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WHAT IS DIGITAL TRANSPARENCY?

WHAT IS DIGITAL TRANSPARENCY? We keep hearing about “digital transformation” in government. But let me ask a simple question: how can we transform digitally if we are not first transparent digitally? At the local government level, digital transparency in the Philippines revolves around the Full Disclosure Policy (FDP), implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The idea is straightforward: every peso of public funds must be visible online, not buried in dusty filing cabinets. Through the FDP Portal, municipalities, cities, and provinces are required to upload their annual budgets, quarterly cash flow statements, trust fund utilization reports, and even bidding results. If these documents are missing or late, the local government unit (LGU) risks disqualification from the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), a recognition program that comes with incentives. On paper, that sounds impressive. Add to that the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement Sys...
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WHAT IS THE LAW AGAINST ILLEGAL DETENTION OF PATIENTS BY HOSPITALS?

WHAT IS THE LAW AGAINST ILLEGAL DETENTION OF PATIENTS BY HOSPITALS? There should be no confusion about this issue. The law is very clear: hospitals cannot detain patients—or worse, the remains of deceased patients—simply because bills have not been paid. The governing statute is Republic Act No. 9439, otherwise known as the Anti-Hospital Detention Law. Enacted in 2007, it was meant to stop the inhumane practice of “holding hostage” patients who are already medically cleared for discharge. Under this law, once a patient is cleared, he or she must be allowed to leave upon executing a promissory note, secured by a mortgage or a co-maker. Hospitals are also strictly prohibited from withholding cadavers or death certificates due to unpaid bills. Violators face fines ranging from ₱20,000 to ₱50,000, imprisonment of up to six months, and even possible revocation of their license by the Department of Health (DOH). So if the law is clear, why do violations continue? Senior Citizens Party-list R...
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HOW CAN WE GIVE FULL AUTONOMY TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS?

HOW CAN WE GIVE FULL AUTONOMY TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS? When we speak of “full autonomy” for Local Government Units (LGUs), we must ask: autonomy from whom—and for what purpose? The Local Government Code of 1991 was supposed to be our great decentralization experiment. It devolved health, agriculture, and social welfare functions to cities and municipalities. Yet, more than three decades later, many LGUs still act like field offices of the national government rather than self-governing communities. Take one concrete example: the Municipal Treasurer. Under Section 470 of RA 7160, the Treasurer is appointed not by the Mayor but by the Secretary of Finance. The Mayor merely recommends; the Department of Finance decides. The Treasurer is under the Mayor’s administrative supervision but remains technically supervised by the Bureau of Local Government Finance. Why? Because money is power. And power, it seems, is something the center is not ready to release. The same pattern applies elsewher...
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HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE RE-INTEGRATION OF RETURNING OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS?

HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE RE-INTEGRATION OF RETURNING OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS? For decades, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have been our modern-day economic heroes. Their remittances—now consistently exceeding US$35 billion annually according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas—keep our economy afloat. But when they come home for good, are we truly ready for them? As of 2026, the government, through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), has launched the National Reintegration Network (NRN), linking 16 agencies into one coordinated system. On paper, that sounds impressive. Yet many OFWs still complain: “ Pag-uwi namin, parang wala ring malinaw na direksyon. ” So what is the real problem? Is the government not doing enough? Or is everything good on paper but weak in implementation? Or is it simply poor information dissemination? Let me offer some thoughts. First, skill recognition. A project manager in Dubai or a specialized technician in Germany returns home only to be offered entry-...
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IS THERE A GLOBAL TREND TOWARDS AUTONOMOUS REGIONS?

IS THERE A GLOBAL TREND TOWARDS AUTONOMOUS REGIONS? There is a fundamental difference between how the United States of America was formed and how the Republic of the Philippines came into being. The American federal state was born from thirteen pre-existing colonies that decided to unite. In simple terms, the federal government became the “child” of the thirteen states. Residual powers—those not expressly granted to Washington—remained with the states. In our case, it was the other way around. The Philippine nation-state emerged from a colonial transition—first from Spain to the United States, then through a Commonwealth, and finally into an independent republic. Provinces were created afterward. They are, so to speak, the “children” of the Republic. Residual powers were retained by the national government. Now here is the provocative question: What if we reversed the logic? What if, in a constitutional “reset,” the provinces or regions became the source of sovereign authority? What if...
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WHAT IS THE REAL MEANING OF UNDEREMPLOYMENT?

WHAT IS THE REAL MEANING OF UNDEREMPLOYMENT? When we talk about jobs, we often reduce the conversation to a simple question: Are you employed or not? But in real life, it is not that simple. There is a gray area between employment and unemployment, and there is an even grayer area called underemployment. My late brother, Ambassador Roy V. Seneres, used to define underemployment as being forced to work in a job that is below one’s qualifications. That is what economists now call “skills underemployment.” But that is only one face of the problem, and new “faces” have come to light since then. In reality, underemployment has at least three faces. First is economic-underemployment —when a worker wants full-time work but is given only a few hours. A person who works two or three days a week is technically “employed,” but financially struggling. Second is skills-underemployment —the “overqualified” trap. Imagine an engineer driving a tricycle or a licensed teacher selling online products bec...
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WHAT IS THE LOGIC OF A STATE-RUN NATIONAL BUS COMPANY?

WHAT IS THE LOGIC OF A STATE-RUN NATIONAL BUS COMPANY? When I was Director General of the National Computer Center and concurrently head of the National Computer Institute (NCI), I faced a dilemma: was it right for the government to operate a computer school that competed with private institutions? After much thought, I concluded that it was justifiable—if two conditions were met. First, the state-run school must offer better quality at lower cost. Second, even if it lost money, it could be defended if the country urgently needed trained people. In short, public purpose could justify financial loss. That same logic applies to transportation. We once saw this in Philippine Airlines when it was still state-run. The rationale was simple: it could operate “missionary flights” to unprofitable destinations because national connectivity mattered more than margins. Now comes the question: what is the logic of a state-run national bus company? Transportation is not just a business. It is a publ...
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