The Art and Science (or lack of it) of Parenting, haha!

It was Children’s Day at the Bank about two weeks ago and we were supposed to bring our kids to work for them to see what we do at the office. I was surprised to realize I no longer have a “kid” to bring. “Kids” is up to 14 and Ovid is already 19, going 20 in September. Besides, he was not eager to see where I work. He is busy.

Maybe it’s a typical attitude among parents to assume that kids stay as our “baby” forever. But each day we feel their efforts to assert themselves, to show us that they have started to live their own lives (except when they need money, haha!). I could sense Ovid doing that: he always has his own schedule, his own views about anything, his own perspective, his own preferences, his own things to do.We share the love for books and reading, for hanging out at bookstores, for discussions and debates, for chatting about everything.

We share the passion for history, especially military history. We spend time. We bond regularly. But in all of these, I could always feel his ways and views about things in the universe are getting away from my orbit, especially on things political. He seems to stand on the Right in contrast to my essentially centrist views. But I couldn’t really complain because he always has something from the mists of history to back his own conclusions. I mean, he knows the Greek and Roman civilization more than I do!

And boy does he hate boxing, mixed martial arts and contact sports—things that I really am crazy about!“But you always wanted me to be an independent person, to be my own man,” he stressed. “You always told me to think critically, to assess things and decide for myself. That’s what I’m doing and you should be happy about that.”

That’s so true. It’s not because I’m a liberal who wish my child to create his own destiny, to reach his potentials in his own way. Well, that too. But the other reason is that I got married so young and clueless how it is to be a parent the “right way.” So I didn’t really know how to “guide” Ovid except to tell him to consult with us all the time so we could figure out together the answers to life’s day-to-day questions. And it seems like the arrangement is working just fine. So far.

I mean, the boy is no rotten teenager. Like most teenagers, he is crazy about computer games, Japanese anime, and social networking. But overall, he is a nice fellow, sweet to his mom, unspoiled, sensitive, responsible, and sensible. No complaints really, except that he doesn’t have a girlfriend yet.“Well, if you have to wrestle with advanced calculus and physics, you may not want to complicate your life much further,” he said.

The boy has a point there, I must concede.

Brian Viloria's killer right from Hell (We have a new world boxing champion)

Brian Viloria has certainly found the fire back. He knocked Ulysses Solis in the 11th round. Those lunging overhand right after a stiff left jab was the killer. It was there all morning, complemented by a nice left uppercut.

Solis came well prepared, wit his stiff jabs, and a right uppercut counters as Viloria came that found their mark, most often below that belt. Solis also tried to end the brawl with body shots, in an effort to weaken and finish off Viloria especially in the 7th round.

But Brian’s right straight kept on landing on Solis chin, followed by an uppercut as Solis tries to clinch. Solis seems to have abandon defense, sensing he was the more powerful guy. It was only a matter of time before one of them falls.

By the 8th round, Solis was trying to press the action with body shots and right straights, while Viloria simply trying to counter with left cross and right straights, his bread and butter punch. Before the round ended, however, two left jabs hit, Solis mid-section, momentarily stunning him. Solis is weak at the midsection? Still it was a Solis round when he almost decked Brian down with a right to the head as the round came to an end.

By round nine, Brian’s straight right kept on connecting to Solis chin, followed by left cross to the head. Solis practically had no defense against it. One wonders why Solis was still standing. He tried to press the action but it was obvious he was on panic mode. He needed to score a KO before the other guy did. By round 10, Solis accelerated his aggression with most of his punches landing on the shoulders, sides, and gloves of Brian. He probably felt he needed a knock out to win.

By 11th round, Brian kept on throwing his right straights off a left jab and Solis caught them all on his chin. But Solis was the champion, a proud one, and the only thing he knew about winning was by coming forward. He lunged off a feint by Brian hoping to land his Sunday best, only to run smack into a killer right straight from Hell. He slumped like a sack of potatoes, his head hitting the canvas, staying there way beyond the count.

They don’t call Brian Villoria “Hawaiian Punch” for nothing.

We have a new boxing champion.

