rePost: Pushing trolleys to make ends meet

Minor quibble, a side line is something you do aside a job/ or side by side a job. When it is your main means of making a living no matter how small or how far from a normal job it is , that is your work and not your sideline.
from Inquirer Blogs here please do read the whole thing:

Pushing trolleys to make ends meet
08/26/08
Posted under Everyday People, Videos
By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – An economic crisis pushes people to engage in sidelines or extra jobs aside from the regular job they are already doing. But for 21-year-old Rodel Rosario of Los Baños, a sideline means the only way of making ends meet.
Pushing a trolley from “Crossing” to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños has become Rodel’s “sideline” for two years now.
“Kung walang trabaho, ito ‘yung sideline ko ang mag-tulak ng trolley[If I have nothing else to do, I push trolleys for sideline], ” he said.
Every morning and afternoon, he is like an ice skater gliding on the train tracks, his feet alternately stepping on the steel (instead of ice) to move the makeshift trolley forward. However, his movement is not as smooth and graceful like an ice skater because his “skating rink” is the railway and his so-called performance is to push the trolley that carries a maximum of five passengers.
A trolley ride costs P25, according to Rosario.

rePost: SC studying expansion of ‘writ of amparo’–Chief Justice

This does not bode well. Judging from the effect of the non decriminalization of squatting in creating a mass of people who are said to be professional squatters (which is just another form of extortion) It’s scary the that the Supreme Court is busying itself with things really beyond its grasp instead of dealing with the hundreds maybe thousands of cases needing a speedy resolution.
from INQUIRER News here please do read the whole thing:

SC studying expansion of ‘writ of amparo’–Chief Justice
By Abigail Kwok, Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:07:00 08/28/2008
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) The Supreme Court is studying the expansion of the powers of the writ of amparo to cover not only extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances but also to protect the economic, social, and cultural rights of the poor, Chief Justice Reynato Puno said Thursday.
Puno disclosed this in his speech at the “Kabuhayan, Karapatan, Katarungan,” a forum on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: Violations and Remedies at the College of Law of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
Puno said that in Latin American countries, the writ of amparo also covered other rights in order to protect the poor.
“We are also studying the possibility of widening the coverage of the writ of amparo by providing protection to economic, social, and cultural rights, including protection against demolitions and bringing the judiciary closer to the poor,” Puno said in Filipino.

Just Start Just Right Just Write

I have been on a self imposed blog diet. I am supposed to not post in anything for a few days and reasses. That’s why I had a somewhat longish post for my last post. And I think I finally got it.
I’ve been telling friends to start, start anything and the fact is that advice lacks its other half.
It’s not simply “Start, just start anything” , the advise should read “Start and continue for at least two weeks”.
The thing is, at least for me Two Weeks is enough to form a habit. Two Weeks daily is enough to destroy good habits or create new ones. And of course I am referring to blogging but not only to blogging or writing. In most any thing I do If I do something obsessively for one week and enjoy it enough to continue doing it unobsessively for another week its already a habit for me.
How do I know that its a habit for me? Short answer is that when eats at you inside when you are not doing it.
The long answer is that it when doing something obsessively for a even a few days its starts to change you. You if what you do produces at least within hour after effects, you begin to yearn for those stimulants or at least actions/reactions. Then if the action is within power to be done these stimuli results in sating this need. What happens next depends on two things the feedback effect and the longterm effects.
How the Feedback affects habit formation is determined by two things; how strong the sensation/stimuli is , how much of this strength is back propagated soon and how tiresome is it to do the habit.  If something is so enjoyable yet is extremely hard to do or is enjoyable yet only after a long period of time , or if something is easy to do and provides feedback instantaneously but is just not that enjoyable; The habit will just not be formed.
The secret is finding the perfect mix of these things and you would would probably be able to form the habit.
Even if an habit is formed early on if it is just not sustainable through a multitude of means or reasons primarily due to scarcity or even worse adverse effects. Actions produce unintended consequences and ones actions now may prevent us from continuing a habit like lack of money , or time or for some activities maybe have helped end what you use to enjoy. Like maybe over fishing a small pond till you eventually leave a population of fish non-existent.
Well the personal part of this post is that I’ve been having this feeling that I am irritating a few people whenever I go about telling them or more accurately urging them to start blogging or writing or do something as a hobby, or do something to enrich their lives , their view or whatever. I get that “just agree” look that people give to those people trying to get them dupe in the lates pyramid/ponzi scheme
(Aside: In a poor country like the Philippines these schemes are a dime a dozen; and I’d bet you would be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know within  about two to three degrees of separation someone who has been duped by a ponzi scheme)
(Follow up Aside: In poor countries ponzi schemes or any get rich quick scheme is bound to be effective. Just look at some countries in africa where albinos are being killed because some body parts are said to bring someone great luck. I pray we do not reach that point. )
Continuing… I have all but learned to ignore that look ang continue trying to get them to do something just through a different way because I assume my present stance is just not convincing them. Its what friends do. I I may not be able to help everyone but hell I’m going to try to at least help someone. I may not be very effective in my advocacy but damn it I will try. I grab what I can get, even if its just convincing someone to start updating their resumes, or getting someone to smile more often, I don’t care or more accurately my mind,psyche, heart can take the extra stress so why not.
Just start. Just Right Just Write or Just Do Something Anything.Please. For You. For Me, but Especially For You!

