Farewell Letter From Gabriel "Gabo" Garcia Marquez

The Puppet

If for a moment God would forget that I am a rag doll and give me a scrap of life, possibly I would not say everything that I think, but I would definitely think everything that I say.

I would value things not for how much they are worth but rather for what they mean.

I would sleep little, dream more. I know that for each minute that we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light.

I would walk when the others loiter; I would awaken when the others sleep.

I would listen when the others speak, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream.

If God would bestow on me a scrap of life, I would dress simply, I would throw myself flat under the sun, exposing not only my body but also my soul.

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hatred on ice and wait for the sun to come out. With a dream of Van Gogh I would paint on the stars a poem by Benedetti, and a song by Serrat would be my serenade to the moon.

With my tears I would water the roses, to feel the pain of their thorns and the incarnated kiss of their petals...My God, if I only had a scrap of life...

I wouldn't let a single day go by without saying to people I love, that I love them.

I would convince each woman or man that they are my favourites and I would live in love with love.

I would prove to the men how mistaken they are in thinking that they no longer fall in love when they grow old--not knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love. To a child I would give wings, but I would let him learn how to fly by himself. To the old I would teach that death comes not with old age but with forgetting. I have learned so much from you men....

I have learned that everybody wants to live at the top of the mountain without realizing that true happiness lies in the way we climb the slope.

I have learned that when a newborn first squeezes his father's finger in his tiny fist, he has caught him forever.

I have learned that a man only has the right to look down on another man when it is to help him to stand up. I have learned so many things from you, but in the end most of it will be no use because when they put me inside that suitcase, unfortunately I will be dying.

translated by Matthew Taylor and Rosa Arelis Taylor

The Philippines on the Math

The Philippines on the Math

Cesar D. Liporada

Reading the headlines, it appears that this administration had done nothing good and calls for the ouster of President Noynoy Aquino are being pushed. Are we worst than ever before as pundits claim? Had the “matuwid na daan” (strait path) really gone awry?  The only way to find out is to check the numbers of the Philippines against all other countries in the world. This is the Philippines on the Math!

Numbers are objective and devoid of emotions. They may not be 100 percent accurate, but they are better gauges than political analysts with intents of destroying the administration not for the sake of the Filipino, but to bolster their political interests. Numbers are also not people. But again, they provide insights as to where we are and what we can do to move on. As the math would show, this administration and its governance had done fairly well.

Human Development Index

In the 2014 Human Development Index (HDI) Report released by the UN Development Program (UNDP), the Philippines ranks 117^th (out of 187 countries) with an HDI of 0.660. It had a higher rating from 2013 (of 654), although it ranked 114 that year because three other countries move up. It is among 47 countries considered with Medium Human Development (0.536-0.710). There are 94 countries with either very High (0.805-0.955) or High Human Development (0.792-0.796). The top three countries are Norway, Australia and Switzerland. Among the 28 countries in East Asia, the Philippines is ranked 16^th. The top 5 countries in East Asia are Australia, N. Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

The HDI, which was started in 1990, is a comparative measure in three dimensions of human well-being: (1) life expectancy, (2) literacy, and (3) education. In 2010, a further Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) was introduced, with two other dimensions added: (4) standards of living and (5) quality of life.

Corruption Index

In the 2014 Corruption Index  release by transparency International, the  Philippines ranked 85 out of 174 countries, with a corruption rating of 35 (0 as most corrupt and 100 as least corrupt). This moved from ranked 95 (with a rating of 34) last 2013. Denmark is least corrupt with a 92 rating. The most corrupt countries are North Korea and Somalia, with identical 8 rating. In a 2004 global corruption report, Ferdinand Marcos ranked number 2 as most corrupt president in the world, while Joseph Estrada was ranked number 10. GM Arroyo did not yet figure in  2004.

Happy Planet Index

2012 Happy Planet Index: the Philippines ranked 24^th, out of 111 countries, with an index rating of 52.2. The best scoring countries were Costa Rica, followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Belize and El Salvador. The lowest ranking countries in 2012 were Botswana, Chad and Qatar. The HPI value is a function of a country’s average subjective life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita. Nine out of the ten top countries are located in the Caribbean Basin, despite high levels of poverty. Among the top five world's biggest economies in terms of GDP, Japan has the highest ranking in 45th place, followed by Germany in 46th, France is placed 50th, China 60, and the U.S. is ranked 105, mainly due to its environmental footprint of 7.2, the seventh highest of all countries rated for the 2012 index.^[20]

Global Gender Gap Report

 The report was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum. In the 2014 report that covers 142 major and emerging economies, the Philippines ranked high at 9^th place, with a rating of .781. The Global Gender Gap Index is an index designed to measure gender equality. The highest possible score is 1 (equality) and the lowest possible score is 0 (inequality). Among the highest are European countries like Sweden (.8165), Norway (.8374), Finland (.7958), and Iceland (.8594). The Philippines ranked higher than the US (.7463)

Millennium Development Goals

The MDGs were adopted during the 2000 UN Millennium Summit by 189 member states (193 current). They are a set of 8 goals and 18 targets to be achieved in 2015 from a 1990 baseline. The goals are: (1) eradicating poverty and hunger, (2) achieving universal primary education, (3) promoting gender equality and empowering women, (4) reducing child mortality rates, (5) improving maternal health, (6) combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, (7) ensuring environmental sustainability, and; (8) developing a global partnership for development.

From the latest report, progress towards reaching the goals has been uneven across countries.  The major successful countries include China (whose poverty population declined from 452 million to 278 million) and India (612 million).  The Philippines’ target of “halving the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day” (of 22.7%) may or may not be achieved. From the 2012 poverty statistics released in December 2013 by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), one out of five Filipino families (19.7 %) and one out of four Pinoys (25.2%) were poor.

But note that these are percentages. The number of poor people in China is more than twice the population of the country (estimated at 100 million). The number of poor people in India is six times more than the population of the Philippines.

World Economic Report

In terms of the world economy in 2013, “the largest economies in the world with more than $2 trillion, (€1.25 trillion) by nominal GDP were the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, Italy and India.  It is unclear, however, how many of the world's 7.13 billion people have most of their economic activity reflected in these valuations.”            ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_economy)

In the list of the 25 largest economies by contribution to the global economic growth by GDP (PPP) in 2014, the Philippines is ranked 18^th among the world’s countries, contributing 0.6 percent to the global economy. China leads, with 29 percent, followed by the US, with 12.8 percent. In the ASEAN region, the Philippines follow China, India (3^rd), Indonesia (4^th), Japan (5^th), South Korea (11th) and Malaysia (16^th). The country is ahead of Taiwan (19^th), Pakistan (20^th) and Bangladesh (24^th).  

In the Predictive List of the 50 Economies with the Greatest Contribution to Global Economic Growth in GDP (PPP) from 2010 to 2019, the Philippines is ranked 20^th, with an incremental GDP of and a market share of $ 514.503 Billion or 0.9 percent of the global GDP growth. The two highest countries are China ($14,781.982 Billion or 26.4 %)) and the US ($7,183.437 Billion or 12.8 %).

Concluding Remarks

The numbers show that one out of four Filipinos are still poor. There is reason for discontentment. But rather than blame PNOY for the miseries encountered, there is reason to be more hopeful. The country may have fallen short of expectations from some quarters. But I suppose, no other president could have done better. Under this administration, the dirty arms of endemic corruption have been unearthed. People are more aware and vigilant. Open governance is on an upswing. Rather than hit the administration for its failing, it is more prudent to assist in improving the positive numbers. It is time to pave further the straight path.