The books we read (Or why men love bitches)

A friend one time asked me for book titled “Why men love bitches.” I was shocked to learn the title was not available in all the bookstores I called.

“It’s selling like hotcakes,” a Powerbooks staff told me.

“You mean all the girls these days want to be bitches?”

It’s probably a zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. About a decade or two ago, girls in my circles were crazy about the works of Antonio Gramsci, Franz Fanon, Karl Marx and other “socially relevant” writers. They wanted to reengineer society. Now, many simply want to be “bitches,” to be winners in life, be it in the realm of relationships, business, or career.

Times have changed. Apparently, Francis Fukuyama didn’t call the collapse of Berlin Wall “the end of history” for nothing.

But come to think of it, zeitgeist actually shapes our reading habits—or at least, my reading habits. Not the other way around.

Recently, I found myself reading books about snipers (War of the Rats; One Shot, One Kill, Sniper One, Point of Impact). I seemed to have lost interest in political economy, international trade, or globalization. Maybe it’s because all these books are proving to be inadequate to explain the global financial and economic mess were are in. Remember Alan Greenspan’s “The Age of Turbulence”? Or Thomas Friedman’s “The World Is Flat?” I use to read these types of books. Since September 2008, however, they all started to look like the works of charlatans.

Why books on snipers? It’s probably an escapist thing, a passing fancy.

In these times of uncertainty, however, books on snipers are getting to be interesting. In the world of a sniper, a problem is analyzed through a 12-power scope and solved with a well-placed shot. The world is simple: you are either on the right side the barrel, or the wrong side.

I still keep Plato’s the Republic at my bedside, though.

Penalosa versus Lopez, Margarito versus Mosley: new entries in my boxing blog

Could Gerry Peñalosa beat Juan Manuel Lopez? Will the Shane Mosley suffer the fate of Miguel Cotto in Sunday’s boxing with Antonio Margarito? You may read my thoughts on boxing in my new blog entitled “Sweet Science.”

The Next Manny Pacquiao

Is Bernabe Conception the next Pacquiao? You may read my take in my other blog called Sweet Science.

The global financial crisis and its impact up close and personal

I sure did expect that the global financial crisis would somehow touch people’s lives in very personal ways. But International Herald Tribune's story (January 1, 2009) on how the crisis in the US is turning divorce on its head shocked me.

In normal times, divorcing couples sell their house and divide what is left after paying the mortgage. Or a partner buys out the other to maintain possession of the house. Then each one moves on with his or her life. But with the collapse of the house prices, many couples find that the values of their homes are less than what they owe the banks. There is no money to divide if they have to sell the house. There is no money to start afresh.

Result? Some estranged couples, many of them undergoing divorce proceedings, have to continue staying in the same roof. There are cases, the story says, where the husband has to occupy the first floor and the wife the second, with each of them bringing in a new lover, thus adding a new layer of complexity in their relationships.

A tragic dimension to this global financial storm, shall I say.

But let me digress. That story also reminds us what really drives social policy on marriage and divorce. Somehow, economics plays a great part in estranged couples’ decision whether or not to part ways. When a country has reach a point where its economy provides enough economic options for each, or specifically for the women, there would be greater clamor for divorce’s legalization.

In the Philippines, women’s groups have been crying for the legalization of divorce but to no avail. There is simply no political market for such a policy—at least not yet. A suffering partner, most likely the woman, would simply grin and bear a lousy marriage knowing that her life would be economically worse if she leaves the conjugal house. But wait until the country’s per capita GDP has reached a certain level (and let me hazard a guess: 5000 US dollars), and there would be massive clamor for divorce. That seems to be a long way to go, however.

This blog is officially closed.

Friends: This blog is officially closed.

For now.

I'm on vacation.

A case for political fact checking in the Philippines

I was wondering how social media or the new media could help improve the debates in the 2010 Philippine presidential elections until I came across Factcheck.org. This site, being run by a non-partisan and non-profit group from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, monitors the factual accuracy of the statements, ads, speeches, interviews, and news releases by major US political players. The g goal is “to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.”

