Choice Quotes from Charles Handy

On my last trip to Malaybalay, Bukidnon, I picked up a book from the pile on my table, for me to read on the plane. But it was an early morning flight and I slept all the way to Cagayan de Oro. But on the flight back, I was wide awake and managed to leaf through Charles Handy’s The Elephant and the Flea.

Written for his 70th birthday in 2002, the book is still an interesting read, many years after I bought and read it. In fact, it speaks to me more now than I remember it doing then. Most probably it’s because I have gone through the experience of many years that invest his thoughts with greater resonance.

I scribbled in my notebook a couple of his quotes on education. “What you learn through fear seldom sticks. You want to forget the lessons along with the memories of the unpleasantness.”

He contrasts his attitudes and memories about formal basic schooling with those of his wife, Elizabeth.

For Charles, school was “unfair, punitive, and unpleasant. The best way to survive was to find out what the rules were, to keep your head down, and pass the tests that the authorities set you as best you could.” He said it was not the best way for the independent life, and his chapter title is appropriately “Schools for an Old World.”

For Elizabeth, “rules are there to be challenged. Those in authority often got it wrong. You had to stand up for yourself in this world, because no one else might.” No wonder she went through 11 “mostly incompetent” schools before she was sixteen.

Reading his memories of his school days, I recall the minister of education, I think from Uruguay, who asked aloud at a conference in Manchester: When we campaign for universal primary education as part of “Education for All 2015” are we saying that it’s simply a matter of insuring that everyone goes to the formal school system? Don’t we have any serious reservations about the system as such? Should we not seek changes in the formal school system?

Charles Handy would heartily agree. One of his paragraphs should speak to those of us in the Global Campaign for Education: “I remain convinced that we should use our schools as safe areas for experimenting with life, for discovering our talents – we all have some even if they don’t show up in examinations – for taking on responsibility for tasks and for other people, for learning how to learn what and when we need to, and for exploring our values and beliefs about life and society. For me, that is a more exciting curriculum than one packed full of facts.”

A is for Aeta

The PAL flight to Cotabato was bumpy, but landed earlier than scheduled. The ELF and Synergeia team at the Pacific Heights venue were surprised that I arrived early.

It’s the third day of a workshop to orient and train IMs or Instructional Managers who will handle basic literacy courses for out of school youth in the 8 mainland sites (7 towns and one city) assigned to Synergeia under the Equalls 2 project. The room was buzzing with the energy of 94 participants. I recognized a few of them from the previous training of IMs for the LIFE (Literacy for Empowerment) course, and smiled back at their welcome greetings.

When Nene Guevarra asked me to design the training for basic literacy, I said that I don’t have much personal experience in handling basic literacy. My first and last was a summer stint in Mindoro  as a young seminary student, when I taught Mangyans in the mountains of Mansalay.

I requested May Cinco of ELF to take care of designing the training program. She said that of all the ELF partners, it is the Aetas of Zambales who have the longest experience in giving basic literacy courses, dating back to pre-martial law days. Luckily, PBAZ or Paaralang Bayan ng Ayta sa Zambales had a scheduled 5-day training for facilitators of basic literacy. PBAZ is the organization set up by Aeta leader-graduates of ELF’s grassroots leadership course.

May sat in through the five days, and suggested that we adapt the PBAZ training course for Synergeia. She also recommended that we include Helen and Gerlyn in the training team for the workshop in Mindanao.

Helen is a lowlander (whom the Aetas call unat, or straight haired) who has worked with the LAKAS organization of Aetas, and lives in their community in Bihawo. Gerlyn is an Aeta (self-identified as kulot or curly-haired). I was interested to find out how they would fare as trainors and resource persons in MIndanao.

When I came into the workshop hall, May gave me a brief report n the first two and a half days of the workshop. “Yesterday, ” she said, “we asked Gerlyn to do a sample presentation, about vowels, patinig.” She added that she got good feedback for being clear, though she was quite nervous before she started. May felt her hands, and they were cold.  Only afterwards were the participants told that Gerlyn is Aeta.

On m way to the Centennial airport, I picked up Carling Domulot president of LAKAS and one of the key leaders of PBAZ. He was flying to Davao for a meeting, and I offered to share my taxi. 

He talked about his experience in basic literacy. Carling hasn’t had any formal education, but is a great example of a lifelong learner.” He is often invited to speak at various conferences, and gets very good feedback from the audience.

“We start with recognizing the shapes of the letters,” he said. “It took us three days just to learn about letter A.” Why that long? He said it was because they wanted the learners to find the letter A in their surroundings. They ended with the shape of the roof of their houses. They they learned what it sounds. But instead of teaching the learners directly, they were asked, “What do you do when you eat something spicy, like pepper?” They uttered “Aaah!” That’s the sound, they were told.

Why go through all that process? Carling said that of course the shape and sound of the letter can be taught directly, just writing it on a board, and letting learners say it after the teacher. But then, they would not consider it something they discovered themselves. Instead, it is something given by someone else and copied by them. Their shyness and lack of confidence in themselves will be reinforced.

His explanation reminded me of the philosophy and methodology espoused by Paolo Freire. Instead of memorization and rote learning which he calls “banking,” the process of learning even simple alphabet involves a lot of story-telling and discussion which are related to the immediate surroundings and daily life of the learners. In fact, I learned that the first literacy teachers of the Aetas studied Freire’s philosophy and methods.

9/11 and a Phone Call: part 3

Even the best will have to struggle to survive

The policies of EPIRA are not quite like the jumbo jets targeting the electric cooperatives. In fact EPIRA’s main target are the generation and transmission part of the electric power industry. Former secretary Viray even admitted in a public speech that in crafting EPIRA, they did not take into account the specific situation and needs of the electric cooperatives. But there is a lot of potential “collateral damage.”

The open access regime of EPIRA means that big loads can have direct connections to the generation companies. Of course this is their right and will probably result in lower rates for them, especially if the generation company is a sister company. But it will deprive the ECs of the scale of load that allows them to take care of the numerous smaller loads, including the lifeline raters.

