Official Blog

The New York Times editorial calls this "the scariest economic free fall the world has seen since 1929," referring to the Great Depression that caused great suffering to millions. The sentiment is echoed by hundreds of leading economists, bankers and traders whose opinions are quoted daily, as they struggle to explain the economic fallout to the general public. Yet no one is able to confidently predict our economic future.

The US government first bailed out and then, following the lead set by Britain, France, Italy and Spain, began taking over some of the largest financial institutions. How many billions and trillions do they have? Of course the answer is that they already have more than 10 trillion dollars in national debt!

The Human Costs

The human costs of this economic meltdown are only beginning to be felt. More than a million citizens have lost their homes in the past two years, and a million more are expected to lose their homes in the coming12 months. Yet the United States government continues to pay more of the mortgage costs of rich homeowners, through larger tax deductions, than of poorer homeowners.

United States citizens have lost two trillion dollars in retirement funds, representing about 20 percent of their value since last year, reducing the income of everyone and forcing many older working citizens to continue working even into their late sixties. Countless small investors are losing their savings.

The frozen credit market, which is much more serious than the severe stock market declines, will cause companies around the world, unable to borrow, to layoff workers and unemployment will rise.

The Russian stock market fell by about two-thirds since May. Thus, the global financial crisis has wiped out roughly a trillion dollars in wealth across the country.

The country of Iceland itself is failing. Prime Minister Geir Haarde warned of the threat of "national bankruptcy." The government seized its three largest banks to prevent their failure, and the currency had already lost half its value before its trade was halted. The country is desperately seeking an emergency loan from Russia or from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However accepting the IMF harsh structural adjustment policies to restore fiscal and monetary stability will hurt everyone, an extraordinary reversal for the island's economy, which has been quite affluent for the last decade.

Consumerism and Greed

Greed is the excessive and selfish pursuit of wealth or other material things, without concern whether one's actions deprive others of necessities. Rather than controlling this instinct, unregulated capitalism encourages it. Some proponents of free market capitalism even go so far as to argue that greed should be considered a positive trait because the race to maximize profits propels the global economy. As the character Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street said, "Greed... is good!"

The meltdown has been caused in large part by corporations that spend hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising campaigns to make debt sound desirable and risk-free. Their sophisticated ad campaigns and direct mail programs are aimed at every age group, from young teenagers to the elderly. The largest credit card company launched a campaign "Life Takes Visa," MasterCard did "Priceless" and Citibank taught "Live Richly." The insidious goal of each of these campaigns was to eliminate negative feelings about going into debt. The creative director of MasterCard's campaign, Jonathan B. Cranin, explained, "One of the tricks in the credit card business is that people have an inherent guilt with spending. What you want is to have people feel good about their purchases."

It gets nastier, because lenders prey on people who urgently need loans to pay for health care and other necessities. To squeeze more profit from borrowers, US credit card companies have increased interest rates from 17.7 percent in 2005 to 19.1 percent last year, a difference that gives them billions of dollars in extra profits. Average late fees rose from less than $13 in 1994 to $35 in 2007, and fees charged when customers exceed their credit limits more than doubled to from $11 to $26 a month.

The lucrative lending practices of these merchants of debt have led millions of North Americans — young and old, rich and poor — to the brink. However in 2005 the bankruptcy laws were changed. This legislation, proposed by President Bush and driven through Congress by financial services firms, makes it much harder for consumers with modest incomes to escape from under their debt by filing for bankruptcy. The new laws encouraged more reckless lending on the part of lenders, because they could more easily force poor borrowers to repay.

Practices such as these that produced record profits for many banks have shaken the world's financial system to its foundation. As a growing number of people default on payments, banks are recording hundreds of billions in losses, devastating their shareholders. As each bank is realizing that it is holding many bad debts, an increasing distrust is taking place between the institutions, afraid of how many bad debts the other banks are holding.

