Almost a Pseudo-intellectual

Let the life of a scientist unfold. University of the Philippines-LB University of Tsukuba, Japan

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Cheers to our first!

As I look at this ring, I will always remember the commitment I’ve made and the vows I’ve shared with you. I’ve come to accept and embrace our indeterminate future with confidence and open arms, knowing that our love for each other is true and resolute.

Other people may be united by marriage and/or their offspring(s), but what we sought to unite us is something more substantial, our bond. These fun, sad and even boring memories that we’ve shared and we’ll create will keep us in union. The strength of our bond will be directly proportional to time.This will become our greatest investment, and we will surely work hard for this.

To the moments that we’ve shared and we’ll share together....

To the first of many more months to come.....

Cheers! :)

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ASEAN integration in an Agricultural Perspective

The ASEAN integration will lift the barriers posed on goods, services, labour and even capital between member countries, a characteristic not offered by free-trade agreements. Ill-prepared for this union, the Philippine agricultural sector is facing and will face great challenges.

First, on the economic side, there is a comparative disadvantage in the agricultural production, with respect to other member countries. Agricultural products produced in our country, like rice, is also produce by some ASEAN members. To point out, relatively, the efficiency in our production is lower compared to other member nations. To cope up with this, tariffs have been posed to imported goods. Now that it has been lifted, with the advent of the integration, these imported goods will consequently lower in prices. Apparently, the prices of some imported products will be lower than that of locally-produced ones. This is a great problem since the Filipino consumers will evidently submit into purchasing lower-priced goods, as a result of poverty and/or frugality. Becaue of this, Filipino producers will lose their market. Eventually, farmers will be faced with the dilemma of continuing to produce or not, as market prices have lowered and they could not keep up with it.

In my opinion, this agricultural inefficiency in production, coupled with the ASEAN integration, could cause the eventual loss and degradation of the Philippine agricultural sector. Farmers and agriculturists will eventually seek greener pastures as our “inefficient” farming system serves to be unprofitable. In the mere future, a shift of focus from agriculture towards another industry is apparent if nothing is done. 

From here, the work of the academe starts by strengthening the agricultural chain of production towards a more efficient one. Innovations and technologies should be made and adopted in order to facilitate efficiency and keep up with other ASEAN member countries. 

           In the case of the industry, specifically vegetable industry, they see the negative impacts of the integration, having inefficient production in the Philippines; however, they also see a silver lining. Since we could not compete on crops produced by other countries, Philippines can shift into producing crops that are not found on other countries, like okra and ampalaya. A wider market for these crops would eventually develop. 

Other ASEAN nations have set their goals and started their preparations as early as a decade ago. Twenty fifteen has finally arrived and the Philippines is still in shambles. Indeed, the Philippines is not ready for the said integration.

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Hi, just want to ask, if are those your essays? Because, wow! You really have the right choice of topics.

yes... these are my essays. :)

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Science does not necessarily precede technology.

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Science, Technology and Society and the Inconvenient Truth

The concept of global warming and climate change as a phenomenon has been around for quite some time now. The change in the world’s climate is undeniable. The documentary aims to educate the unaware people of how we are continually destroying our planet.  According to Albert Gore, a politician in the USA and an advocate of global warming, the three major factors affecting global warming are population, science and technology, and our way of thinking. With this connotation, it can directly be inferred that science, technology and society are the ones that drive changes. These fields have sole effects and different interactions that cause great impacts and implications on the present day situation and the future that lies ahead.

           As what the documentary depicts for the past several years, we, the society, with the help of science and technology have created and done inappropriate things that damaged Mother Nature. In this point of view, it can be seen that science technology and society contributed to the problem, global warming.

           Society affects the current situation as the peoples’ way of thinking, thought of as common culture, led to an increase in world’s population which has been observed with the by the present-day society. It is true that more people means more needs needing to be met. It also means more pressure in the environment.  The need for food led to faster exhaustion of natural resources, particularly those of plants and trees.  There has also been an increase at the rate by which lands are being converted into residential areas.  As a result, the vegetation that absorbs carbon dioxide and aids in keeping its levels normal, has diminished.  The pressure that we are causing on our environment makes it hard for the natural system to maintain homeostasis, contributing to the vulnerability of our world to global warming. Furthermore, global warming has become too much of a common problem that nobody would want to own up to the mess that we have created.  It is that type of a problem so easy to take for granted as long as its consequences are still tolerable.  As long as its reality is not yet sinking in, we do not see it yet as a problem.  And if we do not see it as a problem, we do not feel the need for solutions.  

