As we enter a new phase in this our 21^st century hi tech lives, we meet its consequent drawbacks – aging organs affected by pollution and other increasing environmental hazards.

Many of us seniors experience post-nasal drip described as a feeling of mucus dripping at the back of the throat - that leads to frequent throat clearing, sore throat, and coughing that disturbs our sleep. Since post-nasal drip is a symptom of another condition, other symptoms may be present that are linked to whatever's causing the problem. When allergies are responsible for post-nasal drip, many people experience teary eyes, itchiness of the nose and eyes, and headaches. And if you have also developed asthma, the post-nasal drip may make breathing even more difficult. Other symptoms associated with post-nasal drip may include bad breath, stuffy nose, hoarse voice, or persistent coughing.

THE BIRTH OF PATRONAGE POLITICS AND HOW TO END IT

• Based on Rene Azurin's remarks at the 2014 PEN National Conference

        The distinguished historian Teodoro Agoncillo recounted how the president of the then budding Philippine Republic, General Emilio Aguinaldo, referred to his newfound adviser, Apolinario Mabini, the question of granting agricultural lands in Pampanga to a long-time ally and general of the revolutionary army. Mabini, taken aback, protested, “What will the people say if we who are in power abuse it for our own benefit?”

        It is interesting that this moral issue already had to be confronted even as the nation was still being born. Even more interesting is that a Filipino leader of that period had unhesitatingly produced the correct response to that moral and ethical question. The land-seeking general was not given the land he coveted.

        In 1986, when radio was the fastest means of communicaton, Cardinal Jaime Lachico Sin used Radio Veritas to call out freedom-loving Filipinos to topple the martial-law regime of President Ferdinand Marcos and to install Corazon Aquino as his successor. Later, he was again considered a charismatic leader of the Filipino people in the 2001 EDSA Revolution that ousted President Joseph Estrada.

        On January 17, 2001, during the impeachment trial of Philippine President Joseph Estrada, his loyalists in the Philippine Congress voted to set aside key evidence against him. Less than two hours after the decision, activists, with the help of forwarded text messages, were able to organize a protest at major crossroads in Manila. Over the next few days, over a million people responded. The public’s ability to coordinate such a massive and rapid response – close to seven million text messages were sent that week – so alarmed the country’s legislators that they reversed course and allowed the evidence to be presented. … The event marked the first time that social media had helped force out a national leader. On January 20, 2011, President Estrada resigned.

        The first widely recognized use of social media as a tool of political change occurred in Moldova in 2009. Activists used Facebook, LiveJournal (an electronic diary service/social network), and Twitter to organize protests and bring attention to the political unrest in the former Soviet republic.

        Results of past upheavals in the Arab world highlight the important role of social media.  Social media is less effective for political change in repressive regimes, but can be highly effective in countering the dictates of biased media blocks in democratic states.

   

Social Media’s Role

        Manuel Castells has conceptualized how new network configurations can lead to new political movements by allowing previously disconnected, undeveloped political identities to take shape and rise to a prominent position (Castells). This is particularly applicable to Arab countries where religions and ethnic divides previously prevented networking. “Many Arab regimes banned the creation of political parties and limited the right to associate or create civil rights groups. This meant that there was little space where religious, ethnic, and cultural groups could meet and interact. … But social media has helped such groups discover one another and break the psychological barrier of fear between them” (“Social Media Creating Social Awareness”).

        Political discussion in blogs presaged the turn of popular opinion in both Tunisia and Egypt. In Tunisia, conversations about liberty, democracy and revolution on blogs and on twitter often immediately preceded mass protests” (“New Study Quantifies”).

        Blogging is a way to give readers information – much better than putting up posters or relying on printed broadsheets. It also conveys to members the highly motivating realization that they have big numbers – people who know their pro-democracy Facebook group has 70,000 members will be much more excited and less fearful than people unaware they are part of a big group. And it is an efficient way to transfer skills and information” (Rosenberg).