Global economy vs. Local economy

The solution to the global economic meltdown should be the formation of local economies. The first crucial step of any humane economy is to provide the basic necessities of life to all: food and pure water, clothing, housing, education and medical care. Human beings require these in order to realize their individual potentialities, to develop culturally, to achieve inner fulfillment and self-realization, which many now consider as higher goals of life. What a wonderful world it will be when no one on the planet will have to worry about getting enough money to buy the food, clothes, housing, education and medical care needed for his or her family!

Second, the current centralized economies should be decentralized into economically self-reliant regions. The regions would be defined by geographic conditions, and by the inhabitants' cultural legacy, language, economic problems and interests. These bioregions would decide their economic future from below, with planning emerging from the communities and supported by central government policies.

Third, each economic region should also be divided into smaller "blocks" or counties, which would provide the basic level of grassroots economic planning. The area of a county is small enough for the planners to understand all the problems of the area; local leaders would be able to solve the problems according to local priorities; planning would be more practical and effective and give quick, positive results.

Fourth, breaking the dependence on petroleum by rejuvenating local agriculture and achieving self-reliance in food, medicines and energy. The importance of rural employment and an adequate standard of living to reduce internal and external migrations is also important.

Each of these solutions is part of the Progressive Utilization Theory or PROUT, which proposes a dynamic economy of the people, by the people and for the people. Rejecting profit making as the goal of the economy, PROUT bases its economic policy on consumption; that is, on meeting the actual needs of people. PROUT proposes a three-tiered economic system to realize this.

To preserve the creative, innovative spirit of capitalism, but to avoid the destructive, exploiting impact of capital which disregards social costs and environmental degradation, private enterprises should be of small-scale.

The second tier of the PROUT economy is formed by cooperatives. This guarantees economic democracy, a decrease in alienation and a more just distribution of wealth. The goal of cooperatives is not profit at any cost, but satisfying the real needs of the community and achieving everyone's well-being. Members participate in decision-making and determine their community's economic future.

The final tier is industries which have strategic importance and which are too big or too complex to be efficiently managed by a cooperative. For example energy, steel, telecommunications, airlines, etc., should be state-owned and managed by elected boards in the public interest at the national or state levels. These key industries should be run on a no profit, no loss basis, serving all the people of the country.

The Central Bank of each country is such a key industry. However all the other banks should be cooperative credit unions, loaning savings to local businesses, cooperatives and homeowners.

A local economy organized in this way would be human-based, resilient to global market fluctuations and inflation, and able to achieve full employment. Isn't this the type of economy we want?

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Dada Maheshvarananda is a yoga monk, activist and writer. He is author of After Capitalism: Prout's Vision for a New World with preface by Noam Chomsky, translated into 10 languages. He is director of the Prout Research Institute of Venezuela. See www.priven.org or write him at maheshvarananda@prout.org

In this process, we could be haunted by doubt. Who are we to define Mindanawon consciousness? Isn't this an exercise of power and domination? In reality, that is not what we want to do. We want to look forward a way of speaking about Mindanao, a set of social images that can give us some control on how Mindanao can nurture multicultural understanding, peace, development, and a sense of meaning and identity. We want to generate new collective energies.

Astonishment and wonder were the unfavorable reactions of our peers in the Interim Batasang Pambansa when we filed Parliamentary Bill 195 on August 14, 1978 seeking to change the name Philippines to Maharlika. It was as if to say “some members have lost their marbles to even contemplate such a thing”, as if they didn’t know that Article XVI, Section 2 of the constitution says that “The Congress, may by law, adopt a new name for the country x x x x which shall be truly reflective and symbolic of the ideals, history, and traditions of the people x x x such law shall take effect only upon ratification by the people min a national referendum.”

