DWH

CHAPTER 1

AFP DOCTRINES

Section 1-1 Purpose and Scope

1.      Purpose.             The Armed Forces Philippines (AFP) Doctrine Writing Handbook is designed to inform and instruct its readers/users, particularly members of Project Management Teams (PMTs) and doctrine writers,  on how to write AFP doctrine publications.

2.      Scope. In addition to defining doctrine and military doctrine and introducing the AFP doctrine development strategy and process, the AFP Doctrine Writing Handbook covers the research plan, the writing of doctrines (including the elements of style such as readability, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and others) and the citation of sources, as well as the cover design,   and the writing of the preliminary pages and annexes of AFP doctrine publications.

Section 1-2 Definition of Doctrine and Military Doctrine

1. Definition of Doctrine.   Doctrine is a body of principles in any branch of knowledge that is set forth as a speculative and/or self-evident truth, or as speculative working principles as taught or recommended for acceptance by others.  It is based on an accumulation of knowledge gained through experience, study, analysis, test and validation.                                                   

2. Definition of Military Doctrine. Military doctrine is officially believed and taught as the best way to conduct military affairs. It is an authoritative statement of principles for the employment of military resources designed for continuing applicability in war and in peace.

Section 1-3 The AFP Doctrine Development Strategy

and the Doctrine Development Process

1.      AFP Doctrine Development Strategy

a.      The interim AFP Doctrine Development Strategy (AFPDDS) was formulated in compliance to AFP policies contained in the earlier promulgated AFP Doctrine Development Manual, s-2011 (AFPM 8-01). It is also a deliverable of the Philippine Defense Reform Program.  More importantly, it serves to “ … complement, support and reinforce all the components of the AFP modernization efforts” as it is “specifically aimed at validating and revising existing doctrines and formulating new ones in anticipation of changes in strategic, operational, and tactical procedures”. 

b.      The AFPDDS counts among the ways through which the means, that is AFP doctrines, will be developed and employed to attain the ends, referring to the conduct by the AFP of doctrine-led and strategy-driven processes and operations that shall, in turn, lead to the achievement of the AFP mission, which is “to protect the people and secure the sovereignty of the State, and the integrity of the national territory”.

c.      The Strategy will enable the country’s armed forces to be continuously relevant, competent and flexible. It shall be implemented following an indicative albeit time-bounded roadmap that reflects the various activity milestones and target outputs. It is both a plan and a monitoring tool.

2.      AFP Doctrine Development Process (recommended that be deleted)

Contained in AFPM 8-01, the AFP Doctrine Development Process seeks to standardize and institutionalize the doctrine development process toward the efficient formulation of doctrines that respond to the needs of the AFP. It consists of five (5) phases whose activities range from needs determination and the preparation of the Proponent Advice (PAd) for the proposed doctrine publication/manual project to approval and promulgation.

              Figure 3.1 The AFP Doctrine Development Cycle

a.      As early as the first phase, Planning and Initiation, Proponents are assisted by the AFPDDC in the preparation of their PAds to facilitate presentation to and approval by the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Education and Training, OJ8.

b.      During the Research and Development (R & D) phase, the Writer’s Draft produced by the Project Management Team (PMT) and the doctrine writers is submitted for approval to the Proponent through the Unit Doctrine Officer (UDO).  The approved Writer’s Draft is renamed the Proponent-Cleared Draft (PCD), and is endorsed to the AFPDDC. In case of disapproval of the Writer’s Draft, it is returned to the PMT and the doctrine writers, who revise the draft and resubmit the same to the Proponent. The review-for-approval activity is repeated until the Writer’s Draft is approved by the Proponent. The AFP Doctrine Writing Handbook is focused on the R & D phase of the AFP Doctrine Development Process and is aimed at easing the doctrine writing tasks of the Project Officers, Project Management Teams (PMTs) and doctrine writers.

c.      The Test and Evaluation and Validation  (TEV) phase consists of the conduct of TEV with the assistance of the AFPDDC, the incorporation by the PMT of the TEV results into the PCD, and the resubmission of the revised PCD to the AFPDDC by the PMT.