It is not clear in EPIRA if the existing policy of total electrification of the Philippines especially in rural areas and remote areas is affirmed. Or has it been downplayed, or worse, dropped? Will those barangays, sitios, and households without access have to wait till their incomes go up and till their population density increases before the electric lines are extended to them? 

EPIRA gives the ECs the option to become stock for-profit coops or corporations. Although this is optional, the fact that these options have been introduced means that it is the new intent of the law. Otherwise it would have focused on giving incentives to the ECs to be efficient and competitive while remaining non-stock non-profit.

From his vantage point as a national official, Fr. Silva has warned the ECs about what EPIRA will bring about.  He has assembled the GMs of the best performing cooperatives for what he called “survival sessions.”

For some GMs, it seemed like hyperbole. But after considering the various challenges, the realization sank in. There was also a sinking feeling that so many factors are beyond the direct control of the electric coops or even NEA.

The way to start is with what is within the control of the ECs and NEA. It is clear that the ECs cannot respond only individually. They need to act in solidarity. Hence the need to strengthen their leadership and their culture. But they also need to influence the general public and policy makers.

Be pure as doves, but prudent as serpents

The biblical advice for trying to live our faith in a world that is a mix of good and bad, opportunities and threats, is not often explicitly preached by Fr, Paking. But he practices it.

Many years later, Fr. Silva shared the story behind his 9/11 decision to accept the position of NEA Administrator.  He had refused it when President Ramos first offered. He refused again when President GMA offered the same position a few days after she took office in 2001.

But nine months later, DOE Secretary Perez asked him again. He explained that there were 23 applicants, all with political patrons, vying for the position of NEA Administrator. Whomever they choose to appoint, the patrons of the losers will be offended. But if Fr. Paking Silva accepts, the applicants will all withdraw because of his credentials.

The offer was to serve for a limited time, just four months till the end of 2001, enough time to insure a smooth transition. After that, he was told that he could step down and the deputy administrator Edita Bueno could take over his place as NEA Administrator .

“But why did I stay on much longer?” He answered his own question. “Because as soon as I took office, I was not only attacked from various quarters, but some even issued threats against my life.” That was the mistake of his enemies who thought they could pressure him to leave.

If there is one thing his friends know about Fr. Silva, it is that he cannot be intimidated. One of the stories he tells is about his first assignment to a town where the parish priest couldn’t keep his door open because the town bullies threw stones at his convent. When he was assigned, he issued a warning against the most notorious toughie, challenging him to a duel on the town plaza. When the gang leader didn’t show up, he went to his house and shouted at him to come out. Later they became good friends, as well as with the other gangs in the town.

Fr. Paking had done his investigations into NEA and the networks of those attacking him. Maybe that is where Rolly helped him, since he had done the same for me in TESDA. He would announce publicly at NEA meetings “There are there are only 11 corrupt people in NEA. I will declare first a 100 day ‘amnesia.’ But after that, if you persist, I will not only file cases against you to jail you. I will personally punch you.”

After a year of service, he wrote a letter to GMA asking to step down, but she set up an event where she publicly said: “Stand by me.”

He said he could not refuse that call. But after reorganizing NEA and setting up the new NEA, he irrevocably resigned and offered to serve as consultant to the new NEA Administrator. Instead, GMA decided to create a special cabinet position for him, the Presidential Adviser on Rural Electrification.

Preparing for transitions.  Fr. Paking Silva is committed to the cause of rural electrification, which he considers the greatest revolution for progress, and also the most effective anti-poverty program. He seeks out people whom he think can also commit themselves.

But he is also realistic in his assessment of the role of politics in the program. When the 2004 elections were drawing near, he suggested that I pursue my inclination to work with the opposition and break my open ties with him. That way, in case the opposition wins, I can guard the interest of the program, or at least prevent someone from being appointed who would have no sympathy for or understanding of the program.

 

The same concern looms as 2010 approaches. He is identified with the GMA presidency and while he can argue forcibly with her, once the decision is made, he says “I am a team player.” But what happens then, when another president is in power, with another set of government officials in charge of the power sector?

Some years ago, I traveled from Dumaguete via the southern route to Toledo City where the People Development Academy is located. It was another September 11, and when I got in, I was greeted with smiles. It wondered why there was some mischief in their smiles. It turned out that while I was away, Fr. Paking discussed the idea of an organization of rural electrification advocates which he wanted to call the September 11 Movement, and he had told them that I would be its president.

That initiative did not continue in its original form. What we are now organizing is the Electric Consumers Advocacy of the Philippines, or ECAP. This is where Fr. Paking Silva and I expect to be working together, in solidarity with the ECs so we can help the rural electrification movement weather the storms of EPIRA.

9/11 and a Phone Call: Part 2

In the line of fire

 Our second flying visit, to Aklan, was more tension-filled. The GM of AKELCO had made it his fiefdom, and he refused to honor the NEA decision to remove him. He declared, “Over my dead body!” Fr. Paking Silva’s riposte was quick: “Then he is a dead man.”

But it wasn’t going to be a simple operation, since the GM had armed guards holding fort in the city office. Over the phone, Fr. Silva called me: “Rolly is here with a friend who is also a former NPA, Eric Bucoy. I am thinking of asking him to lead the field operation to take over AKELCO. What do you think?”

I said I knew Eric from movement days, and if he agreed, he could do it. Eric did, mobilizing his contacts both from the military and the left. Fr. Silva asked us to fly into Iloilo rather than Aklan, to avoid premature confrontation.  After a few hours, we were able to consolidate the employees in the old main office of AKELCO which had been abandoned by the former GM. After that, Fr. Silva asked Eric to head a management team to turn around AKELCO, which they managed to do in three years.

Both the CENECO case and AKELCO demonstrate how NEA can exercise its power to intervene in situations where strong personalities have cowed or intimidated the employees, to the disadvantage of the EC and its member-consumers.

