Tabije: Green technology - Lessons from Bangkok
ONE of the advantages of travelling is that one learns of new things. Here are a few of my observations in my recent trip to Bangkok that I hope could be adopted in the Philippines.
The hotel where I stayed claims to be one of the best in green technology in Thailand. Having travelled to...
Tabije: Bad experience with air travel
AS I write this piece, wife Lynda and I are on the plane to Bangkok to attend the Rotary International Convention. Happily, we're on this trip that almost went awry. Let me explain.
Last night (May 4) Lynda arrived in Manila. Since I traveled to Manila ahead last May 1, I went to the...
Tabije: Cell phone directories - An idea whose time has come
LAST week, I came across an ad in a national paper by a Manila-based company, Cellphone Directories Philippines (CDP), looking for joint venture business partners nationwide to prepare a nationwide network of cell phone directories. It being a new idea, I got attracted to the ad and contacted...
Customer service in government
FINALLY, I'm back! My apologies to this column's regular readers for not having come out with this column for many months. My numerous consulting assignments here and abroad, and my additional new function as member of the Board of Directors of the National Irrigation Administration, have taken...
PH competitiveness; coal plant water supply issue
I RECENTLY came across an IFC-WB study of all the world's countries that ranked each one in terms of their competitiveness in doing business. Out of the 183 countries studied, the Philippines ranks No. 136 in "Ease of Doing Business". That surely puts us way below average....
Tabije: New responsibility, new challenge
AS I write this piece, I'm preparing to fly to Manila for my oath-taking -- His Excellency, Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III, has just appointed me to the board of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), a government corporation under the Department of Agriculture.
Based on its charter,...
Tabije: The provinces are subsidizing Manila
THE national papers were abuzz last week on the arguments between DOTC Sec. Roxas and Sen. Recto (and joined in by different columnists) on whether or not provincial taxpayers are subsidizing the MRT & LRT in Metro Manila. I submit that this is an issue that goes beyond the MRT & LRT.
Tabije: Coal power project vs city's water supply
I'VE been following in the newspapers the ongoing council hearings on AboitizPower’s proposed coal-fired power project. After Vice Mayor Rody Duterte initially indicated his support for the project, he now has taken a more cautious stance after realizing that the project will draw and use...
Tabije: Quit while the audience is clapping
AT THE first glance, I was happy to note that the City Government, thru the Cenro, seems bent on addressing the city's worsening waste disposal problem. But the way they are implementing the garbage segregation scheme is laughable, to say it lightly.
Last August 21, I witnessed a garbage...
Tabije: Love, loyalty and gratitude
THERE are two quotable quotes that are appropriate to what I want to write today.
"Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa patutunguhan." - Filipino proverb.
Literally, it translates as, "He who does not look back from where he came from will never...
Tabije: Food security
IN ONE of the national news items a few weeks back, I read that a big national people's organization, whose name escapes me now, is criticizing the national program of rice self-sufficiency. It is, instead, rooting for a re-negotiation of our import arrangements with the major rice-exporting...
Tabije: Government extravagance
THE recent furor over the reported purchase of 24 units of high-end Apple computers by the Malacanang Communications Office at P67,000 each reminds me of the time I still headed the NIA office in Davao del Norte a decade back. One time when I was at the NIA Central Office in Quezon City, a...
Tabije: Niloko, nagpaloko or manloloko?
THE ongoing Senate investigation of the PNP's alleged purchase of second-hand helicopters at brand new prices is taxing the people’s credulity and puts in question the intelligence of high ranking police officers.
I'm going to quote some information from the PDI and give my own reactions...
Tabije: Bad customer service
CD-R King is a store chain that is quite popular due to their relatively low-priced computer-related and electronics products. Due to the usually big number of customers, their management has implemented a priority number scheme so that the first-come-first-served policy could be enforced.
...Tabije: Public roads should be for public use
ANYBODY who's driving a car has surely experienced the worsening parking situation in downtown Davao City. It's now very difficult to find a vacant parking space during regular business hours. What really takes my goat is the practice of private stores and offices of blocking off vacant public...
Tabije: When good rivers turn bad
RIVERS are normally good for and to people. They supply our life-giving water needs for drinking, crops irrigation, navigation and numerous other beneficial uses. But like most people who have fits of bad temper every now and then, rivers can also turn bad when they flood and kill people and...
Tabije: US Travel Notes (3)
FROM the searing Florida sun, we arrive in moderately sunny LA, California. The big refreshing difference though is that while Florida air is warm, LA air is cool.
Tabije: US Travel Notes 2
ALTHOUGH I travel overseas every now and then in connection with my consulting work, I haven’t had the chance to visit again the US in the last ten years. During that period, I’ve frequently read news and magazine articles that expressed concern on the worsening obesity problem of America. I...
Tabije: Over-dramatization
ONE book about Manny Pacquiao was written by Gary Andrew Poole, who used to write for the New York Times. It is entitled, "PacMan: Behind the scenes with Manny Pacquiao, the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world."
It's relatively well written but it has an unfortunate tendency to...
Tabije: The odd number fallacy
FIRST, let me apologize for being out of circulation for a long while. The last time this column came out was on January 10, 2011. I was quite busy with so many consultancy and business matters that I decided to take a temporary leave from column writing.
Tabije: Improving your personality
HAVE you ever noticed and wondered when you were in a big gathering how some people arrive and attract attention and easily get into friendships while some arrive and nobody seems to notice them? The big secret is in their personality. And if you want to be noticed and have more friends, as...
Tabije: Embarrassing public signs
MY NEW Year quotation is, "Never take life too seriously. Nobody reaches the finish line alive, so you may as well enjoy the travel." So let me start off the year with a discussion of public signs that are embarrassingly erroneous and often hilarious.
Tabije: Counting our blessings
WE PINOYS have a tendency to always look at the bleaker side of life and complain. We always say "mahirap ang buhay ngayon." Even the businessmen who have huge houses and several expensive cars always say "mahirap ang negosyo ngayon."
Tabije: Do we really need a K12 educ system?
AS I write this column, I'm in Pakistan on a consulting engagement with the World Bank to do a review of a WB-funded $350-million education sector project. I arrived here last November 28 and since then I've been meeting with top-level officials of the Departments of Education, Construction...
Tabije: Intellectual arrogance
ONE of the news items of late is the statement of the AFP's spokesman that they will recommend that boxing great Rep. Manny Pacquio be included in the GRP-MILF negotiating panel. One of the prominent reactions is that of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile. He says, in so many words, that despite all the...