d.      In the case of PCDs that are assessed as doctrine publications/manuals and now designated as Interim, proponents are given a three (3)-month period during which the doctrine publications/manuals are used, recommendations submitted by users to enhance the concepts and procedures contained therein are given due course, and their promulgation recommended by the concerned commanders/ chiefs of units/offices.

e.      The GHQ Directive on Streamlined AFP Doctrine Approval and Promulgation issued on 24 April 2007 is implemented during the Approval and Promulgation phase. It provides the policies on the delineation of authority to streamline the approval and promulgation of AFP doctrines.

f.        Where the tested and evaluated PCD is found satisfactory based on the established parameters and requirements of the Executive Committee (EXECOM) of the AFP Doctrines Board (AFPDB) and of the AFPDB, itself, the latter then endorses the (tested and evaluated) PCD to the Chief of Staff (CSAFP) for approval. This GHQ directive provides that the Chief of Staff (CSAFP) shall approve and promulgate joint and major services basic doctrines, as well as AFP functional doctrines and the operational doctrines of AFPWSSUs and GHQ offices. Moreover, he shall also be the approving authority for the basic and strategic doctrines that will be promulgated by the Secretary of National Defense. The Major Service Commanders shall approve the operational doctrines of the Major Services and subordinate units, as well as the tactical and functional doctrines of the Major Services and units; commanders of the AFPWSSUs and the Unified Commands shall approve the tactical doctrines of the AFPWSSUs and UCs; and the commanders/chiefs/heads of GHQ offices shall approve the technical doctrines and the systems and procedures of units/offices.

g.      At the Publication, Application and Review phase, the AFPDDC informs the Proponent of the approval and promulgation of the doctrine publication/manual and causes the printing and distribution of the said publication.  With the Proponent, the AFPDDC consolidates the feedback on the distributed and applied publications for consideration in the immediate revision or during the prescribed review to be conducted four (4) years after promulgation. In the event that revisions are necessary, the Proponent prepares the PAd which shall then go through all the doctrine development phases earlier discussed. Otherwise, the AFPDDC shall prepare and submit the recommendations to the AFPDB, which shall, in turn, recommend to the CSAFP the continued use of the doctrine publication/manual.

Advocacy and training and application and continuous validation are important in order to instill mastery among the doctrine publication/manual users, and to validate the performance of these publications, respectively.

Section 1-4 Definition of Doctrine Writing

a.      AFP doctrine writing is the recording and presentation of the various military concepts, current conditions, and procedures and practices for the purpose of formalizing, testing and evaluating, and approving said concepts. It entails writing, which includes language in the form of letters, symbols, and words, as well as figures and illustrations,  and composing, revising, editing, and publishing.

b.      It is performed in compliance with the current rules of grammar and citation, the prescribed format (Annex A - AFP Doctrine Format), and proper language, including non-discriminatory language as defined in DND Circular Nr 01 dtd 22 Feb 2011 Subject: Use of Non-Sexist Language in All Official Documents, Communications, and Issuances in the DND (Annex B).

c.      Doctrine writing is the second step of the Research and Development phase of the AFP Doctrine Development Process. It comes after the “Research” and before the “Proponent-Cleared Draft” steps in the Doctrine Development Cycle shown in page 1-2.  

The vision of the total AFP doctrine development effort is the conduct by

the AFP of doctrine-led and strategy-driven processes and operations. Altogether, the AFP Doctrines Development Strategy (AFPDDS) and the AFP Doctrine Development Process, together with the AFP Doctrine Writing Handbook, are essential means of achieving this vision. 

R -JAY PHOTOS

KBPIP ABS-CBN PASIG RIVER’S ‘KISS OF LIFE’ ACCOUNT

FROM KBPIP ABS CBN

This ‘Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig: Pasig River’s ‘Kiss of Life’ Account’ is a document that describes the rehabilitation of Pasig River. It is imperative that the organization behind this initiative is introduced to orient the readers on the force that will steer the project to its completion. The bulk of the document describes the different stakeholders and the corresponding programs that shall revive the River.