Even more hostile was the accusation that the bill was drawn-up by President Ferdinand Marcos himself, "Maharlika" having been associated with him during the war when he named his guerrilla unit to fight the Japanese invaders “Maharlika.” If true, the bill would have passed without question in that “rubber stamp congress.” But the measure did not even merit a committee hearing. The consoling thought however is, the bill was ahead of its time in a country long indoctrinated to accept blindly historical inaccuracies and Western hegemony and culture—the people made averse to resisting a deeply rooted conservative status quo as a consequence.

“The times are changing” is an affirmation of present circumstances. Today we see encouraging developments in favor of our proposal, but only after 27 years. Opposition has started to give way to an open mind by the same people who yesterday sneered at it.

Recently we have been receiving letters mostly from Filipinos abroad asking if our proposal to rename the country is still alive, realizing the relevance today. This country’s image in the eyes of the world today is at its worst, tarnished by such epithets as “the most corrupt country in the world,” a nation of cheats and thieves,” “a country of slums and hungry children,” “the dirtiest country in the world,” and other negative exaggerations. Heir common complaint: “We are constantly humiliated as “Filipinos’ in our host countries with insults like ‘the Philippines is a country of prostitutes, maids, thieves,’ and other indignitaries we cannot swallow any longer.” The shared optimism is “if we become Maharlikans this Filipino identity shall be erased forever and the world shall take notice and stop insulting our country as we create a new image and rebuild our reputation.

Great thinkers and visionaries have some time derived their thoughts and judgment from the common people. We must take our cue from this urgent call. If we don’ move this country shall be left behind by then winds of progress. In this country the wheels of change are heavy and slow. Our people are averse to change and are easily disinclined to anything outside the scope of easy comprehension. It is time to find the psychological why and wherefore and from there we must find the catharsis to expel this negative nature. Simple experiment al applications of new ways to improve existing conditions are always met with contempt, which lead to protracted squabbling and to miscarriage of good intentions. “Let us keep what we have; the known evil is best,” describes us best.

Our people's character of easily accepting “what is there and what is given” is so ingrained; what were imposed upon us in 1543 have coarsely acquired lasting currency through the centuries. The “ferment of change” addressed by other counties in Asia, Africa, Europe, and in other regions, we have ignored. Formosa, Siam, Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, Malaya, Ceylon, Burma, Khmer/Kampuchea, Persia, Bombay, Calcutta, to name only a few have all changed their names. We have remained as is even as we behold the phenomenal economic growth of these neighbors brought about by a compulsion for change back to the reassured ethos of their past which served as the touchstone for their quest for progress and prosperity.

Our penchant for change is so trivial, proven by changing only the names of streets and other minor things and places. Dewey Blvd. is changed to Roxas Blvd. because Dewey was American; Azcarraga to Recto because Azcarraga was Spaniard, etc. The country is named after King Philip II of Spain. Have we ever asked ourselves what kind of a man we were named after?

Philip was only ¼ Spaniard, his father Charles V was Hapsburg and did not even speak a word in Spanish when he became a king. Philip was as some historians call “a monster of bigotry, ambition, lust and cruelty.” His own official court historian described him as a man whose “smile and dagger were very close.” He was the son of fist cousins. His grandmother Juana died of insanity. Even today she is known in Spain as “Juana la loca.” His “auto-da-fe” after being sworn in as king was the burning in the stake alive of thousands of Muslims in Spain. Protestants in Europe, then under Spain were beheaded as heretics. He was ex-communicated as a Catholic by the pope for looting Rome. He died of what historians evasively described as a very communicable social disease (syphilis) that had affected his mind. Before he died thousands of insects festered his whole body which was covered with ulcers dripping with puss and reeking with unbearable smell. His name is better forgotten whose unpleasant memory we still honor today by identifying ourselves as Filipinos, carrying his name with pride.