One lesson Fr. Silva drew from the two cases was the possibility of tapping the energy, skills and connections of former activists. But his initial hopes would sometimes be disappointed, when other former activists did not prove as capable or as trustworthy.

Another of his early interventions was in CENPELCO, Central Pangasinan, but I did not have first hand experience of it. In response to the clamor of the local officials, he decided to act concurrently as its GM, and appointed Ed Piamonte to be his resident executive officer. Ed had to quickly wind up his consultancy engagement in Vietnam, to plunge into another “turn around” challenge.

Later, Fr. Silva explained that he called for Ed Piamonte because he had successfully turned around the EC in Bataan which had been in such trouble that it had to be legally abolished. It is the only case of an EC being dismantled rather than rehabilitated. In its place, PENELCO was established, which Ed shepherded and eventually turned over to his team assistant, current GM Loreto Marcelino. PENELCO has continued to be an outstanding EC.

The decisive interventions of Fr. Silva and NEA provide the more immediate solutions to the crisis. But the recurring problems in CENECO and even in AKELCO reflect the limitations of relying only on NEA’s emergency intervention. In the long-term, the ECs need to find effective local leaders and develop checks and balances during the implementation of their operations.

 Of birds and fishes

During my first years of working with Fr. Silva, I felt vulnerable to the criticism I used to direct at consultants. The image I use for them is that they are like birds flying in the air, able to somersault and quickly change directions, while observing and giving advice to the fish who are swimming more slowly in the water.

 From time to time, birds may plunge into the water for quick  “flying visits.” From the point of view of the fish, who represent either the grassroots, or those immersed in daily work, birds should “learn how to swim with the fish,” so they can realize the day to day rhythm of work and also the obstacles faced by the fish: “The water is thicker and heavier than the air, and fish can’t move as fast and flexibly as flying birds.”

When I talked about this at a conference in Canada, an older person from the Carribean offered a good word for the birds. “There is value in an outsider bird asking the fish in the water – How is the water?” He said the reaction of the fish may be, “What water?” They get so used to it, that they don’t notice the water anymore.

I take some consolation from his insight. A bird may see some things that the fish may miss because they are too immersed in their immediate surroundings. Perhaps from the air, the bird can also warn the fish about some danger that is still too far off for the fish to see.

That was how I thought of EPIRA and other national policies that have important impact on the local, but which they may not immediately appreciate. Or they may be so caught up in immediate challenges that they have no time and energy to face larger concerns. I was told by one excellent GM to send his apologies to Fr. Silva: “I know I should do my share in addressing national concerns and taking part in the national network. But I have a lot of local battles to fight. Could you please take care of the national? Just tell us what we need to do in our EC to support you.”

He expressed a real problem that I used to describe in these terms: “Birds must learn to swim with the fish. But we cannot be satisfied with swimming with them, and then flying to tell others nationally and internationally how we swam with the fish. We must also help some of the fish to learn to fly themselves.”

One way to describe Fr. Paking Silva is that he is both a bird that has learned to swim, and a fish that has learned to fly. From being an outsider bird, he has immersed himself in the nitty-gritty operations of not just one but three ECs, the three CEBECOs.

But he is also a fish who has learned to fly, not just doing advocacy from the point of view of the ECs, but having an overview of the situation and the policy environment, on the look out for what may help or harm the ECs and the member-consumers.

 For a change, learning from good practices 

My early learnings about ECs were mainly from problem-solving  experiences. But I wondered when I would get to know ECs that have been performing consistently, so I could learn from them what are the factors that made for their success.

I believe that it is better that ECs learn from fellow ECs than from outside the industry. There is also the approach of “appreciative inquiry” which I wanted to use because I have found it as a useful complement to the more usual “critical inquiry.”

Critical inquiry asks: “What is going wrong. How do we correct it?” Appreciative inquiry asks: “What is going well, and how can we build on it?” Of course in both cases, we ask what we can learn which we can apply to similar cases.

I finally got my wish when Fr. Silva invited me regularly to the training courses and conferences held in the office compound of CEBECO III. While all the three CEBECOs have been consistently excellent, it is CEBECO III that has received the first “diamond award” together with BOHECO I.

 My visits to CEBECO III are still “flying visits,” too short to be called immersion. But because they happen often and regularly, they offer cumulative experiences and observations.

Fr. Paking designs his courses so that the whole of CEBECO III is his training resource. He cites examples from CEBECO III practices, and asks its people to give testimonies. There is added impact beyond the testimonies and stories, from what the participants observe about CEBECO III itself, from its facilities, to the way its people relate to them and to one another.

Learning from the CEBECO culture

A keyword used to describe what is worth learning from CEBECO III is its “culture.” What first-time visitors experience first is culture in song and dance. They welcome us with their smiles and garlands, and this extends to bonding activities during the cultural evenings.

But the CEBECO III culture we experience is not just about entertainment. There is the culture of service and teamwork, as staff take care of serving food and cleaning up. They arrange and re-arrange the tables and chairs quickly, working together with no distinction between supervisors and rank and file.

And there is the impact of culture on measurable performance, like systems loss reduction to a single digit, to collection efficiency and quick response to member-consumer complaints. There is the culture of discipline and hard work, coming on time and working overtime if needed.

My first experience of the welcome song and dance rites was on Fr. Paking’s birthday, and it was most impressive because all the three CEBECOs took part. When I was asked for my reaction, I said that I was reminded of my study visit to the USA as TESDA director-general. During my visit to a technical institute that has well provisioned workshops, I would say: “I am first impressed. Then I get depressed.” Because I think how difficult, if not impossible it would be to have something like that back in the Philippines.

There are similar reactions to the CEBECO experience. Most EC participants are impressed, even inspired. Then they think of their own EC, and wonder if they will ever be able to have that kind of culture.

The other question is of course about the “Silva factor.” How essential is the presence and leadership of Fr. Silva? Will the CEBECO culture continue even if he is gone? The CEBECO family were hesitant about Fr. Paking’s accepting the NEA Administrator’s position. They were worried that he would be under pressure from the national power players. They may have also been anxious about the effect of his physical absence.

