YOUTH AND CITY-BUILDING

(My 2nd contribution to mark.com.ph)

Every time Barangay elections loom, so as the debate to abolish or reform the Sangguniang Kabataan.

In its bare design, the Sangguniang Kabataan is said to be a source of Filipino pride.  Other nations point to it as a lead example of a nation’s commitment to youth empowerment in public governance – an institutional innovation that is in the forefront of the world. However, this source of pride abroad has an all too familiar murky reputation at home which includes being tagged as the training ground of corruption or derided as merely an expensive unit of sports event organizers. But as all institutions are, there are the good and the bad practices. So as the nation debates on the direction of much needed reforms, there is no reason why in the local we cannot push through our own reforms.

The Youth Council

Several bills such as Senate Bill No. 131 authored by Senator Francis Pangilinan and House Bill No. 591 authored by our own Representative Rufus Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao Representative Maximo Rodriguez, Jr have been filed mandating local government units to create a youth development council. But up to this day, they have stayed as bills. But this did not stop several Local Government units to adopt the idea through a local ordinance. This policy-recommending body is an assembly of the varied sectors of the youth namely: (1) the out of school (2) student councils of colleges and high schools (3) faith based youth (4) community based youth (5) Sangguniang Kabataan and joined by senior city hall officials. The details on the number of representatives, accreditation and internal procedures are dealt with by the individual ordinances.

The proposed City Youth Council

Representation and Synergy

This design recognizes one vital fact – the youth naturally organize themselves be it in churches, schools or barangays. The council finds its strength in the inherent quality of the youth to socialize, organize and specialize. Harnessing this cohesion and elevating it into formal sources of governance ideas hold promising potential. In this approach, determining youth policy and its resource allocations is not left to the Sangguniang Kabataan alone but it is now shared by these varied sectors whose own unique and immersed perspective in their specific area of advocacies brings rich policy discussions. With this close proximity between the youth and the city leaders, s youth group specializing in indigenous craft-making can raise a point on needed market access while a youth group specializing in digital marketing can contribute in city tourism promotions. Aside from engaging with city leadership, this also opens an opportunity for youth groups to complement each other to add value to their efforts. In the example, the marketing group can help promote the craft-making group which will in turn help the city promote its youth livelihood program. The combination of talents to produce good fruits is endless if only such venue to meet and engage is provided. The council is a laboratory of youth synergy combining talents and bringing fresh ideas to city hall.

Mobilization and Integration

More than just recommending things on paper, the council also acts as the pivot for massive and integrated youth mobilization. Generally youth groups are organized to forward a social cause or set of ideals but most often than not, they are made manifest in sporadic and one-shot outreach activities. One example is a tree planting activity that is made without considering the city reforestation plan, or a tutorial program in a community that is better off if served with a feeding program. These are good efforts that could have made greater impact if such are well placed inline with a city strategic intervention plan. The council can craft a master plan that outlines the various needs of barangays such as tutorial services, sports clinics and the like. The youth groups, equipped with their specialization can then choose among these specific barangays their area of intervention. The council is designed to funnel and guide the scattered energies of organized youth groups into an integrated and strategic movement that hopes to yield greater impact.

Political Education

The natural consequence of youth involvement in governance is political education. Through the council, the youth base can push the tipping point in elevating our city’s level of political engagement. And more so, the bias towards this kind of participatory-democracy will hopefully produce political leaders whose experience in such a youth council made him or her see the value of collective owning and citizenship engagement in defining our city’s priorities and direction.

A Call for Reform

Our city is home to countless of youth organizations housed in schools, communities or places of worship. In recent years, we have seen STREAMS, an education support and scholarship program and DIRE HUSI, a youth formation and entrepreneurship organization rise to be one of the Top Ten Most Accomplished Youth Organizations in the whole nation. We see others station on parks teaching street kids basic math and others deliver health products to far flung communities. The energy of the youth in the city is powerful. Once given a formal mode to craft and push the city’s youth agenda, they are given a profound sense of communal ownership in the direction the city takes and a clear reason to commit in fulfilling the agenda’s goals.After all, the youth has led this nation before at its rearing. And it is youth that will lead the nation to its destiny.

(Ernesto Baconga Neri is a 3rd year Law Student of Xavier University. He is a volunteer of the Kagayanon Youth for Good Governance and resident intern of the Xavier University Center for Legal Assitance)

Mark.com.ph

The City Youth Agenda

This is one of the most significant engagements in my life.

