Philippines

Introduction

“Tuwid na Daan” or the Straight Path is a phrase repeatedly mentioned by President Benigno S. Aquino III to pertain to his governance direction for the country. Essential to this concept of “Tuwid na Daan” is the battle cry “Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap.  The administration believes that corruption is the root cause of the country’s woes, and eliminating corruption will necessarily lead to renewed investor confidence, eventual growth and development, poverty reduction, and attainment of peace. The straight path, however, does not only pertain to the President’s anti-corruption campaign. It also encompasses a way of doing things right, where the process is participatory; the programs are holistic; growth is sustained; the peace policy is comprehensive; and development is sustainable.

Through the living examples of our leaders, led by the President, this re-awakened sense of right and wrong continues to be translated to economic value. Before going to the main purpose of this report which is to inform the reader on the present state of the Philippine Agrarian Reform Program for the year 2011, let’s tackle first the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. Comprehensive Agrarian Reform- Birth, Struggle & Future  The Philippine comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP) was envisioned shortly after the Filipino liberation from martial rule in 1986.

It was designed to free the majority of the Filipino poor from the bondage of the soil by making them owners of the land they till. It also aims to grant economic-size land to the landless. Comprehensive enough, it covers farmers’ education, skills training and strong farmers’ organization, application of improved technology, and support by the government. The 1987 Philippine Constitution provides in Article 14, Sec. 4. that:

The State shall, by law, undertake an agrarian reform program founded on the right of farmers and regular farm workers, who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other farm workers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To this end, the State shall encourage and undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands, subject to such priorities and reasonable retention limits as the congress may prescribe, taking into account ecological, developmental, or equity considerations, and subject to the payment of just compensation.

In determining retention limits the State, shall respect the right of small landowners, The State shall further provide incentives for voluntary land-sharing. The overriding idea under the Philippine constitution is the preservation of the concept of an “economic family-size farm” as embodied in the past land reform laws.

Even in collective ownership however, the constitutional mandate is to preserve the control of the tiller over the land a farmer tills. This is so because, agrarian reform is essentially a land-to-the-tiller program; it is based on the right of farmers and regular farm workers to own the lands they till.

Declaration of Principles and Policies

It is the policy of the State to pursue a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The welfare of the landless farmers and farm workers will receive the highest consideration to promote social justice and to move the nation towards sound rural development and industrialization, and the establishment of owner cultivatorship of economic-sized farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.

To this end, a more equitable distribution and ownership of land, with due regard to the rights of landowners to just compensation and to the ecological needs of the nation, shall be undertaken to provide farmers and farm workers with the opportunity to enhance their dignity and improve the quality of their lives through greater productivity of agricultural lands. The agrarian reform program is founded on the right of farmers and regular farm workers, who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other farm workers, to receive a share of the fruits thereof.

To this end, the State shall encourage the just distribution of all agricultural lands, subject to the priorities and retention limits set forth in this Act, having taken into account ecological, developmental, and equity considerations, and subject to the payment of just compensation. The State shall respect the right of small landowners and shall provide incentives for voluntary land-sharing.

The State shall recognize the right of farmers, farm workers and landowners, as well as cooperatives and other independent farmers’ organization, to participate in the planning, organization, and management of the program, and shall provide support to agriculture through appropriate technology and research, and adequate financial, production, marketing and other support services. The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform or stewardship, whenever applicable, in accordance with law, in the disposition or tilization of other natural resources, including lands of the public domain, under lease or concession, suitable to agriculture, subject to prior rights, homestead rights of small settlers and the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral lands. The State may resettle landless farmers and farm workers in its own agricultural estates, which shall be distributed to them in the manner provided by law. By means of appropriate incentives, the State shall encourage the formation and maintenance of economic-sized family farms to be constituted by individual beneficiaries and small landowners.

The State shall protect the rights of subsistence fishermen, especially of local communities, to the preferential use of communal marine and fishing resources, both inland and offshore. It shall provide support to such fishermen through appropriate technology and research, adequate financial, production and marketing assistance and other services, The State shall also protect, develop and conserve such resources. The protection shall extend to offshore fishing grounds of subsistence fishermen against foreign intrusion. Fishworkers shall receive a just share from their labor in the utilization of marine and fishing resources.

The State shall be guided by the principles that land has a social function and land ownership has a social responsibility. Owners of agricultural land have the obligation to cultivate directly or through labor administration the lands they own and thereby make the land productive. The State shall provide incentives to landowners to invest the proceeds of the agrarian reform program to promote industrialization, employment and privatization of public sector enterprises. Financial instruments used as payment for lands shall contain features that shall enhance negotiability and acceptability in the marketplace.

The State may lease undeveloped lands of the public domain to qualified entities for the development of capital-intensive farms, traditional and pioneering crops especially those for exports subject to the prior rights of the beneficiaries under this Act. The intent of the Philippine Constitution and R. A. 6657 is crystal clear: the promotion of social justice through an equitable distribution of land by making it easier for the disadvantaged to be able to acquire land. Agrarian reform is meant to reduce inequalities as social justice demands. And in its pursuit, land is to be taken for redistribution to the landless.

In the process of taking, the law provides for just compensation. As suggested by Rev. Father Joaquin Bernas. S. J., just compensation should depend on the farmers’ ability to pay and not on the standard fair market value or it will not be in accord with the thrust of the law. Fr. Bernas cited land reform in Japan where just compensation was dictated by law and amounted to less than the market value In Japan, according to him, land reform embodied recognition of the reality that expropriation for land reform was not eminent domain pure and simple, but also exercise of police power which necessarily entails loss on the part of those regulated.

An analogous situation he said, is the police power of the state to impose price control on essential commodities for the benefit of the public but at the expense of the sellers. It is expiring this year, 2008, after a second extension. The report of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) shows that from July, 1987 to December, 2004, it has only 75% rate of ccomplishment.

Out of the 4,676,017 hectares of targeted private agricultural land, only 3,499,790 have been distributed. Approximately 1. 2 Million hectares remain untouched. Furthermore, according to the University of the Philippines, Los Banos Micro Study, 2007, 75% of the farmer beneficiaries till their land and improve their lives despite palpable lack of support from the government. These farmers are left with the burden of generating capital and are oftentimes forced to make use of their Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) as collaterals for loans.

Among the other problems obstructing the success of land reform in the Philippines are: “problematic” landholdings, such as areas with missing titles, erroneous technical descriptions, and court disputes; insufficient funds for land acquisition and support services. Protest and oppositions by big landowners is a big stumbling block as well. Furthermore, dissatisfaction on the part of the farmer beneficiaries is another blot on the program. The heading of Philippine Daily Inquirer Mindanao (02/10/2008) says: “Farmers awarded CARP lands seek way out of ‘bad deals’. The 662 farm workers of the 3,900-hectares Guthrie Estates in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, Negros Occidental found the deal so onerous as they have not been receiving enough share from the produce of the land assigned to them under a cooperative structure. The farmers have been protesting and negotiating for better arrangements. One cooperative member warned: “If they will not listen to us, blood will spill over in our land. We have been long dead anyway. ” Ironically, CARP suffered a setback during the term of President Corazon Aquino.

Hacienda Luisita, the Aquino family’s own 6,000- hectare estate was exempted from distribution. The hacienda was placed under what is termed the corporative scheme where the farmers were given shares of stocks and instead of owning the land they till, they receive dividends from the net profit of the operation of the hacienda as one intact landholding. A lot more is necessary to implement CARP effectively even at this time when the program period is at its tail end.

Among them are: decisiveness on the part of government to implement the law against the mighty and powerful landowners; strict safeguards against land-use conversion; sufficient amount and better management of funds; stronger community-based organization; creative and effective programs for big landholdings. There is an ongoing massive call for CARP extension to be coupled with reforms and more decisive land distribution. On the other hand, landowners are pointing to the flaws and failures of CARP as a basis for terminating the program.

Since the birth of CARP, they have been deriding its existence, have been exerting efforts to thwart its implementation and plotting ways to defeat the spirit of land reform. Farmers now pin their hopes on House Bill No. 3059, or the proposed “Genuine Agrarian Reform Act of 2007”. It was filed by representatives of party-list groups Anakpawis, Bayan Muna and Gabriela Women’s Party. The bill seeks to distribute land for free and expand agrarian reform coverage to all agricultural lands in the country.

According to the former DAR Secretary Butch Abad, agrarian reform will not succeed if government and business sector will not do their part. And he believes that poverty and social conflict such as the secession movement are due to landlessness to a significant degree. According to Sec. Abad, the present state of things show land reform has failed. Tenants can not be owner-cultivator and farm manager overnight. After acquiring the farm, they need training, support services, capital. One proof that agrarian reform is not yet a success is that countless farmers have not been given a piece of the land as yet.