PASIG RIVER’S ‘KISS OF LIFE’ ACCOUNT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. BACKGROUND 3
II. THE OBJECTIVE 5
III. THE STRATEGY 7
IV. ESTIMATED TOTAL PROJECT COST FOR ESTERO DE SAN MIGUEL 17
V. THE ORGANIZATION 18





KAPIT BISIG PARA SA ILOG PASIG
PASIG RIVER’S ‘KISS OF LIFE’ ACCOUNT

I. BACKGROUND
The Pasig River (the River) is a 27-kilometer body of water in the Philippines. The River, having 47 tributaries, traverses Metro Manila, capital of the Philippines, and connects Laguna Bay to Manila Bay, passing through eight cities (Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasig, Pasay, Taguig Kalookan, San Juan) and one municipality (Pateros). The Pasig River was once a source of water and a thriving ecosystem that was used for fishing, being a habitat for 25 varieties of fish and 13 different types of aquatic plants. It was a major trading route, serving as the main entry point of international traders who did business with people of Manila called Taga-Ilog, meaning, ‘river dwellers’. This is why the River is said to be intimately connected to Philippine culture and history.
Through the years, the River fell victim to the urbanization of Manila. In 1990, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) declared in a study that the Pasig River was biologically dead. The main reasons for the River’s deterioration were cited to be industrial pollution, solid and liquid waste dumping and urban migration.
Attempts have been done by different organization to clean the Pasig River. Though significant steps have been made, the River still remains the lost muse of Metro Manila with its dark water system and sullied tributaries. Recognizing the need for a broad-based effort to clean the Pasig River, ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. (AFI), a non-government organization created to help the country and its people realize its potential by initiating programs on education, child care, disaster management and the environment, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), a government agency responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the country’s environment and natural resources, through Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), a government agency organized to transform the River and its environs into a showcase of a new quality of urban life, signed a memorandum of agreement in March 2008 to co-manage the rehabilitation of the Pasig River and the tributaries leading to it. This partnership gave birth to Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP), which was formally launched last February 24, 2009.
Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig literally means ‘linking arms for the Pasig River.’ It is the coming together of different sectors – the national government, local government units (LGUs), the military, the police, non-profit organizations, the private sector, local and foreign experts, the communities, the spiritual communities, students and individuals – to once more give a chance to revive this historic river.


II. THE OBJECTIVE
The Vision. KBPIP envisions that Pasig River will be freed from solid wastes, afforded adequate technology to reach an official classification of Class B for the Pasig River and Class C for its tributaries, and allowed to naturally regain its original ecosystem to eventually be inhabited by aquatic creatures, respected and enjoyed by Filipinos. The restoration shall transform surrounding communities, not only through aesthetic improvement, but more importantly, by creating livelihood opportunities and subsequently stimulating affected economies.
H.E.L.P. The project aims to provide Health, Economy, Livelihood and Peace (H.E.L.P.) to all communities involved:
1. Improve people’s Health by offering informal settlers an alternative to squatting and improving the quality of the River’s water;
2. Perk up Economy by employing members of the communities to work for the River’s transformation and opening possibilities of creating businesses as the River gets transformed into a local and tourist destination;
3. Generate Livelihood by setting up programs in the resettlement areas and communities involved and,
4. Establish Peace and Order when the informal settlers are removed from the River’s easements, properly lit guarded by the City.
The Stakeholders. The challenge is to be able to achieve set initiatives involving each of the four major stakeholders of the Pasig River rehabilitation initiative, for a realizable and sustainable vision:
1. The Informal Settlers will be relocated and provided with a resettlement program for a permanent dwelling area away from the River.
2. The River will be cleaned, i.e., accumulated garbage removed, sewage system corrected, surrounding ‘infrastructure’ strengthened and quality of water restored to rebuild a better ecosystem, allowing natural inhabitants to thrive.
3. The Community will be educated and provided for a system to manage solid waste and trained for permanent guardianship of the River to safeguard the River from future abuse.
4. The Public will be made aware of the efforts being done in the River to promote consciousness on proper environment practices.
The idea of chance to bring life to this once supreme river allows the nation to hope for a brighter future for the Filipinos. Within the seven years of work that KBPIP will pour on the River, this is what it hopes to ultimately accomplish, best described by the words of AFI’s managing director and appointed chairman of PRRC, Ms Gina Lopez: “Our work is all about hope. Every time we succeed, we awaken hope in what can be. At the end of the day, everything starts from hope. And that’s what we are all about.”