        One of the leading social media movement proponents in the US is New York University professor Clay Shirky, author of 'Here Comes Everybody'. He believes that “the more promising way to think about social media is as long-term tools that can strengthen civil society and the public sphere” and “social media can compensate for the disadvantages of undisciplined groups by reducing the costs of coordination. Larger, looser groups can now take on some kinds of coordinated action, such as protest movements and public media campaigns that were previously reserved for formal organizations. For political movements, one of the main forms of coordination is what the military calls ‘shared awareness,’ the ability of each member of a group to not only understand the situation at hand, but also understand that everyone else does too. Social media increase shared awareness by propagating messages through social networks. Political culture heightens the conservative dilemma by providing cover for more political uses of social media. Tools specifically designed for dissident use are politically easy for the state to shut down, whereas tools in broad use become much harder to censor without risking politicizing the larger group of otherwise apolitical actors” (Shirky). Regime shutdowns, which technologically savvy protestors have proven to be fairly adept at subverting, alert the international community to problems within countries.

        “New media can have an impact by helping to transform individuals and give them new competencies that empower them in politics. This can be something as simple as taking a picture or a video with a smartphone, uploading that image of that footage to YouTube” A second impact is “the way that new media draws external attention from citizens and governments outside the country or the region to that country or region to the place that is experiencing protest or conflict”. In this sense, social media are a megaphone. “It is difficult to prove that communication via new media or social media is actually what brings people to the streets, especially in societies which have relatively low degrees of Internet penetration and Internet access. Perhaps the best illustration of the threat this information poses to authoritarian governments is their reaction to it, states that have made a number of efforts to rein in speech and Internet”.

Conclusion

        Before the advent of social media, traditional media played an important role in a democratic society. “The media is often referred to as the fourth estate, more or less on the same altitude as the classical democratic powers of the judiciary, the executive and the legislative.” Its role is supposed to enlighten and inform the citizens so that they are in the position to make reasonable political decisions.

        Columnist Paulynn Sicam aptly said, “The bad old days seem benign compared to what we see today. There is manipulation because there is a lot of money to be made.”

        For all that it does, social media is no “silver bullet” when it comes to political change. “The use of social media tools – text messaging, e-mail, photo-sharing, social network, blogging and the like – does not have a single preordained outcome. Therefore attempts to outline their effects on political action are too often reduced to dueling anecdotes”.  Factors that seem to impact its successful use include the size, ethnic diversity, and education levels of the population, the existence of a modern telecommunications infrastructure, and the amount of censorship used by existing regimes. Social media has limited impact at best on an important factor affecting nascent revolutions – a regime’s willingness to use force to squelch protests. Egyptian protests grew because the Army would not turn against citizens engaged in peaceful protest. Iranian protests petered out when leaders used force to crack down on those speaking out, both in public and in the cybersphere.

        Moving forward, the activities of social movements will gain influence only to the extent that they are able to expose the biased opinions of official media and prevent the manipulation of political processes by organized political groups. Social media should therefore be able to weed out the chaff from the grain among journalists. 

        There are many surprising concepts that can be lifted from the results of Good Country Index of Arnold Anholt. Using a wide range of data from the U.N. and other international organisations, he started a very large-scale study that polls a very large sample of the world's population, a sample that represents about 70 percent of the planet's population, which answered a series of questions about how they perceive other countries. And this study over the years has grown to be a very, very large database of about 200 billion data points tracking what ordinary people think about other countries and why.

        The original idea of the Good Country Index is pretty simple: to measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away. The findings are therefore based on the majority views of the citizens of only one superpower left on the planet and that is the seven billion people, the seven billion of us who cause all our problems, the same seven billion, by the way, who will resolve them all.

        The index pointed out Ireland as the “goodest country”.

        But to us Pinoys this is of little consequence. Our interest on the study should be on matters that made Ireland the “goodest”, so we can determine how we can the attract the world’s attention.

        If a country has a great, positive image, like Germany has or Sweden or Switzerland, everything is easy and everything is cheap. You get more tourists. You get more investors. You sell your products more expensively. If, on the other hand, you have a country with a very weak or a very negative image, everything is difficult and everything is expensive. So governments care desperately about the image of their country, because it makes a direct difference to how much money they can make, and that's what they've promised their populations they're going to deliver.