Overall, a total of 2,501 kms of completed FMRs provide better access to markets and social services and boost economic activities by allowing goods and products to flow in and out of the barangays. FMRs also help reduce transport costs, spoilage and deterioration of quality of agricultural products, and facilitate delivery of farm inputs. 3. 2. 2. From July 2010 to June 2011, a total of 65 tramlines were completed connecting remote areas to FMRs. A total of 67 agricultural tramlines were completed since project start-up in 2009, which is 63% of the targeted 107 units to be completed by December 2011.

The use of these tramlines cuts the cost of hauling by half from P2 to P1 per kilogram of produce and reduces hauling time significantly from hours to just a few minutes. Inaugurated on 13 April 2011 at Twin Peaks, Tuba, Benguet, a 400-meter tramline has reduced hauling time from 2 hours to five minutes. Farmers pay P1 per kilo of produce to cover the cost of diesel fuel, engine maintenance and other repairs and allowance for the tramline operator. On 25 February 2011, a tramline built by DA-Philmech at a cost of P1. 6 million was inaugurated in La Paz, Zamboanga City, a barangay located 970 meters above sea level.

A 370 meter distance between the barangay and the closest national road used to take 12 hours to traverse. With the tramline, travel time over this distance has been reduced to three minutes. A local group, the La Paz Farmers’ Association operates the tramline collecting a fee of one peso for a load of 350 kilos of corn and vegetables. All in all, in the first 11 months of the Aquino Administration (July 2010 to May 2011), 11,611 hectares of new areas were irrigated, 40,053 hectares were restored, and 171,910 hectares were rehabilitated both for current and carry over projects.

Restoration entails repairing the irrigation facility that is currently not functional while rehabilitation means upgrading or improving the facility, which is currently working but has not attained the maximum or designed irrigation efficiency.

Put up the following post-harvest facilities:

• One hundred eighty seven (187) food terminals from July 2010 to April 2011 benefiting 1,155 small farmers and fishers.
• These food terminals provide affordable basic food commodities to around 457,859 households who are able to save not only from low-priced commodities but also from cuts in transportation expenses and reduction of middlemen costs. The savings on transportation cost ranges from P8–P200 for every trip to the market.
• Thirteen (13) or 68% of the targeted 19 Corn Post Harvest Trading Centers (CPHTC) in major corn producing areas nationwide. These centers ensure continuous supply of corn even during the wet season, guarantee premium quality, and open opportunity for other investments in the corn industry.
• A total of 1,342 small scale composting facilities in the different regions nationwide, reaching 100% of the target, and generating 5,368 jobs. This forms part of the government’s promotion of organic farming through the Organic Fertilizer Production Project, which will enable farmers to produce their own organic fertilizer to reduce dependence on expensive synthetic fertilizers.
• A total of 56 units of flatbed dryers from July 2010 to April 2011, attaining 100% of the target and generating 402 jobs. These will reduce post-harvest losses during the drying stage of palay and ensure quality drying during the rainy season. Four cold chain facilities from July 2010 to May 2011 would enable farmers of high value crops to store their fruits and vegetables in the appropriate temperature and prolong the quality and shelf life of perishable crops, obtaining for the farmers a better selling price for their produce. These facilities were turned over to three cooperatives in Benguet, Palayan City, and San Jose City, benefiting 139 farmers.
• Ten units of Village-Type post-harvest facilities as of June 2011, in key corn production areas and strategic demand sites nationwide.
• Thirty-one more units are expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2011. Fostered a culture of self-relianceSome of the strategies under the Food Staple Self-Sufficiency program include the termination of direct input subsidies to farmers and front-loading of irrigation investments in 2012 and 2013 to increase output as early as possible, thus decreasing the need to import rice. These actions are already bearing fruit as seen in the bumper crop harvest from January to March 2011.
• The country’s rice importation dropped significantly by 80% from an import volume of 2. 2 million MT from July 2009 to June 2010 to 386,243 MT from July 2010 to June 2011. The decrease in volume of actual rice import arrivals can be attributed to the good harvest and the comfortable stock position of the country. Likewise, rice shipments were scheduled better. From here on, NFA buffer stocks will consist mainly of palay purchased from local farmers—a long standing demand of the rice farmers. From January to June 2011, the government through the NFA has procured some P7. 64 billion worth of palay from all over the country. This is 16% of the NFA stock.

The NFA targets to increase this volume from the harvest from the main cropping season later this year. The total rice imported in 2010 was 2. 38 million MT. For 2011, the government shall import 64% less or 860,000 MT, with 200,000 MT imported by the government, and 660,000 MT by the private sector. For 2012, rice imports shall further decline to 500,000 MT, with 100,000 MT imported by the government and 400,000 MT imported by the private sector. The government was able to increase the average farm gate price of palay by 2. 89% within a short period, thereby immediately increasing the farmer’s income.

Strategic reserves and placements made it possible for the price of rice to remain stable, thereby assuring the affordability and availability of rice to the public. Production in the crops subsector was also up by 8. 19% and the main contributors were palay, corn, sugarcane, and banana. Anna York C. Bondoc, who took the cudgels for the agency and pulled it off with poise even as she endured almost six hours of grilling from her colleagues Bondoc, who stood as the sponsor for DAR’s budget, eloquently justified its P18. 3-billion proposed budget, saying that the agency, despite operating on lean budget each year in the past, has managed to deliver the tasks expected of it. How much more if DAR is provided with sufficient funds,” Bondoc said even as she rallied her fellow lawmakers to come in support of DAR, which is in dire need for more funds to complete the distribution of some 1 million hectares of agricultural lands and deliver much-needed support services in the form of basic rural infrastructure projects and skills development program. The DAR said that P10 billion of its total budget for next year will go to land tenure’s improvement, which include landowners’ compensation; P7. billion to program beneficiaries’ development made up of support services in the form of basic rural infrastructure projects and skills development program; and P1 billion to agrarian justice delivery. Bondoc found an ally in the course defending the department’s budget through former DAR Secretary-turned-partylist representatives Nasser Pangandaman of the AA Kasosyo Partylist. Pangandaman sought the replenishment of the credit facility in the DAR’s budget, which was left unfunded, to enable the agency to serve the needs of farmer-beneficiaries for much-needed capital for farm inputs.

Coop-Natcco Partylist Rep. Cresente Paez joined Pangandaman in his move, saying that the lack of capital is one of the major obstacles to improving the lives of farmer-beneficiaries, most of them are forced to approach loan sharks for farm inputs. Bondoc agreed with Pangandaman and Paez on the need to restore the budget for credit facility and even asked them to join her in lobbying the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) about it.

She said she would furnish the DBM with minutes of what had transpired during the budget hearing at the plenary to give it an insight on the issue.

DAR hosts seminar on climate-proofing for agrarian reform comunities

The warning is dire. Scientists say that even if the earth’s hot temperature on global warming is reduced significantly in the coming years, climate change impacts such as droughts, floods, and other severe weather events are likely to result in food shortages, increase in water and air-borne diseases, infrastructure damage and the of natural resources degradation.

To help farmers adapt to these inevitable eventualities, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation; Development (or GIZ) recently conducted a five-day seminar-workshop on “Climate Proofing for Development:

• Practical application for agrarian reform communities” at the Century Park Hotel in Malate, Manila. The GIZ, Adaptation to Climate Change;
• Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCBio) trainers and the Phil.
• Atmospheric Geophysical;
• Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) presented to DAR studies made on the ill effects of climate change on farms and farming communities in the country.

Undersecretary for Special Programs; Agrarian Relations Rosalina Bistoyong said the seminar-workshop seeks to understand and learn how to adapt to the climate changes and integrate it in development plans for agrarian reform communities. We at DAR believe that we cannot delay making adaptation plans and actions to ensure that maladaptation [by farmers] will not worsen adverse and impede their sustainable development,” said Bistoyong. “Climate adaptation ways like planting trees, composting, using bio-friendly fertilizers, organic farming, are just some of the ways the farmers can use to help mitigate climate change,” said Corrine Canlas of GIZ. With the climate change impacts we have been experiencing like floods, typhoons and the el nino and la nina phenomena, implementers need to learn the ways and means to adapt to these [eventualities], so that they can put strategies to add development plans for farmers in the agrarian reform communities,” added Canlas. Bistoyong said that the implementers will also teach farmers measures to avoid the bad effects of chemicals on the environment and contribute in minimizing global warming. This course will help our implementers in making necessary developments plans so that our farmers will be able to cope, adapt and sustain their livelihood in the face of climate change,” Bistoyong said.