Last June 22, 2013, I had the privilege of presenting the output of the series of focused group interviews with various youth groups of the city before the Mayor-Elect Oscar Moreno.

For more than half of my life, I only know one family name as mayor. So when we achieved last may, what I personally thought was impossible, it is not surprising to see this massive sense of hope to help build a city hall grounded in good governance.

The new City hall is opening up to civil society after more than a decade of an institutionalized dismissive attitude towards it.

One initial concrete success indicator for the agenda is the creation of the Local Youth Development Council within 100 days upon assuming office. This council hopes to include not only the SK Representatives, but also student councils, church based youth organizations, community based organizations, and out of school youth organizations. This council serves as the policy-determining body for an integrated and strategic intervention of youth organizations to different issues and localities as well.

The city youth agenda from Ernesto Neri

As for the coalition pushing for the agenda. The next move is expansion of coalition members and agenda fine tuning.

Apil nata!

Learning a Language (Summer Internship Reflection)

It affirmed. It deepened.

The Ateneo Human Rights Center Internship Program was by far my most fruitful summer. In almost two months of extra-ordinary experience from the mountains of Mindoro to the sidewalks of Katipunan, it has set the trajectory of my professional growth towards what I see is a more meaningful and powerful-life commitment.

The program was an affirming experience. The issues and advocacies which I tend to gravitate towards since I began involving myself in development work in college have painted a decipherable pattern of what I want to do with my life. This “pattern” has something to do with political education, marginalized sectors, and policy analysis - such big ideas. Law school made me see how these big concepts are neatly worded and structured in our laws. This program made me see the human faces that are affected, good or bad in the operation of these words and structures. I saw how redefining the elements of the legal term “informal settlers” could criminalize a big part of the urban poor. I saw how the quantum of evidence in proving adultery is stacked against the woman. I saw how the legal scheme of contractualization would violate the right of security of tenure among others. It is seeing the bad effects that affirmed my desire to continue to study and understand the substance, the context, and the operation of the laws and more importantly, how to engage for its reengineering so it can better meet the ends of equity and justice.    

The program was a deepening experience. Aside from the theoretical affirmations, the experience has deepened my personal commitment to a line of work that is labelled as “alternative” – not the “main” stream thing needless to say. I can recall that one of my most precious moments in this program are the random conversations I had with my supervising lawyer. While waiting for our case to be called, he vividly shared to me the dilemmas he faces everyday as an alternative lawyer. This includes incentive issues, the politics, and the hard truth that progress is slow and frustrating. But amidst these challenges, you can just feel the ever deeply-seated joy that naturally radiates in his person. There is joy in serving the poor as I understood it. And I guess it is in knowing other people who share the same commitment to a cause higher than themselves that brings so much energy. Knowing that I am not alone and there are brilliant and experienced people in this frontier has deepened my commitment to be part of that
“alternative” community.

This also led me to see how important – very important - this community is. In my encounters with SALIGAN’s counterparts, I’ve seen the spectrum of progressive laws that they were able to pass such as the CARPER and the RH Law to name a few. Moving the nation forward includes the enactment of progressive laws. These laws could not win over vested interest, if it weren’t for the legal inputs, and the public campaign of the alternative law groups and their partners. And this is one thing law school does not teach you - changing the law. The program opened a whole new set of options in building a better society as a lawyer. The work is not only in the courtrooms, it includes the halls of congress and city councils, and in the streets and plazas – a much more exciting work than writing pleadings in front of a screen and arguing endlessly before a cold judge.

The study of the law is learning a new language. It is a language that is evolving ever since human kind decided to live together. The program has shown me that this “language” is not meant to be contained and understood to an educated few as what history has shown. It is meant to be transformed into a language that everybody understands because it is their right to understand. This language is also powerful for it builds institutions and governs relationships. When it is spoken, it affects the lives of people. But the program also revealed to me in the mountains of Mindoro and the streets of Quezon City that this language also has an inherent ability to deny, to enslave, and to ignore. But also, I have seen that this language can also be changed.

I return to Xavier University Law School with a new set of eyes. The language in which I learn from the voluminous books will never be the same. I now see them as powerful potent tools to empower the people at the margins and to build a more just and free society.

Seeing the Law

Since human beings, out of the need to survive, decided to live in small knit societies, the institution of the law began to take root. Unwritten norms that dictate the conduct and govern relationships between hunters and gatherers, wives, and husbands, priests and chieftain kept order and function among themselves and this allowed them to not just survive, but to prosper as well.

