Blog 7: Training and Observation under Ateneo School of Government

FINAL TOUCHES OF THE DESK REVIEW
(7th week: February 22-24, 2011)

Our last task in ASoG is to write a synthesis out of the desk review that we accomplished.

Here's one of the syntheses that I wrote for the ILO study:

Synthesis

These sets of data were gathered and serve as the desk review or the secondary data in assessing capacities and training needs of LGU’s on Local Economic Development (LED): An Assessment of four provinces in the Philippines. These related facts will further supplement the undertaking of the said assessment. The amalgamations of data are the following:

The people of Masbate are known as best in agriculture, history, politics and geography means. The province is composed of 1 city, 20 municipalities and a total number of 550 barangays. All towns of Masbate are adjacent to the aquatic resources.

The population growth of the province has been erratic due to lack of economic opportunity especially on its city. Masbate City has the most number of people recorded along with its municipalities. Next to it is the municipalities of Aroroy and Cawayan. On the entirety, 15.8% of which is classified into the youth sector. Male youths are of great number than female.

It was projected by the National Statistics Office that the population of the Masbate by 2015 will raise at 960, 600 from 870,200 of 2010. This indicates that the growing population of the province is in more need of the substantial necessitates especially to those who belong to the youth sector.

On the business environment, banking and insurance, food establishments and other commercial activities brought some investments to the city between year 1996 and 2001. The construction industry on the other hand has also generated a great amount of income in the same period and absorbed the greatest number of unemployed workers in the process. The highest investment was generated in trading industry through retail and wholesale activities that make almost 40% if the city’s population employed. Manufacturing-related activities are limited to bakery operations, fish processing and some handicrafts and furniture shops.

The banking industry in the province is highly communal mostly in the City. Still, remittance companies were also present in the other towns of Masbate. The reason for the increasing number of banks and pawnshops in Masbate was because of the huge number of work migrants originally from Masbate and now working in other places, particularly Manila and abroad. They send money to their families through money remittance companies on a regular basis.

The province has engraved a salient economic niche in the Philippines based on its thriving livestock and metallic mining industries. With these industries, the growth of the foundation is further assured. Its economy is largely dependent on the trading of livestock and fishery of the province. Its city serves as the intra-provincial distributor of goods entering the port of Masbate as well as the service and institutional center of the entire province.

Masbate has plenty of preferred investment areas. Among them are nursery operation, mango production, and processing corn and feed grain production, industrial tree, cutflower production, and gold production, cattle fattening, wine breeding, broiler production, layer production, lapu-lapu culture, crab fattening, agro-industrial estate, feedmills, sea transportation, airlines, bus terminals with amenities like malls, shopping centers, passengers waiting area, comfort rooms, power plant, modernized printing/publishing center, rural bank, local travel agency, water sewerage system, ship building/breaking and repair, food processing, leathercraft, non-metal craft, coconut production and by-products processing, organic fertilizer production, pharmaceutical products, manpower placement agency, and tourist estate. Establishment of tourism accommodation facilities like hotels, resorts, apartels, pension houses, and tourist inns are also preferred that will definitely alleviate the employment rate of the province.

Major institutions of higher learning in the province of Masbate mainly offer health care services, food and beverage, commercial cooking, automotive mechanic, welding and computer-related courses. These courses offered by schools and technical training institutions were geared mostly to the need of the overseas labor market.

The government programs at the provincial level have its visible program for youth development. These programs mainly focus on trainings on computer literacy, entrepreneurship mostly to in-school youth and livelihood projects funded by Department of Agriculture.

Masbate has its entrepreneurship opportunities that have the most chance of succeeding in as much as they respond to the current abundance of raw materials in specific localities in the province and a ready market exists for them. These entrepreneurship opportunities are fish and sea products processing, seaweed, aquaculture, bamboo, abaca, value-adding traditional agricultural crops (e.g.rice, coconut and corn), high value crops and food processing, livestock and fowl, trading, tourism and ecotourism and native arts and crafts.

Blog 6: Training and Observation under Ateneo School of Government

THE DESK REVIEW
(6th week: February 16-18,2011)

On this week, we accomplished the desk review and have acquired with the deadline.