        This concept is also applicable to individuals. If someone has a very negative image, others will shy away from him/her. And this image can be built only by the individual, because one who looks inwards have a mind that microscopes- talks without listening. He/she does not have a mind that telescopes. A mind that telescopes considers others around him/her. And thus opens up a two-way street.

        Once citizens of a country radiate a good positive image, they can make demands on the choice of their leaders, on their employers, on society and on ourselves. It’s a long but attainable process.

        At any rate, our country placed 114^th “goodest” country in the index. Syria is 113^th, while Iran placed 115^th. We got positive points due to our International students, Creative goods exports, Peacekeeping troops, Charity Giving, Biocapacity reserve (2009), Open trading, and Food aid. We are therefore presumed takers, not givers in the other fields.

        So, let’s work on ourselves first.

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_anholt_which_country_does_the_most_good_for_the_world?language=en

The article of Carmen Pedrosa entitled “Bongbong and the Marcos legacy of impunity” in Philippine Star this morning is a real eye-opener.

She says that the real test of how seriously Filipinos want to reform our country will come when Bongbong Marcos runs for president in 2016. She avers that currently the Marcoses are making a comeback stealthily and shrewdly, seriously threatening our common stand for reforms against corrupt politics that has been the bane of our continuous poverty and the backwardness of our nation.

The Binay-Roxas intramurals is but a smokescreen to the real battle between two possible third forces -— the return of the Marcoses or the triumph of Bayanko aimed at upholding the people’s sovereignty.

_____________________________________________________________________________

There is no mistaking that Bongbong has the logistics and funding of the Marcos hidden wealth.

Why does this impunity persist and continues unabated depriving us of better lives and a well-run country.  There are many but the most crucial is this: up to today, the Marcoses and other identified corruptors who came after them remain unpunished and the hidden billions from graft and corruption are largely unrecovered. The question is why? Because those in a position to dig up this mess would prefer the status quo in the hope of surreptitiously finding a way to get their hands on these treasures themselves. Greed is still at the forefront and the sooner we get over it the better our chances for a great nation commensurate to our potential.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Members of the emerging third force, Bayanko, a movement for moral ascendancy in governance and politics, calls on all Filipinos to get into the bandwagon of true reform as the only way forward. It is a collective authority with members working in different sectors. There is a core group of progressive bishops and the laity. The group has been meeting for a while  putting together ideas how the Philippines can achieve good governance by amending our constitution.

How are these alternatives possible? Let us consider the following numbers:

        I don’t remember having allergies in my younger years. But as I get old, I seem to be starting to have an endless cold. Or I may be developing allergies of some kind or even asthma.

        I'm wondering if these "colds" are really dust allergies or some other allergies. How can I tell?

        

James M. Steckelberg, M.D. of Mayo Clinic comments.

        If you tend to get "colds" that develop suddenly and occur at the same time when the rains come, it's possible that you actually have seasonal allergies. Although colds and seasonal allergies may share some of the same symptoms, they are very different diseases and we need to respond in different ways.

        Common colds are caused by viruses, while allergies are immune system responses triggered by exposure to an allergen. Treatment of a common cold may include rest, pain relievers and over-the-counter cold remedies, such as decongestants. 

        Treatment of allergies however is a bit more complicated and may include over-the-counter or prescription antihistamines, nasal steroid sprays and decongestants, and avoidance of exposure to the particular allergen, if you already know.

Symptom check: Is it a cold or allergy?

Adapted from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 2008

        Our bodies have two brains. There’s the one we all know about and a second one – in our guts.

Both of these brains begin to form almost from the moment an egg is fertilised and develop from the same clump of tissue.

        As this embryonic tissue divides during fetal development, one section evolves into the central nervous system, another into the enteric nervous system. Later these two nervous systems connect via the vagus nerve – the longest of all the cranial nerves. The vagus nerve stretches from the brain stem through the neck and finally ends up in the abdomen providing continuous two-way line of communication between the gut and the brain.