III. THE STRATEGY
The programs that are being created to rehabilitate the River shall naturally involve the major stakeholders described in the preceding section. As the term ‘Kapit Bisig’ (linking arms) implies, the task is multi-faceted, composed of different programs. Each program is envisioned to cause a ‘ripple effect’, the sum of which is bigger than the collection of its parts, allowing participants to bring about sustainable change to other concerning stakeholders. These programs include the following:
For Informal Settlers:
1. Relocation
2. Provision of resettlement

The relocated families unpack as they arrive in the Bayanijuan relocation site
For the River:
3. Clean-up
4. Infrastructure development
5. Water quality restoration


Everyone working together in cleaning up Estero de Paco

For the Community:
6. Information, Education and Communication campaign,
7. Solid Waste Management
8. Permanent guardianship of the River


Materials Recovery Facility in Baseco, Manila which promotes solid waste management in the area.

For the General Public:
9. Public awareness campaign

Overall Strategy. The project will identify and work on a number of key esteros, setting the system and the technology that will clean and maintain the work done in the River. Initial esteros are identified to be Estero de Paco (having the ideal characteristic of a controlled waterway) and Estero de San Miguel (being the location of the seat of power). The success stories in these esteros will be replicated in other cities through the concomitant effort with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for other cities to do the same. Under the tutelage of KBPIP, the concerned metropolis will take on the effort of rehabilitating the portion of the River within their cities. KBPIP hopes to do this within a period of five years, using the last two years of the project to rehabilitate the main River.
Strategy for the Informal Settlers. Affected families will be removed from the three meter easement of the River and offered various alternatives of relocation. One of these alternatives will be KBPIP’s own resettlement program, Bayanijuan sa Southville 7, where in relocates will be provided the means to a fresh start towards a decent and productive life.

An aerial view of Bayanijuan sa Southville 7
Strategy for the River. Physical rehabilitation of the River requires two things, removal and stoppage of waste from getting in the River and provision of oxygen to allow helpful bacteria to live to naturally clean the River. All solid wastes will be removed from the water and proper infrastructure, such as proper sewage system within the three meter easement and the basin, will be constructed to prevent septic waste from entering the River again. The River will be dredged according to proper depth and slope while the easements will be properly rip-rapped to prevent erosion.
In choosing the right technology to be employed in the River to revive its water, KBPIP will ascertain that this technology is highly efficient, cost effective, adaptable, sturdy, requires low maintenance and environment friendly.
To ensure that the right amount of technology is engaged, KBPIP will form a team of experts, which would include Environment Engineers, Hydraulic Experts, Biologists, Socio-Economist and Civil Engineers among others, to set the technical strategy of the actual cleaning of the River. It will maximize the use of indigenous know-how and foreign methodology as well.
The landscape of the River will be designed with the end vision of providing people access to the River to once more enjoy its splendour - the people and the River coexisting harmoniously. To be incorporated in its transformation is a comprehensive landscaping architecture and environmental planning design, to include transformation of the basin into a green hub, that will allow the people to enjoy the company of the River, either walking along side it, riding its flow or simply appreciating its beauty.
Strategy for the Community. The upkeep of all the efforts done on the River will eventually be turned over to the Local Government Units through its Barangays. The project will heavily involve this populace with the intent of bringing about transformation in attitude and thinking to ensure maintenance of the River. To allow the residents to gain ownership of the efforts, potential guardians which KBPIP will refer to as ‘River Warriors’ will be chosen from the barangay residents. They will be trained and educated in proper management of the environment and they will spear head the change in their communities’ attitude. The Barangay households will be encouraged to practice proper solid waste management through a massive and cutting edge Information, Education and Communication campaign that will declare a revolution against unfriendly environmental habits. Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) will be set up to showcase processing of the segregated waste. The communities will also be involved in the physical work done in the River, allowing each to earn a living or contribute through the act of volunteerism. And when the River is finally transformed into a local or a tourist destination, economic possibilities will be opened to the residents. The sense of ownership that will be created because of these involvements will secure the guardianship of the River.