Call Center Provincial Expansion and Unintended Consequences!

(March 19, 2008)
I’ve been recently going around call centers recently trying to polish my interview skills.
Because of this I’ve been to a lot of websites, local sites and job fairs where call centers have booths.
A welcome trend is emerging. The trend is the constant trickle of jobs to places outside of the Makati Central Business district, the Ortigas Area, Eastwood Libis Area, Alabang Area that probably comprises the center of the Philippines BPO/IT/Call Center Industry. New sites include (from memory not meant to be comprehensive) Angeles, San Fernando Pampanga, Baguio, Antipolo, Cebu as a region, Subic and Clark.
I can think of reasons that necessitate this (okay I cheated, called some friends who worked in call centers mostly middle managers, not the decision makers but at least in the loop.)
More Permanent Reasons

  • Lower Cost – Salary
  • Lower Cost – Rent
  • Local Government Subsidies

Less Permanent Reasons

  • Lower Turnover
  • Smaller Number Of Competitors

In the Philippines the minimum wage is set by the local regional wage boards. The wage boards consist of representative from the government,  business and the labor sector. In the Philippines NCR generally has the highest wages followed by neighboring Regions, then followed by Cebu , and Davao.  This pattern fluctuates depending on the economic health of a regions, although the NCR has the highest wages by at least 5 percent has been true since I started following the regional wages.
This means that barring tremendous growth in economic activity and productivity the cost advantage of provincial call centers are here to stay. I was actually surprised when I found out that the starting salaries of call centers for the same position had around 40-50% difference. Yes I didn’t mistype, Provincial call centers are paying only half of what they are paying to their NCR agents. Another surprising thing is that even with this difference call center jobs in the province are considered high-paying, because anecdotally only the big companies offer salaries that are equal to the regional minimum wage.
The lower turnover is mainly due to the lack of job mobility, there just isn’t any other to go to. One call center is largely the same as another and with the still small number of call centers outside of NCR and Metro Cebu lower turnover for considerable.
The smaller number of competitors is mainly a function of competition. The best paying, best workplace call centers definitely get the best people to work with, which means that a lot of other call centers have to settle with whats left. Call centers that have provincial sites tend to  either pay lower or have less benefits.
The need to reduce cost is mainly due to the overall weakness of the dollar. We must understand that most of these contracts were negotiated during the time when the Peso-Dollar exchange rate was around 55-1 whereas currently (updated as of August 25, 2008) the Peso-Dollar exchange rate is hovering around 45-46 pesos per dollar. For companies that have razor thin margins , the exchange rate is really devastating financially. Moving to places where costs are much lower becomes a necessity especially when it is hard to forecast where the US economy and the Dollar-Peso Exchange rate would be in the near future.
All these factor combine to make provincial expansion a short to long term trend.
Of course if the overall weakness in the US economy continues nobody knows definitively if it would cause a contraction or expansion of Philippine call center industry.
The  influx of disposable cash is important because it is transformative in a way, through unintended consequences will be followed up in a different post.
Some Ideas on what local government units or local groups could do to help this process will be followed up in a different post.
Some problems this may possibly cause will be followed up in a different post.