Biliran Agrarian Reform Officer Elisea Orapa said rehabilitation works by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) started early last month, and is expected to be completed in three months time. Orapa cited the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), for rehabilitating the 1. 7-kilometer farm-to-market road in Sitio Kasabangan where some 562 meters of this will be concreted for easier and farther conveyance of farm products to the market.

Eliasem Castillo, Regional Director of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Eastern Visayas, said the projects, courtesy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency-Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (JICA-ARISP), would help double farm produce of farmer-beneficiaries in the Balaquid Agrarian Reform Community (ARC). Castillo added that the two projects cost about P8-million, with the local government unit providing 50 percent as its counterpart equity.

Ismael Aya-ay, chief of the Beneficiaries Development Coordinating Division (BDCD) of the DAR-Biliran said that about 60 of the 530 ARBs in the ARC will directly benefit from the irrigation project, while some 1,686 residents here and in nearby villages will be benefited by the farm-to-market road. ARCs are group of barangays with farmers awarded with land titles where there is a convergence of support services provided by the national and local governments, non-government organizations and foreign-donor communities.

Programs of the department of agriculture land tenure improvement

The LTI component seeks to secure the tenurial status of the farmers and farmworkers in the lands they till. This is operationalized either through land acquisition and distribution (LAD) and leasehold operations. LAD involves the redistribution of government and private agricultural lands to landless farmers and farmworkers. This is the essence of land reform. It secures farmers’ tenure, promotes social equity, and provides them with necessary productive resources needed to ensure their economic viability and productivity. Leasehold operations, on the other hand, is the alternative non-land transfer scheme.

It covers all tenanted agricultural lands such those in the retained areas, not yet acquired for distribution under CARP, and those which may be validly covered under existing laws. With the enactment of RA 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms in 2009, LAD should be completed by June 30, 2014 on a province-by-province basis. All remaining unacquired and undistributed agricultural lands shall be acquired and distributed as follows:

Phase I (01 July 2009 to 30 June 2012)

• All remaining lands above fifty (50) hectares;
• All private agricultural lands with aggregate landholdings in excess of fifty (50) hectares which have already been issued Notices of Coverage (NOCs) on or before Dec. 10, 2008;
• Rice and corn lands under PD 27; idle and abandoned lands; Voluntary Offer to Sell (VOS) lands;
• All lands foreclosed by government financial institutions (GFIs), PCGG-acquired lands and other government-owned lands;
• Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) submitted by June 30, 2009 (before effectivity);
• Only VOS & Compulsory Acquisition (CA) are allowed after June 30, 2009;

Phase II-A (01 July 2009 to 30 June 2012)

• All alienable and disposable, arable public agricultural lands;
• All public agricultural lands which are to be opened for new development and resettlement;
• Aggregate above 24-50 hectares issued NOCs on or before 10 December 2008)

Phase II-B (01 July 2012 to 30 June 2013)

• Remaining lands in excess of 24 hectares whether or not issued with NOCs

Phase III-A (01 July 2012 to 30 June 2013)

10-24 hectares, insofar as excess of 10 hectares Phase III-B (01 July 2013 to 30 June 2014) above 5 hectares to 10 hectares

• EXCEPTION: priority land reform areas as declared by PARC (Presidential Agrarian Reform Council) ExCom upon recommendation of the PARCCOM (Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee) may be covered in advance provided that prior phases have been completed

Phase III-B

(5-10 hectares) shall not be implemented until 90% of the provincial balance as of Jan. 1, 2009 has been completed.

Under RA 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (from 1987 to June 2009), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) covered 2,321,064 has. of private agricultural lands and 1, 727, 054 has. non-private agricultural lands covering a total of 4, 049, 018 has. This is equivalent to 2, 396, 857 ARBs installed. Congruently, under RA 9700 (July 2009 – December 2010) , 78, 145 has. private agricultural lands and 75, 862 has. of non-private agricultural lands were distributed. This totals to 154,007 has. equivalent to 97, 712 ARBs installed.

Strategic Directions up to 2014

To substantially complete asset reform as mandated by RA 9700, the DAR shall:

• Complete land acquisition and distribution (LAD) in the CARPER balance;
• Prioritize the subdivision of collective Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) involving LBP-compensable lands;
• Fast track the documentation and settlement of landowner compensation for already distributed lands;
• Synergize and rationalize the efforts of the CARP implementing agencies in all processes of LAD;
• Partner with the civil society organizations in the delivery of LTI services, particularly the large-sized private agricultural lands;
• Adopt a job-sharing scheme under the ONE-DAR Concept;
• Increase the utilization of the services of geodetic engineers to assist in land acquisition.

Program beneficiares development

PBD is the support services component of CARP. It aims to capacitate ARBs and provide them access to the necessary support services to make their lands more productive, enable them to venture in income generating livelihood projects and actively participate in community governance.

Agrarian reform does not rely on land distribution alone, but also on the delivery of support services, including farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation, post harvest facilities, rural electrification, potable water supply, school buildings, multi-purpose buildings; extension services, credit assistance, and trainings.

• 709,187 ARBs fully served under the foreign-assisted projects
• 7,170 infrastructure projects
• 976 communal irrigation projects completed
• 3018 functional ARB-organizations operate (ALDA Level 3,4,5)
• 316,610 ARB members are already managing their own farm & non-farm enterprises

Support services delivered through the Foreign Assisted Projects (FAPs) and Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF):

• 13,259 kilometers of FMR
• 226,015 hectares serviced by irrigation systems
• 194 multi-purpose buildings
• 174 bridge projects (10,473 linear meters)
• 428 units of post harvest facilities
• 999 units of potable water systems

Other infrastructure projects provided:

• Health centers, school buildings, flood control, rural electrification,& sanitation systems.

Non-infrastructure programs include:

• Demonstration farms, rural micro-enterprises, training of ARB leaders, & health and nutrition

The DAR adopted the development of agrarian reform communities (ARC) in 1993 to improve the lives of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). It was the department’s key strategy to accelerate and sustain economic growth in agrarian reform and rural areas through a people-centered, holistic and area focused approach in community development. Since then, the DAR has launched 2,100 ARCs covering 1. million of ARBs in 9,076 barangays. Because of the size limitation of ARCs and the increasing number of ARBs in need of basic support services, the DAR expanded the coverage of its support services through the KALAHI (Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan) Agrarian Reform Zones (KARZones). A KARZone is a contiguous area which embraces both ARC barangays and non-ARC barangays within the zone.

Strategic Directions up to 2014

The agrarian reform must be able to lift the ARBs out of poverty and transform them into drivers of rural economic growth. Land distribution is only the first step. Provision of adequate and timely support services are impetus to make the awarded lands productive.

Thus, PBD priorities for 2012-2014 shall be to:

• Undertake convergence initiatives with rural development agencies to complement the resources and streamline the efforts of DAR and DENR;
• Ink public-private partnerships (PPPs), develop models of collaboration and design business models in the agrarian reform areas with the participation of the CSOs, academe, research and development institutions and LGUs;
• Expand the ODA portfolio in order to augment funds for PBD;
• Operationalize the LTI-PBD integration on a province-to-province basis;
• Shift focus of low LAD-balance provinces to PBD;
• Unlock credit facilities for the agrarian reform beneficiaries through capacity development for credit providers and farmer-borrowers, providing support to risk mitigating institutions and making available credit information to credit providers

Agrarian justice delivery

Delivery of agrarian justice has two features: the agrarian legal assistance and adjudication of cases. Agrarian legal assistance is comprised of resolution of agrarian law implementation (ALI) cases, ARB representation before judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, and mediation and conciliation. On the other hand, Adjudication of cases involves the resolution of cases by the DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB) and any of its salas. Under RA 6657, the DAR is vested with the primary jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and to extend free legal assistance to farmer-beneficiaries affected by agrarian cases.

There are three types of cases under this program namely: judicial or court cases, quasi-judicial, and cases related to agrarian law implementation (ALI). The first two types involve representation of farmers by DAR lawyers before the regular courts and DAR Adjudication Board, respectively. The third type involves the administrative rendering of decision on exemption, conversion and retention. The DAR at present utilizes more aggressive alternative dispute resolution techniques in mediation to reduce conflicts maturing into court cases. The general objective is to persuade the contending parties to settle their disputes amicably or out of court before the DAR.