As nomadic tribes settled in river valleys and learned how to farm, cities began to form. These cities then became kingdoms. Then these kingdoms turned into empires. And empires break into what we know now as nation-states.

The story of our history is a familiar narrative and throughout the progress of civilization from tribe to nation, it is the consistent and persistent endeavour of human beings to define and establish the norms that bind communities and establish order that has pervaded, held constant throughout the human story.

As novices of the law, what you are about to encounter is not just words on paper but the very fabric that has held our civilization together, in its rise or fall.

It is  the written fruit of that endless effort we have implored to establish order, define what is right and just and set up institutions that affect our daily lives.

You will learn an evolving language  and the best way to start the study of the law is to see it first beyond words. 

(Guide to Xavier Law 2013-2014) 

Bregada Eskwela 2013

It was an extra-ordinary day!

You get to scratch clean the dirty walls and smack yellow paint over it, of course in a coordinated manner. It was my first Bregada Eswkela experience. A yearly program of DepEd where an army of volunteers composed of students, teachers, parents and other concerned citizen do systematic repainting and repairs in different public schools. We were assigned to Old Balaran Elementary School in Quezon City.

It was a fairly small school with a covered court at the center sided by buildings. The new ones, as seen by the bright colour and modernish design sits on the right while we are to repair and repaint the building sitting on the right of the covered courts.

Sanding, cleaning and repainting may at first impression, appear to be a face lift service. But I saw that this one day exercise does more than just give the school a new and fresh feel. It is a symbolic call that education, particularly in public schools is everybody’s business: cleaning it outside – and reforming it within.

Needless to say, education is key in building an enlightened citizenry that would elect enlightened leaders who would eventually make and implement enlightened policies. This series of outcomes will eventually strengthen our intuitions and our nation as a whole.

A heroic response to this call aside from a week of school cleaning is two years of teaching as a public school teacher at Teach Philippines. 

A Call to Action for a City in Transition

For almost half of my life, I only know your family name as the mayor of my birthplace.

Under your watch, I have seen this city rise from a place that is not even included in TV patrol’s weather bulletin to a thriving hub that has attracted big brands and big corporations. Under your watch, I have seen Divisoria rise from its sleepy obscure status to a center of local commerce. And under your watch we’ve seen a slowly defining skyline with flyovers albeit weirdly colored sprout in and around the city. Yes, it is true. I felt economic growth under your watch but as any economics student understands, economic growth can only last when the systems and structures that support it grows with it or else things will collapse under its own weight. Crime will soar, incomes will stagnate health will deteriorate . And this is exactly why I embraced the need for your brand and style to go.

We are transitioning as a city from highly urbanized to a metropolitan area, that is the center of gravity in the region. And this transformation calls a new kind of political leadership . One that does not merely transact the affairs of the city or worse, run it like a business or source of livelihood, but transforms the public institutions within it. This is important and that is also why this victory is historic and critical as well. Historic in a sense that it shattered the seeming invincibility of the Emano brand . Critical in a sense that majority of the solons of city hall still have their hands tied with the old style.

And this in itself poses a rare and great opportunity. The campaign for the candidacy of Moreno has been composed not only of Liberal Party political operatives and allied coalitions but it includes in its ranks a spectrum of local NGOs and Civil Society Groups whose rootedness in community concerns capacitates it to engage fruitfully with the political leadership . A Mayor who won by these broad support and trust opens the door for these sectors to directly engage the political leadership. And this is a chance we never had before in recent memory.

Let us make full use of it. Let us make Hapsay a real thing. And this requires us to organize ourselves in the ground and strategically engage with the  new leadership under the agenda put forward during the campaign. History has taught us that reform oriented leaders fail or get eaten up by the rotten deals of the system when there is no reform oriented constituency to support and engage them. And let us not forget the youth. They play a very vital role in organizing and developing this reform oriented constituency. It is their sheer energy, population,  tech savvy, fresh ideas and burning idealism that would make this project more cohesive and long term. And glad to know that these are the ones who rallied behind the campaign.   

So let us not commit those mistakes in this exciting point in our national story. Cities play a vital role in our national economic development. And for these cities to work, its local public institutions have to be put into proper order. Institutions such as the local school boards, the RTA, the local social service, the health centers, the development councils, the budget and the like must be diagnosed or better yet, dissected so that all can see where the cancer lies. These local institutions are the closest to the people and its state of health are immediately felt and its efficiency or lack thereof spells the big difference in poverty alleviation, city development and risk reduction.  We learned that before the hard and deadly way.