           Given the mindset of the current society, we also claim that our race is the most superior of all the living things. In our point of view, due to our superiority above others, we should be the one responsible for maintaining the well – being of the planet we live in. But we have done the exact opposite of this. We have exploited every available resource as we see fit. In the documentary, Al Gore compared photos of places with rich resources then and now. We could see how the place drastically changed over a short time. Ice formations and huge areas of glaciers disappeared due to global warming.

On the other hand, science and technology, useful as they are to mankind, have its own setbacks. Although intended for the benefit of mankind and the development of life, too much of it brought about repercussions, such as climate change, that we are now experiencing today. Since the industrial revolution, great impacts particularly on our ozone layer have been exerted, and it continues until today. We have built a habit of unnecessarily depending too much on technology for our daily conveniences. Take for example how we prefer to ride vehicles when we can actually just walk. In another example shown, the use of nuclear weapons in the 20th century showed incredibly unpredictable results. A lot of lives and livelihood were lost and destroyed and the place where it stuck became virtually inhabitable for living things to live. Until now, the effects are still present but not felt all throughout the world, until now. The heat released by the explosion of the nuclear weapon accumulated in the atmosphere. Thus, the choice in the things we buy, the electricity we use, the cars we drive or the technologies we utilize affects the current condition. We can also deduce that technology, as it is abused, brings about negative consequences. Indeed, some of the technologies that we’ve created with the help of science had unknowingly made great contributions to global warming.

The effect of the interaction between science, technology and society with respect to global warming can also be seen and interpreted in different ways. In one point of view, the mindset and values of the current society can be pictured as the primary driver of global warming. The current mindset and values has preceded the direction of science and technological advancements that further led to the problem. In another aspect, it could also be viewed that science and technology is the primary force that led to global warming as one could argue that it changed the mindset and values of the present society.

The documentary also tackled ways on how science and technology bridges the gap between the society and the unknown. One good example is in the part of diagnosing the problem or in determining the relationship and effects of the new technologies and human activities in the environment. With the use of tools and machineries like thermometers, carbon measuring devices, weather balloons and submarines, the video depicted how the scientific community used technology to gather data with the hopes of understanding the environment.  Then, with the help of science, they were able to interpret these data and analyse it in such manner that they came-up with global warming as a prognosis.

It can be viewed that technology was used as a tool for the enhancement and magnification of our senses; it provided eyes, ears and muscle to science and it also tapped characteristics different from what humans can sense. Science using its logic then explains the data produced by the technology and gives predictions based on evidence. The role of society can then be viewed as the brain and manipulator of technology and science. It is up for the people to interpret and figure out ways how to understand the unknown or different phenomena using the available knowledge and logic offered by science and the amplified and augmented senses offered by technology.

           Based on the documentary, the relationship of science, technology and society can also be depicted on the solution-making process.

           In the latter part of the film, Al Gore was saying that his country, America, and the rest of the world can reverses this developing high trend of CO2 production by changing our ways and planting more trees. America already paved the way in decreasing the CFC’s that is produced yearly so he is quite positive that they could also change for our Mother Earth. He concluded it by saying, “Each one of us is a cause of global warming, but each one of us can make choices to change…..The solutions are in our hands, we just have to have the determination to make it happen. We have everything that we need to reduce carbon emissions, everything but political will. But in America, the will to act is a renewable resource.”. Together with the facts presented on the documentary, this implied that changing the culture and the common beliefs and practices of the present-day society can be one of the solutions to the impending problem. Another solution could also be in a form of the development of new environmentally-safe technologies with the help of the updated knowledge coming from science. Al Gore suggested that we save our planet by using more natural sources of energy like wind, solar or geothermal ones. He also acknowledged our very own electrical and bio-fueled jeeps. Truly, weaknesses as they may be considered, can also be turned into strengths.  

           The video offers a point-of-view that has not been considered and realized for a long time. It changes the beliefs, twists the opinions and alters the practices of the modern-day society. It brought a social divide between the believers and skeptics who claimed that global warming is a natural phenomenon. It also brings about a social movement to promote a better change throughout the world. Utilizing technology, the discussion in the documentary is supported by science. It gives us an idea of how science is ever changing and how the world can be viewed as understandable. It also emphasizes the role of people and the society as a whole in the direction of the scientific and technological advancements.  It also showed how science and technological advancements can bring harm and impose danger towards the society. Based from the documentary, it can be implied that the relationship existing between the three different fields is not necessarily unidirectional and their functions and roles are not mutually exclusive.