Strategic Directives

The legal sector intends to provide effective and timely support not only for agrarian reform frontliners in the field of operations and support services but also for the ARBs. Hence, to speed up the resolution of agrarian-related cases, the sector shall:

• Put the legal framework in place to expedite the LAD process and undertake PBD lawyering;
• Rationalize DAR lawyers’ and paralegals’ appreciation and decision on cases by developing common templates and legal outlines;
• Improve capabilities of DAR lawyers and legal officers to adequately address AR challenges;
• Tap information and communication technology to enhance legal work.

The Politics of Performance in Miss Saigon: Prostitutes, Pineapples and Globalization

The article “The Heat is On…in Manila” at www.worldroom.com starts with the line: “Miss Saigon has finally come home.” The article explains that the Philippines, not London or Vietnam, is the true home of the musical because its lead, Lea Salonga and many of the cast were Filipinos. The production of Miss Saigon however is less a theater production than a metaphor for globalization.

This paper hopes to respond to the following questions: How can we study Miss Saigon as a metaphor for the globalization of culture? What does Miss Saigon perform that audiences all over the world get hooked to it? How does the production participate in the post-Vietnam war discourse? How has the “theater of spectacle” been used as a tool of both colonization and globalization?

Miss Saigon as Commodity

The production, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, opened on 20 September 1989 at the Theater Royal Drury Lane in London. It was reportedly written by composer Claude-Michel Shonber and lyricist Alain Boubil when “they saw a photograph of a Vietnamese girl about to board a plan from Ho Chi Minh City to the United States, where her father, and ex-GI was waiting for her.”1

            According to London’s West End Theater Guide, from the time Miss Saigon opened to the time is closed in London on 30 October 1999, it had played 4,264 performances and was the longest running show at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. In London alone, it had made a profit of over 21 million pounds, making it the third most profitable musical in the history of British theater.

            More than twenty eight million people have watched Miss Saigon in twelve countries and seventy-eight cities. It is also considered to be among the most high-tech productions ever mounted. Dave Lunrssen reports that “a dozen IBM and Apple computers trigger the 200-plus set changes, 50-some automated scenery effects, over 400 traditional lights plus 400 Vari-lights capable of casting 230 colors in nine patterns…” He writes further, “Miss Saigon across the country is a military-style operation with smoke and fog machines, a 1959 Cadillac and one 700-pound scale model of a Huey helicopter with its Animatronic pilot, Virgil.”2

Theatergoers have watched it either in English or in one of the seven languages it had been translated into. Many have paid more than a hundred dollars for their ticket. In

the Philippines, ticket prices ranged from 250 (5 dollars) to 4,000 pesos (80 dollars). If one considers that the minimum wage is only 6 dollars a day and that domestic helpers earn only 40 dollars a month in the Philippines, Miss Saigon was extraordinarily expensive. Tickets for the performances in Singapore ranged from 50-125 Singapore dollars. This is approximately 25% of the monthly wage (350 dollars) of a Filipino domestic worker.

            Fans have bought Miss Saigon cassettes, videos on the making of Miss Saigon, large badges, bucket hats, baseball caps, mouse pads, and T-shirts. Those who failed to buy these items at the theater could easily secure them through online.

            Internet marketing has indeed pushed sales of the production. The New York Internet marketing agency T3 media, for example, developed a site for Miss Saigon called www.miss-saigon.com. According to T3 Media President Michael Diamant, the Miss Saigon site enabled fans “to be completely immersed in an environment reflective of the themes and details of the production.: Thus, it featured Real Audio and Video clips, games online “concession stands” for show merchandise, photo databases, historical background information, an online trailer complete with musical accompaniment and study guides.”

            What makes the marketing of this commodity more complex in Southeast Asia, however, are the colonial histories of the countries in the region, the existing poverty brought about by economic liberalization policies, and the interplay of gender and race issues.

Miss Saigon and Canned Pineapples as Metaphors for Globalization

Fredric Jameson defines globalization as “an untotalizable totality, which intensifies binary relations between its parts, mostly nations, but also regions and groups, which however, continue to articulate themselves in the modes of national identities.” What Jameson emphasizes is the tension and antagonism between parties involved, and “the struggle to define itself against the binary other.”3

            Miss Saigon can be read as a metaphor for globalization because ultimately, it is not different from the raw materials, such as pineapple, processed by cheap labor in a multinational factory (e.g. Dole, Del Monte) and sold right back as canned dessert to a developing country with the aid of local businessmen and politicians who espouse the liberalization of industries. In these developing countries, many of which are former colonies of Europe and the United States, these products are more appealing because the people have been conditioned to believe that everything the colonizer produces is superior to that of local products. Hence, the canned pineapple is sweeter and more uniformly cut than the one from the local market.

            What is crucial about Miss Saigon is the West’s construction of a Vietnamese woman as a prostitute who annihilates herself at the end of the play. The producers cast Asians (the favorite source for cheap labor) through a search depicted in the video The Making of Miss Saigon as similar to that of a beauty pageant, as the producers went to New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Manila looking for the perfect Kim. Then, they sold the finished product right back to Asia.

In the Philippines, the production displaced other local performances and artists so as to accommodate a supposedly new and much interesting “import”. By prioritizing Miss Saigon at the expense of local culture, theater director Behn Cervantes states that “[the] Cultural Center of the Philippines as a quasi-government institution [thus] officially states that Philippine culture is indeed inferior to Western Culture. It smacks of the worst kind of colonial mentality that the Center asked the resident companies to step aside for this modernized version of Madame Butterfly.”4

            What is disconcerting is that audiences all over the world filled the theater each night of the performance. The consumers found in this “product” the same appeal that perhaps they find in Coca-cola, a drink the world is addicted to, and to go back to our original metaphor, the canned pineapple, which comes sliced or diced, and ready to mix in one’s fruit salad. According to Julie Po, head of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, Miss Saigon can be seen as “a surplus overpriced export product re-channeled to the Philippine market after the European and U.S markets have been saturated. In the spirit of globalization, it is part of the big business of exporting media and culture at an overpriced in the pursuit of big bucks and colonial propaganda.”5

Decoding the Dream: Confronting History

The play’s plot has been described by critics and reviewers as follows: “the story of a US Marine who is forced to leave his Asian bride behind during the hasty evacuation of Saigon,”6 “the story of a G.I. and a prostitute in Saigon, during the war,”7 and the “simple culture clash love story of an American soldier and a young Vietnamese girl.”8 The play however is more than a retelling of the Madame Butterfly/Pinkerton story through the Vietnam War backdrop of Kim and Chris. The Asian women/Western man love story is the love/hate story  between the colonized subject and the colonizer. It is possible to read in Miss Saigon the contradictions of the postcolonial subject as represented by Kim.

            In Miss Saigon, we see the love triangle plot of the romance mode. Kim rejects Thuy, the communist soldier (representing evil in the play) to whom she was betrothed, and falls in love with the American soldier, Chris (representing hope). Incidentally, President George Bush’s interviews immediately after the September 11 bombings follow this dichotomy: on one hand, America (including its soldiers) representing everything that is good and strong, and everyone else (Thuy, communists, ‘terrorists,’ all those against America) as evil.

Also, Hollywood’s incessant portrayal of the American military hero in the East, cemented the image of the American as “conquering hero.” It is actually this image that is reproduced in the Miss Saigon plot.

            The perpetuation of the “conquering hero” myth in post-War Asia is so effective that it has practically erased all memory of the crimes committed by the United States in the region. For instance, numerous historians have documented the brutal treatment (including hamleting, torture, destruction of property, burning of villages) of Filipinos during the Philippine-American War of 1899-1913 when America succeeded in colonizing the Philippines. Renato Constantino calls it the “original Vietnamization”9 and Jonathan Fast calls it “the first Vietnam.”10

            The constructed fantasy of the colonized is evident in the play’s first scene which features the song “The American Dream.” Gigi, one of the bar girls, and Kim, the lead, sing these lyrics:

“…The movie in my mind

The dream they leave behind

A scene I can’t erase

And in a strong G.I.’s embrace

Flee this life

Flee this place

The movie plays and plays

The screen before me fills

He takes me to New York

He gives me dollar bills…”

The bars in Saigon were filled with women with only one dream – to marry an American G.I., migrate to the United States, and have dollars in their pockets. This is not just their fairy tale but a reality they wish for themselves.