Now that the three CEBECOs have their own regular GMs, the question of what will survive Fr. Silva is partly answered. I would add that the experience of BOHECO I is reassuring. Without Fr. Silva’s direct involvement, this outstanding EC has also received the “diamond award.”

It is Fr. Silva’s turn to pose the question: “What happens to BOHECO I after GM Caloy Itable retires?”

to be continued…

9/11 and a Phone Call

This is Chapter 5 of my work in progress: Electric Dreams

September 11, 2001 or 9/11 is usually associated with the two jumbo jetliners that crashed into the World Trade Center.

For me, 9/11 is associated with another event that has greatly affected my life these past eight years. On that day, Fr. Francisco “Paking” Silva accepted his appointment to the position of NEA Administrator. That was not the first time the position had been offered to him, but he had always refused previous offers. When I first met him, he said he couldn’t explain why he finally accepted.

 Whatever his reason, it’s a good thing he accepted the position.

At that particular juncture, NEA and the rural electrification movement needed his brand of leadership. Both NEA and the ECs needed a credible and forceful leader to help them navigate the turbulent environment ushered in by EPIRA.

 Because he accepted, I have gotten to know and have become part of rural electrification, which I consider one of the most successful and significant programs in the Philippines.  And also, one of the most challenging.

 A phone call from NEA

The phone call I got from NEA in 2001 was not directly from Fr. Paking Silva. The one who called me was Rolly Kintanar, former NPA commander in chief. He said someone wanted to talk with me, and then passed the phone to Fr. Silva.

Our initial conversation was brief. He asked if I would be willing to help out in his work among the electric cooperatives. I agreed, without knowing much about electric coops or NEA.

Rolly Kintanar or RK had served as my consultant during my short stint in government as director-general of TESDA. He was my liaison to former rebels who needed skills training. We would talk from time to time about how we could continue to pursue our vision of social justice and nation-building as part of government, instead of waiting after we have overthrown the government, which was our orientation when we were part of a revolutionary movement.

I never found out exactly how RK got connected to Fr. Silva, other than their being both from Cebu. I assume that my name came up when they were talking about who could help in “change management” among the electric cooperatives, under EPIRA.

The name of Fr. Paking Silva was known to me from way back, but I don’t remember meeting him personally. Two things I remember about him : 1) That he innovated the blackboard newspaper as a parish priest of Moalboal town in Cebu, and 2) That he led a massive and militant protest action related to electricity, involving switching off lights, during martial law. Beyond these two items, not much more.

He says that he first saw and heard me speak during the 1971 convention of the Philippine Priests Incorporated, long before the declaration of martial law, and had thought of getting in touch with me sometime later.

Later turned out to be 30 years later, in 2001.

By then Fr. Paking had acquired impressive credentials from his experience in rural electrification. As a parish priest of Toledo City, he had been asked to organize CEBECO III in 1979, and served as its first president. Soon after, he was appointed by NEA Administrator Pedro Dumol as the electric coop’s general manager.

After a few years, he was asked to be the concurrent manager of CEBECO I which was having serious problems. Later, after the general manager of CEBECO II retired, he served as general manager of all three CEBECOs. 

Nationally, he had also served as president of FECOPHIL, and as a member of the Board of Administrators of NEA.

He offered me an appointment as his consultant in NEA, but I don’t really remember when the formalities happened. What I remember is the first significant activity he asked me to join – the strategic planning workshop of NEA in January 2002. That was when I first realized the implications of EPIRA, especially on the electric cooperatives. 

One could say that Fr. Paking Silva introduced me in 2002 to rural electrification in the time of EPIRA. It sounds a bit like Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ novel, “Love in the Time of Cholera.”

Initial learnings

Before 2001, I knew nothing about electric cooperatives. I can’t remember hearing about them in the countless meetings and forums I have attended as a social activist, even during the debates on EPIRA.

It reflects the Metro Manila bias on national issues. Advocacy networks who were addressing the energy and electricity sector did not seek out the electric coops or NEA.  Until I got to work with Fr. Paking, like any Metro Manila electric consumer, my image of the electric coops is that they are minor operations, taking care of the households that were not reached by MERALCO in Metro Manila and surroundings, VECO in Metro Cebu, Davao Light in Metro Davao, and other large distribution companies.

My first realization was that the image I had of electric coops as minor operations was all wrong.  In fact, the majority of households in the Philippines are served by the 119 electric coops.  But of course the residents and institutions in the major cities consume more electricity, which makes them more profitable service areas, attracting greater public attention.

My second realization was that the ECs are very diverse. They vary greatly in size. NEA classifies the 119 ECs according to three criteria: 1) Number of service connections, 2)  Annual sales of megawatt hours or MHW, and 3) Circuit of kilometer lines.

By these combined criteria, there are 36 ECs that are “mega large,” and 30 ECs that are “extra large.” The rest of the 34 ECs are large (20), medium (9), and small (5). The total is less than 119 because not all of the ECs have submitted themselves to classification.

Other than size, the ECs vary greatly in performance. Again, NEA has an annual categorization of ECs which is the basis for giving annual awards, which started in 1984. I recently met the very first awardee for being an outstanding GM, Benhur Salimbangon of CEBECO II. After he retired, he ran for Congress and won.

There are many more criteria for assessing performance. The two main operational items are “systems loss” and “collection efficiency.” There are also financial items like payments to the generation and transmission company, payment of NEA loans, “non-power costs” and financial operations.

Based on the points system of NEA, the best performing ECs are called A plus, followed by A. As of May 2009, there are 62 ECs that are A plus, and 12 ECs that are A, a substantial majority. The ECs that have less satisfactory performance are a minority, with 14 ECs categorized as B, and 4 ECs each for category C, D, and E.

With such diversity of ECs, what kind of fair generalization can one make about the electric cooperatives?