All politics is local as they say. This can never be more true now. The politics of Tuwid na Daan is a national call that sees its face in the locality. It is the LGUs, the more basic unit of government that drives this forward. And most importantly, it is the audacity and commitment of the citizens of these LGUs which will ultimately spell a better city, a better province, a better Philippines. 

It is Short of Marriage

I finally got to  wear my formal attire under the piercing Quezon City heat.

Atty. De Vera and I visited NLRC for a mediation on an a case decided way back in 2006. The merits were interesting. The illegal dismissal case all started with two cans of dalandan and it all ballooned into a million peso damage suit. The decisions of the labor arbiter and the NLRC was all in favor of the worker and them come together to settle. But this day’s story is not about the case but the whole experience I had waiting for our case to be mediated.

I was able to observe cases prior to ours. This one in particular, I can tell you the feeling there was raw and intense. For the first part, there was this lawyer trying to settle with his client’s worker. The employer wasn't there and from the looks of it, has no intention to face the guy. You can see it in the laborer’s eyes. The mix of anger and frustration can be felt even observing from afar. His eyes then teared up eventually.  He has this shrill in his voice that he strives to control because emotions might consume him and compromise the whole thing. And it ended with no settlement.

What I’ve observed is the sheer rawness of the emotion that plays in these mediations. I can just imagine the years of close relationship between them and that was no ordinary relationship. This kind entails confidence, entails mutual benefit and support, entails mentorship as well. Sounds familiar right? It is short of marriage but far from acquaintances. And all of the sudden it is shattered with feelings of deep contempt towards one another. And the bargaining power always tips in favor of the rich employer.

This is the struggle of the worker and this experience has reinforced my view that indeed for the poor who struggles to find regular work , the loss of a job through unjust causes is equivalent to the loss of their chance to pursue their own measure of happiness. It is an attack to an inherent right needless to say.

Labor Law has become a lot more meaningful and interesting.

Araw ng Manggagawa

Under the piercing glare of the sun and on heat-radiating asphalt, the Labor Day march and rally was an experience that has surely left a mark.  Not so much because I endured intense Manila heat, but because of thousands of others who also did in solidarity to get the message of the dignity of labor across to the law makers and the public. 

Balancing the interest of labor and the general cost of doing business is a constant balancing act. It is a tricky policy debate and as an economics graduate, I understand that rushing to conclusion without thorough analysis can only produce detrimental effects in the long run. I am all for security of tenure and I see the intention behind such push is clearly good however this should be viewed with other economic factors such as its effect on the volume of potential jobs, cost of goods, prices, and purchasing power. Further discourse must be ironed out on the immediate and long-term effects of the economy. But all this analysis should be in a framework that highly respects the inherent dignity of human labor over profit and capital. This I believe can only be achieved by constant study and discourse in government halls and/or on the streets.

Life of a Daily Commuter

I am now close to my second week here as an Intern in Saligan based in Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Campus. Aside from my legal training in developmental lawyering, this rugged independent experience has opened in me a greater lens through which I see my world.

Clearly Manila as the capital of the nation has always exerted its gravitational pull in me ever since I’ve known friends leaving home to open new worlds here. Now that I am here, I am, even though for a short two months, appropriate my own version of the manila experience and see if the noise and silence of this place strikes accord in my soul. The place, in itself, with all the accessibility, the resources, the fun, and the sheer mass of concrete and humanity constantly interacting every day, has yet to make sense.

My routine of walking towards the UP Ikot station allows me to pass a community covered with colourful plastic campaign materials. The structures of the houses are caught between the developed and the developing – a community with the perfect mix of the extremely poor and the capable. Those who just cook with fire wood at the side walk and those whose kitchen are as big as their living rooms. Half round in the UP Ikot Jeep, I get to see the state’s Primer University – UP. The sprawling campus spread out with lush greeneries in between - a green learning haven in the concrete jungle of Quezon City which once (and I guess still is) nurtured the minds of the revolution.

I then transfer to my second jeep which takes me to Katipunan. The old and the young, the employed and the student patiently wait under one metal jeepney roof. Sometimes it is obvious that people always rush away from the side near the driver. Who wants to be the defacto conductor of the jeep right? And worse, who wants to be the recipient of everyone’s germs right? A Mother wipes the toddler’s face. A sister shares a snack with the bunso. The old man guards his leather brief case with all of his life. An agent gently secures his item on his lap like it was a child. Workers of restaurants and books stores, and multi-level networking agents, and teachers and students with large framed glasses one by one exit the jeep. I get to do that under a blue overpass.