            This attitude towards American servicemen, however, is also apparent in most parts in Asia. It is this same discourse of “the white man as liberator from poverty” that we see in bars in Thailand and Korea, classified ads, mail order bride catalogs, and Internet pages. The book Hello, My Big Honey (2000) by David Walker and Richard Erlich, chronicles the relationships between Thai bar girls and foreign men through letters and interviews. The book also attests to how the Bangkok bar scene has been influenced by the Vietnam bar scene:

            In the late 1970s and early 1980s many phrases traveled to Bangkok from the American GI bars in Saigon: “Cheap Charlie,” “Number One (or Ten if you’re really bad),”I love you too much,” “No money, no honey,” “I buy, you pay” are expression which are nearly extinct… The Bangkok bar scene has mutated greatly since the Vietnam war, when American troops on R & R (rest and recreation) or more popularly I & I (intoxication and intercourse) – helped create Southeast Asia’s bar culture11

In its introduction, Hello, My Big Honey shows how the “Madam Butterfly” syndrome can be seen in the Southeast Asian bar girls, although in a “clumsy, fallacy-riddled way, while the interviews with the girls reveal their contradictions: they are both attracted and repulsed by the foreign customer called farang; they hold to believe yet disbelieve his promises; they seem at once to be both victim and predator, seeking yet feigning love, and wanting only the foreigners’ money.”12 The story of Kim is similarly played in the camp towns adjoining military bases in Korea. According to Katherine H.S. Moon’s Sex among Allies, there is a complex stratification system among prostitutes, with women married to servicemen occupying the top of the kijich’on social ladder, followed by women who have entered kyeyak tonggo or contract cohabilitation. Moon notes:

            …All the woman I men in the camp towns either actively dremed of had dreamd of leaving prostitution and leading so-called normal lives, marrying a GI, having a family and a home. Some had tried to leave kijich’on prostitution and learn vocational skills, and work in normal jobs, e.g., factories. But I heard many sotries of women returning to kijich’on work because they could not adapt psychologically to the “normal world” or could not live on the low wages…13

As we compare these data on Thai and Korean prostitutes and the women in Miss Saigon, the play seems to have accurately portrayed the bar girl’s dream of marrying a G.I, fleeing poverty and having a “normal life.” However, what it failed to portray is the fact that the bars situated near military bases in countries such as Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam and sex touring in countries such as Thailand are by-products of the complex relationships between these “third world countries” and the United States. Moreover, it is the American agony that takes center stage in the play: Chris agonizes over his role in Kim’s life in the song “Why God Why?” John agonizes over interracial children in the song “Bui Doi.” Ellen agonizes about her husband’s other woman in “Now That I’ve Seen Her,” and Chris and Ellen agonize together about the future of his son in “The Confrontation.”

            Miss Saigon is thus more about the agony of Americans than the desperate situation of Asian Women. And why not? To speak of the prostitution that has led Kim to meet Chris would be to speak about poverty and to speak about poverty would mean speaking about the history of (neo)colonialism. Thus, it is the dilemma of the American as victim of war by his own government that has prevailed. Jim Nielsen’s Warring Fictions (1998) points out the continuity and revisions of war myths and the recreation of Vietnam through the soldiers’ narratives. It is this post-Vietnam War discourse heavily centered on the American soldier that Miss Saigon participates in, even as it professes to be “simply a tragic love story with the Vietnman war as backdrop.”14

            Several scenes of the play may be read as “interrogative texts.” The song “Bui Doi” is an indictment of the prejudice towards interracial children. “Movie in My Mind” is an ironic look at the cultural imperialism signified by the Hollywood movie. “The American Dream” even satirizes imperialist values. Even Kim’s suicide at the end of the play can be read as an act of empowerment, not simply as sacrifice, because she rejects the decision made by Chris and Ellen and forces them to take her son Tam to the US.

            However, the play is first and foremost, a theater of spectacle, and as such, expects its audiences to be mesmerized by the drama unfolding, stirred by the haunting melodies, awed by the helicopter, and it turn, weep for the tragedy of a Vietnamese woman, and leave the theater with a feeling of catharsis. This theater of spectacle is as much as tool of globalization at the turn of the 21st century as other cultural forms such as vaudevilles, and Hollywood films.

Notes:

1. Alain Boubil and Claude Schonberg. In www.theaterhistory.com         . Date accessed: October 20, 2007.

2.  Dave Luhrssen, www.shepherd-express.com.

3. Fredric Jameson, “Notes on Globalization as a Philosophical Issue,” In The Cultures of Globalization, edited by Fredric Jameson and Masao Miyoshi, Durham: Duke University Press, 1998, p. xii.

4. Behn Cervantes, [from a column] Businesswrold, 11 September 2000.

5. Julie Po, “Cultural Issues are National Concerns,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 19 September 2000.

6. Tannenbum, Creative Loafing Online, www.CLN.com, Date accessed: 17 October 2007

7. Bryce, www.NandoNext.com, Date accessed: 17 October 2007

8. Donovan, www.digitalcity.com, Date accessed: 17 October 2007

9. Renato Constantino, The Philippines: A Past Revisited, Manila: Renato Constantino, 1975.

10. Jonathan Fast, Conspiracy for Empire: Big Business, Corruption, and the Politics of Imperialism and America, Manila: Foundation for Nationalist Studies, 1995.

11. David Walker and Richard Ehlrich, eds. Hello, My Big Honey, San Francisco: Last Gap, 14

12. Ibid.

13. Katherine Moon, Sex Among Allies, New York: Columbia University Press, 1997, p. 26.

14 Jim Nielsen, Warring Fictions, University of Mississippi Press, 1998.

Case Context Cebu Pacific Air owned by the Gokongwei family and established in 1988, is the provider of most domestic flights in the Philippines. In 2000, Cebu Pacific Air was able to go international and expanded operations to Asia-Pacific countries. It owns 45% of the market share, and is among the top 5 in growth in terms of passengers carried and served. The airline company is known for its promo fares, where one can save around 40% to 50%, if flights are booked early. For the longest time, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air’s competitor, dominated the local airline industry.

Through the liberalization program, the latter was able to enter the market and gain its share of customers and passengers. In response, PAL adjusted its prices to compete with the others, and focused its strategies on cheaper last-minute bookings. Cebu Pacific Air gives importance to customer value, and addresses it by providing hassle-free online reservations, on-time flights, comfortable flying experience, etc. Named as the “World’s Number One Airline” by an e-newsletter, the airline has been growing and has continued to make its mark in the Philippine airline industry.

Its emphasis on the importance of the customers has helped Cebu Pacific Air to be successful in proving that it is indeed one of the top airlines in the country. Macro Environment Prior to the Philippine aviation industry liberalization in 1995 under Executive Order 219, state-owned Philippine Airlines enjoyed virtual monopoly with the country’s adopted policy of ‘one country, one airline’ imposed during President Marcos’ administration. The industry remained uncontested between 1973 and 1994 compelling the government to regulate fares to prevent PAL from engaging in monopoly pricing.

In the years following liberalization, the domestic airline industry has attracted as many as five entrants but this has dwindled to three. Currently, the Philippine aviation market is mainly served by Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), Philippine Airlines (PAL), Airphil Express (APX) and ZestAir. As of August 2011, CEB is the market leader and holds 45 % domestic market share, followed by PAL with 22%,  APX with 19% and ZestAir with 12%. Seair also takes a small part of this market such as by serving flights to Batanes. The impact of liberalization on the domestic industry is mixed.

Departure frequency increased in the most profitable markets, while smaller communities either lost service altogether or experienced sizeable declines in departure frequency and capacity. Furthermore, some markets served by a single airline have relatively higher fares. In the recent economic crisis, many foreign countries and the rest of the world were affected. The Philippines, however, was not greatly hit by this recession. Even though we fared better than the others, it cannot be denied that we were still affected.

Many multinational companies shut down their operations in the country, such as Intel and Goodyear. Also, many overseas Filipino workers from the United States, United Kingdom and the Middle East were forced to leave these countries with no promise of return. It also affected the Philippine Stock Exchange since it closely followed other stock exchanges from around the world, particularly NYSE. All of these resulted in great fears among the citizens. Filipinos are now more frugal and conservative in their spending habits.

The economy experienced dwindling demands of different products, which resulted to more production cuts, succeeding layoffs, and more layoffs. Filipinos started looking for products and services that would provide more value to their hard-earned money. As people are now starting to go back to the basics, leaving the extravagant lifestyle behind, companies now face the problem of losing their customers, even their loyal ones. Thus, many of them started offering products that would exemplify true value for money. More so, discounts and promos have boomed.

Cebu Pacific was no exception to this scheme. As many people considered air travel as something they could live without, the industry faced a bigger problem of attracting customers. The “Piso Fare” that they launched in 2005 was already a big help to company. More and more people are choosing Cebu Pacific over other airlines, such as Philippine Airlines. What is important now is for travelers to get to their destinations in the most affordable way possible, and the company was able to offer them a low-cost yet high-quality service that perfectly catered to the needs of their clients.