News Flow ON Mindanao Philippine Government Offensive Against MILF

from ABS-CBN news here
Monday, August 25, 2008 9:47 AM

MILF commander: Forces won’t yield until MOA talks resume

A sub-commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) insisted on Sunday that rebel forces will not stand down until the government resumes negotiations for the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) that seeks to expand the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
At the same time, the MILF sub-chief identified as “Commander Anderson” told ABS-CBN News in Lanao del Sur that the rebel group will not give up sub-commanders Bravo and Umbra Kato.
Anderson, of the MILF’s 116th Base Command, said they will keep on fighting unless the military stands down.
“Ano kami, mga uto-uto? Na paalis mga ngipin namin? Ano nang mangyayari sa amin kung wala kaming ngipin?,” he said.
Anderson, an Islamic studies scholar at the Mindanao State University and a foreign student in Pakistan, once led the MILF in the military’s all-out war against the secessionists in year 2000.
Now, he said that the situation remains the same. He said there is no chance that the MILF will hand over Bravo and Kato, who allegedly led attacks against civilians in Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Sarangani provinces last week.
Stand down or else
In Manila, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said that if MILF chairman Al Haj Murad is not willing to hand over Kato, Bravo and another sub-chief named Commander Pangalianare, rebel forces must stand down because government troops will enforce the law.
“If Chairman Murad is not willing or capable of bringing in his three MILF commanders to answer for their terroristic acts, then he and his men must stand down as government forces enforce the law. Short of that, there will be no let up in government offensive.
He said that short of the surrender, the police and the military will not stop their pursuit operations against the rebels.
“The military and the police cannot suspend their law enforcement operations unless the three base commanders of the MILF  are neutralized and punished in accordance with our laws for their acts of terrorism against innocent  and helpless civilians,” Dureza added.
The press chief added that historically, the three MILF commanders have been recalcitrant despite their group’s negotiations with the government.
“[They] may continue their violent acts even if agreements are signed with the MILF leadership,” he said.
Dureza also said that if Murad wishes to return to the negotiating table, he must show he does not support criminal acts committed by his sub-commanders. He said Murad should hand over the accused to government authorities.
“The inaction of the MILF leadership will be construed as its tacit approval of the criminal acts of its three commander and  will be a clear proof of  MILF leadership’s insincerity to pursue the conclusion of the peace talks,” Dureza said.
Dureza said the government panel certainly wants peace negotiations “but not at the expense of the law”.
“We have gone a long way for peace but not at the expense of our innocent civilians who seek vindication for the violence inflicted on them by those lawless MILF groups. Our peace loving citizens expect no less. There is no all out war in Mindanao. This is waging all-out peace in Mindanao,” he said.

from GMA news here:

Malacañang rejects MILF’s plea to halt massive assault
08/24/2008 | 09:23 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Sunday rejected a call by Muslim guerrillas for a halt in a massive air and ground assault, and instead intensified the four-day attack, capturing a rebel training camp in Maguindanao, officials said.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Al Haj Murad urged the government in a rare news conference Saturday to stop the offensive, warning it could imperil a yearslong peace process and escalate violence in the country’s troubled south.
About 6,000 troops and police commando forces, backed by artillery and bomber aircraft, have attacked guerrilla positions to capture a rebel commander who occupied and looted farming communities in North Cotabato province. Two other commanders are also being hunted who led a rampage last week in which 37 people were shot or hacked to death in Lanao del Norte province.
“There will be no let up in government offensives,” Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said.
He said government forces would “enforce the law” if Murad does not turn over the three commanders for justice. Murad has refused to do so.
After four days of air and artillery strikes and attacks by Army rangers, rebel resistance has softened, allowing troops to capture a guerrilla training camp in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano township, said Army Col. Marlou Salazar, who was overseeing the offensive.
Troops were checking the camp, which has obstacle courses, assembly areas and small buildings for combat training, for possible booby traps and land mines, he said.
“They’re scampering and leaving only token forces to delay our advance,” Salazar told The Associated Press by telephone.
At least 27 guerrillas have been killed and 21 others wounded in three Maguindanao townships where Salazar’s army brigade was pressing its assault against the forces of rebel commander Ameril Umbra Kato. Military and police were continuing a manhunt in nearby Lanao del Norte province for commanders Abdullah Macapaar, also known as Bravo, and Aleem Sulaiman Pangalian.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council reported that at least 40 civilians have been killed and 240,000 displaced by the rebel attacks and the fighting.
“The number keeps growing,” Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral told the AP. “There is fighting that erupts in new places almost every day so more and more are being displaced. So we are hoping that there can be a peaceful resolution very quickly.”
Cabral said the World Food Program has increased its emergency rice supplies for refugees from 400 tons last week to 900 tons.
Murad said government troops were attacking the main rebel forces and not only pursuing the three commanders.

what plea was that when the milf (note sub) commander was calling no cessation until MOA talks resume.
this from  Inquirer news here:

(UPDATE) MILF chief calls for halt to fighting
By Jeoffrey Maitem, Edwin Fernandez
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 14:58:00 08/23/2008
CAMP DARAPANAN, Shariff Kabunsuan — The leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front called for a cessation of military operations against some of its fighters so that government and the rebel group’s peace panels could return to the negotiating table.
But Ebrahim Murad, chief of the country’s largest Moro rebel group, insisted that there was no need to renegotiate the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).
He said for both panels to resume the negotiations, the military should put an end to its operations against MILF commanders in Maguindanao and Lanao Del Norte.
“We are calling for a cessation of hostilities. We can go back again to the negotiating table with Malaysia as mediator. But the MOA-AD issue is non-negotiable. It’s a done deal,” Murad said.
Murad said the MILF was willing to return to the negotiating table to discuss the MOA-AD, the issue of the International Monitoring Team with its Malaysian members’ tour of duty ending this month and the issue of two MILF commanders who led the attacks in North Cotabato and Lanao Del Norte.
Murad also warned of a possible collapse of the peace talks if the government would not reconsider its position of “reviewing” the MOA-AD.

latest news from inquirer here:

2 Kato camps fall, says military
But AFP can’t find MILF leader
By Nikko Dizon, Jeffrey Maitem, Nash Maulana
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:10:00 08/25/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Government forces pursuing Ameril Ombra Kato Sunday said they had overrun two of his encampments but had found no trace of the wily Moro commander blamed for the recent surge of violence in Central Mindanao, the military reported.
But the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) denied military claims that two “satellite camps” of Kato had fallen. MILF civil-military chief Eid Kabalu said the military must have been referring to “positions.”
Col. Marlou Salazar, the 601st Army Brigade commander based in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao province, said his forces on Sunday drove Kato’s men from what he called an MILF training camp in the remote village of Pusaw in Mamasapano.
Salazar said the Pusaw camp fell Sunday after an overnight artillery barrage and a bombing run by an OV10 aircraft.
On Friday, the military also claimed to have captured Kato’s satellite facility—called Camp Vietnam—in nearby Datu Piang after pounding it with artillery fire and air strikes. Salazar did not give details on what that facility was or how many rebels were dislodged there.
In all, Salazar said, MILF fighters had been driven away from five villages.
Agence France Presse, in a report attributed to military spokesperson Col. Julieto Ando, said more than 100 MILF fighters had been killed in four days of fighting.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer could not independently confirm Ando’s claim. Kabalu said only that the MILF had suffered seven dead and eight wounded.
Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said that as of Sunday, 13 soldiers and four militiamen had been killed and 62 soldiers wounded mostly in ambushes in Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in Camp Aguinaldo said 49 civilians had been killed and 65 wounded in the upsurge of violence in Mindanao since the scuttled signing of a memorandum of agreement with the MILF in Malaysia on Aug. 5 triggered impatient MILF commanders to go on a rampage.
240,000 affected
The NDCC said fighting had also “affected” 240,000 people who were either robbery victims, or had their houses strafed or burned, or had lost their livelihood. Of the affected people, 75,000 remained in 104 evacuation centers.
Salazar told the Inquirer in a phone interview that the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion overran the Pusaw camp located near the boundary of Mamasapano and Datu Piang towns at 3 p.m. Sunday, and that there was only “token resistance.”
Kabalu also said that aside from fighting in Maguindanao, MILF rebels were also engaged in clashes with the military in Barangay Pananag, Maasim, Sarangani; Midsayap, North Cotabato; and Guindulungan, Maguindanao.
He said that four to five days ago, the military attacked the MILF’s peacekeeping task force in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao while trying to restore law and order in the barangays (villages) where there had been a “rido” or clan war.
“We are on active defense. We can also attack as long as it’s necessary,” he added.