Maharlika is our ancient heritage and has been with us long before Western colonialists set foot on our shoes. Maha is Sanskrit for noble, great, as in Taj Mahal. Mahatma (a great soul); the moon that supports all the planets and celestial bodies,” “The food that nourishes vital forces in everyone, “chanting Maha is to be one with the Lord,” “Maha is God Himself.” The inflectional ending of Maharlika, Likha is our own word for create, make, cause, design, breed, conceived, Maharlika therefore means “nobly created,” “God’s creation,” “the self personified,” etc. The great philosopher-philologist-spiritual master P.R. Sarkar said, “Maharlika means a small container (country) containing great things (people).” Maharlika is a spiritual mantra, a divine name.

The name “Filipino” has obscenely outlasted is purpose and has become malapropos. We only need it as much as we need a tragic memory. Our people must hear from our leaders in government, business, the academe, and from our opinion makers. Maharlika shall be the precursor of the great transformation of this country; it shall inspire a romantic tale, nay, a great national epic which is absent in our present annals. Maharlika shall discover our true identity, then beginning of our renaissance, our rebirth to greatness.


[Eddie Ilarde is a former councilor, congressman, senator, and assemblyman. He is a Lifetime Achievement Awardee for radio and television having pioneered many programs of lasting value to the country. He is the founder of Maharlika Foundation for National Transformation and Golden Eagles Society International, a movement to benefit the older people of the world. Kuya Eddie, as he is fondly called is semi-retired author and free-lance writer and spends his time in his small arm in the province].

Read more related blog by Ric Vil Hori

• Naming the country
• Maharlikan

NEW BOOK

Dr. Susmit Kumar's fascinating work on the modernization of Islam and the creation of
a multipolar world order is out.

Dr. Kumar writes engagingly and with easy authority on the causes of Islamic fundamentalism, the collapse of American economy, and demonstrates the excellent prospects of PROUT in the later part of the book. This comprehensive work succeeds
in placing the idea of PROUT in a temporary political framework underscoring an
upcoming basic shift in values.

Read more the synopsis here »»

The Modernization of Islam is a provocative analysis of the present global Islamic militancy, based on the author’s 1995 article published in Global Times (Copenhagen, Denmark). The 2001 attack on the US and subsequent Western-led attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq have led political scientists to believe in Samuel Huntington’s theory of a "clash of civilizations." The world’s civilizations -Western, Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, Orthodox/Russian, Hindu, African, and Latin - will, according to this theory, align and engage in war on a civilizational basis. Although experts predict that Islamic militancy will last three to four decades, they are unable to predict its final outcome. Until 1900 no one was predicting that democracy would replace kingdoms in most European countries, or that Asian and African countries would gain independence within five to six decades. But, because of World Wars I and II, most European kingdoms were replaced by vibrant democracies, and colonial rulers had to leave most of Asia and Africa due to the destruction wrought on their economies during these wars. In order to give birth to a beautiful child, a woman has to go through the pains of labor. Europe had some of its labor pains in the last century, when World Wars I and II were necessary to change the global socio-economic and political environments of those times. Had those wars not occurred, much of Europe might still be ruled by monarchs, and most Asian and African countries might still be awaiting independence from their colonial masters. Islam is the only major religion imposed by government fiat anywhere in the world. Today Islamic civilization is going through what Europe went through between World Wars I and II. At the end of this crisis, the majority of Islamic nations will become secular and democratic, like Turkey: the world seat of the Islamic Caliphate since 1517, Turkey shed its fundamentalist rule in 1923 and has remained free ever since.

The first requirement for economic democracy is that the minimum requirements of a particular age -- including food, clothing, housing, education and medical treatment -- must be guaranteed to all. Not only is this an individual right, it is also a collective necessity, because the easy availability of the minimum requirements will increase the all-round welfare of society.

The second requirement for economic democracy is that increasing purchasing capacity must be guaranteed to each and every individual. In economic democracy local people will hold economic power. Consequently, local raw materials will be used to promote the economic prosperity of the local people. That is to say, the raw materials of one socio-economic unit should not be exported to another unit. Instead, industrial centres should be built up wherever raw materials are available. This will create industries based on locally available raw materials and ensure full employment for all local people.