SWOT Analysis Strengths The key strengths of Cebu Pacific are on its strong market positioning, lean cost structure, ability to reap scale efficiencies, healthy brand equity, and balance sheet strength. The heights of Cebu Pacific’s victory over its competitors cannot be attributed to the aggressive low-pricing strategy that it blazed per se. The ability of CEB to identify the objects that are of value to their customers, and extend those perquisites at low cost is of tantamount importance in the airline’s success.

Cebu Pacific customers also get their value through the airline’s very convenient online reservation and payment system. This, equipped with the company’s partnership with banking firms as well as servicing companies such as LBC and Rustan’s, as well as its rigorous promotion in social networking sites, allows the customers to access information regarding CEB’s prices and low promo fares and easy payment. Equally valuable is also the management’s employee training which reflects the company’s strong customer-centered, team-based orientation. Weaknesses

To allow for its promotional activities such as low-fares in domestic and international travels, Cebu Pacific must also cut some costs on some segments of its operations. Either by cutting some operational costs or personnel costs, this would have an immediate impact to the image that the company is trying to project. With the entry of relatively smaller airline companies in the industry that can afford to compete CEB in low-pricing makes the airline company vulnerable to price wars, and this pressure increases the vulnerability of the airline to maintain its image.

Like all airline companies, and especially because of its big operations, Cebu Pacific heavily relies on forecasts of volatile fuel prices to produce sound business decisions and pricing. Lastly, industry commentators are disappointed that the strong brand and marketing platform of Cebu Pacific lacked scale in terms of fleet size. Opportunities The 21% year-on-year international passenger growth on the year 2011 opens a wider door for Cebu Pacific to increase its market share. Offering foreign travels exclusively on selected destinations allows Cebu Pacific a wider market and a more flexible marketing mix.

The company’s financial stability, sustained growth, and good brand image allow the financing for more expansion in the products and services they offer which is tantamount to put down competitive pressures from its competitors, both via cost leadership and product differentiation. Cebu Pacific is strategically positioned for this as it has a strong domestic network that is able to offset headwinds to the international network. Reaping the benefits of scale efficiencies may be realized through this expansion.

Finally, with its biggest competitor facing internal labor concerns as well as concerns on solvency and liquidity, the airline can choose to increase market share profitably at the expense of this competitors—instead of only positioning to stimulate and grow the market. Threats That low-pricing schemes such as the PisoFares became a trademark for Cebu Pacific is threatening the airline’s brand of acquiring an inferior image against its more expensively priced competitor products. Its customer segment that caters for businessmen and other high-profile class are at the expense of its extensive marketing promotion on cheap fares.

Also, the company’s profit margin has been slowly declining as it engages in price competition with relatively smaller airlines such as Air Philippines and Zest Air. While both competitors have been investing for expansion, CEB must stand prepared while pursuing for a higher market share and leadership. Finally Cebu Pacific must strategically position it’s cost-cutting strategies such as outsourcing, as recent moves to outsource some noncore operations of other airlines that has been encouraging from a cost-saving perspective has ensued labor disputes and strikes which showed the insensitivity of such a move.

Problem Through tedious research and careful analysis, we have proven that Cebu Pacific exhibits cost leadership as it was able to cut prices to deter the entry of new entrants and at the same time able to offer low prices to powerful buyers. (See Porter’s Generic) Competitors are always on the look as to how they can catch up and perhaps Cebu Pacific may be threatened by competitors copying their low cost strategy. With this, how can Cebu Pacific maintain to be the market leader when time comes that competitors have already adopted their low-cost strategy?

Marketing Mix Product Cebu Pacific Air provides its customer both domestic and international flights to fifty two destinations. Company with its slogan it’s time everyone flies tries to keep what they have been promised to its customers by offering a wide array of products and high quality of services aside from air fare to keep their customers loyal and to attract new ones. Cebu Pacific Air does not only provide travel through air but it provides tours for both land and water by building tie ups with travel agencies and hotels.

This tie ups provides its customer travel packages with hotel rooms at a discounted price, which make all the fun. Furthermore, the flight does not include a meal but they offer a fun shop where the company sells hearty meal, cold sandwiches, savory snacks, quick snacks, cold drinks, and hot drinks which are changed monthly for variety. Branded souvenirs such as stuff toys, watches, bags, etc. can also be purchased via online or inside the plane. Moreover, other services include seat-selector, sport equipment fee, TravelSure insurance, prepaid baggage, rent a car, and buy event tickets.

Cebu Pacific Air always keeps on improving its existing products while introducing new products to tailor fit its products to its customers for more satisfaction and to gain customer loyalty. Price As the barriers to entry were lifted, new players can now easily enter the market to serve the domestic routes. Many benefits were gained by these actions, particularly in the reduction of air fare. Cebu Pacific used its pricing systems to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. It continuously strives to offer low prices, yet also continuously maintain the level of service it promises to deliver to its customers.

One of the main strategies of Cebu Pacific to attract customers was its low fares offered on a year-round basis, such as its “Piso Fare” and LiteFares. This made air travel more affordable to Filipino passengers. This move is considered to be a lethal one for its competitors for it captured a big portion of the market. And although competitors soon followed suit, it was already too late and Cebu Pacific had already gotten a strong position in the market. To compensate for such big discounts, flights that are booked closer to the actual date are fully priced, but they are still comparably lower than those of its competitors.

For Cebu Pacific, they value the things that matter most to their customers, such as training of their pilots and crews, aircraft maintenance, and on-time reliability, such that passengers will not pay for trivial things, such as paper tickets and free meals. They focus more on the practical and essential matters to be able to offer their services at low prices yet still earn returns on them. Place Cebu Pacific Air has strategically placed most outlets where passengers can book their flights in business centers, near or inside malls, hotels, and airports.

These locations are usually where travellers go to, making it easier and more convenient for them instead of going to a place which might be out of their itinerary just to avail of the company’s services. Aside from this, Cebu Pacific Air has been able to ensure access to customers through online booking. With the growth and development of technology, the airline company has been able to capitalize on the convenience and availability of the Internet to easily reach customers. Promotion Low promo fares are the best known strategy that Cebu Pacific uses to gain ompetitive advantage over competitors. Specifically, they offer 1 peso flights not just for destinations in the Philippines, but also in some areas in East Asia such as Singapore and Malaysia. This promotions strategy is the most popular and most common thing that comes to mind when thinking Cebu Pacific Air. Aside from the traditional forms of promotions and above the line advertising, this airline also makes use of new social media platforms through below the line advertising. Cebu Pacific Airlines is the first airline industry in the Philippines to make use of these new technologies.

These types of advertising make use of social networks and give more focus to certain niche markets. An example of this type advertising is Cebu Pacific Airlines’ use of Twitter for announcements, ticket promos, and games for chances to win free tickets. Another form of this promotion strategy can be seen through a viral video posted in YouTube of Cebu Pacific’s flight attendants dancing to the beat of the song “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga. The special dance number was presented to the passengers after the standard safety instructions had been performed and aimed to give passengers a more enjoyable flight experience.

Having assessed Cebu Pacific Air’s marketing mix; we can truly say that its success can be attributed to its low price strategy and loyal customers. CEB has employed strategies to make flying accessible to everyone. They have lowered their prices and yet did not forego the quality of their services. CEB has been loyal to its value proposition of providing more for less. CEB knows very well that customers will try out low-priced products but will be turned off if it does not deliver the value/benefit it promises.

And no amount of advertisement will change their perception of a product after a bad experience, even if you have the lowest price in the market. And so, CEB has never been lax in maintaining the other component of their marketing mix besides price as competitive as possible to always satisfy customers. Recommendation Competition from other low cost carrier airlines continues to saturate the market and poses a threat to Cebu Pacific. To fly higher and up and above this hurdle, we now give you our counterstrategy:

Cebu Pacific Air: Juan time, Big time! Juan time, Big time is a full blast strategy that banks on Cebu Pacific Air’s Cost leadership and Filipino oriented service to retain its market leadership in the domestic market and eclipse PAL in the international market. In this full blast move, Cebu Pacific will continue to leverage on its constant seat sales and low pricing while making sure that it delivers true value to its customers. Cebu Pacific always wants to provide exceptional, unrivalled service at notches higher than its competitors.

To achieve this, Cebu Pacific needs to fuel this four-fold ‘Juan time, Big time’ strategy to continue to fly high and long in delivering its promise in letting every Juan fly. Fuel 1: Juan with You With Juan with You, we strengthen the customer flying experience to encourage more future flights. We will filipinize the customer flying experience and do this by always being hospitable in our service. Cebu Pacific will not only offer air transport, it will also offer a satisfying, fun, and hospitable flying experience.