Here are the contents of what we've done for the desk review:

The Province-Specific Findings are:

I. The Province
1. Brief Profile: Situationer
2. Led Profiling: Areas of Investigation
a. Stakeholders’ Competencies
Business Competency
- Business Environment
- Local Government Financial Resources
- Banking Industry
- Investment Areas
Youth Competency and its Entrepreneurial Capacity
- Youth Educational Attainment
- Youth Disadvantaged Sector
- Cases of OSY, Youth Unemployment and Returning Migrants
- LED Programs available for the Youth
- Entrepreneurial Capacity of Youth
Education and Manpower Competency
- Education and Manpower Development
- Higher Educational Institutions
b. Social Protection
Social Development Programs
Economic Development Programs
Environmental Management
c. Gender Equality
Gender Equality and Sensitivity Issues focusing on Youth Employment
Disadvantaged Youth Sector (OSY and Returning Migrants
GAD Programs available for the Youth
Gender Codes in Masbate
d. LED Institutions
Public-Private Partnership
e. Labor Supply and Local Industries
f. Work Environment
g. Infrastructure Support
h. Potential Economic Drivers
3. Synthesis

Blog 5: Training and Observation under Ateneo School of Government

PROFILING OF THE FOUR PROVINCES
(5th week: February 08-09, 2011)

Since the study will cover the four provinces, we divided the task into 2 with my bud Reynald. the two provinces assigned to me are the provinces of Masbate and Antique. After the pre-testing survey, we are assigned to do a desk review out of the secondary data from internet and from the offices that we need to communicate with.

Our first task for this ILO study is to accomplish a desk review and have a final write-up. As a preliminary paper that we need to pass, we first did the profile of these provinces and here is our accomplished task.

Blog 4: Training and Observation under Ateneo School of Government

THE PRE-TESTING
(4th week: February 01-04, 2011)

The next week, we went to CARITAS in Pandacan to conduct the pre-test survey and interview using the edited instrument that we made. It was a great experience of meeting several people who are willing to participate in this kind of activity. We are also very grateful to be part of this process. Experience is indeed a good investment to have a successful plan in the future.

We were tasked to do the key informant interview and focus group discussion on that day. I am very proud to be part of this team since I am already acquiring the lessons I learned in the academe. I was also having a great feeling of everything I knew related in my course will be used when I get a job in the near future.

Soon after we conducted the pre-testing, the team had a meeting to discuss the flaws that we encountered during the data gathering.

Blog 3: Training and Observation under Ateneo School of Government

FORMULATING THE INSTRUMENT
(3rd week: January 25-27, 2011)

Accompanied by ate Karen, who is an employee in Ateneo School of Government, Executive Education Program, and Reynald, we were called by Ms. Aurma Manlangit for an important meeting. She told us that we’ll be part of a big project that International Labour Organization (ILO) and ASoG will do. This research project is about the Assessing Capacities and Training Needs of LGUs on Local Economic Development (LED): An Assessment of Four Provinces in the Philippines. These four provinces are Masbate, Antique, Agusan del Sur and Maguindanao. First task that we did is to accomplish an instrument anchored to the formulated objectives of the study.

After reading all the materials that we need in formulating the instrument, Reynald and I had a brainstorming session to create questions anchored to the objectives of the study. We then also ask pieces of advice on how to accomplish our task well to ate Karen and ate Rose Ann. That was really a big task for us, but still, we gave our biggest shot and fullest effort to come-up with a good instrument. This is our output on the 3rd week training under ASoG.





I am very glad that the real training that I am looking for finally gave its clear vision. I know that this could be a tough work for me but I know that this is my baon when I enter the real world that I am about to see.

On that same week, we met Sir Caezar, a hired senior researcher to go through with us during the research undertaking. Since the study will cover the four provinces in the Philippines, we are hoping to be part of the data generation team so that we formally feel and experience the process of getting information needed for the completion of the study.

Blog 2: Training and Observation under Ateneo School of Government

FINAL OUTPUT OF THE DOCUMENTATION
(2nd week: January 18-21, 2011)

On my first day in ASoG, I saw ate Rose Ann Cruz, an alumnae of batch 2010 in PUP-CommRes. She graduated with Magna Cum Laude honor and she was the one who delivered the valedictory address during their commencement day. I had a thought of having a jampacked training under ASoG since ate Rose also accomplished her internship in the same office. Without any interview, Ms. Aurma Manlangit, the director of the JVO Executive Education Program, explained to me the task that I was about to do on that day. She instructed me to document the whole process of the seminar-workshop about policy making. Its participants are the superintendents and high school teachers who came from the different region of Visayas. :D

It was indeed a stressful week for me. That’s how I described my first week stay in ASoG. Almost 180 hours were left to accomplish my final requirement as an intern. It has been still a long long run of draining my brain in doing bunch of write-ups for this training yet I am very grateful to have this very extensive training in preparation for the job I am about to have after graduation. This is really a good start for me, to whatever I face in the future; I will be able to conquer it in wholeheartedly manner. This could be a lesson of life that I should always bare in my mind. It is definitely true that hardwork is the best investment a man can make.