It's motto: "Holding politicians accountable."

Recent example: “Obama says his health care plan will garner large savings – $120 billion a year, or $2,500 per family – with more than half coming from the use of electronic health records. And he says he’ll make that happen in his first term.” The group says that statement is “overly optimistic, misleading and, to some extent, contradicted by one of his own advisers. And it masks the true cost of his plan to cover millions of Americans who now have no health insurance.” Then the group proceeds to explain and analyze why Obama is wrong.

There’s also a lot fact checking stuff on John McCain, and Hillary Clinton policy pronouncements.

We need something like this for the 2010 presidential election. In fact, we need it to enhance and advance democracy in this country. Who should do this? Suggestion: why not our universities like UP, Ateneo, LaSalle, UST and others form a consortium for this? They should gather a pool of experts, researchers and a secretariat for this effort as soon as possible. Local and multilateral institutions who care about “governance” may contribute money to finance its operations.

This way politicians and decision-makers would be forced to study and think through the issues before they could even think about opening their mouths.

What do you think?

Obama is a free-market guy after all!

US presidential candidate Barack Obama after all “loves the market,” contrary to his earlier posturing as a protectionist. On CNBC, courtesy of Paul Krugman’s blog “Conscience of a Liberal,” he said: “Look. I am a pro-growth, free-market guy. I love the market” to the dismay of globalization hater Naomi Klein who castigated Obama for appointing in his policy team Chicago School economists who are supposed to be disciples of free market guru Milton Friedman.

Says Klein: “Obama's love of markets and his desire for "change" are not inherently incompatible. "The market has gotten out of balance," he says, and it most certainly has. Many trace this profound imbalance back to the ideas of Milton Friedman, who launched a counterrevolution against the New Deal from his perch at the University of Chicago economics department. And here there are more problems, because Obama—who taught law at the University of Chicago for a decade—is thoroughly embedded in the mind-set known as the Chicago School.”

Politics and politicians—they are the same all over the world. I wonder if his sentiment extends to international trade, say the Doha Round of trade talks where American leadership is sorely needed. But who knows, he might just change his tune again once he feels it’s necessary to do so just to get the votes? It’s really all about political marketing, if ever there is such a thing. And by the way, if John McCain loves the market and Obama loves the market, will anybody tell me who is who?

Boracay, party island

Even at midnight, the green tea at Lonely Planet Cafe near the Regency Hotel in Boracay looked too green for comfort. A feet away, tourists—mostly girls from as far as Korea, China, US and Europe— in tight minimal summer clothing were grinding their hips against the frenetic urgent beat, their hands raised up high swaying like tree branches being battered by the monsoon winds. Lumen, Kathy and I were not daunted. After all, neither we were there for tea nor the humanly distraction, but a place to sit, chat, breathe fresher air, and feel the white powdery sands push up through our toes. We just had a long walk along the shorelines under the gaze of the distant stars. We needed the break to clear our senses overwhelmed by the discussions that never seem to end.
 

Surveying the scene, I realized how Boracay has become a place of Becoming, where souls regulated by social mores and expectations could be what they want to be. Then they return to their prim-and-proper selves once they get back into their natural abode.

 

“It has become a place to get laid,” says one inebriated soul whose identity I cannot recall. “It's more like a place where predators of all types converge—sexual, corporate, or commercial or the combination thereof,” says another intoxicated "social philosopher."

 

Harsh assessment, shall I say. Unfair.

 

Despite the overcrowding, there are still some nooks an crannies in the Island where one could enjoy solitude, a corner to write poems and contemplate the meaning of life and the universe. For the right price, of course.

World Bank: from the outside coming in

Stan Grant introduced himself in a voice that reminded me of those gritty CNN reporters doing business in time of war. In fact, Stan was a former CNN reporter who recently joined the World Bank to do communications work. He used to cover the Asia-Pacific and most of the political hot spots in the world. I asked him why he left his exciting career for a less adrenalin-driven one at the Bank. It's because, he said, he wants to see and learn from the inside how the Bank works. “How about you?"

Tough question.