        In the last decade or so scientists have discovered that each brain influences the other and imbalance in one can mean imbalance in the other.

        In his ground breaking book The Second Brain, Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, says:

“The brain is not the only place in the body that’s full of neurotransmitters,” he says. “A hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number that is found in the brain…”

        I woke up this morning asking myself: “What’s up? What are the fresh challenges for a guy my age?” I clicked on the TV not really to watch the Kris TV show, but to check on the day and date to get my bearings.

        My day Tuesday is relatively open. So, I decided to write a blog about my favorite topic, healthy aging.

        I was figuring out the most appropriate title for the piece. Staying fit, comes to mind. Staying sane, may be better. Keeping it up sounds appropriate, but I decided against it as it has very specific inappropriate connotations.

        I decided to use “Keeping Pace” as the most apt term for my concern of the moment.

        I have always wanted to be in control of my environment – to act at a comfortable pace - my pace. Lately, I get stressed trying to keep in step with events in my life. The usual advice is to take it easy – take deep breaths and live longer.

        And this I find ironic, frustrating, because modern living is so fast paced and unsavory events seem to be overpowering us if we do nothing. Taking it easy will mean stagnation falling back. If one relaxes too much it is like just waiting for your caregiver (mortician?) to take you away!  I still find difficulty in just taking deep breaths and praying.

        There is so much evil being discovered threatening our nation. At no time in our history from the reign of insulares and peninsulares, have we discovered so many things, why our galloping population remains dirt poor despite PNoy’s impressive economic gains. PATRONAGE POLITICS, POLITICAL DYNASTIES, permeating greed has been taking advantage of our democratic political system. So many logical counter moves are presenting themselves waiting for the right people to act decisively.

        Years ago, one smart man saw this and on the pretense of correcting the defective system, took advantage and wrought havoc on the country for over 20 years relegating the Philippines as the “sick man of Asia”.

        The Former Senior Government Officials have expressed their findings. The greedy sector is fighting back trying to maintain its nefarious dominance.

        But my faculties say: Take it easy – relax. I guess I’m already too old.

        “The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   But I have promises to keep,   And miles to go before I sleep,   And miles to go before I sleep.”

NGO’s

        Now that we know where and how most of our new-found economic gains are being wasted, let me present a novel idea that the new enlightened unstained legislators should seriously consider - to give prominence to the important role of legitimate non-profit non-government organizations in nation-building.

        It is now acknowledged that most of the country’s new-found impressive economic gains have been going to the elite, if not to the hidden bank accounts of the corrupt politicians. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the middle class migrating.

        I sincerely believe that this proposal can move the great mass of our suffering humanity forward.

        I was involved in the operation of a health care foundation for a couple of years, but it was a total exercise in futility. Because of the prevailing suspicion that foundations are being used as tax shields and for tax avoidance without doing service to the country or its avowed beneficiaries, the Finance Department of previous regimes disallowed NGOs to take on quasi for-profit operations, such as selling services and goods at discounted rates, even if the “profit” generated was earmarked to the support the foundation’s just causes. Also, non-profit organizations are legally mandated to use only up to 30% of all receipts and donations received on all administrative requirements, which, of course is pitifully unadequate to cover salaries, advertising, marketing, as well as all contracted services.

         It is important for legislators to review the charter of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Being government, PCSO has been subjected to political misuse, over-use and abuse. But this charter can serve as model on what legislators can creatively do to enable the shift of wealth being generated from the very profitable conglomerates towards the lowly non-profit sector.

         Our enlightened legislators should also consider built-in safeguards against opportunistic scam artists like those of Janet Napolis  – while at the same time serving as conduit for public funds to be used for legitimate social services.

         Currently NGOs’ watchdog is supposed to be the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC) – a private group of NGOs that signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the defunct Department of Finance. Previous to PCNC, the job was given to NEDA. It was given the authority to certify NGOs applying for donee institution status based on specific standards. The certification should then serve as a basis for the BIR to grant incentives to donor institutions. It was envisioned that this certification process would encourage local donations to NGOs so significant at this time when resources channeled to social development projects, including foreign donors, have become timid.  PCNC exists largely to pursue tax incentives for donors to NGOs.