Very little, really. Whenever friends in media or in activist circles cite some bad news about an electric coop, all I could offer them was the over-all perspective that I had acquired about the range of diversity of the ECs, so that they would avoid the mistake of jumping to summary judgments about ECs as a whole.

This is especially important because there are interested parties who will use any negative news about ECs as material for their critique of the very nature of the ECs and their relationship to NEA. The unspoken direction of their argument is that the ECs are better placed in the hands of more efficient private management, which is one of the options opened up by EPIRA.

There are other policies of EPIRA whose full effects will not be felt for a while, but they will place all ECs under pressure, whatever their size and whatever their performance.

Accelerated learning 

Though EPIRA’s challenges loomed on the near horizon, what demanded more immediate attention from Fr. Paking Silva as NEA Administrator were crisis-level problems of ECs. Whatever their roots in the past, the problems had grown worse over the years, reaching a crisis stage marked by public protests.

Father Silva’s approach to finding solutions to the crisis areas also became my source of rapid learning. Once I asked him what he expected from me as his consultant. His response was simple. Just be ready when I ask you or call yo

Instead of attending a series of orientation and training sessions, I was introduced to the world of electric cooperatives in the midst of conflicts that invited Fr. Silva ‘s intervention. They gave me insights into how the ECs operate, what problems they face, and the complex relationship they have with NEA.

The first “flying visit” I made was to Negros Occidental and the CENECO electric coop. There were public demonstrations against the coop. Fr. Silva flew in and observed the rally incognito. Then he asked me to fly in with him. “Talk to the union,” he said. “I will talk with the Board members, the bishop, and the priests leading the protest.”

It was a memorable experience. I was intrigued by the name of the union – CURE, for CENECO Union of Rational Employees. The “rational” in their name still amuses me. They also talked to me about “board passers.” It was the practice of the Board members to have a quota of 10 casuals they hire for the EC.

During some small talk with a board member, I realized what was at stake. He explained why he chose to run for the board of CENECO: “Do you know that our annual sales is bigger than either the annual budget of Bacolod City or the annual budget of the province of Negros Occidental?”

At a later meeting, I told Fr. Silva what I learned from the union: “Friedrich Engels was right. If you want to know how a factory actually works, ask the workers.” It is typical of Fr. Silva’s quick decision-making that there and then, he said we should encourage the formation of unions in all ECs. Where the staff don’t want a union, they should form an association.

Sometime after, he invited the leaders of unions and associations to a conference in Toledo City, where he asked them to form the National Solidarity of Unions and National Solidarity of Associations, NSU/NSA. Typical also of his style of leadership, he appointed me their national adviser, though he did ask them for their approval, which they gave.

to be continued… 

Together in Electric Dreams: Part 2

Finding a title for this book

 At first I thought the title of the book should be The Impossible Dream. That is a favorite song of the ECs and NEA, and I have heard them sing it with much feeling, raising their hands together to punch the sky at the final line – “to reach the unreachable star!” I am told that the song title was the central theme of the NEA training courses held in SEARSOLIN during the first decade of the program. It makes sense. Rural electrification must have seemed like an impossible dream, then.

But rural electrification is not an impossible dream anymore. The results of the past 40 years prove this.

And yet, it still remains a dream. The goals of rural electrification are not yet fully realized, especially the goals of development social justice, and they still need to be pursued. I should retain the dream in the title, then. But what word should describe this dream today?

I found the answer in another song that I recently heard at the People Development Academy. The song had a livelier, more contemporary beat, and long after the conference session was over, some of its lines kept playing in mind:

We’ll always be together / However far it seems.

We’ll always be together / Together in electric dreams.

 That gave me my book title – Electric Dreams. It describes what the dream is all about. But there is an added reason for choosing it, and it is in the other lines of the song: We’ll always be together / However far it seems.

“However far it seems” is not just about the physical distance to the last and most remote villages awaiting electrification. It refers to the other goals of rural electrification – development and social justice – that are still at the elementary stages of being achieved.

To reach those further goals, we need the strategic solidarity of a strong rural electrification movement. But even while this solidarity is still being strengthened, it is also under threat, and this is the challenge of the moment that this book wants to address.

Naming the moment

Electric Dreams is not a book for all times, or just any time. It is written for this particular moment in time.

Of course the book is written for the 40^th anniversary, and that is one of its purpose – to celebrate and appreciate the achievement of rural electrification, that seemed to be an impossible dream in 1969.

But there is another purpose for writing this book at this particular moment. I want to call attention to the serious challenges confronting the rural electrification movement, particularly the EC-NEA partnership. If not addressed decisively and strategically, they put in danger these very achievements that we celebrate. Because of this, I even thought of using “Endangered Dreams” as the title, but I don’t want to be melodramatic during the moment of celebration.

The Electric Power Industry Reform Act, or EPIRA, has ushered in major changes in the environment of rural electrification. Although the main intent of EPIRA is to introduce competition and deregulation in power generation and supply, it has major implications for the electric cooperatives and their mission of rural electrification.

As we celebrate the achievements of 40 years, we should consider the advise of Charles Handy, a management philosopher, about “sigmoid curves.” He cautions against being complacent at the moment of success, and advocates the use of a double sigmoid curve, or double S-curve in our planning. We should intensify our investment in the new rising S-curve before the start of the downturn of the previous S-curve.

We can say that rural electrification is at a moment when its previous sigmoid curve is at its peak. By the end of this year, the rural electrification program will achieve its goal of energizing 100% of rural barangays. It may miss a few, but it won’t be those barangays under the responsibility of the NEA-EC partnership.

But after achieving “total electrification on an area coverage basis,” how will all the ECs of the rural electrification movement sustain themselves? EPIRA’s policy emphasis on viability is accompanied by policies that allow increased competition from bigger players. And more options are being offered that encourage a switch from a service orientation to a profit orientation.

The challenges and consequences of EPIRA

During the first years of EPIRA, I attended what Fr. Silva called “survival sessions,” which sought to make the ECs and NEA realize the consequences and to gear themselves to face the challenges of EPIRA.