The third requirement for economic democracy is that the power to make all economic decisions must be placed in the hands of the local people. Economic liberation is the birthright of every individual. To achieve it, economic power must be vested in the local people. In economic democracy the local people will have the power to make all economic decisions, to produce commodities on the basis of collective necessity, and to distribute all agricultural and industrial commodities.

The fourth requirement for economic democracy is that outsiders must be strictly prevented from interfering in the local economy. The outflow of local capital must be stopped by strictly preventing outsiders or a floating population from participating in any type of economic activity in the local area. For the success of economic democracy, Prout must be implemented and the economic welfare of all people must be enhanced step by step. This in turn will lead to greater opportunities for the spiritual emancipation of human beings.

Finally, it should be remembered that economic democracy is essential not only for the economic liberation of human beings, but for the universal well-being of all -- including plants and animals. Economic democracy will devise ways and means to effect the smooth progress of society by recognizing the unique value of both humans and non-humans alike.

June 1986, Calcutta
Prout in a nutshell 21

PROUT is a complete socio-economic theory based on an integrated view of life and comprising a wide spectrum of human activity, propounded by Shrii Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar (1921-1990) in 1959. At the time it presented an undeniable challenge to the outdated Marxist and capitalist theories whose falls it predicts. Based on practical observances rather than theoretical assumptions, PROUT remains very much a vibrant rational ideological alternative today.

The name PROUT is an acronym of PROgressive Utilization Theory. For the first time human goals and aspirations on any level of existence have been brought within the compass of a comprehensive socio-economic theory. Earlier socio-economic thought could not comprehend a synthetic approach to human physical, mental and spiritual requirements. Hence they could provide neither for the integrated development of individuals nor the wholesome adjustment with others and the environment.

Visit ProutWorld at www.proutworld.org

Woodbridge Beach Resort in Kiamba hosted the opening program of Sarangani Bay Festival 2008 with simultaneous competitions in land and sea, including environmental awareness programs.


Sarangani Bay lies between a mangrove forest in Glan (foreground) and the majestic Mt. Matutum. -- Photo by Cocoy Sexcion


Pawikan release: Local officials led by Governor Migs Dominguez (4th from right) and the community release 30 Olive Ridley hatchlings to signal environmental consciousness and protection of the bay on the first day of Sarangani Bay Festival Friday, May 16 at Kiamba municipality. -- Photo by Cocoy Sexcion

Earlier in the day of May 16, at 7am., a clean-up in the province’s six coastal towns - Alabel, Malapatan, Glan, Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum - ushered in community participation and advocacy for Sarangani Bay.

Also slated at Woodbridge are a rowing race (lumba bugsay), cooking contest (hain kusina), an environmental arts exhibit and a techno-aqua recreational activity.


Governor Migs Dominguez looks at the artwork of a participant in the Sining at Kinaiyahan (arts and nature) contest among 8 to 12 years old children Friday, May 16, depicting this year's 2008 Sarangani Bay Festival theme: "Sarangani… Celebrating and Protecting the Treasures of the Bay" -- Photo by Cocoy Sexcion


Fisherfolk teams composed of either husband and wife, father and daughter, sister and brother, or mother and son race boats at the Lumba Bugsay event to open the Sarangani Bay Festival 2008. It is a 1.5-kilometer race from Banglay Beach to Woodbridge Resort. -- Photo by Cocoy Sexcion


Couple Bong and Norhaima Saban reach the finish line first for the Lumba Bugsay at the opening of the Sarangani Bay Festival 2008 Friday, May 16. The couple pose after winning the 1.5-kilometer race carries the top prize of P5,000 cash and a 5.5 HP boat engine. -- Photo by Cocoy Sexcion


Fisherfolk families who participated in the Lumba Bugsay event pose after reaching the shore of Woodbridge Resort at Kiamba municipality. -- Photo by Cocoy Sexcion

For the first time, the municipality of Kiamba launched the “Mountain-River-Ocean Adventure,” a human race from the jungles to the sea.

