Group:____________________________

Activity:
A. (Organization/Unity) Read and analyze the paragraph below. Does it possess unity /
organization? Why or why not?
Ordinary Filipinos can easily promote our country to foreigners via social media by supporting the
Department of Tourism’s (DOT) “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign. First, they can share and
like official publicity materials from the DOT’s Facebook page. Each time a post is shared and liked, it
becomes increasingly visible on Facebook and can reach a wider audience. Next, they can tweet
their experiences in various local tourist destinations on Twitter using the hashtag like
#ItsMoreFunInPh. When many users tweet using a specific hashtag, it becomes a trending topic and
can be viewed by Twitter users around the world. They can also tell stories to their foreign friends by
talking to them and volunteering to tour them around in our top tourist destinations. Finally, they can
share their own travel photos on Instagram. Because pictures can be worth a thousand words, their
pictures can reveal to foreigners the beauty of the travel destinations in the Philippines is blessed
with. These, and so much more, are just some examples of how Filipinos can participate in the DOT’s
campaign through social media.

(The highlighted sentence deviates from the main topic of the paragraph.)

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B. ( Coherence ) Applying the order of time, sequence the following sentences to come up with a
coherent paragraph. Put numbers 1-10 on the spaces provided.
_______ As a lad he was frail.
_______ He studied his grade school in Binan, also a town in Laguna, where he proved that he was
a talented lad.
_______ All these time he could see how the Spaniards treated the Filipinos.
_______ Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal was born in Calamba, Laguna.
_______ The place where he was shot was later named Luneta and presently called Rizal Park.
_______ Later, he went to the University of Santo Tomas, Manila.
_______ It was in Europe where he wrote his famous books – El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere.
_______ It made him feel bad.
_______ He then went to Europe where he furthered his studies.
_______ The books cost him his life at Bagumbayan Field, Manila.

C. (Language Use/Mechanics) Spot the errors (subject-verb agreement, verb tense, spelling,
punctuation, etc.) in the paragraph. Then, rewrite it correctly below.

During the past decades, tourism become one of the world’s fastest growing industry. Tourism
represent one of the main sources of income for many developing countries. Since tourism are
seen as a key driver for socio-economic progress, the link to development is easily made (UNWTO,
2010). however, the contribution that tourism can make to livelihoods of the poor in developing
countries is a much debated theme in which opportunities and the extent to which the poor can
benefit from these are central.

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We are for CHANGE FROM A DISTANCE By Carmen N. Pedrosa (The Philippine Star) | Updated
January 8, 2017 - 12:00am

We voted for Duterte for his platform of change and he won by the millions. He captured the masses because
of their desire for change. We may differ with each other on other issues or how we will do it but we must
agree on change. Let’s concentrate on that. If change is the principle we can agree on, then we must be single-
minded about it. I remember during an advocacy meeting with farmers , one of them came forward to say
“Gawin na ninyo ang dapat gawin. Hindi nagpapalit ang aming buhay kung ito ang ating sistema. Umaasa
kami sa inyong mas marunong.” Simple. It was useless to him about parliamentary federal government in
English and he could not understand how it will be done. I never forgot him because one of the arguments of
those against constitutional change is that people don’t understand it. But this farmer understood it in the way
he thinks and expresses himself.

The change we want is how to include the masses or marginal sectors in government. I don’t want to use the
term class struggle but that is what it is. Unless the elite concede some of their power and wealth for the well-
being of the nation, they will be hanging their own necks.

This is the classic result of the abuse of power and wealth by one class.That is why we need a new system of
government that will change the relations between government and the people and elite with the masses.
We also need to tap competent people as it was done in Singapore. As Lee Kuan Yew said, if he could say in
one word why Singapore succeeded, he said “meritocracy.” Competent officials will not thrive in a
presidential unitary system of government which is all about graft, money and an organization fueled by
money. Worse as we have now found out with the De Lima case, money also comes from drugs. Unless
stopped it will be the drug lords who will decide elections with government officials beholden to drug lords.

The election of Duterte although near miraculous, is only the start. We must be reminded it is only the
beginning of a long fight ahead. Now we must all help to achieve what we set out to do in voting Duterte. He
has said many times that he needs all our help. I think he should not have put a time limit to do what he needs
to do. Six months? Six years? That is why the yellowtards, as the Aquino and Co are called in Facebook, are
encouraged to destabilize his government.

MISCELLANY: We can draw examples from East Europe when they organize new governments.
“Although Ukrainian democracy has made some progress since the 2004 Orange Revolution, significant
problems remain. This article compares the difficulties facing post-Orange Revolution Ukraine to those
encountered in East Central Europe in the early 1990s and maintains that Ukraine will have a harder time
overcoming its challenges because its starting point and inheritances are different. That is, Ukrainian
democracy must overcome many of the infirmities created during its initial decade of post-communism, and
that these make establishing effective democratic governance in today’s post-post-communist period arduous.
Among the difficulties are designing effective institutions, managing the post-Orange Revolution coalition,
removing entrenched corruption and weak respect for the rule of law, and coping with a less hospitable
external environment. Events since the Orange Revolution bear out the argument that the events of 2004,
while getting rid of a leadership with dubious democratic credentials, are merely the beginning of a process
to bring a successful democratic government to Ukraine.” From Peter Kropotkin on Revolutionary
Government.