But the early responses were uneven, including what is called AIDS – avoid, ignore, deny syndrome. After all, based on past Philippine experience, they may have thought that its intended reforms may not be fully implemented. Of course some reforms will be implemented, but others will be modified through compromise. And still others will be deferred, or dropped altogether.

In fact, is not EPIRA itself that is the immediate threat to the cause of rural electrification. What it does is to redefine the “playing field” and its rules. The threat comes from the power players who take advantage of EPIRA to push their own interest, at the expense of the spirit and mission of rural electrification.

These specific threats and moves, which individual ECs and NEA have already experienced, will be discussed in the later chapters. What I want to point out in this introduction is the general intent and direction of their moves.

They threaten to break up the solidarity of the rural electrification movement, by targeting individual ECs or groups of ECs for take over, and encouraging others to shift to a profit orientation. These big players use not only market power to put their target ECs under pressure, but also the power of law, bureaucracy, and politics. They look to the coming political transition in 2010 as an opportunity to reshuffle the cards in their favor.

Am I being alarmist? Have I imbibed the general anxiety about the coming political transition, when the leadership of PARE and NEA may undergo changes that are not guaranteed to be for the better?

Possibly. But the uncertainty and threats loom larger because of the state of our own solidarity, which is not as strong as it should be. We know that the ECs are at uneven stages of capabilities and commitment. Some perform well and have managed to fend off challenges. But those that are big and profitable continue to be desirable targets for corporate take over. And the traditional problem of harmful interference from competing politicians will not fade away.

To their credit, various ECs have invested in their second sigmoid curve. They have seen the need to leverage their aggregated demand in negotiating future power supply contracts. Some are even venturing into generation projects. They see the need for solidarity among ECs to make the case for viable rates, and to lobby policy makers to oppose hostile legislation.

But they face many problems, and they have to contend with many big power players. By themselves, the efforts of the member of the Board of Directors and the general managers, and of the unions and associations of EC staff will not be enough. They need the solidarity of EC member-consumers. Hence the new initiative to organize the Electric Consumers Advocacy of the Philippines or ECAP.

Wanted: Consumer Leader-Advocates

On paper, the number of EC member-consumers is impressive. More than 8.2 million households are being served by the electric cooperatives. Multiplied by just 5 members per household, that adds up to more than 40 million persons.

But as of now, those numbers are only a potential force. Ordinary consumers do not usually get involved in the affairs of ECs or consider themselves part of a national rural electrification movement. Their interests are simple – access to reliable power, the lowest possible rates, no brown-outs, and a quick service response to any problem. Those who are more active also cast their vote during elections to the Board of Directors, and attend the Annual General Membership Assembly. 

Such minimal level of involvement will not be enough anymore. Since the member-consumers are theoretically the owners of the ECs, they will be the targets of those who have other designs on the ECs. The member-consumers need to be better informed, and more involved, so that they can make decisions that serve their interest and the interest of their EC.

ECAP will organize as many as possible among the more than 40 million member-consumers. But to insure that their voices are heard, they need leader-advocates who can represent them at all levels – local, regional, and national.

Who are leader-advocates? In Leading Minds, Howard Gardner offers the following description: Leaders are those who can sense the sentiments and ideas of the community which they lead, are able to weave these into a story, and tell the story in a way that resonates among their members. And to insure credibility, they have to embody in their life and actions the message that they deliver.

Leader-advocates of rural electrification should be able to tell the story of how 40 years of rural electrification has brought light and power to the countrysides, so that the most remote and poorest communities can benefit from what urban areas have enjoyed much earlier.

This national narrative must have its counterpart story in every electric cooperative – how rural electrification happened in their franchise area. Local leader-advocates in the provinces must know the history of when and where energization began, what obstacles had to be overcome, and what benefits have ensued. They should also share the lessons drawn from the experiences of the ECs, especially in overcoming obstacles and conflicts.

Leader-advocates should understand and commit themselves to the full mission of rural electrification including the goals of development and social justice. They appreciate the challenge of finding ways to pursue this mission within the current conjuncture, recognizing the opportunities and threats, and relating them to the current strengths and weaknesses of the rural electrification movement.

Electric Dreams has been written to help leader-advocates in our triple task – to appreciate the history and achievements of the rural electrification movement, to renew our commitment to the mission of rural electrification, and to speak out and act together to protect and promote the interests of the member-consumers and of the electric cooperatives.

We do not need to overload with meaning the lyrics of a love song. But these lines are a call to solidarity, and a declaration of hope:

We’ll always be together / However far it seems

We’ll always be together / Together in electric dreams

Together in Electric Dreams

This past days, I have been working on a book for the 40th anniversary of rural electrification in the Philippines. That  has prevented me from posting any new blog. Just now, I thought why not post my “work in progress”?

So here is the first half of the introductory chapter.

In the 40^th year of the rural electrification program, on the first Sunday in July 2009, I finally witnessed the energization of a remote rural barangay.

Up in the hills of Floridablanca, Pampanga, the Aeta residents of Barangay Mawacat clapped their hands in delight during the symbolic “switch-on” ceremony. I was as thrilled as they were, though I couldn’t help thinking: “These Aetas are among the first people in the Philippines, but among the last to enjoy the benefits of electricity.”

One of the speakers at the switch-on ceremony was a former NPA commander, Ka Basil. His guerrilla unit used to operate in the area, which is inside the tri-boundary of the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Zambales. He reminisced with the Aetas about their many years of struggle: “We were following the Maoist strategy – from the countryside to the cities. But now, with rural electrification, it’s the reverse – from the city to the countryside!” He had to smile at the irony.

Now known by his baptismal name Amador Guevarra, he is the general manager of PELCO II, the electric cooperative that will serve the Aetas of Mawacat as its member-consumers. Later, in his office, he added, “I never thought I would ever go back to those hills, much less that I would be bringing light, and the hope it represents, to the Aetas.”

