Boracay Island 2018

              Photographs by CBCabalza. Copyright © 2018 by Chester B. Cabalza. All Rights Reserved.

As the Philippine government recommends the total closure of the beautiful Boracay island (the country's gem) for a year, I have the chance to see again my favorite beach this year; and planning to return by March before the clean-up of this paradise! I really enjoyed different water sports including surf paddling, parasailing, and yatching! #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines  

Africa Reigns Supreme in Black Panther

Photo from Cosmopolitan South Africa

By Chester B Cabalza

Blogger's Notes:
Commentary of an Academic 
(Copyright @ 2018 by Chester B Cabalza. All Rights Reserved).

Africa strongly resonates in our consciousness with aplomb visuals and grand narratives of a rich cultural heritage of the world’s cradle of civilization encrypted in the blockbuster hit Black Panther. The world’s second largest continent is home to over one billion diverse peoples and blessed with more than a thousand languages but it draws flak on its centuries-old developing economy and protracted conflicts since post-colonialism. 

Nonetheless this generalization was profoundly debunked in the fictional yet technologically-advanced decolonized African nation of Wakanda, whether aspired for or inspired by, it has presented a futuristic realm that paints a back story for the black’s past glory unearthed from historical accounts from the formation of Monumatapa’s civilization in Zimbabwe to Congo’s nuclear-age.  

Hollywood’s unforgiving representation of colors has been culturally deconstructed with the success of primarily all black cast and crew in Marvel’s Black Panther, concocted in today’s cinematic standards as classic cascading a defining moment in African-American tinseltown for an unconventional comic’s superhero. 

Although Africa’s astounding filmic presence subsumes a consummate appeal for royal supremacy since the mounting of the critically-acclaimed animated motion picture, The Lion King, which was obviously set in Africa, it later on adapted on stage as an award-winning musical play dominating the Broadway and West End, and popularly translated into major tongues. 

The two films about African anthropoid talking cats affirm innate nobility amongst the preservation of tribes and nations. And whether or not a lion or a panther king is quadruped or biped, animated or human, it still values timeless tradition and rears hominin wisdom about the serious symbol of audacious monarchy in the wilderness.     

Wakanda’s abundance of imagined native metal called vibranium indigenously mined around the territory’s veiled metes and bounds proves a founded wealth and innovation leading a Utopian society higher in gender equality, good governance, technological advancement, economic prosperity, endowed with philosophy of a sustainable smart city. In sum the rich nation is ahead of the curve in many aspects of human development indexes on Earth. 

Despite an apparent concealment of productivity, the imagined African kingdom humbly presented a sorrowful depiction of its economic status as a third world country in reaching the global community with havoc fear from foreign intervention and colonization to maintain its own striving internal security. Nevertheless the xenophobic kingdom struggles to broach itself as a committed affluent monarchical state in the community of nations as it endlessly hopes for diplomacy and international cooperation to maintain a constructed world order.  

But just like in any traditional monarchy, succession becomes a finite problem, and the coercion of power from potential successors that were well executed by actors Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan attest royal virtues elevating wise leadership, fortitude, patriotism and the power of love defeating greed, disloyalty, dictatorship and hatred. The universality of human values pitched in the story of Black Panther justified by the commanding presence of hip and powerhouse black characters who transported global audiences to the realm of Wakanda and to other dynamic Asian and picturesque European sets are testaments of human behaviors to present binary powers of good versus evil.  

This year's Marvel movie did not disappoint avid followers, hence, it brought new life to comics-turned-feature film, enriched by colorful visuals and sound bytes dialogues, predominantly adorned by fashionable costumes and edgy editing from a visionary young African-American director, Ryan Coogler, who selflessly secured a standing ovation on its quest to unearth a proverbial African identity transforming a passé outlook about black people as Black Panther continuously paves way for a red carpet honors that Africa rightfully deserves. The clever idea on itself is a time bomb for us that Africa can reign supreme in our global village.  

The Philippines Strives for Strategic Culture

By Chester B Cabalza

Blogger's Notes:
Commentary of an Academic 
(Copyright @ 2018 by Chester B Cabalza. All Rights Reserved).