“Of all the most important systemic and fundamental constitutional reforms that must be implemented in order
to improve the Philippines, Federalism is the reform that has the most solid support among most ordinary
Filipinos. Particularly in the Visayas-Mindanao and even in the Solid North, Bicol, and Muslim Mindanao
regions, Federalism is widely appreciated and understood even by ordinary plebeians and proletarians to be
of utmost urgency in order to fix the Philippines.

Sadly, there are members of the Philippine Elite who tend to be stubborn and uninformed. They are articulate
and eloquent so they are able to pretend to be “in-the-know” by obfuscating the issues with their sophistry and
casuistry and are dangerously able to convince other people to become just as ignorant and as anti-reform as
they are. For instance, the Monsods – Christian and Winnie Monsod – have repeatedly over the years
continued to keep mouthing a lie that some people have unfortunately mistaken to be true. This lie is that
“Federalism will empower Warlords and Political Dynasties.” – from Correct Movement

According to former Philippine Speaker Jose de Venecia only 80 of world’s richest men own 60% of world’s
wealth. The former Philippine speaker was an active supporter of the shift to parliamentary federal government
in the Philippines.

He believes that we can draw the best elements of capitalism and socialism. He also suggested a meeting of
warring forces of Iran and Saudi Arabia in Mecca.
He gave the speech as the newly elected President of the International Association of Parliamentarians for
Peace (IAPP). He asked governments and parliaments “to combine forces to tackle the almost incredible but
all too real problem of the richest one percent (1%) or 80 of the world’s richest individuals owning sixty
percent (60%) of the wealth of the world, or the same amount shared by 3.5 billion who occupy the bottom
half of the world’s income scale.”

“In the Philippines, the income and social gap is so great that like Disraeli’s Britain in the 1840s, the rich and
the poor among us have become virtually ‘two nations’.”

In 2011, the richest Philippine families accounted for 76% of our country’s gross national income. The two
richest families alone together held 6% of our entire economy” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, February, 2016)
“The two nations situation, the incredibly huge gap between the rich and the poor, still exists in many countries
in Asia, Latin America, Africa and a number of cities in Europe and North America.”

He pointed out that in IAPP, “we observe that inequality is an unavoidable result of market operations.
Inequality is the price of capitalist dynamism. Left to itself, rapid economic growth accelerates income
inequality.”
But inequality, though unavoidable, de Venecia pointed out “can be mitigated – made less painful – by
government activity and by parliamentary action. And it is right that the state and parliaments should do so –
because economic insecurity, if left to itself, will steadily erode social order and eventually generate a backlash
against the economic system as a whole.
 Understanding the Duterte Vision for the Philippines
By Dindo Manhit (philstar.com)

MANILA, Philippines - Rodrigo Duterte’s inauguration on June 30 as President of the Philippines has brought a sense
of cautious optimism across all sectors of the society, which has clamored for a swift end to endemic corruption,
inefficiency in the bureaucracy, income inequality, and the proliferation of armed groups and other lawless elements.
Duterte’s rise can be understood as part and parcel of a broader collapse of barriers-to-power, which is transforming
politics both in the Philippines and internationally. All over the world, “micropowers,” whether individuals, firms, or
states, have found ways to undermine established players that previously served as the gatekeepers of power.

During his campaign, Duterte positioned himself as an alternative to traditional presidential candidates. His unorthodox
demeanor appealed to many Filipinos, who saw him as unafraid to speak his mind, even to the extent of testing the limits
of so-called “civilized” behavior. As a result, the millions of Filipinos that voted for him have high expectations for his
presidency.
Given these expectations and the growing curiosity of foreign observers over the man nicknamed “The Punisher,” it
makes sense to expound Duterte’s three overarching policy thrusts: reestablishing law and order, making Philippine
growth inclusive and restructuring the Philippine system of government. These three thrusts are the means by which the
Duterte administration will seek to turn his campaign promise of “Tunay na Pagbabago” or radical change into lived
reality.

Reestablishing law and order

The centerpiece of Duterte’s campaign platform was suppressing the three so-called evils: crime, illegal drugs and
corruption, which he believes are undermining security across all sectors and hampering the growth of the domestic
economy. He pledged to instill discipline with an iron fist for everyone to adhere to the rule of law and strengthen the
country’s justice system.
To reestablish law and order, he plans to launch a focused, time-bound campaign against criminals, drug lords and
corrupt government officials through the joint efforts of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP). This will occur in tandem with the elevation of city-level ordinances from Davao, such as curfew
on unescorted minors past 10 p.m. and a ban on the sale of liquor and drinking in public spaces after 1:00 a.m., and so
on to the national level.
He desires to bring an end to the decades-long Communist and Moro insurgencies. An early group of his peace
negotiators met with representatives of the National Democratic Front from June 13 to 14, 2016. News reports indicate
that a ceasefire agreement could be put in place even prior to the first State of the Nation address on July 25. Duterte
offered to elevate members of leftist groups to four line departments. At present, however, it is not certain that Duterte
fully appreciates the depth of Communist movement, its network of political front organizations, and their end objective.
The Moro groups have seen similar attention: Duterte had a joint meeting with the leadership of both the Moro National
Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on June 18. Both groups reportedly support the move toward
federalism. At present, there is some uncertainty over the implementation of the Bangsamoro Basic Law as a stand-
alone measure or as part of a push toward a federal system in the country—another campaign priority for Duterte. Either
case could be expected to provide a greater share of autonomy to the proposed region.