Ka Basil’s words caught the attention of the guest of honor, the Presidential Adviser on Rural Electrification, or PARE. In his response to Ka Basil, he could also be addressing our generation of activists: “I believe that rural electrification is the most successful revolution for progress in the Philippines. Like the guerrillas, we also went up to the hills, but unlike them, we didn’t carry Armalites. We are also warriors, but warriors of light, battling against the forces of darkness.”

Those are rousing words, and they are a trademark of the PARE who has oversight authority over the electric cooperatives and NEA, the National Electrification Administration. PARE is an appropriate acronym because the office holder is an activist priest – Fr. Francisco “Paking” Silva.

That also explains why in his language, as well as in his life, rural electrification is intertwined with revolution and religion.

A passion for rural electrification

 This intertwining of rural electrification, revolution, and religion  makes sense to me now, but only after eight years of getting to know about its history and its mission. In 2001, when Fr. Paking Silva invited me to get involved in rural electrification, I did not associate the cause of rural electrification with the fervor of revolution and religion.

Like the general public, my initial images of “rural electrification” are mostly technical stuff – poles with crossbars, electric wires and insulators, transformers and switches, light bulbs and appliances. There are also people involved of course, but mainly engineers and linemen, electricians and meter readers, bill collectors, cashiers, and managers.

Correspondingly rural electrification comes across as simply about distributing electricity to customers outside Metro Manila and the major cities. This is done by 119 ECs or electric cooperatives who maintain the lines, read the meters, and collect the bills. NEA supervises them. 

Interesting stuff to know. But they don’t explain the passion that I often sense among the pioneers and partisans of rural electrification.

 That Sunday conversation with Ka Basil and Fr. Paking Silva reflects the expanded vision of rural electrification that explains that passion. Rural electrification is not just about bringing electricity to communities outside Metro Manila and other urban centers. Rural electrification seeks to stimulate community development and uplift the poor. Its goals include both development and social justice.

Understood in these terms, rural electrification resonates with the values I have chosen to live by.

Fr. Silva describes his involvement in rural electrification as his main form of “social apostolate.” I can relate to that idea. My first years as a priest were devoted to social action, though focused on another rural issue – the struggle of farmers to own the land they till. Like Ka Basil, I also joined the revolutionary movement, though unlike him, I was not in the armed struggle. Also unlike him, I was arrested and imprisoned too soon, and once too often.

At one of the seminars at the People Development Academy in Toledo City, Fr. Paking dramatically asked the participants: “Do you think this cause is worth fighting for, even dying for?” 

His own answer to his question is instructive: “Don’t expect me to give my life for electric poles and wires, or transformers and substations. But for the sake of our people, especially the poor, yes. And for the sake of our country, yes.”

Finding my focus and purpose  

That Sunday conversation also helped me find the particular focus for this book.

When I proposed to NEA that a book should be written for the 40^th anniversary of rural electrification in the Philippines, I did not see myself writing it. Instead I urged the pioneers who are still in active service to do the writing, especially PARE Fr. Silva and NEA Administrator Edita Bueno. They surely have enough stories to tell and lessons to share, given their lifelong experience and leadership in rural electrification. People with direct experience are in a better position to tell their story.

But busy and engaged people do not usually have the time and inclination to sit down and write. Besides, they say it may be self-serving to write about what they have achieved. By the beginning of 2009, the challenge was thrown back at me: “Why don’t you write your own book on rural electrification?”

I accepted the challenge, because I want to help tell the story of rural electrification, which deserves to be better known. But I struggled for some time to define the focus and purpose of the book I was writing.

A book on the 40^th anniversary of rural electrification should tell the story of the partnership that implemented it – the electric cooperatives and the National Electrification Administration. But though I have visited a number of ECs, I don’t have any direct experience of working in an EC. I have not worked directly in NEA either, except for consultancy services to Fr. Silva when he was the administrator.

Fortunately, I got to know about two other book projects, also geared for the anniversary, whose writers have the direct experience that I lack. The first, Beyond Darkness, by Francis Nacianceno Jr., is written from the point of view of the ECs. He is a former general manager of an EC, and the first general manager of FECOPHIL, the national association of electric cooperatives, later renamed PHILRECA. The second is Heroes of Light by Adolben Cruz. He writes from the point of view of a veteran NEA director.

They kindly allowed me to read their manuscripts, and that helped me find a focus of my book. “Those who want to read stories about rural electrification from the point of view of the ECs and NEA should read your books,” I told them. “The book I write should reflect the point of view of member-consumers.” 

At least I have the credentials of being a member-consumer of ORMECO, the EC which serves my home province of Oriental Mindoro, although there’s not much personal experience to write about yet. I joined ORMECO only this year, after transferring the account of my mother to my name, not knowing she would die a few weeks later.

 My focus got sharper when I received another invitation from Fr. Silva, to serve as interim national president of an initiative that he has baptized as ECAP, the Electric Consumers Advocacy of the Philippines, which will be formally launched during the anniversary.

That firmed up my focus and purpose for this book. I will write from the point of view of a national advocate of rural electrification. And I will write for my fellow member-consumers, especially those who are willing to step forward as leader-advocates.

to be continued….

Blogging for My Birthday

Am blogging on the eve of my 66th birthday.

I haven’t posted a blog for over a week. I have to finish a book on rural electrification for the 40th anniversary in August 2009. There are also a series of activities toward launching the Electric Consumers Advocacy of the Philippines or ECAP, and I have been asked to serve as interim national president. 

But before midnight comes, I thought I should post a new blog, even a short one. After all, I started blogging on my 64th birthday two years ago. More precisely the day after my birthday, upon the suggestion of Raymond Palatino. Thanks, again. How time passes. He is now a newly seated party-list member of Congress.

I take a quick glance at my blog stats. I have posted exactly 300 blogs since I started on July 12, 2007. Another interesting stats. My most read posts are those on alternative learning systems or ALS, followed by those on malunggay.