My day begins as I walk under a series of big trees and the engraved phrase under the shield Lux-in-Domino shines at the horizon. 

Arrival: Ateneo Internship

No pictures for today 

To start with, the Lumbia airport was a mess. The runway light problem has caused the cancelation of all flights 6pm onwards. Thus some flights were crammed in the day to catch the day light. I did not let the terminal congestion  bother me. I just sat on the floor at the corner and read my orange book (Jesuit Guide to Everything).

It was alao fun to see John and April in the terminal. My first year college classmates are going to Vietnam. What a fun meet. Another surprise, my former NSTP student who is now a law student in San Beda was also a co-passenger. Nothing surprising in the plane trip though but the clouds and the setting sun brings some sort of unexplainable feeling. It was beautiful. So beautiful. 

At last, im now in a condo near ateneo law preparing for tomorrow's long day. my road trip to here was intersting. We went through bel air, forbes where the philippine rich mostly live. I even saw the house of pacman. 

Got to meet interesting people who i felt comfortable with. We have participants from zamboanga ateneo law school, western mindanao state and aquinas u. An exciting day awaits. 

Wandering Mind and a Tweet

Strained eyes

The fine black and white print of the Rules of Court has robbed what is left of my aided vision. For a moment, It seems like staring into an abstract piece of art contained in a small page of mostly gray and edges of white. Its sheer volume creates some sort of magical effect that jumbles all remnants of memories of the lesson I tried to store. All the meticulous specific steps, logical as it maybe, initially are all jargon and cloudy.  My mind slowly drifted, disengaged from the subject matter before it. Now I find myself constructing these words trying to immortalize the feelings of the moment. One dominant aside from the last bang of Civil Procedure final exam is the Ateneo Human Rights Internship. This has given rise to mix feelings of excitement and anxiety to say the least. For two months, my longest so far, I will be away from the comfort of familiarity and well – comfort.

And in the midst of this wandering mind was a tweet.

There it is an affirmation of the journey ahead. This kind of education that I had since the moment I learned ABC sees itself differently. We are taught that this education is not merely a tool to equip ourselves with the necessary skills to compete in the economy; it is much more than that. It is primarily a work of liberating the self and in consequence, the commitment to use this education for the liberation of others. Such lofty words but it makes perfect sense. That I think, is the meaning and purpose of life - Discover the gift of self and share it to the world especially those who are powerless and voiceless, those who cannot even think for themselves.  

In the internship, we are to choose sectors in which to work with. There are several but I have already decided to choose either the urban poor or labor sector. I do think that my background in economics would do well here and the idea of serving the margins in the urban centers reflects my personal experience growing in the heart of Cagayan.

As the sun sets, I pray that I be sensitive enough to see Christ in the poor that I serve – away from the familiar. I pray that I have the courage to engage and to immerse in the life of the marginalized. And I pray that I be competent enough to use the knowledge of 2 years in law school to aid them in the most committed way. 

Fundamental Roots

2 years into my law school life, mid-time in the ideal 4 year trek, and it seems my gasoline tank is close to empty. That is, the gasoline that drives me to do an extra bit of effort seems to slow as time goes. Just like a child who realized that Santa isn’t real. The lofty law school ideals now reduced into realistic battles with self and professor that we face every day. This is but normal I guess. Economics calls it the law of diminishing marginal utility. In practical wisdom, it might be called growing up. The eyes that once saw beauty now sees meaningless repetition in the books. Being tired is a human and normal thing, especially in an environment that frustration is a daily fact of life.

But in the midst of all of this, we must resist the zombie mentality that is very much pervasive in our domain. The challenge is to consistently ground every moment of our learning into the image that learning the law is learning a new, yet ancient language that speaks of how humanity sees its worth and appropriate what is right and wrong. What is just and fair and all struggles and wars fought in between. It is the language that is still evolving from the moment man learned how to live with others. I guess by conjuring this imagery it brings color, beauty and meaning to the bland black and white monotonic rhythm of law books.

I guess the best way to always bring color to these provisions is to enrich yourself with experiences that help deepen and sharpen why such language is made and how such language operates in the world. And that means going back to the roots, to the basics, to the why, to the faces in which it ought to serve.

And this summer, I am to embark on a journey which I hope will sharpen and deepen my quest for those “fundamental roots”. This is not just a chance to technically learn. This is a rare chance to determine the trajectory of my legal philosophy and most especially, aid in forming my person in this complex Filipino society in the context of legal action. The Ateneo Human Rights Intership Program invitation is a grace. 2 months of life changing experience. 

