This article should have appeared a long time ago, but I was not able to fix it because I was busy with graduate work for the past few weeks. Alex already created a post in this topic. Here’s my response.
When I first read this article, I can’t help but burst out laughing. Here is another politician saying things that the public wants to hear. Angara’s call to urge Filipino students abroad to go home and serve the country is a noble sentiment. But that’s all there is: sentiment. It might have worked for students who graduated straight out of college. But it takes more than sentiment to convince the graduate students and the postdocs to return. The Philippines can’t even offer proper jobs for college graduates. What more for returning MS, MA and PhD holders, eh?
I have short patience for people who say that after finishing graduate studies abroad, you should go back to the Philippines and be an entrepreneur or something. Hey, I am not pursuing a PhD in mathematics to be an entrepreneur. Money isn’t everything, you know. For die-hard academics like me, it is more important to be able to practice what I’m doing and interacting with people who are experts in the field I am studying. Sure, you can interact using the Internet, but nothing beats being able to knock at the doors of the experts if there is something you don’t understand.
Let me quote the last paragraph of the article. Angara said this:
Let’s make our students abroad feel they have the support and commitment of the government. Upon completion of their studies, we must provide them venues where they can put their expertise to good use, making sure that we adequately compensate their educational qualifications and international experience.
I’ve heard those lines before. In fact, isn’t it why we have the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) in the first place? They meet every year, discussing the problems of our country and trying to find scientific solutions to those problems. After the meeting, they write a report to recommend solutions and submit it (I assume) to the Office of the President. I once attended an NRCP convention, and at that time they were talking about alternative energy resources. If I remember correctly, they were advocating the use of biofuels at that time.
Now tell me, what happened to those proposals? Are they being considered in making government policies? Or are they filed in the shelf, just like every report that is submitted to a government office?
A few disclaimers are in order here. Yes, I do love my country. I would like nothing else but to go back and serve the country in whatever way I can. I dream of a country that could compete with other countries in terms of science and technology. But if there’s one thing I realized after teaching for several years, it is the fact that we have a long way to go. With people clamoring for a lower standard of education (see for example this, this and this), I can’t see how a graduate degree would help. It’s like a double-edged sword: people look up to you because you are smart, but if they don’t understand what you are doing, they will say that you are too smart for them and ignore you completely.
My response to Angara? Give me something more concrete, then I’ll reconsider. Otherwise, I’ll just consider this as sweet talk to attract voters.
I’m sure that Martin was thinking of what I wrote back then when he wrote this entry. I was willing to be open-minded about it and give him another chance, I might have reacted too strongly just because he attacked the subject I teach. But with his recent proposal to pass all students this year due to storms, he just sealed his fate. You just gave me another reason NOT to vote for you, mister.
First of all, we still have a few more days before the first half of the school year ends. It is too early to say that, there is still a lot of time left for the schools to recover from the tragedy brought about by Ondoy and Pepeng. Granted, not all topics can be covered, but the teachers can still teach something. Lighten up the requirements maybe, but do not throw away the entire year altogether. I shudder to think of the efforts made by the teachers to prepare their lesson plans for the entire year, only to be wasted by a stupid statement from a certain politician.
Second, he says there might not be enough funds to rebuild the schools, and priority should be given to the agriculture sector and repairing of roads and dikes that were destroyed. Heh, there would have been enough money if politicians didn’t spend it in lavish dinners and other whatnots. The outpour of donations from other countries are huge. Are you saying that it will still be not enough? Well it won’t if certain people are pocketing portions of those donations.
Third, he is leaving an impression that education is not important to be successful in life. When something bad happens, the first thing he sacrifices is education. I won’t be surprised if he will reduce the budget for education once he becomes president. He claims that he represents change in his campaign, but I don’t think that the changes he is proposing will benefit our country.
This guy has no respect for education, doesn’t he? I am now more inclined to believe what the others are saying: A vote for Chiz Escudero is a vote for a dumber Philippines.
I strongly suspect that this move of his is just to impress the students. Guess what, Mr. Escudero: You didn’t impress all of them. Hell, the ones who will like this proposal are not even old enough to vote for you next year. Elementary and high school only, folks.
I wonder how this statement will affect his bid for the presidency…
I’ll be out of touch for the next three days, meaning that I’ll take a break from all the tweeting I’ve done for the past couple of days. But the relief operations in the Philippines will still continue, so let me just leave you a few links:
- Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines (via Google) – Compiles relevant information about the disaster, including a volunteer-maintained map of persons needing rescue and a list of relief organizations accepting donations.
- OndoyManila – Contains a map of disaster areas, missing/found people database, as well as rescue and relief operations contacts. There is a form you can fill up if you want to help update the information on this site. If you want to help their team, you can send an email to typhoonondoy@googlegroups.com.
- Ondoy Victim Directory – Database of missing people, collated by Ateneo Task Force Ondoy
- Bayanihan Online – They collate messages (mainly via Twitter) on areas in need of volunteers, donations, transportation and relief goods. They also collate reports on abuse. (looting, red tape, etc.) You can help their team by leaving comments on their site, or via Twitter (@bayanihan_)
- PAGASA website – For updates on Pepeng.
- bicolanodevil at Twitter – If you are not happy with the frequency of reports by PAGASA. He also gives updates from other sources.
- Sahana Forum – Online forum to help collate information. (I have to admit, it’s been a while since I was last active on an online forum.)
- Tulong Tayo – Collecting information via text.
- Embassy of the Philippines – For information on sending donations from overseas.
- Department of Social Welfare and Development
If we all do our part, we can survive whatever storm comes our way.
Stay safe everyone! I’ll be back online on Tuesday.
DOST-PAGASA MTSAT-EIR Satellite Image for 2 a.m., 02 Oct. 2009
Dear Lord,
Spare the Philippines from this strong typhoon. We are still trying to pick up the pieces from the last one.
Amen.
Dear Lord,
I appeal to You in behalf of my dear sweet angels who will brave the storm to deliver relief goods.
May their good intentions not be hindered by evils brought about by greed, deceit and desperation.
May their light shine so brightly to keep darkness at bay.
Protect them from all harm.
And send word back to me if they made it home safely.
This is all I can do for them. I’ll leave them in Your loving hands.
Amen.
I understand that a lot of people are skeptical with giving donations because the money might not make it to the ones who need it. So fortunately, the Philippine National Red Cross created their own Paypal account: give@redcross.org.ph
This is all I can do for the moment, since I am not physically in the Philippines to help with the relief operations.
I also noticed that the relief operations are having problems with coordination. Some centers overmanned, while others are undermanned. Some areas receive a lot of relief goods, while other areas are still waiting for aid. I understand the need for someone to coordinate information so that resources can be distributed properly. And since Twitter is the fastest way to disseminate information, let me just pimp the Twitter account of my friend Chuckie, who has been busy retweeting people in need of volunteers.
Go go go! Let us do all we can to help Metro Manila and the surrounding areas get back on their feet.