        Evidently, refreshed legislators can create a law expanding the role of PCNC to allow the non-profit sector to absorb a bigger share of the new-found economic pie. As we now find out, the empowered NGO watchdog should be able to prevent the criminal diversion of scarce funds intended to uplift poverty by pseudo-fundraisers and other NGOs. This move should be able to do a better job at lifting the majority from poverty than the CCT dole-outs.

        Our legislators should find ways to allow NGOs to put the following five things together:

I do pray somebody is listening.

My first impulse was elation upon reading Philstar’s  latest headline: “Noy open to Cha-cha, lifting of term limit.” I thought it would be a good guage of media’s recent headlines bannering PNoy’s nose-dive in recent surveys on how the majority of Pinoys regard the president’s performance.  

On second thought, if the term limit is lifted in the constitution, I can almost see the crooked politicians’ glee while salivating and wringing their greedy hands on the sidelines.

Personally, if this president’s term limit is extended by the “bosses”, the extension should only be for one additional term – only to allow current ongoing reforms to reach satisfactory completion. On the other hand,  it is more important to ensure that the constitutional ban against political dynasties should be made fully implementable. This crowning glory will allow PNoy’s legacy to highlight the lifting of the Filipinos’ decades-old serfdom where the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. 

        
       Yesterday I consulted my favorite Opthalmologist at the Shangrila Plaza because of my increasing problem with my eyes. It was not surprising to be advised to have an intraocular lens implant due to cataract. But what startled and started me seriously thinking was the cost of such hi-tech procedure, which will not only bring back my original eyesight but will allow me to be totally free of reading eyeglasses. At my ripe age of 80, is the “bionic” procedure worth the expense?

        As I sit in front of my television, flustered trying to figure out how to use this 42-button remote control, even after my grandson had given directions, I realize that he still needs me. He is eager to know more about his favorite show, World Wars, over History channel. I was even being asked about my experience  during the FIRST World War!

        Reading and writing have so far kept me away from age-related dementia.

        Most of our current ill-advised voters or straying leaders have no personal experiences of those past events, but most of my peers do.

        As modern people focus on how to best manage and facilitate the aging process, one should not forget that the older generations still has an invaluable contribution to make to society.

        I’ve seen much value in my friends in their 70s and 80s who are still active as lawyers, doctors and businessmen. I’ve also seen a lot more value in the exemplary work and life of my Jesuit high school teacher who is 10 years my senior.

        Older people are better at synthesizing information and experience, providing a particular type of insight that cannot be found in books or on Google.

        The wisdom gained from the personal experience of living through events such as World War II,  Martial Law years and the succeeding people power bloodless revolution cannot be learned from secondary sources alone.

        Most of our current voters or leaders have no personal experiences of those things, but older Pinoys do. Unfortunately, all of those horrible situations could still come back. Even if they don’t come back, we have to be able to plan and warn younger generations on the basis of the experience of what they were like.

        Although many things can be easily looked up in modern society via the Internet or books, there is value in knowledge that comes from personal experience rather than the World Wide Web.  Seniors should be out and about sharing their memories, as they are the keepers of little facts such as which exotic fruit tree is edible or how to catch the best fish during food scarcity.

        I therefore have decided to invest further on my eye surgery so that, with God’s help, I can continue to tell and write my stories on how to care for the future of our grandchildren and how to keep them safe in our beleaguered country. 

It is sad to note that it is fashionable for mainstream media to criticize government. Such fashion whether baseless or wise may be meant to cover tolerance of corruption. Basically, the practice is anathema to good governance, especially since most practitioners do not offer alternative positive solutions. If one must criticize, do it constructively.  

   

The call of Kris Aquino is therefore a welcome change. Let us not allow our country to be thrown back into the sea after it has already made an economic beach head.