I joined the Bank about two weeks ago, the reason why I'm here in Washington DC. I'm on training. Some friends and colleagues who learned about my decision had mixed feelings. Ping G (my editor in chief) and Leah D (managing editor) at Entrepreneur magazine/Summit Media congratulated me. But there are those who gave a disconcerting, even hostile, reaction. It was as if I'd betrayed some unwritten code or sold my soul to the devil. “I always thought of you as a non-conformist who might get bored working for a rigid and formalistic organizations like the WB,” said another.

I answered Stan: “There are so many opportunities for learning new things; that really excites me. I had a glimpse of how the Bank works when I joined a team of researchers who did the social assessment of Mindanao in 2003 to help families displaced by the war recover their lives. Since then, I was wondering how interesting it would be to become part of a global institution that is doing lots of things in areas like poverty alleviation, governance reforms, infrastructure development, the environment, among other things.”

And indeed, there is so much of such learning opportunities here in Washington DC. There would be much more when I'm back in Manila.

The DC as Obama country?

If it's only Washington DC that determines the fate of America, Barack Obama should be president this coming American presidential elections. I don't know but most people I've met here are all crazy about the audacity of Obama's presidential hope. Obama T-shirts are selling like hotcakes. Or so it seems.

Over brunch, Mara, a DC-based journalist friend asked me how I think an Obama presidency would impact on the Philippines. And how Filipinos perceive him.

"I really think most Filipinos do not really care who sits at the White House," I answered. "Of course, Americans don't care what Filipinos think either. Obama or McCain or Hillary--America will always pursue her own 'national interest' and it would be good it that interest would converge also with our interest, whatever that is. But one thing is certain: Most Filipinos would always be pro-American for historical and many other reasons."

I added: "But in general, many Filipinos seem to like Obama, maybe because he looks cute, talks smoothly, and appears different from the typical American politician. Just like in the Philippines, people who want "change," whatever that means, would always vote for a politician who looks and talks quite differently from the usual, typical politician."

Yeah, we want a duck that doesn't quack like a duck.

Personally, I'm concerned that an Obama presidency would drift towards protectionism. That's would be bad for the trade-oriented Southeast Asia, given his tendency to pander to local protectionist passions. But I could be wrong. His anti-free trade and anti-outsourcing tirades are probably just political marketing, and its something that he cannot enforce anyway given that American businesses are able to maintain global competitiveness because of outsourcing.

But his foreign trade policy statements suggest that an Obama presidency would never be expected to lead the push for a global free trade deal the way Bill Clinton did,or tried, when he was at the White House. That would be bad for developing countries. But then again, neither Hillary nor McCain are probably inclined towards a new and better global trade deal. So let's see.
Anyway...

Hey Mara! Thanks for that really nice chat and brunch. Really love that we were able to catch up. And oh, Busboys and Poets [the restaurant] is really great. I enjoyed being there a lot! See you next year, my friend.

End of domestication?

So the superstition is not true after all.

No one gave me any travel bag last December so I thought I was in for a life of total domestication in 2008. I really thought so when I won an electric flat iron during the company raffle. Nothing beats a flat iron as a symbol for domesticity, right?

Well, I was probably wrong because I'm now on a journey back to Washington DC to attend the World Bank communicators' forum. (I'm at PAL's Mabuhay Lounge, enjoying the free Wi-fi). I'm excited because it will a great opportunity for learning new things in the field of communications. Also, I'll probably be seeing some relatives and friends: Judith Kliks and David Pitts from the IVP [International Visitors Program, State Department] as well as Mara Lee and Nobuhiro Saito, all DC-based journalists, from the Jefferson Fellowship last Spring 2007.

Of course, I just love DC! I just can't get enough of its historical monuments, museums, huge public buildings, and wide open spaces for the public sphere. In May, the temperature there ranges from 11-21 degrees C, probably just like Baguio City. It's perfect for an occasional visitor like me. I'm not sure though if I would have the chance to go around.

So friends, wish me good luck!