probably a play for foreign military aid
from philstar here:

MILF raiders linked to JI
By Paolo Romero
Monday, August 25, 2008
Rogue commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have strong ties with extremists, including the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and would continue to sow terror even when a final peace agreement is forged with the separatist group, security and intelligence officials said yesterday.
Malacañang, on the other hand, has accused the MILF leadership of authorizing the atrocities, putting into question their sincerity in pursuing peace talks with the government.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said Ameril Umbra Kato and Abdurahman Macapaar alias Commander Bravo, heads of the MILF’s 105th and 102nd base command, respectively, are not likely to heed orders from the leadership of the Muslim rebel group to yield or stop their atrocities owing to their extremist leanings.
Gonzales’ disclosure came amid calls for the government to officially declare the MILF or at least the two commanders as terrorists. He said a relative of Kato, Umberil Kato, also has ties with the JI.
“We have been receiving reports for quite some time that Kato is more of a JI than an MILF leader,” Gonzales told The STAR. “And we have not disregarded these reports.”

Migraines Blogging

Had mild migraines, fever and flu starting friday and til now, but missing the net cause looking at the monitor makes me weezy. Ok hope I get well soon!

Ideal To Aspire To

from the new yorker here

Mikhail Gromov, the Russian geometer, said that he understood Perelman’s logic: “To do great work, you have to have a pure mind. You can think only about the mathematics. Everything else is human weakness. Accepting prizes is showing weakness.” Others might view Perelman’s refusal to accept a Fields as arrogant, Gromov said, but his principles are admirable. “The ideal scientist does science and cares about nothing else,” he said. “He wants to live this ideal. Now, I don’t think he really lives on this ideal plane. But he wants to.”

We Would All Be Better If…

We cared more of substance than fluff. The fields doesn’t matter, recognition doesn’t  matter. I don’t like sounding like a Randite but it is very true. We give value to something we must choose the right things to value.
from the new yorker here

Ball wanted to keep his visit a secret—the names of Fields Medal recipients are announced officially at the awards ceremony—and the conference center where he met with Perelman was deserted. For ten hours over two days, he tried to persuade Perelman to agree to accept the prize. Perelman, a slender, balding man with a curly beard, bushy eyebrows, and blue-green eyes, listened politely. He had not spoken English for three years, but he fluently parried Ball’s entreaties, at one point taking Ball on a long walk—one of Perelman’s favorite activities. As he summed up the conversation two weeks later: “He proposed to me three alternatives: accept and come; accept and don’t come, and we will send you the medal later; third, I don’t accept the prize. From the very beginning, I told him I have chosen the third one.” The Fields Medal held no interest for him, Perelman explained. “It was completely irrelevant for me,” he said. “Everybody understood that if the proof is correct then no other recognition is needed.”