Making socio-economic growth and development inclusive

Duterte has expressed his desire to build on the stellar accomplishments of the administration of outgoing president
Benigno Aquino III, particularly the latter’s good governance initiatives and critical structural reforms that transformed
the Philippines from being “the sick man of Asia” into “Asia’s rising tiger.” Of his ten-point socioeconomic agenda
revealed on Monday, June 20, for example, his first point was to continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies,
including fiscal, monetary and trade policies.
However, he intends to depart from Aquino’s legacy of instituting slow but steady macroeconomic reform by advancing
an economic agenda which seeks to upgrade, accelerate as well as expand the government’s basic services that shall
render the country’s macroeconomic environment more conducive for the flourishing of businesses, influx of
investments and conduct of seamless trade within the country and the greater ASEAN region. Some megaprojects worth
anticipating include: (a) three major railway systems, namely the Mindanao railway, Manila-Bicol railway, and Manila-
Batangas railway; (b) Zamboanga Ecozone, Southern Mindanao Growth Corridor (General Santos growth corridor and
Davao Gulf Industrial corridor); and the South Mindanao-North Sulawesi ro-ro link, among others.

Duterte intends to overcome the alleged structural dissonance between macroeconomic reform which has been the
hallmark of Aquino’s “Daang Matuwid” program and concrete improvement of living conditions and standards of Juan
dela Cruz. In doing so, he has talked about pursuing the following: generation of domestic jobs; increase of employment;
abolition of contractualization; promotion of livelihood; agricultural modernization; and entrepreneurial, technological
and industrial advancement with just taxation and equitable distribution of wealth while caring for the environment for
sustainable development.

He also plans to carry out: improvement of government provision of social services which include education, health,
housing, mass transportation with special attention to the elderly, women, children, youth, indigenous peoples and other
marginalized sectors; provision of assistance to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families; and adaptation
to climate change through reducing risk, preparing for natural disasters and adopting 911 nationwide.

Restructuring the form of government

Lastly, Duterte wants to overhaul the unitary-presidential system and shift to a federal-parliamentary system through a
Constitutional Convention. He desires the holding of a plebiscite and preparing the future federal states to effect power-
sharing, resources-sharing, respect-for-all and development-for-all as key to reforming the whole bureaucracy to effect
good governance. Reforms under the new system are said to include: increasing the salaries of government workers;
fighting graft and corruption; and unleashing the full potentials of all regions and ethnic groups for social, economic
and cultural growth. Furthermore, constitutional amendment shall lift restrictive economic provisions in the
Constitution, grant more foreign ownership of property and certain industries.

The uncertain but promising road ahead

While Duterte’s policy thrusts are intended to improve internal security and catalyze inclusive growth in the country,
one can’t deny that his vision will, in reality, draw opposition along multiple fronts. He is not only about to wage a
bloody war against the “undesirables” such as criminals, drug syndicates and corrupt officials who for decades have
thrived in the dark underbelly of modern Philippine society. Over and above these, he looks set to wage his own
revolution against what he sees as a dysfunctional political and economic system that has created and perpetuated
obstructions the Philippines’ path to industrialization on the other.

However, a strong populist leadership can sometimes fall victim to parochial thinking. Having been used to running a
secondary city without serious opposition, there is some fear that Duterte could travel down the path of arrogance toward
abuse of power at the national scale. As elected legislators have begun to fall in line, the creation of a “super majority”
in Philippine Congress could transform it into a rubber-stamping body. It is imperative for the Filipino citizenry to
maintain a collective critical mindset and attitude on what his mantra truly means and how it is carried out. While we
should support security and development policies and strategies that will help build strong institutions and genuinely
democratize political power, we ought to remain vigilant against any tendencies to build a new religion around his quasi-
messianic, strongman persona.

Nevertheless, used wisely, his strong mandate can help to institutionalize needed government reforms, clear up
regulatory gridlock and, at least for the next six years, stabilize the policy environment. At the very least, increasing
investment and promoting growth have been identified as policy priorities for the next six years. It is in everybody’s
interest to see the phenomenal rise of Duterte in the annals of history as the moment we as the Filipino nation freely
chose a humble Visayan probinsyano from the distant island of Mindanao to instill upon us a renewed sense of national
pride and lead us to reclaim, redefine and deepen democracy, on our own terms.