The River Warriors working together to cleaning up Estero de Paco
Strategy for the General Public. Fun runs and, school and church advocacy programs will be initiated by KBPIP to raise awareness and to stimulate interest in the initiative being taken. Efforts will be zeroed in on the schools and the churches to help echo the heart of the advocacy to a group that can show force, who has the muscle to encourage the rest of the public to support and practice good environment habits. The more interest raised among these organizations and individuals, the more momentum the initiative gains and more support is poured in the project, another ‘ripple effect’ is created.

Linking of the Programs. The different programs will be linked in two ways. First, by the material requirement of the River. The Coco coirs, indigenous material used in the slope edge of the River, will partly be produced in Bayanijuan. One third of it population will be engaged. As this group gain purchasing power, the rest of the businesses within the community will flourish, causing a ‘ripple effect’. Produce of the MRFs, i.e., composts, pavers and hollow blocks will be used for the water edge and landscaping work of the River, enabling the MRFs to support its operation while developing its long term market. The grass planted along the River will be harvested and made into baskets and handicrafts, giving livelihood programs to the nearby communities. The nursery will be set up in La Mesa Park to provide for the plant requirement of the landscaping of the River, allowing production of plants using organic materials. Second, by the IEC campaign that will serve as the undercurrent in transforming all individuals involved in the work in the river, directly or indirectly, in adopting proper habits and practices to care for the River and consequently the environment. Each household will be transformed into an MRF. They will be taught in clusters of 10 to properly communicate the message. Urban gardening will be encouraged to serve as source of additional income for the households, catering not only for their own needs but for the needs of the public, while avoiding use of recyclables, if not, selling them and raising funds. And when the River is finally transformed, the River Warriors together with the communities, the hands that helped in its transformation, will tell its story to the local and foreign tourist in a ‘River Walk’. Economic opportunities are now opened, the River becomes a platform of what can become, from a 27 kilometer septic to an eco hub where quality of life is improved and a culture shift is effected.
Each of the programs contributes to the revitalization of the River, linked together by a common goal, so that, the River now becomes a showcase of HOPE brought about by the linking of programs.

BEFORE: Estero de Paco Headwater (2009)

CURRENT: Estero de Paco Headwater (2010)






BEFORE: Estero de Paco Quirino (2009)


CURRENT: Estero de Paco Quirino (2010)





BEFORE: Estero de Paco Osmeña (2009)


AFTER: Estero de Paco Osmeña (2010)



IV. ESTIMATED TOTAL PROJECT COST
Total Pasig rehabilitation cost is estimated at USD 580MM, broken down as follows:

The cost at first glance would seem astonishingly colossal, but, the price of allowing the River to be affronted is immeasurably sinful and undeniably corrupt. Without measuring the damage it causes to nature, the cost to government in terms of health care due to water borne diseases and methane production, and destruction of property and the loss of lives during a catastrophe because of a clogged waterway far outweighs the cost of a clean-up. And on the other hand, the potential of renewing lives and allowing the River to be a platform for the country to show the world that we too have a plan to clean our act together is of disproportional returns.


V. THE ORGANIZATION
It is common for members of an advocacy group to have a high level of passion for the cause that the group was formed to rally for. What sets this breed apart is not the zeal it possesses but its ability to withstand and survive the filth and despondence that surrounds the work in the River. While this team is composed of people from different backgrounds, each is bonded not only of the organization’s reason for being but more of each individual’s experience of surmounting impossible deadlines and seemingly ridiculous undertakings. The work place has been turned into a playground where each is allowed to be their own person and is expected to play their role, the best way they know how, where laughter is encouraged and where friendships are formed. Should the work be too hard or the beating be too painful, there is a net of support that would cushion the fall and allow its members to bounce back in the game.
The solution for the River’s rehabilitation may be simple but the task is not a trivial issue and the timeline is tight. The organization needs to turn harmoniously guided by a clear strategy in reaching its goal. The organization will keep a policy of transparency, not only on how it spends its resources, the River deserves no less, but it will make clear to all players each step that the project will take to reach the goal. In doing so, it is made clear to everyone as to how they can contribute to this goal and consequently, the project is assured that, in this playground, everyone is singing the same joyous song.
Management will always be involved in any undertaking, be it a clean-up or a representation to donors. It will keep its ears close to the ground and it will listen to the voice of its team in creating its strategies, articulating its approach and operationalizing its plan. It will be a steady hand, a sound mind and a gentle heart that would lead the team to the finish line.