As what Winston Chuchill said, “The era of procrastination, of half- measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.”. He was saying that we are the cause of what is happening to us. We did this to ourselves so we have to do something to make it right once more or we shall suffer major damage and very fast and unexpected “consequences”.

In the end, the society’s lack of knowledge of the general truths is imposing a great danger. Mitigation of the problem not only lies on the direct implementation of policies that could alleviate the effects of global warming and climate change. It is also important that the people understand the mechanism behind this phenomenon so that, in their own, they can formulate indigenous, sustainable and feasible solutions.

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Will there be a “Philippines” in the year 2114?

More than a century after Rizal’s death, in an era where the Philippines has gained its long sought independence, there lie a problematic society. For one paper could not discuss all of its worldly intricacies, we shall dwell on one or two major issues that would shape the future of the Philippines in the next century. Living in today’s digital age, where knowledge and information are more powerful than the sharpest sword, education is supposedly given as a right to every Filipino citizen. Alarmingly, this right has been continuously undermined by those in power. A large number of people have been uneducated or under-educated. This fact has led to different problems faced by the society.

One major issue is ignorance which led to the people’s inability to identify the problems faced by the current society. Ignorance has become a tool for exploitation. Those in power remained in power and the gap between the rich and the poor continued to widen. Though we are free from the shackles of our colonialists, we, the Filipino people, have made a shackle of our own and for our own. Fearing a poverty-filled life, rich people often take advantage of the naïvete of their own countrymen. Forced labor and cheap labour are just few of the unsightly outcomes seen today. Science, logic and truth, the three pillars needed for enlightenment, have been restricted in a subliminal way. Education, which was once a right for everyone, is now only for those who have the capacity to pay. Indeed, a dark future potentially lies ahead of us.

In a viewpoint, we have come to imbibe the unruly practices of our colonialists. Using the rationale set by religion, unfortunate Filipinos are deceived into submission, expecting a second life that’s more fruitful than the present. A misinterpreted message, taken advantage by those in power, lead to the masking of the rotten foundation our country is built upon as unilluminated Filipinos have come to accept this logic. Now, people in power are very hesitant and cautious in sponsoring people with regards to their education. As proof, University of the Philippines, the premier state university which hones intellectuals from all over the country, had come to terms with increased tuition fees and budget cuts. It is very ironic how the thing that we fought to liberate is now being used as an instrument that’d conquer our very own people.

Aside from this, low technological acceptance and poor understanding of our very own countrymen has been seen as an offset to this issue. Gender discrimination and poor health choices are one of the most apparent outcomes. Most people in the province still believe in superstition. Furthermore, conflicting ideas between different religions are often perceived, especially in the southern part of the Philippines. The Filipinos have failed to disseminate the light of information and knowledge. This light of knowledge and information could have been used to unite and advance the Filipino people as better understanding can come through critical thinking and open mindedness which is not often achieved by most Filipinos. Truly, this action, which has restricted us in progressing as a nation, will eventually give way into the dissolution of Philippines a century hence.

Today, Philippines have been seen to have an arithmetic/low to no growth rate in terms of education as a human development index; whereas, other neighbouring countries have been found to have an exponential/geometrical/high increase in the said field. With the advent of the ASEAN integration, there will be a porous barrier between us and the neighbouring countries in terms of goods, people and services. Ill-prepared for this, ASEAN integration will be the commencement of our degradation as a nation. Our goods and products are mostly not that competitive due to lack of technological adaptation and dissemination. People in our country will even prefer other goods from the neighbouring countries as they would be cheaper in cost. Moreover, ignorant Filipino people will be more prone for exploitation from the neighbouring countries. The Philippines will surely be overwhelmed by other ASEAN countries. Rich people and conglomerates might prosper; however, the vast majority of the uneducated Filipinos will surely suffer from this as a consequence.

To date, we are very proud in exporting Filipinos throughout the world as Overseas Filipino Worker (OFWs). What we do not know is that the bulk of this OFWs are domestic helpers and caregivers. In short, Philippines rely on people as goods. From this, a modern-day setting of slavery often results. Though Filipinos are not directly coerced to work and serve someone, the circumstances the Filipino people are subjected to will cause the people to eventually submit to anything that would alleviate their lifestyle. A true neo-colonial country would result.

Culturally unprepared, this union between different countries could cause and eventual loss of identity of the Philippines as a nation.