Local government units, non-government organizations and the business sector are coming together to celebrate this year’s bay festival and to increase community awareness in environmental conservation.

“For our third Sarangani Bay Festival, everybody is knocking on our doors,” Governor Migs Dominguez told a press conference last week.

“This means we’re developing equity and credibility in what we are doing, because our cause is healthy,” the governor said.

Sarangani Bay Festival, with the theme this year of “Sarangani… Celebrating and Protecting the Treasures of the Bay”, is a province-wide festival which pays tribute to the bounty of the bay through beach events.

“We are celebrating the beauty and the goodness of the bay,” said Vice Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon.

“Every year people will be reminded of how beautiful and how generous the bay has become for us that we should continue to preserve it,” Solon said.

According to Board Member Arturo Lawa, Sarangani province has “already generated interest with regards to environmental protection.”

“This is evident in the building of Septage Treatment Facilities from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation among the province’s six coastal towns,” said Lawa, chair of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan environment committee.

Lawa said in relation to the Clean Water Act, his committee was now 80% in the formulation of the Water Quality Management Board for Sarangani Bay.

On the other hand, the annual bay festival has triggered the development of beach resorts across the province to accommodate tourists.

Resort growth more than doubled in the white sand shores of Gumasa, the Boracay-like destination in Mindanao.

The tourism office has recorded an 87% increase of tourist arrivals in the province from 2005 to 2007.

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For more information, kindly visit this website: www.sarangani.gov.ph

By Imelda V Abano

Growing world energy demand, the insecurity of long-term supply and the consequences of fossil fuel use for climate change are driving governments to look for alternatives. To meet rising energy needs, many countries are promoting the production and use of biofuels - energy extracted as a gas, liquid or oil from plants.

Derived from food crops such as corn, sugarcane, soybean, oil palm and sugarbeet, biofuel production has been on the rise in recent years. It is seen by many as a clean form of energy in an era of soaring oil prices and concerns over carbon emissions.

Jatropha, a plant originating in Central America that grows wild in many developing countries, including South Africa, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and the Philippines, has suddenly found itself at the centre of a new phase in the world's alternative energy boom.

In the Philippines, there is currently much hype surrounding its production as a source of renewable fuel. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed into law the Biofuels Act which mandates a minimum one per cent biodiesel blend and five per cent bioethanol blend in all diesel and gasoline fuels. To meet demand, the government is aggressively pushing for the cultivation of jatropha, believing it to be one of the best candidates for future biofuel production.

The government, through the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp, is now looking at some 1.2 million hectares for jatropha production in the southern island of Mindanao. It is also busy identifying more than 400,000 hectares of land for private sector investments.

Jatropha curcas is a drought-tolerant non-edible shrub. It produces fruits the size of golf balls which contain oil that can be converted into biodiesel, a substitute for fossil fuel.

According to Rhandy Tubal, research specialist at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Cordillera, farmers who have received training to grow jatropha are enthusiastic about the crop. He says the cultivation of the plant could provide the first step out of poverty for Filipino farmers and claims that, depending on the density of the plants, each hectare can yield jatropha oil worth nearly US$2,000 a year.

"We are in the initial stage of planting jatropha and we are very optimistic that it is indeed one of the best candidates for biofuel. Farmers are very excited about its production," Tubal says, adding that only idle land would be used for jatropha planting to avoid competition with other crops.

However, research from Australia suggests the plant will need more intensive inputs to produce the oil used for biofuels and it can take several years to develop optimum yields. Furthermore, some experts warn the move may use up precious land that could be used to grow food and may eventually hurt subsistence farmers. Concerns over possible future food shortages have generated a ‘food versus fuel’ debate in the country.