Doing so will increase the perceived value of the Cebu Pacific Air flying experience. Juan with you will be implemented along with these tactics: 1. First, it will strengthen its customer service arm, and assign an actual active CEB officer in operating its Facebook and twitter pages to more instantaneously answer and attend to customer questions and concerns. This will communicate how Cebu pacific values its every customer. 2. Second, it should make its flight attendants wear Filipiniana attire, especially in international flights. 3.

Third, it should structure a hip, dance number around the performance of its in-flight safety guidelines. The last two will easily solve the problem of tedium that may set in after long hours for waiting for the flight’s end. Fuel 2: The Juan Time Cebu pacific will lead in debunking the old Filipino time concept, where late is acceptable, even expected. We will put an emphasis on sticking to only one time, the Juan time, and provide incentives to making its passengers arrive early to allow early boarding. Also, Cebu pacific should train its ersonnel to always be fast and efficient in their execution of their tasks to further expedite checking in. Cebu Pacific should strive to increase its on time performance level and again to improve the value offered to passengers, give customer points for every late flight arrival that customers may use when they also avail of Cebu Pacific’s loyalty card program. Fuel 3: Juan with the World Cebu Pacific has already achieved to become the leading low cost airline in providing domestic flights. Its competitors, however, offer more international destinations.

With this, we recommend that Cebu Pacific tap on more international destinations as their consumers would be delighted to know a variety of international destinations to choose from. This way, consumers would choose them among its competitors. Fuel 4: My only Juan Since Cebu Pacific has already managed to become the leading airline. It should now focus on keeping its customers loyal. This they can achieve through mileage programs to acquire points that customers can use in availing other flight add-ons. With this mileage rewards program, customers will be attracted to more to avail of the other services of Cebu Pacific.

Thus, this strategy will make Cebu Pacific the top choice and the only choice of every Juan. With this four-fold full blast strategy, Cebu Pacific Air will indeed be able to increase customer perceived value through the perks it offers at the same time retaining its low cost pricing. Thus, despite the threat of competitors adopting their low cost strategy, customers will still choose them over others for they are fully satisfied and truly delighted with CEB’s loyalty of providing more for less to its customers. APPENDIX Bibliography

Hazel Rose V. Corachea The internet is a computer based global information system. It is composed of many interconnected computer networks. Each network may link thousands of computers enabling them to share information. The internet has brought a transformation in many aspects of life. It is one of the biggest contributors in making the world into a global village. The use of internet has grown tremendously since it was introduced. It is mostly because of its flexibility. Nowadays, one can access the internet easily.

Most people have computers in their homes but even the ones who don’t they can always go to cyber cafes where this service is provided. The internet has developed to give many benefits to mankind. The access to information is one of the most important features that it has. Students can now have access to libraries around the world. Before, students had to spend hours and hours in the libraries but now at a touch of the button students have a huge database in front of them. In the Philippines, more and more Filipinos are going online and forming their social networks.

The following numbers show this reality. Philippines is sixth among all Asian countries in terms of top internet user. While, we rank in seventeenth place in the worldwide survey. InternetWorldStats says that Philippines has 29. 7 million internet users, as of June 2011. Undeniably, as the use of internet grows rapidly, English language skill also has become a necessity in order for us to establish linkages with the rest of the world. English has played a central role as the common international language in linking people who have different mother tongues.

When it comes to English language proficiency, recent language test results released by the IDP Education Pty. Ltd. Philippines, an accredited group that administers the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to Filipinos seeking to work and migrate abroad, showed that the Philippines is no longer the top English-speaking country in Asia. With an overall score of 6. 71, Malaysia is now the No. 1 in English proficiency in Asia. The Philippines placed only second with 6. 69, followed by Indonesia (5. 99), India (5. 79) and Thailand (5. 1). This was gleaned from IELTS results in 2008, during which some 35,000 Filipinos — 70 percent of them nursing graduates applying for jobs abroad — took the language exam to evaluate their English proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. The group blames technology such as the internet and SMS messaging (texting) on cell phones, which favors speed and levity but fosters poor written skills. “We use abbreviations in chat rooms, and we have created a whole new language, and texting on cell phones has created a short language. ”

University of the Philippines Manila National Graduate Office for the Health Sciences How Many Corporate Events on a particular week day in Intramural? Sherry Ann N. Shares 2014- 85177 2014-2015/ 1st semester Master in Management / College of Arts and Sciences Problem of the Study How many Corporate Events on a particular week day in Intramural?

Introduction of the Study Corporate event Is an event sponsored by a corporation for the purpose of cleaving specific goals and objectives such as entertaining customers, Introducing and promoting new products or services, or providing Incentives or training for employees, as well as other activities (Wiley International Dictionary of Event control – all basic principles of project management (Mastitis, P. , & Tooled, W. , 2002). Based on research, the areas of management for corporate events are the if: scope, time, cost, risk, content, human resources, procurement, and communication.

Thus, there is a need to identify that factors that is relative to the number of corporate events per day. Locale of the study The locale of the study is Intramural which is suited in Manila City. It is a 64-hectare tone citadel, founded by the Spanish in 1571, and has withstood wars, natural disasters and successive waves of colonial invaders, and such stands as a metaphor of Manila itself. (http://content. Time. Com/time/travel/citywide/article/ Intramural is a Latin word meaning “within the walls”. A place or monument of the Spanish period in the Philippine history.

It is also known as the “Walled City”. It is one of the principal tour destination in the Philippines. Fig. 1 Map of Intramural Hypothesis Hon.: No. Of corporate events per day is not relative with the p of time of the event Ha: No. F corporate events per day is significantly relative to the day of the week. Research Methods This presents the methods used in the research and the respondents of the study to gather the data needed. Methods The instrument and method being used in gathering the necessary data. Interview.

Used by the researcher to the gather the primary source of data, it also gave the researchers the opportunity to gather the list of events in Intramural. Furthermore, it gave the opportunity to clarify issues concerning the problem. Walk-in Observation. The observation was also an excellent source of data. The research decided to conduct walk-in observation at the last minute of the study since the hotel do not provide information on their corporate events. Respondents There are two respondents/source of the study: The Flyleaf Hotel and the Intramural Administration. The Flyleaf Hotel. The only hotel inside Intramural.

Launched in November 2011, this boutique hotel promises a restful experience for its guests given its 5 star quality beddings, room amenities and a spacious bathroom (http://www. Tableland. Com. PH/ about-us). Intramural Administration (IA). A national government agency created on April 10, 1979, under Presidential Decree 1616. It is tasked to restore the Walled City of Intramural and develop it into a prime urban tourist destination. Sis’s objective is to make this “city within a city” socially, economically and culturally viable again while as a main center of tourist activity in the City of Manila.

It is involved not only in the restoration but also in urban renewal and income generation (IA leaflet). Data Gathering The researcher gathered data from a hotel (Flyleaf Hotel) and government agency (Intramural Administration). The information from the hotel were exclusive which exulted to a walk-in observation and sampling. On the other hand, data gathering through the government agency was easier through their list and schedule of corporate events for the year 2014. The researcher also read articles and books on Corporate Events Management and other related topics to the study.

The Flyleaf Hotel. On a phone interview with Ms. Marie Toleration, Sales Manager of The Flyleaf, they could not provide the information needed. She also said that “most of the events held at the hotel were exclusive and not open to the public”. Since the researcher id not gathered information from the hotel, it resulted to the conduct of a walk-in random sampling at the last minute Just to have the number of events in a hotel and a comparison of data. The researcher conducted a random walk-in sampling on the number of events in the hotel on August 27, 2014 (Wednesday) and August 29, 2014 (Thursday).

It was found-out that there is no corporate event held in said hotel on August 27, 2014 and there were four (4) corporate events on August 28, 2014. Intramural Administration (IA). The researcher conducted interview with the Tourism Promotion Division of the IA. The IA has the authority among the public places and venues inside Intramural. All of the events within the vicinity of the Intramural is and must be approved by the IA thus the said agency has the list of the approved corporate events for the year (2014).

Data Presentation and Analysis This presents the data gathered based on the information gathered from the IA and the Flyleaf Hotel in Intramural. Table 1 . Corporate Events at the Flyleaf Hotel (August 25-31, 2014) DAYS OF THE WEEK (August 25-31, 2014) No. Of corporate events (Frequency) Monday No data gathered Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 4 Saturday Sunday TOTAL Based on a two-day observation of the corporate events held at the Flyleaf Intramural, it shows that one day of the week (Wednesday) has no corporate event and on the other day of the week (Thursday) has 4 events.

