Sustained poverty or sustainable development? (First of Two Parts)

Empowering the Filipino People

“To achieve the Millennium Development Goals and keep temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius, all countries must ACT NOW.”   — UN SecGen Ban Ki-Moon, 01 November 2011

MANILA, Philippines — Last 15 November, the country was treated to the lurid spectacle of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a neck-brace (obviously not in the healthiest condition) being wheeled out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to board a plane for Singapore in order to avail of quality treatment and hospital care in a foreign country – in order to get rid of her “pain in the neck” and be restored to health with the promise to come back home “to face the music.”

It was chaos at the NAIA departure area for most of that night and the next morning when police mug shots and fingerprints had to be taken of the VIP detainee at St. Luke’s Hospital – upon order of the Pasay RTC which issued a warrant for her arrest for the unbailable crime of “election sabotage.”

That tumultuous airport episode – so lacking in simple coordination by immigration/NAIA officials and traditional Filipino civility – caused people to comment “UNBELIEVABLE!,” as they watched mesmerized on TV.  The DoJ’s “Watchlist Order,” SC TRO, and Comelec charges (which gave rise to GMA’s hospital arrest) are already well-known.

Expectedly, this is bound to be a long-drawn spectacle with all three co-equal but separate branches of government locked in an impeachment process under the Constitution and the rule of law.  In the meantime, the nation loses momentum, businesses stall, investors go to other destinations, and the people watch-wait-worry.

But to most, the nagging question still is:  “Can the Philippines progress in the remaining four years of P-Noy?”

Since then, it has become a continuing “telenovela” that has deteriorated into a Malacañang versus the Supreme Court in an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brawl, with no-holds-barred – as far as the protagonists and the enterprising media are concerned. This week, the House of Representatives and the Senate joined the fray in accordance with the Constitution.

More ticking bombs

In our 04 December column, we opined that the Hacienda Luisita situation (due to the SC’s landmark decision of 24 November) has added tangled, long-simmering time-bombs on P-Noy’s table. Because of problems of partition, compensation, restructuring, production, marketing, and sustainability, Luisita could well be the renewal of violent agrarian unrest (remember Luis Taruc?), among other long-standing issues crying for closure, like:

(1) Poverty, hunger, and unemployment (Manila Bulletin, 6 Jul).

(2) Maguindanao Massacre (Manila Standard Today, 23 Nov).

(3) Peace negotiations with MILF and NDF (Manila Times.net, 10 Nov).

(4) Reproductive Health (Manila Standard Today, 09 Nov), and Freedom of Information bills (Inquirer News, 01 Oct).

(5) Territorial challenge from China on the Spratlys (Philippine Star, 17 Nov).

(6) Philippines ranks 112 Out of 187 countries in Human Development (2011 UN Human Development Report, 01 Nov).

(7) RP corruption image persists – Transparency International (Daily Tribune, 02 Dec)

The national malady of divisive politics has metastasized into a stage III (or near-terminal cancer) condition, exemplified by these headlines:

(1) Manila Bulletin: “Senate ready to try Chief Justice” (14 Dec).

(2) Daily Inquirer: “Supreme Court:  Corona will face trial” (14 Dec).

(3) Malaya: “Pro-Corona forces fight back (14 Dec).

(4) Philippine Star: “Judges lead solidarity walkout” (15 Dec).

(5) Manila Times: “Corona lambasts ‘dictator’ Aquino” (15 Dec).

Other impeachments, cases, and investigations are falling in line.  In this period of uncertainty, the bombs will keep ticking unless some timely action is taken by the lead protagonists or someone/something breaks.

From this corner, it looks like not much can be expected for the next few months from Malacañang (which was divided at birth), Congress (which is legally divided), or the Supreme Court (which is dividing).

Meantime, our Ship “Pilipinas” continues to be buffeted by slow economic growth, more joblessness, rising prices, export decline, and disastrous global warming/climate change.  So, what else are coming?   More “Ondoys and Pepengs.”