Photo courtesy of TIME

The recent assertion of President Rodrigo Duterte on sovereignty rights over the disputed islands in the South China Sea while he has keenly recognized the nomenclature as the West Philippine Sea before the Chinese-Filipino businessmen strikes a resounding review on his external security policy after three biggest reefs in Fiery Cross, Mischief, and Subi in the Spratly archipelago are ready for use as the giant neighbour continuously expands its military might and naval spaces. Cognizant of the shifting geopolitical tussle of major powers in the newest Suez Canal of the Indo-Pacific region, the Philippines apparently strives to achieve a robust strategic culture as it remains dwarfed by intense power play of the US and China. Given the context, does the Philippines has lacking or robust strategic culture?

World War II Japanese navy minister and strategist, Takamori Saigo, deemed that there are two kinds of opportunities: one which we chance upon, the other which we create. In time of great difficulty, one must create his own opportunity. The epic saga of the Philippines to make or break from certain security challenge to formulate opportunity on its quest for a defined strategic culture can be lifted from its legal victory, skilful diplomacy, and diversified military alliance towards building capacities to foster the archipelagic nation’s lacking or robust strategic culture. Carl von Clausewitz tells us that war is a contest between two wills, and the will of belligerent is the product of moral factors which can be summarized as culture but Sun Tzu was right in addressing the importance of self-knowledge and of knowledge of one’s enemies.

Configurations and patterns of strategic culture are rooted in the formative experiences of the state influenced to some degree by the philosophical, political, cultural and cognitive characteristics of the nation and its elites. Although states initiate military transformations to avoid strategic defeats, prevent another country from occupying its territory, and thwart the grand design of a new enemy or its strategy. However the Philippines neglected to optimize two key foundations in creating a robust strategic culture by crafting a National Security Strategy and pursuing a realistic National Security Policy that should be responsive to the volatile, uncertain, changing, ambiguous, threatening, and hostile nature of the evolving security landscape. These written artefacts are unified documents that embody the people’s traditions, habits, values, way of life, and attitudes that prescribe the behaviour and action of any nation-state. Nonetheless, China’s prominent militarization in the West Philippine Sea poses a long-term security threat to the Philippines.     

Out of 196 countries worldwide, there are only 186 nation-states that have national security strategy documents since 2012. Although strategy crafting is an art and not a science, oftentimes strategies can work and sometimes not. Strategic culture takes times to nurture as it takes a generation to develop. It defines a set of patterns of and for behaviour on war and peace issues. Current national laws, policies and military strategies suggest that the Philippines has not fully taken into accounts its unique archipelagic and maritime characteristics in addressing its national interests. The Southeast Asian country has been progressing more as a maritime nation rather as an archipelagic state largely because of its difficulties in defining its national jurisdiction and sovereignty rights disrupted by its fragmented topography, weak security culture, and how Filipino elite has carved the country’s negotiated reality expressed in current national defense preferences and aspirations.

The rhetoric that Filipinos are good strategists remains debatable but it can be validated. Templates of strategic culture’s robustness can be check mated in some episodic instances to marvel at the country’s indomitable spirit. In 1952, former President Fidel V Ramos and six other Filipino officers were celebrated national heroes in North and South Koreas in the epic Battle of Eerie Hill. Then Lieutenant Ramos led 44-men to Hill Eerie from the Red Chinese Army where Ramos’s men suffered only one injury against 1,100 dead Chinese and 2,540 wounded Chinese. The paramount bravery, courage, and unstained strategy commanded heights against invading Chinese in the Korean peninsula.

Narratives about national heroes who shaped the reawakening of Filipino patriotism from the bondage of colonialism which continued on during the 1986 bloodless People Power celebration peaked when President Corazon Aquino pushed for the creation of the remarkable 1987 Philippine Constitution that embarked various coded strategies that may consciously and unconsciously built the foundations of Philippine contemporary strategic culture. But the problem beholds to strategic behaviour and lack of political will in attaining a consistent rules-based approach in dealing with internal and external security challenges. Although one of the bones of contention in Filipino strategic culture is carved through alliance and considered a preference for partnership with a foreign power that may juxtapose another feather of holding strategic culture to fill the gaps of its momentary impairments amid an increasingly ill-tempered discourse over competing maritime territories that may escalate into tit-for-tat actions at sea expanding to naval skirmishes and provocative artificial island-building to build credible deterrence.