"Rice crisis": government is doing everything except the right thing

Oh this rice crisis! It seems to me that the government is doing everything except the right thing: threatening economic saboteurs and hoarders, raising palay price buying subsidy, and more funds for the DA, I suppose. These are fine, except that they are not going to address the supposed “rice shortages.”

Rice shortages certainly has speculative element into it, especially in such a time when global food prices are rising. And speculations are necessarily rife in a policy environment where government restricts the global trade in such a political commodity either through quantitative restrictions or very high tariffs—which we do. Maintaining such protection system for rice makes us vulnerable to speculators who are inclined to hoard when buffer stocks are low or going down, and they will pounce on every opportunity, knowing that the government or bureaucracy would always act (say import) when its too late. That’s what is happening right now. For all we know, those guys from the NFA might even be collaborating with those hoarders to make a fast buck out of the situation. I’m speculating here, but that’s highly possible given the culture of corruption in the bureaucracy.

Solution: Why not open up the Philippines to global trade in rice? Why not reform the NFA? That’s the only way one could prevent hoarders from hoarding knowing that imports would always come at the right time when someone starts the nasty business of hoarding rice. An open trading regime should effectively deal with the speculative element that distorts prices.

You might say freer trade in rice might cause the collapse of the entire Philippine rice industry. That’s crap. The fact is that even right now, even under the current policy environment, lots of rice farmers especially in Mindanao are shifting to the more profitable crop like bananas and other high-value crops. Smart farmers, shall I say! There’s no sense planting something that won’t make you real money.

Under a freer rice trade environment, lots of farmers are going to adopt shift to high value crops. That’s good for them. But many are also going to stay in rice business but are going to innovate to lower their cost. Some might just focus on planting those fancy varieties that command high prices in the local market.

More on this next blog post.

Will Playboy (Philippine edition) fly?

On 3 April 2008, Playboy magazine will hit the Philippine streets, promising to be an engaging read for the “mature” audience. I’m intrigued how “mature” it would be. If it could capture the essence and spirit of the old Playboy I knew, it would be interesting.

The Playboy I knew had investigative reports on politics and economy, poetry, short stories, and really very, very good essays by good writers. The quality of its fiction and poetry was a blast. Could the Philippine version deliver on those types of content as well? If not, there’s really no sense buying a copy.

Way back in college, I delivered a crisp but really juicy political science class report on Chilean politics, including the death of president Salvador Allende and the assassination of his finance minister, Armando Letelier. Our professor was impressed.

“What’s your main reference, Mr. Llorito?,” he asked.

“Ah, uhmmm, sir, Playboy magazine, sir,” I answered meekly expecting a negative reaction. But the class erupted in appreciative laughter.

“Really?” His eyes shone like a hundred-watt incandescent bulb. “Could you please hand it to me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thanks. I’ll return it after a week,” he said, smiling.

I never heard anything from him about that magazine again.

That was in the mid-80s. In this day and age of the Internet, I’ve read lots of reports about Playboy’s declining circulation. FHM and its copycats emerged and it seemed Playboy was destined for the dustbin of journalistic history. Launching a Philippine version at this time therefore is a courageous decision for its financiers here. I’m intrigued how it’s going to differentiate itself in a niche market that is too crowded for comfort. (Photo credit: http://www.acmewebpages.com/graphics/playboyjune1962.jpg)

Holy week hibernation

I practically hibernated in the last four days, doing nothing except reading, sleeping, and transcribing some past interviews for the Entrepreneur Magazine. Yeah, I finished two issues of The Economist, digested various topics like "economics and rule of law," China’s global quest for raw materials, and fund management. I also started getting back to some old Jonathan Franzen titles. I should have done some writing but my son was reviewing for his final exams (Calculus, and Physics); I had to yield the best working space in the house up to him. No worries there. Especially after waking up to a headline like this: “Filipina wins science award for ‘black holes.’”

Who says jobs are scarce?!

Indeed, jobs are not hard to find, if you have the skills. Writing skills, for instance. I mean, if you think you have the passion for writing, and some skills, and the right attitude for that kind of work, you may contact me. There's one lifestyle magazine for instance that is looking for one full time writer. I also need some part time writers for our magazine, Entrepreneur.

