Abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan

I stand with those who call for the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).

The SK is a needless costly political creation without any convincing public benefit to merit its retention. The argument against the SK that it has only served as a training ground for traditional and corrupt politics far outweighs the rhetorical justification that it is a means for the youth to be heard and take part in nationbuilding.

Those who defend the SK, mostly politicians and government bureacrats have questionnable motives. If they truly want to give the youth a chance to be heard and to contribute to the country, they should explore other more practical and significant ways of engaging them. Towards this end, only their sincerity and imagination is the limit.

While it is important to recognize the potential of the youth, the youth must first be taught the virtues of leadership without power and service without ambition before they are allowed to have a taste of money and power.

                     

At the National Food Fair

 Over the weekend, I went to the DTI sponsored food fair held at SM Megamall (August 21-25). What I noticed was the improved packaging of many local products and I was glad about it. Exhibit participants I talked to gratefully acknowledged the help they received from government for the improvement of their product/s as well as in marketing them.

I hope this collaboration continues and deepens. For the local products on display, there is still a long way to go and there is still much room for improvement. They should go for excellence and not just for passable quality (basta hindi nakakalason, ok na).

One example is the uraro cookies. Although it was packaged decently and seems to be enticing enough, there is still the problem of contaminated raw materials that sometimes give the cookies a very bad moldy taste. In fact the sample cookies I tried slightly had that unsavory taste. I talked to the stall holder about it and she admitted that they occasionally have that problem but which she tries to avoid by ensuring good preparation practices. Still the problem persists. Maybe the DOST  or our local food scientists can try to help solve this problem.

Some food finds for me:
- pure cocoa tablea from Agusan and Davao
- mango tamarind candy from Taguig
- honey dalandan concentrate product
- suman in banana leaf pouch from Pasig
- dried fish from Bicol region, specially the "newlook" fish

I wish I can list more but these are all that I found notable. Next time I hope I can list more. Our food resource and potential wealth is so vast that this food fair is but a scratch on the surface.

 Before leaving I tried out an alcoholic beverage made from coconut water. It tasted like vinegar and gave me a slight head ache. I don't know what other people who tasted this drink thought but as for me I don't think that I will ever part with my money for this.

Some food ideas and wishful thinking:
- herbal and flower teas made from hibiscus, blue pea, lemon grass, guava tips
- sports/hydration drink made from coconut sugar
- instant soups made from local vegetables and resources
- sweetened pure tablea candy
- local fruit lokums and fruit pastes
- new pili nut treats
- bottled palm sugar syrup for cooking
- local pure sesame oil
- fresh frozen marine products especially from the ARMM
- improved variety of Philippine raspberry from Quezon
-healthy breakfast/snack instant beverage
-new local cheese varieties

Remaking the Post Office

(Main Post Office Building at night. Photo from internet)

The coming of e mail and the internet age has greatly diminished the significance of the post office in every town and city. But instead of simply accepting this fate, I believe the post office should be re-invented and given a new role.

My proposal is for the post office to be made into a nexus of all travel and tourism related activities in a community. The idea is for the post office to serve as a tourism center apart from its traditional role of receiving and delivering mail. Thus in the new post office one can find amenities related to traveling such as a money exchange shop/bank, a souvenir shop, a cafe, a car or bike rental facility and even a few rooms to accommodate outside visitors who will happen to drop by. As a tourism beacon, it should ideally be located in the middle of a park showcasing the capability of the town to create and maintain beauty  and given a distinct architectural brand, look and identity recognizable everywhere it may be found in the country.

I believe that this idea will help the post office maintain its relevance in a community and at the same time help promote local tourism too. Thus, this can be a joint project of the Philipost and the Department of  Tourism with participation from the private sector.

Some people may find the idea of the post office as having a lodging component as wild. But I find this very logical and a boost to local tourism. Many towns in our country do not have inns or hotels to accommodate travelers and difficulty in finding a safe, reasonably affordable and decent place to stay can be very discouraging for tourists and travelers.

The idea for this proposal is neither new nor far fetched. In Japan, there is a historic post office building that was turned into a themed mall, inspired of course by the post office. The name of this mall is Kitte which means stamp in Japanese. The mall has a cafe that serves regional specialties thus boosting the local economies, it also has a stationery and souvenir shop where it is possible to buy an aerogramme shaped like an airplane etc.

I do hope that our Philpost and Department of Tourism seriously consider this idea. If successful, this enterprise can be a great legacy of the Aquino government.

  (The Post Office in our town looking sad and forlorn. Most people have come to accept that the Post Office is a withering enterprise. With visionary leadership and imagination however, it is possible to re-invent the post office to make it a proud central feature of a community.)