These events are meeting and trainings of the employees of different corporation. So, it is not open to public. Data also shows that the week of day or the schedule of the event is relative on the number of events per day. Though, it could not be concluded since it is only a two-day observation. Table 2. Corporate Event per Day of the Week in Intramural Noun 9 – 15, 2014) DAYS OF THE WEEK (JUNE 9-15, 2014) Friday 3 Table 2 shows that data gathered from the Intramural Administration on a random sampling of a week of the year 2014, it shows that there are only three days (3) in a week with an event and each day has only one event.

“Filipinos are worth dying for. ” this is the famous line of the late senator Noynoy Aquino. Maybe our fellow Filipino who fought for the freedom of the Filipinos from the invaders of our country will also agree with what Noynoy Aquino has said. An Independence Day is an annual celebration commemorating the anniversary of a nation’s assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another state, more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Most countries honor their respective independence day as a national holiday and some countries or nations’ independence-date honors’ are contested.

Independence Day is the day to commemorate all the works of certain people or individuals who contributed much for the liberty of their country. More that celebrating the freedom of the country from slavery, dictatorship and tyrant rule, it is also the day to acknowledge all the sufferings and hardships of these people we called heroes. We recognize their bravery and thank them for all the things they contributed for the freedom of their country and countrymen. June 12, 1898, is a glorious date in the history of the Filipino people. On this day, President Emilio F. Aguinaldo proclaimed the freedom of the Filipino people.

The Philippine national flag was hoisted and the country’s national anthem was played. President Aguinaldo’s proclamation of Philippine Independence not only heralded the birth of a new nation. It also brought glad tidings to the colonial subjects of Asia. It inspired the colonial subjects to struggle to be free. May I ask you this, if our heroes who fought for the freedom can see the current status of our country today, do you think they will be happy? Do think they will be glad that they sacrifice they lives for the sake of our country? . But if you have notice, and based on my opinion some Filipinos doesn’t even know the word peace now.

Yes it’s true that we are now free from any invaders and free from the colonization of other country but in our own native land there is still war, a war against each Filipinos who doesn’t know how to mingle with other Filipinos.. And as we all see our country is currently facing an extreme poverty. There is a very high rate of unemployed Filipinos. There are many Filipinos who are hardly to eat 3 times a day. The continuous oil price hike which has been affecting the prices of all products in the market and industry that also making our life harder. And the continuous growth of population which is caused of unemployment.

People often say that education will be your key to success. But how will you be successful if unemployment is a big problem in our society today. Newly graduates are having a hard time seeking for a job suitable to their taken profession that’s why sometimes they have no choice but to work in a job that is not related to their course only to say that they are employed. We are aware that our native land was blessed with many tourist destination and tourism brought us big contribution in the progression of our country. But what had happened lately at Quirino Grandstand has changed everything.

We are having a hard time convincing tourist to visit our country because of that tragedy. And this affected our country so much. And the never ending issue of terrorism in Mindanao that is always been a subject in peace and order in our country. There is so called government in such country to lead the nation. But what’s happening on our country today is a lot far from this. Our government itself is the one who is putting our economy status miserable because of the word corruption. Instead of handling the nations fund wisely, they are putting it on their personal interest that’s why no projects were been successfully founded.

Yes we are free, free from the manipulation of other country ,but in our country I can say that we are definitely not free. Because we are chained into these different problems. It seems like we are in a battle towards our country problems for us to be totally called free. If only everyone of us were doing our duties and responsibilities as a responsible citizen of our country, and if everything were all in places, can you imagine how beautiful our country is? And through this everyone of us can proudly say that “Filipino’s are really worth dying for “

The World in Rizal’s Time Political Changes Alferez, Alain Jared Aquino, Angelica Atienza, Aldrin Baluyot, Rencie Bernabe, Venzerie Rose Lomibao, Justine 2CA1 1801 The Act of Union, a legislative agreement which united Ireland and Great Britain (England and Scotland) was enacted on January 1, 1801. On 1798, the Irish Rebellion brought the Irish question to the attention of the British Cabinet, and British Prime Minister, William Pitt, was convinced that the best solution was a union.

The 1799 proposal met strong opposition from a number of members and was rejected by majority of the Irish parliament. However, the government pursued in changing the opposition’s view. During the 1800 session of the parliament, the Act of Union was finally passed. In relation to Rizal Rizal crafted a large number of writings that changed many lives of people not only in the Philippines but also in many parts of the world. And one of Rizal’s greatest works, published on the early time of Spanish colonization of the Philippines, is his annotation of Antonio Morga’s “Successo de las Islas Filipinas”.

Dr. Jose Rizal reprinted in Paris Morga’s “Successo de las Islas Filipinas” with his annotation. It described the history of the Philippines before the Spanish period. Rizal had shown through this work of his that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of even long before the Spaniards came the country. 1816 The American Colonization Society was created in an effort to resettle blacks and newly freed slaves. What is ACS? What does it do? Why is it created? What was the issue with the blacks and slaves? Where? When? Who? How?

The American Colonization Society (in full, The Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America), founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the “return” of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen. Its founders were Henry Clay, John Randolph, and Richard Bland Lee. The colonization effort resulted from a mixture of motives. Free blacks, freedmen and their descendants, encountered widespread discrimination in the United States of the early 19th century.

In relation to Rizal Rizal evidently disliked the discrimination of rights between black and white. What event? When? Where? How did he show his opposition to discrimination? Any writings? What did he do for the blacks and the slaves? 1837 Queen Victoria becomes Queen at the age of 18. Britain managed to build a huge empire during the Victorian period. It was also a time of tremendous change in the lives of British people. In 1837, most people lived in villages and worked on the land, by 1901, most lived in towns and worked in officers, shops, and factories.

In relation to Rizal Rizal arrived in London and in Liverpool on May 24, 1888. For a short time, he stayed as a guest of Dr. Antonio Regidor, an exile and a practising lawyer. By the end of May, he transferred to a new boarding house ran by the Breckett Family. It was here that Rizal met Gertrude Breckett, a true-blooded English woman. Her case with Rizal was quite different from others because it was one-way. She showed sign of being very much in love with our hero. 1861 Criminal Law Coordination Act reduced the number of capital crimes to four:

Murder, High Treason, Arson and Piracy. After 1861 capital punishment was only retained for 4 crimes, murder, piracy, arson in the Royal Dockyards and high treason In which country? England, Britain Why was CLCA reduced into four capital crimes? Why were they chosen? More details. In relation to Rizal Rizal was accused of Treason. (Accused as leader of Katipunan/ rebellion) Meaning of Treason betrayal of one’s own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies. Why was Rizal guilty with treason? What did he do? When?

Where? His writings had helped inspire the Philippine Revolution against colonial rule. For 4 years Rizal remained in exile in Dapitan, where he practiced ophthalmology, built a school and waterworks, planned town improvements, wrote, and carried out scientific experiments. Then he successfully petitioned the Spanish government to join the Spanish army in Cuba as a surgeon; but on his way to Spain to enlist, the Philippine revolution broke out, and Rizal was returned from Spain, imprisoned, and tried for false charges of treason and complicity with the revolution.

Connect to Rizal’s martyrdom. His enemies in the government and Church were operating behind the scenes, and he was convicted. The day before he was executed he wrote to a friend: “I am innocent of the crime of rebellion. So I am going to die with a tranquil conscience. ” 1868 Queen Isabella was dethroned and replaced by Miguel Carlos dela Torre In relation to Rizal This happened in Spain (Conservatives wanted a queen as monarch) Why would the queen be dethroned by the general? In relation to Rizal Miguel Carlos dela Torre gave way to Liberalism and freedom of speech.

Element in Spanish society— liberals, reformists (dela Torre) created a Republic Separated state from church. Elected, not appointed. 1869 Suez Canal was opened to the world after 10 years of construction. With collaboration with the French How much time does Suez Canal save? (saved time and effort, goods are transported) (Pwede ata ito sa relation) Everything was transported including IDEAS wherever people go. Ideas from Europe will enter Philippines because of Suez Canal In relation to Rizal Rizal passed through the Suez Canal when he was on his way to the City of Naples. 1874

Former Spanish General Manuel Pavia y Rodriguez dies at Madrid, January 4 at age 67, having ended Spain’s first republic by his coup d’etat of January 1874. More details In relation to Rizal From Barcelona, Rizal moved to Madrid, the capital city of Spain. On November 3, 1882, he enrolled in Medicine and Philosophy and Letters in the Universidad Central de Madrid. He also studies painting and sculpture in the Academy of Arts and took lessons in French, German and English. http://www. capitalpunishmentuk. org/hanging1. html http://legal-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/treason http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/American_Colonization_Society