Paru-parong Bukid (English translation)

Butterfly from the field English Translation by Roberto Verzola Paru-parong Bukid Traditional Filipino folk song I just saw a butterfly, flitting and floating by; waiting by the main trail, fluttering in the air. Sari wrapped around her, sleeves as wide as my palm, Skirt’s a trifle oversized, ends dragging on the ground. – Her hair [...]

Leron, Leron sinta (English translation)

Leron-leron my love English translation by Roberto Verzola Leron, Leron sinta Traditional Filipino folk song Leron, leron my love, papaya seeds above. He took a bamboo box to keep the fruits he’d get. Then as he neared the top, the entire branch broke up. “It’s not my lucky day; I’ll find another way!” – I [...]

Electronic voting, electronic cheating?

When I was awarded a six-week research fellowship by the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute, I chose to focus on electronic voting. (The term more commonly used in the Philippines is “automated elections”.) My research confirmed my initial suspicion that electronic voting and counting machines bring their own set of troubles. I realized that the [...]

Sustainability through permanent agriculture

How does one design a farm so that it is environmentally-friendly and economically viable as well? To many Filipino farmers, this question has not even occurred. Most tenants and farm workers have little say in running the farms they work in, much less in redesigning them. Even farmer-owners often simply take the existing farm set-up [...]

Why buy what you can copy for free?

Computers today have become standard equipment in government, businesses, schools and even non-government organizations. In the past, when one bought a computer, it came with the operating system and applications software at no extra cost. Today, commercial software — Windows and MS-Office of Microsoft, for instance — cost several thousand pesos for a single copy. [...]

Indigenous microorganisms (IMO)

A new concoction is becoming increasingly popular among farmers. Usually called indigenous microorganisms (IMO), this concoction has been successfully tried by government agriculturists, academic researchers and non-profit foundations alike. They have found it useful in removing bad odors from animal wastes, hastening composting, and contributing to crops’ general health. To make your own IMO, follow [...]

Worse than colonialism

According to most estimates, some 85% of the entire Philippine national budget now goes to debt payments – principal and interest. This is often cited as the reason more taxes, such as the VAT, the E-VAT, and now the R-VAT, have to be collected. Consider the significance of this fact: it means that 85% of [...]

Where medical care is free

When people get sick, in the U.S., the Philippines and many other countries, one of their worst fears is the prospect of long-term hospitalization and medical care. Medical and hospitalization costs are so expensive nowadays that many middle-class families will suddenly find themselves impoverished if a member were to be hospitalized for more than a [...]

Cow’s milk is for calves

A recent TV breastfeeding ad says: “Dog’s milk is for pups. Pig’s milk is for piglets. What about cow’s milk? Your baby is not a cow!” Indeed, cow’s milk is for calves, whose main need is muscular growth. Mother’s milk is for babies, whose main need is brain development. In fact, commercial cow’s milk is [...]

Philippine environmental situationer

Although I wrote this situationer (download Philippine environmental situationer, 150kb) several years ago, much of what it says remains valid; and the situation is probably worse today. What should be interesting about this situationer is that it reflects the unique analysis of the Philippine Greens, a political movement that I belong to. It is especially [...]

Why I like Python

No, that’s not a kind of snake. Python is a programming language. I don’t do too much programming nowadays, but when I do, Python is my programming language of choice. I like Python for several reasons: It is object-oriented, which means you can work with an abstract data type that combines data and methods in [...]

Learning arithmetic

My attitude towards learning and education has been shaped by my own experience as well as by authors like A.S. Neill and John Holt, who represent what might be called the “free school” (“free” as in freedom) approach. Taking a cue from software, this might also be called the “free/open school” approach, an approach that [...]

Going nuclear

There is talk that as oil runs out, the Philippines may need to go nuclear in the future. Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes says his office is currently studying the nuclear option. More than a year ago, I wrote about this issue in a piece I presented in a round-table discussion sponsored by the business community. [...]

Learning to ride a bicycle

According to the book Human Scale by Kirkpatrick Sale, the most efficient form of transportation on earth is the bicycle. In terms of converting energy to motion, the book says, the bicycle is more efficient than a horse, fish, bird, mouse, car, helicopter, plane, jet, or any other animal or machine. Given the increasing cost [...]

An old comment haunts me

It turns out that I wrote two versions of the piece on the financial crisis I posted earlier. The other version, which you’ll find posted here, says basically the same thing but contains the following comment which now haunts me. I had written: “Unfortunately, most economists appear to have little understanding of system design. (When [...]

The world financial crisis: a programmer’s perspective

I wrote the piece below some ten years ago, during the height of the Asian financial crisis. Because of its relevance to the current global crisis, I’m posting the piece here. Globalization: poor design? by Roberto Verzola Most successful designers of complex systems follow basic rules of design. Whether it is a spaceship that will [...]

Final exams (and learning how to swim)

It’s that time of year… I just took my final exams in Mathematical Economics. One more exam to go. The experience of taking that finals reminds me of the swimming lessons I took before my teens. (This was in the sixties, if you must know.) Every summer, the Bernardo Park in Quezon City offered formal [...]