Mitigating climate change: Durban platform

After two weeks of intense negotiations, a deal was reached last 11 December, after a 60-hour marathon session among the ministers of 194 countries. The agreement, referred to as the “Durban Platform,” is outstanding in that, for the first time, developing countries such as China and India, as well as the US (which had consistently refused signing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol), are now among the majority signatories. Negotiators have agreed to be part of a legally binding treaty to address global warming, and to forge a future treaty to be finalized by 2015 – but which will become effective only in 2020.

The agreement entails the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol in the interim, although only few countries (including members of the EU) are likely to stick to their commitments. The US Senate failed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol (after the US and the Philippines pushed it in 1997), while Canada pulled out of it this week. On the positive side, however the Durban Platform won the creation of a “Green Climate Fund” by the advanced, pollutive countries for which a management framework was adopted. The fund aims to distribute US$100 billion per year to help poor countries adapt to climate impacts.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had warned in November 2011 that extreme weather will strike as climate change takes hold. Heavier rainfall, storms, and droughts can cost billions and destroy lives, said the IPCC. It estimated that every dollar invested in adaptation to climate change could save $60 in damage.

With time running out, a greater part of the solutions will have to come from the adoption of climate-friendly technologies being developed. Scientists opine that if the levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise, eventually the world’s climate will reach a tipping point, with the irreversible melting of snow/ice sheets and a multi-foot rise in sea levels.

The Associated Press reports (15 Dec): “The hard-fought deal of a global climate conference in South Africa kept talks alive but didn’t address the core problem. Climate talks have been bogged down by rifts between rich and poor countries and between fully industrialized nations and emerging economies about how to share the burden of reducing greenhouse emissions.”

UN Framework Convention On Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The UNFCCC was opened for signature at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. On 12 June 1992, 154 nations, the Philippines included, signed the UNFCCC which, upon ratification, committed signatory-governments to a voluntary, non-binding agreement “to reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases by preventing dangerous anthropogenic (human) interference with Earth’s climate system.”

These actions were aimed primarily at industrialized countries, with the intention of stabilizing their emissions of greenhouse gases at 1990 levels by year 2000. The parties agreed in general that they would recognize “common but differentiated responsibilities,” with greater responsibilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions assumed by developed/industrialized countries.

Human activities have caused serious deteriorative effects on the climate system. Global greenhouse gas emissions due to human beings have grown since pre-industrial times, particularly from manufacturing, electric power generation, and vehicle operations.

The steady warming of the climate system is now being experienced, as indicated by increases in average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow/ice covers, and rising global average sea levels since mid-20th century.

Sustainable development

What does the Durban Platform have to do with the Philippines, which is now almost totally focused on P-Noy and CJ Rene?  The answer is simple – all these have to do with our sustainable development!

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well-being, which has environmental, economic, social, and security dimensions; and encompasses the concept of unity, interdependence, and mutual responsibility among all living things on Earth. This philosophical interpretation moves well beyond the popular, self-serving concepts driven by the profit-oriented, short-term perspectives of most public officials and private business leaders. The responsible management of resources, sustained efficient productivity, and ethical application of knowledge over long periods of time are necessary preconditions for humankind’s survivability and well-being on Planet Earth.

In any country, moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails, among other factors, international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles, and reduced consumerism.

A zero-sum game?

Is the main event in the current political-legislative-judicial UFC bout going to end up as a zero-sum game with no winners, only losers and few survivors?

All three principal protagonists claim that the final outcome will be a stronger Philippine democracy. Our people hope so, but let us ensure all Filipinos will inherit true representative democracy and a sustainable higher quality of life as their legacy. And, that should happen sooner than later!!! –FIDEL V. RAMOS Former Philippine President

Please send any comments to fvr@rpdev.org. Copies of articles are available at www.rpdev.org.