I gained so much knowledge on that training. I met several people who are really smart and professionals. On a lighter note, I actually felt outcast to the environment that I was into by that time. Kaya medyo nanibago ako sa mga kaganapang nasasaksihan ko. I had a hardtime to accomplish my task since that it's my first time to document a whole training program and I was not totally guided with my boss. Kaya kung ano ano na lang yung sinusulat kong notes mula sa training na dino-document ko. But it was fun on the other hand for the reason that you will really learn a lot of stuff. I realized that it is better to be physically stressed than mentally. You can’t do anything if you’re mentally stressed.

On the second week, to come-up with my final report of the seminar, I consolidated all the notes that I have jotted down during the training. I got this feeling that I drove in a not-so-good final write-up on this task. Good thing that it was just a 2-day seminar-workshop.

Boss is already asking for the final report that I have to pass within the week. It’s already Saturday and I haven’t finished my report yet. She told me to send my report to kuya isko (part-time researcher in Executive Education Program) for him to make the final output of the documentation. By this time, I have acquired with the deadline.

Blog 1: Training and Observation under Ateneo School of Government

THE SEARCH IS ON...
(1st week: January 12,13,2011)

Excitement stroked me soon after we defended our undergraduate thesis for the reason that we can finally start entering the maze of finding an office to undergo for the on-the-job training.



We started finding an office for OJT last December. GMA7, ABS-CBN, Ibon Foundation, TV5 are some of my options to submit for an application. I heard that GMA7 is not accepting interns yet. I then called the office of the network to confirm on this. They told me that there are no vacancies for interns and they will start accepting trainees in summer time. Upon knowing this, I immediately work on my curriculum vitae (CV) to apply on my other target offices.

CV will serve as a marketing tool to souk us in preparation to the real world of having a decent job after college. This will also serve as a basis in getting primary information about the applicant to whoever will conduct an interview. Since I am just applying for a practicum, I didn’t expect at all that interview will be done. Though my CV is not a well-constructed one because I exceeded to the 2-page requirement, I make it to the point that I can still empress the person who will do the interview.

The true process of learning cannot only be obtained in the academe but most of the time in the places that we are normally embrace and will be embracing especially in the workplace. I was confident enough to what I have written and included to my CV. First stop, TV5. I was accompanied by my other aspirant friends when I went to TV5. We went to the HR office of the said network and waited for the notice of Ms. HR. After some time, she confronted us and announced that they’re not already accepting interns for the reason they have enough trainees by then. She also told us that she’ll transfer our CV’s to the news department where still it has more vacancies for interns and they will call us back soon our CV’s have processed.

I don’t want to give any hope on that call since it is better to apply more offices for high chances of getting accepted. We enthusiastically left the place and went to Ibon Foundation to render our application. Luckily, we are notified to start our internship on their office after a week.

On our first day, internship orientation and tour at the office was carried out. On that same day, we are divided according to our designated offices. I was assigned in the logistics office were lots of newly published books are being printed. Together with my two colleagues, we roamed around by our boss to logistics office and to its publishing house. He then explained to us the process of printing books from lay outing, editing, printing, cutting, and folding and up to the final packaging of the books. He then also explained to us the tasks that we’re about to do. We are assigned to check and look on the deficiencies that the newly printed books have. It was indeed a boring task for us yet we are very grateful that the foundation accepted our applications.

Afternoon on that same day, I received a call from someone who is not on my phone book list. An employee from Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) notified me to report early in the morning at the MMLDC Hotel in Antipolo to formally start my internship period on their office. I was very astounded, thankful and at the same time nervous. Since I have just started my internship in Ibon foundation and since I know that I will extensively use and further enhance my writing skills in ASoG, I hastily decided to pursue my training in Ateneo and give a formal notice of resignation to the office of Ibon.