Debate

My second taste of public debate after almost 7 years! We stand in the affirmative side on the motion that the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered to 12 years old. We lost however, it was a great display of legal wrestle from both teams with lively interpolations and substantial constructive speeches.

I overheard the Deans talking about institutionalizing this contest but in a Moot Court setting which got me all excited. 

Thank you Arven Gogo for the total speech face-lift and team mates Jedyl and Al! 

Justice Sotomayor

"The key to success is continually maintaining an ever-present curiosity." 

2nd Year Law School Tips

I can attest to the general observation that after your freshmen year in law school, the pace of time seems to accelerate. Now, my second year in law school is about to end and junior year then begins (if all will go smoothly).  

Freshmen year is seen as the year of the curve. This is when habits form and adjustments occur. This is the time that you have to discover that particular rhythm and style of study that works for you. Once that is discovered, the key to success is already in your hands as so they say. In my journey in law school, these are several things I've discovered along the way that has worked for me.

1. Have daily specific targets. I make it a point to quantify the number of pages I have to read in a day in order to complete a book in a certain span of time. This is really helpful for me. A 300-page book can be digested to as short as 10 to 15 pages of daily reading. The basic idea is to know what to read in a daily basis. Normally the big subjects are given prime time daily readings.

2. Never wait until the week before the exam to review. Make sure to allocate intensive review weeks before the exam week. This is what one of our justices keeps on repeating. Never cram and never wait for the last minute. As far as the common mind is concerned, cramming is not that helpful. Repetition on the other hand builds retention.

3. Note taking in a Codal notebook. This is a tip I got from a new lawyer. I mounted photocopied codal provisions on one side of the notebook. The space left is for the jurisprudences and notes for that particular codal provisions. This is really helpful since in one glance, I can see the law itself and its jurisprudence and principles.

4. Past exams. Past exams are tremendously helpful. It does not only aid you in framing your answer, it also gives you an idea of the more important provisions which professors emphasize.

5. Nothing beats passion.  Law is school is a frustrating experience for one. Oftentimes, hard work does not necessarily mean success. A lot of factors have to be considered. However I did come to realize that the key determining factor is passion. It is that inner source of energy and motivation that propels us to study more even in the face of failure. That bigger-than-your-ego purpose for studying law is the spirit that brings meaning and life to the hard black and white print of the law.

In sum, just have fun. Looking forward to meet the new batch of novices of the Study of Law. 

Practical Student Leadership in Campus Organizations

Transition season is on. This is my attempt to contribute to that transition when another school year enters and so with it, the new set of students who, despite all the demands and pressure, chose to throw their hat in the ring.

The following are 5 things I’ve learned in my experience as a student engaged in student governance and leadership in college. These are statements of experiences and general ideas which hope would provide some meaningful help for the next generation of movers in our out of student organizations.

So let us begin.

1. HAVE VERY CLEAR GOALS FROM THE START. This is the most important thing and the first you must secure. Knowing what you want to achieve – exactly what you want to achieve. As we already know, it is the goal that will rally the people and the rest falls into place. However the challenge now common to most organizations is how these goals are articulated and mapped out.

Questions rise such as; does this resonate to the needs of the times? Are these realistic goals? Are these strategic? These are legitimate questions that student leaders must face and answer even before they officially take office. The common denominator of the answer should be the measurability of the goal. From the beginning, establish measurable goals and success indicators to know how you are fairing. Having a lofty vision reduced into manageable and actionable chucks of measurable indicators of success makes the whole work more grounded and realistic. This is a more reliable basis for measuring your productivity than by subjectively surveying the impression of your leadership. Just imagine, by the end of the semester you can objectively grade your performance by just dividing the number of achieved goals over all the goals for the semester. Here are some tips on setting very clear goals:

            1. Do stakeholders consultation first

2. Treat planning as a project in itself which means INVEST on it.

3. Make the whole process public.

4. Post the output in a visible place in the office.

From my archive, this is an example of an action plan layout:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48730184/New-CSG-Strategic-Planning

2. ORGANIZE STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS TO SECURE THE GOALS. Once the goals are measurably articulated and agreed upon by all stakeholders, the logical next step is its execution. Project implementation is one bulk of work that student leaders should see more as a work of science. Emphasis has consistently been given to the individual leadership qualities of project players as the key determining factor which would spell the difference between a successful project from a lousy one. Though this is very important, it is also equally important that organizational leaders should also give emphasis on the structural influences that also affect the quality of the implementation. That is why structures and systems should be designed to better facilitate the implementation of outputs.