KAPIT BISIG PARA SA ILOG PASIG BELIEVES THAT REVIVING THE RIVER AND THE CONSEQUENT TRANSFORMATION OF ATTITUDES AND LIVES WILL BRING ABOUT THE RESURGENCE OF HOPE …. TO THE NOW PRODUCTIVE RELOCATES, TO THE USEFUL HANDS TWINNING THE COCO FIBERS, TO THE EMPOWERED RIVER WARRIORS, TO THE EARNEST GOVERNMENT PARTICIPANTS, TO THE CHALLENGED BRAINS AND BRAWN OF EXPERTS, TO THE SUPPORTIVE RUNNERS, TO THE BENEVOLENT DONORS, TO THE INFORMED FILIPINO PUBLIC, TO THE FOREIGN EYES, TO THE EAGER YOUTHS, TO THE RADICAL HEARTS OF KBPIP, TO THE DETERMINED DREAMER WHO TOOK ON THE CHALLENGE … THE ‘KISS OF LIFE’ BLOWN TO THE RIVER IS GUSTED BACK BY THE RIVER.

from JESS JACOBE, ET AL

Dear Grace,

Thanks for inviting me to join your committee.

I would like to know what specific project/s we hope to undertake. Will that be solely to cater to the Service Projects of RI D-3780 and the Rotary Clubs or we propose a land use for a specific locality or community in QC or do we work hand in hand with the City's Planning and Development Group (influence any revise planning of an area?) in studying the Land Use/Planning of Q.C.?

If you can't get Arch. Palafox, you can try my professor in Land Use Planning who teaches in UP and Miriam College.

Jess

From your R I District 3780 Urban Planning Committee

Urban planning is a mix of science and art, and integrates various disciplines. It organizes all the elements of a town or city or other urban environments. It determines and draws up plans for the future physical arrangement and socio-economic condition of an area. It is a basic government / public function but participatory planning (or planning with peoples’ and service organizations and cause-oriented and interest groups) continues to gain popularity in world cities.


In the face of scarce financial and other resources, these organizations, including Rotary clubs, are filling in the gaps between actually delivered basic services and the standards and service levels set forth in multi-sectoral city and town plans [physical – environmental balance and clean water, social – community service and development, health, literacy, campaign against hunger, nutrition, shelter, youth programs, and economic opportunities].


These primary and vital services and assistance that are extended by Rotary clubs and Rotary districts and R I, itself (including their partners-in-service), comprise our so-called Service Projects.







In a forthcoming Hands On Presidents’ Meeting, we hope to invite Archt./En.Planner Felino “Jun” Palafox, international planner/designer, or another resource person of similar expertise to undertake advocacy on urban planning and help contextualize our club service projects in the overall development of our city.

The R I District 3780 Urban Planning Committee: PP Grace Ranjo (RC Paraiso)
PP Matthew “Wayne” Wayne (RC Broadway) PP Ver Simbulan (RC Cubao EdSA) PP Jess Jacobe (RC Loyola Heights) PP Ed Madulid (RC Cubao Central)

A Tale of Two Mountain Schools: A True Story

In 1933 and 1977 two schools were established that I shall call “mountain schools”. The first was located beside Lake Eden in Asheville, North Carolina in a village called Black Mountain, hence the name Black Mountain College. The second is nestled in a ridge of Mt. Makiling in Los Baňos, Laguna - the Philippine High School for the Arts. Black Mountain also started in a “ridge”, in the rented YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly buildings south of Black Mountain village (until 1941). The surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains provided a natural setting for excursions and afternoon hikes for Black Mountain ’s first enrollees. Our arts scholars may not have all of mystical Makiling to themselves as they share the mountain with UP Los Baňos, the NPDC’s Pook ni Mariang Makiling resort and the campgrounds of our local Boy Scouts, among others.

Beyond their similar rural locations, Black Mountain College and our national arts high school started out as two very different institutions although it would not be difficult, as we go on, to hold them in the same light, not so much for their both having produced eminent personalities from among their faculty and students but, rather, for the distinctive influence and focus by which they have guided their students to develop their potentials and learn valuable lessons for life.