rePost: Democrats in Manila to motor for Barack Obama on Sunday

I think I’ll go to this event just out of curiousity. hehehe!
Democrats in Manila to motor for Barack Obama on Sunday
JOE GALVEZ, GMANews.TV
08/22/2008 | 06:13 PM
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American Democrats and supporters of US presidential hopeful Barack Obama in the Philippines will gather on Sunday, August 24, for the “Yes We Span” motorcade from the Rajah Sulayman Park in Malate to the foot of Quezon Bridge in Lawton, Manila.
Ben Razon, a member of the Democrats Abroad Philippines Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) team said that, “the event is timed with the kick-off of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), and the acceptance of the nomination of Barack Obama for President of the United States.”
Razon said that the event also aims to raise voter registration awareness among Filipino-Americans and US citizen residents in the Philippines.
“This is Manila’s version of more than 50 such events held around the world to mark Senator Obama’s commitment to build bridges across party, ethic and all other lines to reach solutions to our common problems in the US and around the world,” said Razon. “Please join us to show your support.”
The preliminary meet-up location of participants for the Quezon Bridge Yes We Span event is at the parking area of the Aristocrat Restaurant at Rajah Sulayman Park, Malate Church off Roxas Boulevard, from 9:30 am to 10 am, after which the group is to proceed in a vehicle convoy to Quezon Bridge at 10 a.m.
For those driving from the meet-up site to Quezon Bridge, the route is to take Roxas Boulevard straight toward Luneta (Rizal Park and Manila Hotel), turn right at P. Burgos St. through and past the National Museum and Manila City Hall, taking rightmost lane until reaching Metropolitan Theater Building and Park ‘N Ride on the right where the group is encouraged to park their vehicles.
Other events
David McCauley, vice chairman of DAPhilippines said that Georgia McCauley, chair of DA-Philippines, will be representing the group as an Alternate Delegate at the convention – starting next Monday, August 25 (Tuesday morning, Philippine time).
“We are still pushing hard to get US citizens resident in the Philippines to register and vote in the November election,” McCauley said in his email to the members. “Please help by promoting the website www.votefromabroad.org to any and all who are interested. Please try to deliver at least 10 additional votes to get the change we need in the US and around the world.”
Razon said that several events have been planned to raise awareness about absentee voting and otherwise gain support for the election of Senator Obama.
On Friday, August 29, between 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m, during Obama’s acceptance speech, Democrats in Manila will meet at TGI Friday’s Restaurant on High Street, Fort Bonifacio to hear David McCauley speak from his vantage as an Obama family friend about the candidate’s Asian and Pacific roots and world view.
McCauley said that there are an estimated 100,000 potential American voters in the Philippines. Many of them have ties to key battleground states, such as Nevada or Virginia.
Additional information on these and other events can be found at www.democratsabroad.org/group/philippines. – GMANews.TV

rePost: AFP limits targets to 3 MILF base camps to achieve 'all-out peace'

Peace cannot be had by war. At best what you get is a form of muffled war. Peace can only begot by unceasing effort to understand and to explain.
from GMA news here:

AFP limits targets to 3 MILF base camps to achieve ‘all-out peace’
08/22/2008 | 09:02 PM
MANILA, Philippines – The only military targets in Mindanao are the “recalcitrant” members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), particularly those in the 102nd Base Command under Abdurahman Macapaar (alias Bravo), the 103rd headed by Aleem Sulaiman Pangalian, and the 105th under Umbra Kato.
The military has tagged the three commanders as those who led the attacks that targeted even civilians in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, and Sarangani.
Military operations are necessary, without launching an “all-out war,” for the government to achieve “all-out peace,” President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on Friday.
“Peace should be anchored on justice,” Arroyo said, repeating her call to the MILF leadership to turn in the three breakaway leaders so that they could face the charges filed against them by the Philippine National Police.
The troops now in Mindanao are enough to go after the fugitives and protect the people from further terrorism, according to the Arroyo.