But as the Philippines strives for a robust strategic culture, its archipelagic geography and diverse cultures of nations cannot homogenously represent the strategic culture of the entire archipelago while the plurality of Filipino culture may be a culprit to the inadequacy of its own strategic culture. With the presumption that culture of strategy evolves especially when external defense provides a severe shock that invalidates prevailing assumptions, it can be construed that most of the time Philippine strategy is a reflection of reactive policy decisions rather than a well-defined strategy based on foresight and appreciation in the evolving regional and global security landscape. Lastly, size and wealth should not become the basis of attaining a dynamic strategic culture regardless of the country’s economic status which should be culled from a strategic culture that combines scientific method and artistic measures.   

Grand Canal Venice at the Global City

Photographs by CBCabalza. Copyright © 2018 by Chester B. Cabalza. All Rights Reserved.

 #Family❤️ #Bonding🙅‍♂️

Duterte’s War on Media

By Chester B Cabalza

Blogger's Notes:
Commentary of an Academic 
(Copyright @ 2018 by Chester B Cabalza. All Rights Reserved).

A week after Rappler Inc., a Filipino online news outlet was shut down, Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finds probable breaches of nationality restrictions to the organization. Philippine media has long been touted as the “fourth estate” or the “fourth power” that juxtaposes a symmetrical power to President Rodrigo Duterte as the vox populi, vox Dei.

The current episode propelled a Pandora’s Box that questions power relations of the executive branch over the fourth branch of the government. How come that foreign ownership is pressed against a manufacturer of information like Rappler when most netizens across the globe paved way by critical infrastructures for news distribution remains borderless? How come that Rappler’s almost decade-long existence since 2011, no government administration has condemned its critical narratives and up-to-date news content, nonetheless, the reputable news outlet has even become steadfast and truth worthy source of information shared in the superhighway information. Is Rappler a threat to national security?

President Duterte’s trust and mistrust with media has been described in his roller-coaster journey’s ascent to power. His appeal to the masses massively constructed or deconstructed both by the traditional and new media are intermittently displaced whenever he disliked misinformation about his power projection. His upper hand denial to compromises and closure of media outfits in the Philippines are countered by ambiguously scrutinizing at flaws of family media owners despite robust contributions and legacy of these institutions to the country’s nation-building, using threats and fear as bold resolutions for submission to solidify his draconian rule. 

Last year, he vowed to block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise – the country’s largest network, and retaliated based from his rants when the media giant failed to air his political ad when he ran for presidency. He also singled out the country’s most read print media – the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) for alleged slanted reportage about him and on his banner policy against the war on drugs.

Patterns of belligerence of the government against the manufacturers of information during the Marcosian years and to the present have seen astute and brave media in pursuit of press freedom; nevertheless, these select agents of change revolutionized Philippine society that spurred people power. The difference of media today than before, now there are quiet emergence of censored and uncensored websites, that cling to rampant disinformation that may entice millions of netizens. The appalling side of the information superhighway, it trespasses a country’s sovereignty, and that the absence of regulation on the internet, citizen journalists and traditional media practitioner may mete out wide-scale reparations and malicious information damaging the integrity of the complex political culture.     

The daunting tasks of democratizing journalism in the Philippines, regarded supposedly as the freest in Asia, away from the social ills of political innuendos could spur a Cultural Revolution paved way by the advent of the dotcom era. The frequency of social media substantiated by the new media can become a constant catalyst of change to bridge the wall between elites and the masses subdued by stronger political patronage of mass media that manipulates the objectivity of information and obstructs the reliance of scoops to monopolize the subjectivity of truthfulness.

Ethical issues can escalate as to the extent of the president’s power to shut down institutions, particularly guardians of the right to communicate that have the capacity to expose abuses and inefficiency of leaders. The dichotomy between professional news and government propaganda exude discursive constructs of news gathering and news reportage under the mantle of trust and reliability despite that everything in the post-truth world are now deconstructed. People need critical thinking to absorb truths and realities; but if a leader is petrified of veracities, then he is not a wiser president. 

Reality bites, Duterte’s media warfare has become asymmetrical with the emergence of non-state actors and individuals as truth in information has become subjective. Nationality restrictions sought to be justified on the ground of national security issue but not on political shenanigans that can become legitimate if the genuine purpose is only to protect national interests and not solely personal interest to consolidate power and perpetuate political survival.  