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A Critique on the Anti-Selfie Bill

Seeking to protect the personal privacy of every person, HB 4807, also referred to as the “Protection Against Personal Intrusion Act”, was proposed by Cong. Rufus Rodriguez. The said bill states that capturing, or trespassing on private property to capture, any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression of any individual, personal or family activity for commercial purposes is unlawful. Not long after its proposal in congress, it has been quickly criticized, having deleterious implications to the freedom of the press. Bayan Muna Representive, Carlos Zarate, dubbed it as an “Anti-Selfie Bill” as an individual could be held liable by merely capturing any person even when he does not trespass private property, implying that even an innocuous selfie that captures a person by accident in the background could be grounds for legal punishment. Thus, carrying elements of repression and suppression, HB 4807 should be deemed unnecessary and must be overturned. 

First and foremost, the said bill could be viewed as something that is superfluous and redundant as existing laws already encompass the objective of the said bill. Article 26 of the Civil Code of the Philippines already provides the benefits of some of its provisions as it states that, “every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors and other persons”. It also specifically identifies prying, meddling with or disturbing the private life or family relations of another as unlawful. Atty. Mel Sta. Maria, the Dean of the FEU institute of Law, also thinks so too saying that, “our present laws are already replete with provisions to protect the privacy of people”. Furthermore, according to the wise Greek Philosopher Arcesilaus, too many laws give way only to great injustice. HB 4807, if passed, will specifically do so. Not only will it complicate things by adding laws that will encompass the previous ones, it’ll also provide an avenue for greater injustice by having an expansive scope that could even include selfies. The necessity and importance of the said bill is truly questionable.

In another point, the bill could also hinder the technological progress of the country. Due to its set prohibitions, free-flow of information could be restricted. With the digital revolution that’s currently taking place, this bill can be seen as a hindrance to informational and technological turn-over as pictures and videos are essential tools in communicating and learning. Moreover, indicating that unauthorized capture of image of a person could lead to charges, its negative impacts on research and development are very evident. As an example, in the field of social sciences, taking videos and images of people in action are inevitable as they seek to understand and study people or collections of people and their behaviours. The enactment of this bill will further delay the progress of their research as extra precautions will surely be developed in fear of the law.

Not only does this bill restrict scientific progress, it also pacifies the press and promotes suppression and repression as it is stipulated on the said bill that it would not be a defence that no image was captured or sold. Apparently, the bill seeks not only the punishment of those people who infringe for commercial purposes but also the punishment of those people who just take pictures of and/or with other people without prior notice. It is also specified on the said bill that people can also be penalized for capturing these videos and photos even though no trespass occurred. This indicates that any picture taken innocently in public places can also serve as a liability. Thus, a camera full of pictures of other people in public could serve as an evidence of a felony.

If passed, people, including the media, would be more cautious in airing and taking pictures and videos. It clearly stifles the ability of the media to express and truly depict the value of the information being communicated. For example, conveying an aftermath of a natural disaster would now require a lot of consents as large groups of people need to be shot and interviewed to visually depict the true extent of the catastrophe. Also, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) favoured its withdrawal as it stated that, “the measure’s intent is so broad it is likely to be used as another weapon for the criminal and the corrupt to escape account-ability should it become law”. The HB 4807 can therefore be considered as something that is superfluous and redundant. It also hinders technological advances and promotes suppression and repression. Thus, without any doubt, it should be overturned.

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“The Perks of doing the Ice Bucket Challenge”

The ice bucket challenge is an activity that promotes awareness of the disease Amylotropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). A person nominated for this challenge is dared to pour a bucket of ice-cold water onto his/her head while being filmed; otherwise, he/she could forfeit the said challenge by donating a specified amount to the ALS Association, an American non-profit organization. Challenge rules may vary as one may opt to take the challenge but also donate. Donations received from this activity will help in funding ALS researchers.

The said challenge, which started going viral on social networking sites around July of 2014, has become popular in areas in the United States. The interesting part about this challenge is that it promotes awareness and, at the same time, gathers donations for research. Participated by a lot of public figures, this challenge has become a word-wide hype. The unique scheme of the challenge is that it incorporates publicity by allowing participants to nominate, thus, having a multiplier effect. On the downside, the event has become too mainstream that it eventually lost its essence. Based on the saying “the method is as important as the result”, I believe that the ice bucket challenge has lost its essence as some people no longer participate to help, to inform and to become informed.

For most of the time, this activity has been reduced to a stunt that politicians would often take advantage to increase their popularity as it proposes an inexpensive yet concrete way to uplift a politician’s reputation. Among the list of politicians who did the ice bucket challenge are Senator Bam Aquino, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and Senator Sonny Angara. Some had even made it into the front page of newspapers, including that of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Truly, this challenge saves the politicians from spending on high-priced advertisements as the challenge would cost you nothing compared to a one-half-paged add at the Manila Bulletin which would cost you around 75,000Php.