I realize that Facebook must be drawing much of the energy I would otherwise devote to regular blogging. It used to be that my sister Yen in Puerto Rico and my son Yeyi with his wife Minette in Singapore would track my travels and activities through my blog posts. So did other friends. They told me so. That made me blog often. Now it’s faster and easier to post brief updates on Facebook. But I’m still resisting Twitter.

The first theme I chose for my blog was “Renewing our spirituality and strategy for justice.” That still reflects one of my central concerns. But I replaced it last year with “Between Honesty and Hope.” Part of the influence was the solo art exhibit that I had which used that theme. But the main reason is that it captures the permanent tension I feel in my life, driven by hope to break barriers, but tempered by acceptance of limitations.

I think of people who have passed on, most recently Susan Fernandez, and before her, Julius Fortuna. Christian faith makes us believe they have been born to a new life beyond. But the sense of loss will not go away. Inay died almost five months ago, and as I think of her now, I miss her again.

Still my life has been blest. I give thanks for life, and love, and learning.

What Links Lenin to the Aetas?

Yesterday at 6 am, a NEA car picked me up at home for a long drive to Pampanga. We were to visit the linemen and engineers who were putting up the poles and stringing the lines to bring electricity to Barangay Nawacat, a community of over 900 Aetas in the hills of Floridablanca.

A few weeks ago, Aetas in two barangays of Floridablanca, Nawacat and Nagbuklod, were given a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) to around 8000 hectares. At the awarding ceremony, they asked GMA for electricity to be brought to their communities. Since the areas are under the franchise of a private distribution utility, the San Fernando Electric Light and Power Company (SFELAPCO), it was tasked to do the job.

SFELAPCO has taken charge of electrifying Barangay Nabuklod, which has over 3000 residents. But Barangay Nawacat has fewer and poorer residents, is quite far from the town center, without a bridge across the river, and the road to it is barely passable. NEA has assumed the responsibility for it.

Using previous successful working methods, NEA assembled a Task Force Kapatid, which brought together 64 linemen and 10 engineers from  eight electric cooperatives (ECs) in Central Luzon, coordinated by 5 NEA engineers.

Two electric coops, PENELCO in Bataan and PELCO 2 in Pampanga, were asked to choose the route for the poles and decide on what “tapping point” to use for the electricity to Nawacat . Both have energized some barangays in Floridablanca which were waived to them by SFELAPCO. After comparing their findings, they agreed that the “tapping point” for the electricity to Nawacat should be from the line of PELCO 2.

When I heard that NEA Administrator Edith Bueno and her two deputies Ed Piamonte and Bert Basig were going to visit Task Force Kapatid – Namawac, I asked to join them: “I want to see up close how electricity is brought to a remote rural barangay.”

Our first stop was at the edge of a river that we could not cross. Across it I saw three poles with yellow-shirted linemen on the crossbars. I have learned some of the jargon, so I knew that they were “dressing” the poles, attaching insulators with grooves for the hot wires.

We traveled to a more shallow crossing, and drove slowly to Barangay Namawac. Almost  all of the 170-plus poles were in place, some of them wood, others steel. The distance from the “tapping point” to the barangay is more than seven kilometers, and the materials used to bring electricity there will cost more than five million pesos.

“You can see why we need non-stock non-profit electric coops and NEA with commitment to missionary electrification,” Edith remarked. “No profit oriented coop or corporation will invest that much, since they have to wait for decades to earn it back.”

The work of digging the holes and putting up the poles has been made easier by the boom trucks brought by the participating ECs. We stopped to talk to the different work teams to express our appreciation for their solidarity. 

Task Force Kapatid was the brain child of Fr. Silva and it was first used to bring hundreds of linemen and engineers from other ECs to restore the lines in the towns around Lake Lanao. They had been destroyed during the fighting in the 90s. It has been used after every major typhoon in Bicol, Aklan, Mindoro, Pangasinan, Masbate, and elsewhere to restore electric service faster than the capacity of individual coops. One of the PENELCO linemen proudly said that he has taken part in nine Task Force Kapatid missions.

When we reached Nawacat, I got to talk to an Aeta resident, Angelo Saplala, a barangay kagawad. I asked him, “Other than having lights, what benefit do you expect from having electricity?”

He seemed to have thought about this, since he quickly enumerated a few. “It will save us a lot of money,” he said. “I spend 400 pesos a month for kerosene.” He will probably be a lifeliner using less than 50 KWH and paying around 50 pesos a month.

“When we have electricity, we will be able to work at night, preparing what we will sell in the town market,” he added. “We can travel earlier in the morning.” He also thought of buying a refrigerator, not just to preserve food but to make ice which he will sell to his neighbors.

It was a glimpse of what advocates of rural electrification believe, that it is not just about bringing electricity into rural villages, but also about stimulating community development.

Electricity may be necessary for development, but it is not enough. They need an all-weather farm to market road, and a bridge across the river. “When the river is swollen after heavy rains,” Angelo said, “all we have to eat are bananas.”

There is a primary school built 8 years ago. Before that, children had to stay in Floridablance town during the school week, and walk home for the weekends.

The general manager of PELCO 2 is Amador Guevarra, better known as “Ka Basil.” He whispered to me that the area we were in used to be under his command when he was with the New People’s Army. It is part of the tri-boundary of Bataan, Pampanga, and Zambales. I was reminded of Fr. Silva’s quip that he also went to the mountains, but not as a guerilla. “Instead of carrying an Armalite, I brought light. I am a warrior of light, against the forces of darkness.”

Is this what links Lenin to the Aetas? Not quite.

Activists who are now involved in rural electrification often ask ourselves why we didn’t see the importance of electric power during the years of our involvement in the revolutionary movement. I expressed this once to General Dumol, the first NEA Administrator who laid the foundations of rural electrification from 1969 to 1985: “Could it be because we identified it with the Marcos martial law regime which we were fighting against?”

He had another answer, which he proposed with a mischievous smile: “You must have forgotten Lenin’s slogan during the Russian revolution – Land and Electricity!”