The Philippines’ Quest for Federalism

Photo from PhilStar

By Chester B Cabalza

Blogger's Notes:
Commentary of an Academic 
(Copyright @ 2018 by Chester B Cabalza. All Rights Reserved).

The idea of a full federal system of “coming together” or shared sovereignty and “holding together” or shared governmental powers presumes symmetric and asymmetric balance of power in the electoral process.  But Filipino policymakers and scholars talk about decentralization but not federalism paramount to issues on fragmentation and secessionism. In this context, decentralization was perceived to be an effective means of diffusing power from the center that would effectively prevent an authoritarian regime. Hence the shift to federalism removes the restrictions to the martial law powers of the president as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.   

Federalism can be taken advantage to deepen the discourse of devolution that flexes opportunity to implement reforms on amalgamation highlighting inter-local cooperation. Since 1967, Republic Act No. 5185 or the Decentralization Act was enacted to increase the financial resources and powers of local governments.

On the other hand, the Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of the Philippines institutionalized a systemic allocation of powers and responsibilities between national and local governments. The Local Government Code assures that powers and structures of cities, municipalities, and barangays shall remain. However, not all regions are equal in terms of opportunities and resources; but proposed federal government shall be created to provide more funding support to depressed regions in order to accelerate development to equalize with other progressive regions, in which effect regions shall acquire more power to control over their funds and resources in pursuit of subsidiarity and solidarity.

Whether or not the fiscal decentralization succeeded or failed in the span of almost three decades, there have been no sharp improvements in local public service delivery. Fiscal autonomy becomes inutile when more local government units depend on the Internal Revenue Allotment from the Philippines national coffers. This will result to massive accountability from the central government where people will demand more services if they are paying their taxes properly. The dilemma also rises with the mismatch of the assignments of revenues and expenditures; on the contrary, local governments have not fully exploited their local taxing powers. In the end, the fiscal social contract should therefore feed accountability in all local levels. If national government refuses to be true to decentralization then policy implementation becomes the biggest challenge.

The current discourse on federalism catches the contours of the form rather on the substance of the subject that bespeaks accountability, transparency, democracy or autocracy. If the common denominator in the parlance of federalism in the Philippines calls for accountability and political participation, in spite of the form of the government, these values should have been the bases of founding a stronger government even before.

Benchmarking from the experiences of other countries on how federalism had worked on to their advantage is conceived as cultural expressions of their political aspirations and synergy to commit to innovative calls of their security environments. The Philippines should breed its own indigenous form of federalism as a prescription to alter the mindset and perspective of Filipino civil servants to assume proactive roles to stand with the aphorisms of the basic local governance as building blocks of robust nationhood.

Rhetoric on demystifying the spoiled Philippine political structures of overconcentration of central power in Imperial Manila, corruption, patronage politics, political dynasty, secessionism and terrorism can be addressed with the promising face of federalism. The devil is in the detail when political ambitions can be launched for an extension of power of leaders characterized by desynchronized or suspended local and national elections. This opens up a judicialization of politics which vest enough powers to key positions in the government.   

To counter such scenario, the Philippines’ emancipation from oligarchical system of clientelistic politics, political reforms must not be limited to relational dynamics between the balance of power of the central and local governments. Federalism must pave way for electoral and party reforms, debate on anti-political dynasty provision in the Constitution, amalgamation of fragmented local government units, restructuring of tax system, reconfiguration of the presidential system, and professionalizing the civil service.

The assurance that Filipinos shall fully enjoy the benefits of democracy by uplifting their lives espouses the campaign of a semi-parliamentary system with a strong presidential system, directly voted in tandem with the vice president. The president nominates the prime minister who will act as the chief executive officer of the country. However, this precludes a condition of a stronger party dynamics for which the president’s political survival relies on the strength of political parties supporting him that contradicts the nonexistence of strong parties in the Philippines.

More so, the promise of political participation insinuates the greater respect for ethnic diversity and political culture change which spans for intergeneration. The centuries-old reality of Philippine regionalism debunks the pitch that through federalism and decentralization, devolution of regional financial and political powers will wield good governance, peace and order, and competitiveness.  

Chill Baguio City

Photographs by CBCabalza. Copyright © 2017 by Chester B. Cabalza. All Rights Reserved.

#Brotherhood💪 #Family❤️ #Bonding🙅‍♂️