Also, people in the showbiz industry have used it as a tool to lure fans and gain fame. Others, simply do the challenge for fun showing no care or sympathy to the people and family affected by the disease. As an example, showbiz personality “Kriz Aquino” has done the challenge primarily because she was inspired by Derek Ramsey. In another instance, pop star “Justin Bieber” had even bent the rules as he did the challenge twice. In his attempts, he wore a white-tank top and black shorts on his first while a shirtless Bieber appeared on the next. This suggested a hint of discontentment from his first attempt which led him to show-off during his second. Furthermore, the objective of the challenge was defeated during his second attempt as one could not be informed twice about the same disease. In both occasions, we can denote that the drive was not taken primarily from those people that are suffering from the disease.

Knowing all these possible hidden agenda, the ice bucket challenge has grown to become an avenue for arrogance. Having false modesty as their refuge, rich people often flaunt their wealth by doing this challenge. On the other hand, feeling that it’s more of a celebrity’s activity and having no ability to donate, less fortunate people tend not to do the said challenge. Indeed, it has also promoted a social divide between the rich and the poor. While a lot of rich public figures that donated also did the challenge, less fortunate people have only the capacity to do the challenge. Moreover, T.V. host “Joey De Leon” added insult to injure when he sent a message to the public saying that people should not do the challenge if they just nominate and not donate. This provides an avenue for discrimination between those that have the power to donate and those that could not. Funding for ALS research is important but the mere participation and understanding of what it feels like to have ALS would also mean a lot.

It is true that the ice bucket challenge is a very interesting, popular and somewhat effective method of increasing awareness and donations for people with ALS; however, the spirit of altruism and the true nature of the said challenge has been reduced, if not lost. The challenge not only promotes social divide but also became an avenue for other hidden agenda. Some people, on the other hand, just participate to join the hype. In this sense, the very goal of the challenge is defeated. 

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It's so sad to see that my favorite online game is about to end.

I will surely miss the days na nagpupuyat at pakape-kape pa ako para mapalevel lang yung knight ko.. It was tough..  I really had a hard time playing FLYFF.  To tell the truth, I was scammed for a couple of times.  First lesson this game taught me is to never trust anyone directly. Pag ikaw na scam... kasalanan mo yun dahil patanga-tanga ka... Second, money makes the world go round. Kahit sa game na to... pera-pera pa rin...  If you have a strong character, you're either experienced, hardworking, lucky or rich.Not necessarily mutually exclusive ah.. And third, experience cannot be gained without proper allotment of time and effort. To learn, you have to exert both time and effort. There's no shortcut to success diba? Still, I've met friends, acquaintances and companions because of this game... It might not have given me the educational boost I need in my career, but it has taught me valuable things in life.... Valuable things that can only be experienced in an online simulated community composed of people with diverse backgrounds and origins. I will surely miss this game....

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Kung Bisaya ka lang....

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1. Di lahat na nakalilibog ay bastos

 -Minsan, nakakalito lang ito. 

   Sa bisaya, libog=lito

2. Nakakalipad sa himpapawid ang mga langgam

-Kinukulong panga yung iba sa hawla.

   Sa  bisaya, langgam=ibon

3. Ang paglilingkod  ay di mahirap

-Ito nga yung gusto nating gawin palagi.

  Sa bisaya, lingkod=upo

4. Si totoy ay bastos

-oo nga naman, wag mo akong tawaging totoy ah.

  Sa bisaya, totoy=suso

5. Ang baril ay hindi nakakatakot.

-Dito niyo nilalagay ang tubig pag nagka water shortage.

  Sa bisaya, baril=isang malaking cylindrical na lalagyan

6. Ang aso ay hindi nangangagat

-nakaka-suffocate lang naman ito.

  Sa bisaya, aso=usok

7. Ang lagay ay hindi pandiwa

-At hindi mo ito nilalagay kung saan-saan.

  Sa bisaya, lagay=private part ng lalake

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In a case were being information deprived and being technology deprived is not mutually exclusive, I pity the information-deprived ones, but then again, what will you do with all of that information when you don't have the cognitive literacy?

Renerio P. Gentallan Jr., 2014

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We're more likely to forget the good things done by someone to us rather than the bad. I believe this is a survival mechanism.

-Renerio P. Gentallan Jr., 2014

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the scientist

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currently chillin' like a villain at the lab

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It’s sad how some people can no longer imagine a world without internet.

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DATI by Sam Concepcion, Tippy Dos Santos and Quest

OPM that I can relate to.

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My heart is fluttering. Hopefully, I can go.