See? Life is not hopeless, ZTE or not! lol!

Let's tax the Church!

Should we tax the Church? Why not? It’s high time!

Church officials—bishops, ulamas, pastors, priests—based on their rhetorics, are always holier than thou, especially when it comes to failure of government to provide economic opportunities for the poor. But does the Church really do something about it besides prayers and few charities? If they want to help the country, the poor, the best thing they could do is pay taxes for the Church properties, lands, and universities to generate resources for economic and social development. Church-owned schools charge the highest tuitions fees in the land, thus accumulating so much money. Since they don’t pay taxes, they hardly give anything in return to society.

The premise about separation of Church and State, about religion and politics, has always been fiction. The Church—be it the Catholic Church, Iglesia ni Cristo, El Shaddai—has always been a very active political animal in the country. When told not to meddle in politics, the Church authorities would say, they can’t help it because the realm of politics has moral dimensions, which the Church has a lot to say. Well, every thing has moral dimension.

Rethinking John Rambo

It’s easy to think of John Rambo as a brute who does the dirty work for America, someone whom the types of George Bush would send to fight in Uncle Sam’s crazy little wars. I used to think that way. But hey, that’s actually not an accurate description of the character.

In fact, Rambo—at least the one I knew in First Blood, the first Rambo movie—was more of a victim. In First Blood, he was an ex-Green Beret guy with post-traumatic stress disorder in search of peace and quite in small town America, until a power tripping Sheriff treated him badly. In Part 2, he was stupid enough to agree to go inside Vietnam to take photos of supposed POWs only to be abandoned by the US Armed Forces when politicians realized the mission would have political repercussions. He was captured, tortured, survived and ended up saving some of the POWs. Since then he never returned to America.

He stayed in Thailand among the simple folks to live a humble and quiet life, only to be deceived once more into going inside Afghanistan (in Part 3), not for America, but for his friend and mentor who was captured by the Russians. In Part 4 entitled John Rambo: To Hell and Back, he went to Burma from Thailand to help his friends who were captured by the Burmese military (although I’m simply too busy to watch this one).

He hates politicians. He hates the military top brass. His actions were always about his friends. He had to do it because others wont.

America sneezes—are we supposed to get flu?

Are we going to get hurt badly because of US recession? It’s so easy to worry about that especially that we sell lots of stuff to the US market. But time has changed.

Ten years ago, electronics and semiconductors accounted for only 42 percent of the country’s exports with farm-based products like coconuts, pineapples, bananas, tuna, seaweeds, and baskets having significant percentages. Today, manufactures account for 86 percent of the country’s exports, the bulk of which are electronics and semiconductors. Farm-based products now account for only 4 percent.

Ten years ago, 36 percent of our exports were purchased by the Americans, such that we would always a catch cold, nay influenza, when America sneezed. When combined with our exports to Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Great Britain and Germany, more than 70 percent of our exports were purchased only by seven countries. China and India were not even listed among our markets.

Today, America only accounts for 18 percent of the country’s exports. China is now our third largest market next to Japan. Suddenly we can see our friends in the Asean buying about 17 percent of our products. The rest are accounted for by Europe and the rest of the world.

What we see here is a diversifying export market for Philippine products, a trend that should lessen our vulnerability to external shocks. And yes, the World Bank, it seems, has taken an optimistic note on the Asia Pacific Region, including the Philippines.

I’m trying to be optimistic here, of course. China ultimately sells to the US. Once the American orders for Chinese goods are down, so the Chinese orders from us will probably be. This is still an interconnected world.

But let us see, because even in the US experts don’t agree on the extent of the recession. And here in the local front, the National Statistical Coordination Board has yet to report to us the whole 2007 performance. The numbers would surely be good, considering we had good numbers from the farm sector. But the enthusiasm will surely be dampened by the sobering thoughts about the recession. So let’s wait on January 31, the official announcement of the 2007 growth rate, what the experts will say.

Meantime, you may read the take of Finance Secretary Margarito Teves by clicking here.