an enterprise that
may not really result in poor readers catching up, while those who are proficient readers are deprived of an actual learning day —
with teachers actually teaching?

DepEd maintains that it conducts monitoring and has feedback mechanisms with field implementers, adding their inputs and
providing the agency with the basis for technical assistance.

Education in the country has been reeling from one failed experiment to another. The so-called Matatag Curriculum of DepEd is just
another proof that the K-12 Program, which supposedly would create employable people from high school graduates, was ill-
conceived and needed overhauling.

How about this Catch-up Flydays, errr Fridays? Are we not encouraging Friday sickness from both teachers and students? If so, that
would be a waste of one school day.
 ‘Philippines must prepare for worsening effects of climate change’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines must prepare for the worsening effects of climate change, such as sea level rise and
hotter weather already affecting the country, according to Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. of the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST).
In an interview with “The Chiefs” aired on Cignal TV’s One News last Tuesday night, Solidum stressed that global warming of
1.5 degrees Celsius has dire effects on one of the most at-risk countries from the climate crisis.
“Here in the Philippines, climate change is something that we need to prepare for. Roads and bridges below one meter and
other airports should be planned out to be inland. There are communities that might be flooded. That level of temperature has a
significant effect on our sea level and, of course, the hot weather, which is really hot,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
The DOST chief noted that there is a looming El Niño phenomenon, characterized by below-average rainfall that may last
for months and could spell trouble for agriculture, drinking water and hydroelectric power plants that generate electricity for parts
of the country.
“During El Niño, when there is not much water, our agri crops could be affected, the water supply could diminish and the
reservoirs are not filled. And energy, hydropower will be affected,” he said.
Solidum urged the public to conserve water even before the onset of El Niño to be prepared for its adverse effects.
“Overall, there will be decrease in rainfall in various parts of the Philippines. We should conserve water, hopefully, conserve
electricity because scarcity in water affects our beverage and power,” he added.
Solidum said that before El Niño arrives, the country may still expect stronger rains on its western side due to the
southwest monsoon.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) earlier noted that stronger
monsoon rains and tropical cyclones tend to develop before an El Niño episode.
“Sometimes, the southwest monsoon is so strong during an El Niño event. Warm air and moist air from Indian Ocean meet,
and where they meet, that’s where heavy rain occurs,” Solidum explained.
In terms of Typhoon Betty, the DOST chief defended PAGASA’s forecasts and said its predictions were accurate even if rains
were not felt in Metro Manila.
He urged local government units (LGUs) to keep updated on weather forecasts, especially in areas where farmers
supposedly conducted early harvest to prepare for the effects of the cyclone.
“Perhaps, LGUs should study the forecast rainfall that will change; what a tropical cyclone will bring could change,” he said.

‘Philippines must prepare for worsening effects of climate change’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines must prepare for the worsening effects of climate change, such as sea level rise and
hotter weather already affecting the country, according to Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. of the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST).
In an interview with “The Chiefs” aired on Cignal TV’s One News last Tuesday night, Solidum stressed that global warming of
1.5 degrees Celsius has dire effects on one of the most at-risk countries from the climate crisis.
“Here in the Philippines, climate change is something that we need to prepare for. Roads and bridges below one meter and
other airports should be planned out to be inland. There are communities that might be flooded. That level of temperature has a
significant effect on our sea level and, of course, the hot weather, which is really hot,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
The DOST chief noted that there is a looming El Niño phenomenon, characterized by below-average rainfall that may last
for months and could spell trouble for agriculture, drinking water and hydroelectric power plants that generate electricity for parts
of the country.
“During El Niño, when there is not much water, our agri crops could be affected, the water supply could diminish and the
reservoirs are not filled. And energy, hydropower will be affected,” he said.
Solidum urged the public to conserve water even before the onset of El Niño to be prepared for its adverse effects.
“Overall, there will be decrease in rainfall in various parts of the Philippines. We should conserve water, hopefully, conserve
electricity because scarcity in water affects our beverage and power,” he added.
Solidum said that before El Niño arrives, the country may still expect stronger rains on its western side due to the
southwest monsoon.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) earlier noted that stronger
monsoon rains and tropical cyclones tend to develop before an El Niño episode.
“Sometimes, the southwest monsoon is so strong during an El Niño event. Warm air and moist air from Indian Ocean meet,
and where they meet, that’s where heavy rain occurs,” Solidum explained.
In terms of Typhoon Betty, the DOST chief defended PAGASA’s forecasts and said its predictions were accurate even if rains
were not felt in Metro Manila.
He urged local government units (LGUs) to keep updated on weather forecasts, especially in areas where farmers
supposedly conducted early harvest to prepare for the effects of the cyclone.
“Perhaps, LGUs should study the forecast rainfall that will change; what a tropical cyclone will bring could change,” he said.
The divorce bill, again

The bill legalizing divorce in the Philippine has been filed in Congress again by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman.

“The right of women to live free of physical, emotional and psychological violence is a human right. The right of women not to live in
fear is a human right,” Lagman explained in filing House Bill No. 78.

This issue has been a contentious one for a long time, not to mention a favorite topic of debates in classrooms and contests
throughout the years.

Of course there are pros and cons to legalizing divorce.

As for the pros, there is no doubt that there are couples who are unhappy in their marriage. People make mistakes all the time, most
especially when it comes to this greatest of all decisions. A couple may find out after tying the knot that their dreams are not
compatible, or that their futures are not headed in the right direction, or simply that they belong with other people.

It could even be simply that they married the wrong person or for the wrong reasons.

Legalizing divorce will also allow one partner to escape an abusive relationship. While Lagman highlights the plight of women only,
who is to say some men aren’t in the same situation? There are different kinds of abuse aside from violence after all.

As for the cons, easy access to divorce will give the impression that a marriage isn’t worth fighting for. That it is something easy to
just throw away or set aside if the couple doesn’t feel like putting any more effort into fixing it.

A divorce can also weaken family structures. We all know what happens in a household that is missing a strong female or male role
model. A child may look for one in the wrong places or easily fall under bad influences without the guidance of such a figure.

We are sure there are more pros and cons to legalizing divorce, but we don’t have enough space for all of them here.

Of course, it should be up to the public to decide on this. We all know what the Church will say: “What God put together, let no man
tear asunder”. But this is easy for them to say, never having been married, or married to the wrong person.

If this topic is to be brought to discussion in the House again, perhaps the public can be given more say in it, as opposed to just the
lawmakers. That way it can get the support it really needs to push through --or get shot down for the final time.