How does this spell out in actual actionable terms? First, give emphasis on personal and group autonomy. Research has revealed that the best incentive for cognitive work (which is substantially the work students leaders do) to be more productive is autonomy – a sense of ownership and space for personal initiative. Let committee leaders form their own working group with little interference as to who they select. Give them the targets and let the means to achieve it be their creative playground. Also give emphasis to support groups. These are groups who never engage in the implementation but support the implementers. These are the food committee, the finance committee, and other logistical support group. By having these groups, front line implementers just have to focus on the implementation itself. Let the information dissemination and other incidental work be done by these groups.

3. APPLY THE PARETO PRINCIPLE. There is an old-aged principle which holds that 80% of occurrences or outputs come from 20% of the causes. This is also called the 80-20 rule or the vital few rule. This principle can be best applied when we chart what or who are the 20% of an organization – the people – the assets – the resources.  This is most fitting when we understand that our limited resources limit our reach hence strategic targeting and positioning of our efforts can maximize the impact of our limited resources. Let us now translate this into actual student organizational work. For example if you are in the work of information dissemination, you do not seriously have the resources to fully blast information to every single student. What is rational is to create a database of roughly 20% of your constituency who you think is the most “connected or influential” students. Once they are given the information, they naturally spread it themselves. Also in terms of systems, by identifying bottle necks in project implementation and evaluation flow and by simply tweaking at the margin; this would result to greater efficiency. What does that mean? By identifying unnecessary signatures and creating a one stop rack where all project papers can be physically monitored can be of great help in tracking progress.

Also, this is where core teams also come into importance. This is so since the bulk of the team normally experience what economists call the diminishing marginal utility. As the time passes, bit by bit people disengage from the organization for several reasons we have no control of. Given this fact, it is essential to identify the 20% most committed teammates that will become the influencers and leaders of the organization. Identify these from the very start and hold this together. This spells success or failure.

4. BUILD TRUST. In view of the students or the general constituency, it is vital that trust be established. Without it, projects or services simply fade into infectivity and no one seems to appreciate the effort. Trust is earned and this can be done when the leadership truly focuses on accountability and transparency. Simply put, the students trust their leaders if they know they are doing the right thing. The first step here is the structure in which they can know what the leadership is doing and channels in which they can hold the leadership accountable. Here are some concrete initiatives that can build trust.   

1.       Monthly expense report to the public

2.       Monthly Presidential public report (be it infographic posted online)

3.        Minutes of the meeting online publication

4.        Absent officers are posted online and reason for their absence with picture and contact detail.

5. BUILD PARTNERHSIPS. Synergy increases the impact of your efforts. Early on, start scouting for possible partnerships for the projects you wish to implement based on your concrete and measurable goals. One example I can share is how a university-wide tutorial can bring about greater participation. Recognizing that the most capable and direct implementers of a tutorial program are the co-curricular organization, the central government proposed to do all marketing work and it also created an incentive plan for all tutors such as freebies and snacks plus an added incentive for scholars by having the tutorials credited as part of their service duty. With this simple umbrella scheme, the university-wide tutorials produced one the greater turnout in its history.  The simple recognition of who can best implement and provide proper incentives that will benefit all brings about greater impact.

This is not necessarily a check list. This is my simple attempt to capsulate into 5 general ideas the things I have learned in my student organizational leadership experience in college. This is intended to give a general framework of thinking which is grounded on the belief that developing leadership qualities are not enough; these traits should be transformed into a system that breeds other leaders which eventually will strengthen the entire organization. The idea of creating structures that influence output and behaviour is already a well-established science. The challenge really is how even in our formative years in college, we get to have a grasp of its significance and apply it in our immediate circle of influence and that does not necessarily only mean our organization – it may also mean our lifestyle.

Vocation to Skill

I had the chance to talk to one of my close friends in college who is about to make that confusing and crucial discernment I think we all post-grad students had been through – choosing path after college. It was a good one hour of conversation. Several points were formed in the course that I guess it is worth sharing.

One thing we realized is that we are blessed to specifically identify the kind of life we want to live. The passion that is sometimes elusive to many is quite determinable in our lives thanks to years of immersion and engagement. We realized that passion is really constant. It is there inside us that energize us to get out of bed and seize the day. We realized that the passion we identified has consistently manifested itself in our decisions, in our commitments and our dreams. This is a good thing. However, in this discernment, it is likewise crucial to be deliberate in developing real skills that would translate those passions into concrete actions and results in the world. We might have an overwhelming passion for something but it remains internal, something abstract, something which is only a potential unless we have the skill to translate it into work and results. I have identified that for myself that the way for me to manifest my passion for development is through the study of the law and all the skills that comes with it. Thus, in the next years after college it is important to be really deliberate in our effort to deepen our knowledge and sharpen our skill base.