Rachel Smolker, a biofuels specialist and research biologist for the US-based environmental group the Global Justice Ecology Project, fears the global rush to switch from oil to energy derived from plants will drive deforestation, push small farmers off the land and lead to serious food shortages and increased poverty unless carefully managed.

"If food sources become biofuels, that may lead to shortages and raise prices. The promotion of biofuels will have an impact on local food security as some fuel crops are also food crops," Smolker says.

Her view is echoed by Philippine Senator Miriam Santiago, author of the 2007 Biofuels Act, who has sought more governmental oversight of biofuels development, saying that backing biofuels could adversely affect the country's ability to produce its own food.

"Biofuel is land-based and will eventually compete with food. Because the Philippines has a small land area, biofuel production will tend to encroach on food production. Corporations are already searching for millions of hectares for jatropha alone. We have to step on the brakes and decelerate," she says.

Santiago thinks the Philippines "will not prosper by betting only on the biofuels option". She says the government should explore other alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass.

But the Philippines' Environment Secretary Lito Atienza has defended the government's massive jatropha cultivation for the biofuels programme, saying it will not imperil the country's food supply.

"Jatropha is a non-food crop. So the issue over food versus fuel is not a debate about this crop. Jatropha grows on idle lands, particularly denuded mountains and forests, unfit for food crop cultivation, so it will not compete with land used for the production of food," Atienza says.

Widespread jatropha cultivation is fairly new in the Philippines. It is only recently, with the news that jatropha can be a source of biodiesel, that people have started planting larger areas of the crop.

All the more reason, according to Dr Emil Javier, president of the National Academy of Science and Technology, to check out its credentials. "The Philippines should do its homework and conduct thorough research on jatropha and see its viability compared with other alternative crops," he says.

The challenge, believes Achim Dobermann, a scientist from the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute, is to ensure a balance between food and biofuel production. "There is an urgent need to strengthen policy research in order to avoid decisions that may lead to competition between food and bioenergy."


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Imelda V Abano is a freelance reporter based in Bagio, in the northern Philippines. She wrote this article as a result of a fellowship awarded by the Climate Change Media Partnership – a collaboration of Panos, Internews and IIED which supports journalists to investigate climate change issues.

This feature is published by Panos Features and can be reproduced free of charge. Please credit the author and Panos Features and send a copy to External Relations, Panos London, 9 White Lion St, London N1 9PD, UK. Email: media@panos.org.uk

On 29 March 2008 the Philippines will join countries around the world as we literally "turn the lights out" for Earth Hour - an event that will fuel awareness on climate change and prove that when the people of the world work together, they can make a difference in the fight against global warming.

Earth Hour will take place throughout the Philippines from 8 to 9 in the evening on Saturday night, 29 March 2008. WWF invites you to participate by shutting off lights for 60 minutes, organizing your own "lights-out" event or by forwarding this mail to your friends, workmates and family.

Launched in Australia on the 31st of March 2007, Earth Hour moved 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses in Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour. This massive collective effort reduced the city's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour. With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

YOUR participation will go a long way in spreading the message that we, as individual droplets working collectively - can create an impetus far more powerful than the mightiest of rivers. For more information, log on to the WWF Earth Hour page at: www.earthhour.org.


If you want to learn more about how else you can help make Earth Hour in the Philippines a success, reply to this email or drop us a line at (632) 920-7931, (632)920-7923, or (632)920-7926

Teena G. Santiago
Marketing Services Manager
WWF-Philippines/
Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas
JBD Plaza, 56 Mindanao Avenue
Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City
Philippines
Phone: + 63 2 920-7923 or 26
Fax: +63 2 454-3533
Mobile: +63 920 923-6998
email: tsantiago@wwf.org.ph
Website: http://wwf.org.ph

To us life means living for a great cause. Life implies the endeavour to have the freedom to express one's potentialities in the physical, economic, psychic and spiritual realms. It means real liberty and not license to commit anything good or bad.