        "President Aquino led his family and close friends in commemorating the fifth death anniversary of his mother Corazon yesterday, his show biz sister Kris called on the people to “stand by him and give him strength” in the face of controversies hounding his administration.

        Kris appealed to supporters to make her brother feel that “he is not alone” in the fight for good governance and against poverty. The President was silent during the ceremonies.

        “He can’t do it on his own. We need to stand by him and give him strength. And please pray with us also that he stays alive,” Kris said after Mass at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.

        Kris said they were praying for “good health, wisdom, strength, courage” for their brother, who is reeling from the  controversy over pork barrel funds and the Disbursement Acceleration Program.

         “And I hope those who believe in him will make him feel everyday that he is not alone… Mom, I know you are so proud of your son and in the same way, all of us here right now, we are so proud... really everything he is and you know… we know... we are what we are because of our parents,” Kris said.

        The death of his mother was widely perceived to have boosted Aquino’s presidential bid in 2010.

        In his emotional State of the Nation Address on Monday, Aquino sounded like he was bidding goodbye, observers said.

        The presidential sister said the people should not only make their support felt when Aquino was being criticized “but more importantly in the moments that he is doing good.”

        Kris expressed confidence that a great majority of the people “still really believe” in the President and in his sincerity and achievements.

        The only problem, she said, was that those who were supportive of Aquino were not speaking loud enough.

        Kris said even some people in the media had shown their bias and so she vowed to wear yellow in her television shows to counter them.

        She thanked their spiritual adviser who celebrated the Mass, Fr. Catalino Arevalo SJ, for his guidance and for making them feel “heaven is our ally.”

        “For all of those wearing yellow and those who continue to wear yellow… thank you very, very much and I know that mom is really happy in heaven right now,” Kris said.

        Cory Aquino rose to prominence after the assassination of her husband, former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., on Aug. 21, 1983.

        “Five years after Cory’s death, we still see clearly how her life proves that the Filipino is worth living for.” 

Acknowledging excerpts from Boo Chanco’s column on energy:

        “How did we get into this situation? Regulatory capture just about sums it up. Government was just too intimidated to do anything that may be misconstrued as tolerating corruption.

         And it isn’t just the power producers who are intimidating government into inaction. Environmental groups have also caused some big projects already started to stop, as is the case of that Meralco power plant in Subic and the Laguna Lake flood control project.

        The Aquino administration knew in 2010 that we don’t have enough power capacity to allow for reliable supply at reasonable rates. The Department of Energy knew, or at least they should have known, that unless the building of new capacity got started by 2011, blackouts are a strong possibility towards the tail end of their term.

        For an administration that kept on talking about the bullish economic sentiment, thanks to P-Noy daw, they did nothing about power supply. Shades of Tita Cory!

        Now we have new manufacturing locators who want an alternative to Thailand’s floods and political problems. Should they turn back because we have no power?

        The emergency power given to FVR during his time made it easy for him to sign negotiated contracts for new power plants through Napocor. That FVR’s energy boys abused that power to cause us outrageous rates we can’t shrug off up to now, is another story.

        This failure on energy brings us to the doorstep of the ERAP reign.

        Sen. Serge Osmena made an interesting observation with reference to DAP that can also apply to other things including the mess at NAIA. This is what Serge said: “He doesn’t have a good feedback mechanism… he tends to have a cordon sanitaire who are afraid to tell him the truth.”

        I guess P-Noy is too busy to worry about pressing problems that he himself promised to fix. Worse yet, the people around him that he trusts so much tell him all is well in the Philippines and sadly he believes them.

Port operations

        Last Tuesday, PhilSTAR carried a story about the complaint of the president of the Aduana Business Club on slow port operations at the Port of Manila. Some 20 local and international cargo vessels are unable to dock at the POM because of lack of available berthing spaces. Ships have to wait in line to dock and unload cargo.

        A ship able to get a berthing spot would take a long time to discharge containers because no space is available, and trucks are still loaded with empty containers. Sometimes trucks would be carrying these empty container vans for three days to more than a week, so how can they pick up the loaded containers out of the port?