1. The best way to do this is to articulate first how you see yourself in 10 years based on your vocation.

2. Identify your present skill sets in relation to that vision

3. Identify the skills you need to improve still based on that vision 

4. In between the present skill and the skills that needs development is fertile ground. 

5. Make a skill development plan that targets the gaps which means the present skill that you want to improve and the new skill you want to acquire and base your decisions from there. 

6. Immerse yourself with activities that enhances those needed skills 

Jasaan and a Truck

For the past months, I gave several talks on basic leadership and organizational development for student organizations. This has become a ministry of sorts for me. The experience through the years in student government has helped me appropriate my own theory and direction in these affairs. It is such a great privilege to be given such opportunity to share personal insights appropriate for my peers.

Economics soc from Ernesto Neri

In one occasion, I went as far as Jasaan, Misamis Oriental to share some thoughts on Servant Leadership to the Economics Society during their community building. It was the first time I visited XU's sea-side property in Jasaan. It was designated to the Marine Biology Department as their sea-side base for their marine studies. It has all basic amenities such as living quarters and even sea side eating huts. I also met student leaders of other colleges in the city. They were the ones who facilitated the activities of the whole event. The interesting part I should say (As far as I experienced during the event) was the means of transportation going back to the city. It was large city-owned utility truck which accommodated 30 strong backs. With the wind in our faces, we got to appreciate the country-side and the city in new wide open eyes with 360 degrees view- literally. It was one very meaningful and fruitful Sunday afternoon.

Thank you Econ Society :D

New Specs

After 6 years of the same old frame-less specs, I welcome this new "ninoy" frame for the future and beyond.

2012: The year end review

As an annual tradition, I would like to recall and reflect upon the major highlights and events that shaped my 2012.

As a start, 2012 was a transition year. It is the times were learning curves, relationships, and world views were put into focus.

I finally finished a whole school year in the College of Law. It was an experience that stretched my intellectual muscle but I can fairly say that I did well if grades would be the sole indicator. It made me realize that the most difficult part in law school is the habit forming period – that is the freshman year. This is essentially where you put up a strong foundation in terms of study habits, perspectives, associations, and world view in the study of the law. Also, this is the time were I could affirm the decision of entering Law school, forgoing all other opportunities at this point in my life was the right decision. The motivation of my study is traceable to threads of experiences going as far back as grade school and this just fuels me to do good even more.  

In a way, this is also a year where I appropriated my sense of love and care to people. I realized that building relationships is no joke. It is not random but it should be determined. It takes a core understanding of yourself to strengthen the bonds of friendships to all people that you have the honour to meet and befriend.

XUCLA Internship. Also this year marks the start of my internship of the Xavier University Legal Assistance. This is a manifestation of my desire to build an alternative law career in the future. My blog is scattered with entries relating to this engagement. I also went to CARAGA region for the first time. It was an amazing place. A whole new world opened up before me with amazing and exotic natural wonders.

Talks talks talks. I thought before that once I’m done with my extra-curricular engagements in undergraduate school, I would also graduate from “giving talks”. I am quite honoured that till now, networks of friends and student leaders still ask me to give a sharing or two about things that I guess I have a deep grasp on – student governance. This topic that I keep on sharing, I hope would evolve into something more relevant and action oriented as my experience broadens.

Honour to share academic tips to freshmen. I consider it a great honor to talk before the freshmen year on academic tips in law school. This is really consider a highlight because I felt unfit to even prepare the talk.

New Neighbours. Having sendong survivors as neighbours brought our whole family into a deeper appreciation of life and what it is to rebuild. Our home in Indahag as attracted several children where some of them plays there and works there, thank you in part of my auntie who is very friendly to children.

Complete Christmas. Nothing beats a good Christmas celebration with a complete family. My brother went home for the holidays and boy did we celebrate.

We enter 2013 more hopeful and more determined to do more, love more, and serve more.  

2011:http://republikaneri.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-year-end-review.html

2010: http://www.republikaneri.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html2009: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=2305817058952008: http://republikaneri.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=502007: http://republikaneri.blogspot.com/2007/12/bias-year-end-review-2007-my-life-year.html2006: http://republikaneri.blogspot.com/2006/12/happy-new-year.html