In the annals of human history we do find women whose memory glorifies not only womanhood, but the entire human world. In philosophy and spirituality, social reform and educational pursuits, science and technology, they stand second to none. Women are found discussing the riddles of philosophy, solving problems of social and educational reform, and are inspiring men in times of struggle. They have their potentiality no less than men. The difference in natural and biological characteristics between men and women speaks only of coordinated cooperation, not of subordinated cooperation.

Yet the annals of history depict the sad and painful episodes of women's exploitation throughout the world. To fulfil this sinister design, dogmas were created which led to psycho-economic exploitation. Dogmas were cunningly popularized and women were degenerated to slavery. Psychic exploitation has been infused into the minds of women and many symbols which are religiously observed are nothing but symbols of slavery. In many religions of the world today women are not allowed to become priests in the religious hierarchy.

Women's exploitation is more or less the same everywhere. Is it not a fact that in many countries even franchise rights were not given equally to men and women?

Even today women are slaves to the male-dominated social order. This is not only bad but deplorable. We should decry such domination of women and their psycho-economic exploitation through the evil design of dogmas. To abolish dogma and liberate women from psychic exploitation, there should be:

• Free education for all women in all countries of the world.
• No discrimination in the social, educational and religious realms.
• The provision of economic and social security to all women.

We stand to create a powerful, dynamic and upsurging social consciousness, especially among women, so that they are inspired to rise, abolish dogma and annihilate all symbols of slavery, and usher in a new era of coordinated cooperation and glorious achievement. Let women be the vanguard of a new revolution which humanity must achieve for a glorious tomorrow.


by: Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar
20 April 1981, Calcutta
A Few Problems Solved Part 9

Hatag Kalinaw 2008 is a youth-led project grant competition for school and community-based youth organisations in Mindanao on how the ideals of peace can be achieved through mutual understanding and entrepreneurship. Winning organisations will receive up to PHP 100,000 each to implement its project within a 6-month period.

What should the proposal be about?

* Project proposals should address issues on the ideals of peace, mutual understanding, and development among young people in Mindanao

* It should espouse entrepreneurship in the form of savings, economic, or livelihood activities

* It should utilise the concept of “self-help” as opposed to “dole-out

* It should be a consultative and participatory process to ensure ownership and enhanced sustainability to promote community-based entrepreneurial activities



For further information and to download application form, please visit: web site

Open to all with limited slots. This event is organized by Computer Science and Information Technology (CSIT) Department Student Council of Notre Dame of Marbel University, headed by Mark Aethen G. Agana. Contact Aethen for more information at +639063722737

Date: Feb.2.2008
Time: 8:30am-3:30pm
Venue: SMC Hall, NDMU, City of Koronadal
Registration Fee: Php70.00 (inclusive of two snacks and certificate)

The seminar will be like a re-echo of the Mindanao Bloggers Summit. It is called Blog, dubbed with theme "Understanding, Culture and Identity" and has the following objectives:

1. To introduce blogging as new media

2. To explore blogging as a means for monetizing, Internet marketing, and advocacy.

3. To enable the participants to recognize the need to continually communicate with one another to know and understand Mindanao and its people through the available technology.

4. To utilize blogging to appreciate the beauty of Mindanao 's people, culture, places, creativity as their contribution to fostering understanding and peace on the island.

The invited Mindanao bloggers to introduce blogging to non-bloggers. There will talk on Blogging 101 (Basics), Blogging as new medium, for earning, Internet Marketing, and Advocacy.

Hector Miñoza, Bro. Vince Celeste, FMS, Rolly Jude Ortega, Ariel Lalisan, Ria Jose, and Avel Manansala are the invited Mindanao bloggers to introduce blogging to non-bloggers and they would also share their knowledge and experiences with blogging. There will talk on Blogging 101 (Basics), Blogging as new medium, for earning, Internet Marketing, and Advocacy.