        Vessel operators are rejecting Philippine-bound cargoes. They no longer want to make a port call to the Philippines. Some no longer want to dock at the POM and the MICP… the vessels are avoiding Manila.

        A reader who runs an export company in the Bataan export processing zone confirms the serious problems at POM.  “What I can not understand is why in 2013 the port ran fine and there was no empty container van problem. Was this build up of empty containers caused by the truck ban? “

        And that brings us again to another mess: Metro Manila’s traffic gridlock.

-o0o-

        Looking at all the above headaches for Pnoy, it appears that his administration has no effective forward planning.

        NEDA, which is run by people appointed by the incumbent president, has the PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2011-2016.  According to Wikipedia, PDP 2011-2116 is tasked to do the following:

        “It adopts a framework of inclusive growth, which is high growth that is sustained, generates mass employment, and reduces poverty. With good governance and anticorruption as the overarching theme of each and every intervention, the Plan translates into specific goals, objectives, strategies, programs and projects all the things that we want to accomplish in the medium term.

        Through this Plan, we intend to pursue rapid and sustainable economic growth and development, improve the quality of life of the Filipino, empower the poor and marginalized and enhance our social cohesion as a nation. Our strategic development policy framework thus focuses on improving transparency and accountability in governance, strengthening the macroeconomy, boosting the competitiveness of our industries, facilitating infrastructure development, strengthening the financial sector and capital mobilization, improving access to quality social services, enhancing peace and security for development, and ensuring ecological integrity.

        The Philippine Development Plan will serve as our guide in formulating policies and implementing development programs for the next six years. It enables us to work systematically to give the Filipino people a better chance of finally finding their way out of poverty, inequality, and the poor state of human development.”

        Obviously, NEDA’s PDP should straddle more than the incumbent president’s term to enable government to implement longer range planning. It is also obvious that GMA’s PDP was not considered in the drawing up of P-Noy’s PDP. 

        But that may again lead to charter change, which I dare not touch.

A WORD TO THE WISE IS SUFFICIENT.

        I would imagine all humans have each one’s fetish – an inexplicable attachment to some trivial object or deed. I found mine in my senior years.

        

        Since my wife and I started renovating our bedroom (the first one in 27 years) and vacated the room,  I have been feeling lost without my bamboo back scratcher.

        As soon as I wake up every morning, for the last so many years, I have had the routine of reaching for my back scratcher hanging on the wall beside my bed – and of course I scratch my itchy back and find enough heavenly relief for the day.

        Since I cannot find my back scratcher, I have tried to rub my back against the walls and the door – to no avail. I have asked assistance from my wife, who gave me her comb!??? My grandson assisted me with a hairbrush and tried to do the job for me. His generosity gave me some relief –  in spots – in some other spots, the assistance practically made my skin bleed.

 

        I remember buying this beloved stick from a travelling cart loaded with rattan-bamboo products and pulled by a bull. I also bought from the same salesman a hand-made decorated native dagger with carabao horn handle. I’ve already disposed of this weapon knowing that this is now classified as a deadly weapon. This type of ambulant salesmen has gone out of style and are already banned from the traffic-gridlock of the MetroManila. Hence, I am still looking for my back scratcher.

        Will somebody tell me where I can buy a similar back scratcher? Or what is the 21^st century equivalent of this ancient handy tool? Would you know what your fetish is? Or do you have a human back scratcher?

Life has become quite complicated.

        Last Sunday, after Meralco turned off power in our neighbourhood to fix a transformer, my dear roommate and I were desperately forced to seek cooler climes – we did not have TV to while the time away nor electric fans to move around the 36.4 degree C humid air. We drove to the nearest mall to watch the real-life movie, Heaven is for Real.

        By the time we got a call from home that power has been restored, we were already around P2,000 poorer. On the way home, we passed by an informal settler colony where many half naked people were still milling around oven hot shanties. It gave me an idea of how they fared during the brownout or where they lived. This must be the reason why some children drown in the polluted waters near the bay or nearby waterholes.

        I woke up the following morning refreshed in my self-designed home theatre. Beside me was a remote control gizmo that I am learning to manipulate to allow me to do many things including talking to my daughter in far-away Seattle via the TV monitor. My tablet and desktop are also within my reach. I can smell coffee and toast from the kitchen. This is the life, I thought. My reverie was cut short after I was shown the latest Meralco bill. I quickly turned off the air-conditioner.

        I also now discover that, like many other senior citizens, I have acquired allergies that will allow me to find peace and comfort only via nasal and throat sprays. I also have developed low back pain that is driving me to the Acupunturist. I wonder what other ailments and discomforts are linked to the aging process and what are reversible. I can ask my daughter if and when I can catch her attention. She is a nurse in a federal hospital slaving for dear Uncle Sam 14 hours a day.

        I picked up the newspaper, only to be greeted by a screaming headline about a highly placed government official, who seemed to find solace in the claim that he was being singled out from among so many. Like an unremorseful child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he seemed to say: “Bakit kami lang, sila din – kayo din”.  There is now queuing seeking immunity offered to state witnesses.

        Hurray! At the very least a lot of dirt is being stirred from long-hidden crevices hoping for the chance to finally see the light of day. I hope I can live long enough to see a number of ex-lawmakers populating the the Muntinglupa penitentiary – and not in a hospital, a resort or a military camp.

        A welcome headline announced that US President Obama has vowed to help us in our territorial dispute with our powerful neighbor. Another good news is the announcement that The United Nations has acknowledged that the 13-million hectare potentially resource-rich Benham Rise on the Pacific Ocean side of Luzon is exclusively Philippine territory.

        I still have to open an email from a friend entitled “Running out of Time” with a video explaining what is the possible cause of climate change. I sense this email will divert me from my comfort zone. So, before I open the mail . . . 

        Let me thank the Lord. Heaven must really be for real.

        For the last 60 or so years, I have been always gentlemanly. In my recent sojourns to the malls and public places, I was practically being pushed to walk ahead of my lady companions in walkways, escalators and elevators – to make me realize that I have become a weak senior citizen. I was also being offered the use of a walking stick! I look at the mirror and I understand.

        The changing of the guard has started. I am no longer in command physically, emotionally psychologically and perhaps, even economically.

        The 3 ladies that I have allowed to bully me around are my wife and my 2 daughters. I refuse to be pushed around by anyone else. Especially pushy is my 11-year old grandson, who does the easy route of getting his way by giving me a bear hug, which he learned from his jujitsu lessons.

        I have seen too many dear people leave this world, too soon; before ​ they even understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

        Only my dear roommate cares if I choose to watch TV, read or play on the computer​ until 4 AM, or sleep until noon the next day.  With the accompaniment of youtube, I sing to the nostalgic tunes of the 50s, 60s & 70s and undying songs of the original Ateneo Glee Club..

        I know I have become forgetful. But then again, some sad episodes of my life are just as well forgotten.  And those worth remembering, I eventually remember, especially with the help of my friend Google.

        Sure, over the years, I have known deep heartbreak. But broken hearts are ​ what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart ​never broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being human.

        I am so blessed to have lived long enough to allow my head to go bald, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep ​ furrows on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died ​ before their hair could turn silver.

        As one gets older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore.  I even ​ think I've earned the right to be wrong.

        I like being old because age has set me free. I ​like the unobtrusive person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but ​ while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have ​ been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall dance and run every time I feel like it – until, of course, I feel the huffing and puffing and the weakness in my legs. 

        As we age, our body's organs and other systems make changes. These changes alter our susceptibility to various diseases. Researchers are just beginning to understand the processes that cause changes over time in our body systems. Understanding these processes is important because many of the effects of aging are first noticed in our body systems. Here is a brief overview of how some body systems age:

Behavioral Factors

The good news is that many of these causes of aging can be modified through your behaviors:

        Lifestyle factors have also been shown to extend life. Rats and mice on a calorie restricted diet (30 percent fewer daily calories) live up to 40 percent longer. Positive thinking has also been shown to extend life in people by up to 7.5 years.