As to sponsorship, Black Mountain was founded by ex-Rollins College faculty John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, et. al while our government-run national arts high school is one of Imelda Marcos’ noteworthy mementos. Rice and Dreir where among several other professors who resigned or were fired from Rollins, a coed institution established in 1885 in not so distant Winterpark , Florida .

As to curriculum, in Black Mountain “the arts were central to the (tertiary) educational experience rather than on the periphery” as “the college sought to educate the whole student – head, heart and hand – through studies, the experience of living in a small community and manual work”.

On the other hand, the Philippine High School for the Arts or PHSA “implements a special arts curriculum apart from the secondary level subjects prescribed by the Department of Education”. PHSA is the national center for excellence and leadership in arts, research, training, education, and support programs that aims “to develop artistically gifted and talented (children and adolescents) by implementing a special secondary education curriculum and support programs committed to the conservation and promotion of the Filipino artistic and cultural traditions. The young artists-scholars, faculty, and staff view themselves as “cultural workers dedicated to achieving the school’s thrusts characterized by an unwavering pride in the Filipino people's artistic and cultural traditions”.

Aside from academic and artistic training, PHSA provides its students with opportunities to develop their social skills that will contribute to their development as artists for others. The experience of living away from home and integrating with mentors and peers in this residential high school, cultivates in the young artists an attitude of independence tempered by the spirit of cooperation.”

Black Mountain College “was a consciously directed liberal arts school that grew out of the progressive education movement. In its day it was a unique educational experiment for the artists and writers who conducted it and, as such, an important incubator for the American avant garde.” Black Mountain was later to prove itself as an important precursor to and prototype for many of the present day American alternative colleges, e.g. University of California (Santa Cruz), Evergreen State College, New College of Florida, etc.

Liberal arts “denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge …” as differentiated from “the professional, vocational, technical curricula emphasizing specialization”. Contemporary liberal arts comprise studying art, literature, languages, philosophy, politics, history, mathematics, and science. In olden times, liberal arts was “ education proper to a free man” as differentiated from that proper for a slave.

Martianus Capella in the 5th century AD defined the seven liberal arts as: grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. A pagan writer of Late Antiquity and after whom a lunar crater was named, he founded the trivium and quadrivium categories that structured Early Medieval education. He composed his one famous book, fundamental in the history of education, the history of rhetoric and the history of science.

John Dewey’s principles of education were a major influence for Black Mountain . Dewey, with Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, is a founder of the philosophical school of pragmatism and was a leading representative of the progressive movement in U.S. schooling during the first half of the 20th century

“Progressive education is the belief that education must be based on the principle that humans are social animals who learn best in real-life activities with other people.” Progressive-thinking educators “claimed to rely on the best available scientific theories of learning. Most progressive educators believe that children learn as if they were scientists, following a process similar to John Dewey's model of learning: (1) Become aware of the problem; (2) Define the problem, (3) Propose hypotheses to solve it, (4) Evaluate the consequences of the hypotheses from one's past experience, and (5) Test the likeliest solution.”

This roster of Black Mountain ’s eminent faculty and graduates should give us a good view of the courses offered:

1. John Andrew Rice, innovative educator
2. Theodore Dreier, American novelist and journalist, pioneer of the naturalist school and known for portraying characters whose value lies not in their moral code, but in their persistence against all obstacles, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice
3. Buckminster Fuller, who, with student Kenneth Snelson, invented the first geodesic dome (improvised out of slats in the school's back yard),
4. Merce Cunningham, dance
5. John Cage, music
6. Josef Albers, art and design, former Bauhaus teacher
7. Anni Albers (Mrs. Josef Albers), Bauhaus-trained textile designer and weaver
[With the Albers’ arrival, the college became a unique center for the transmission of Bauhaus teaching and philosophy. The presence of refugee artists and scholars was critical to the learning experience at Black Mountain throughout its history.]
8. Heinrich Jalowetz, music (with wife Johanna)
9. Arnold Schoenberg, music
10. Willem de Kooning, art
11. Amedee Ozenfant, art
12. Lyonel Feininger, art
13. Robert Motherwell, art
14. Fannie Hillsmith, art
[de Kooning, Ozenfant, Feininger, Motherwell, and Hillsmith were among the art faculty for the first special summer sessions in 1944 at which time the 1944 Music Institute held to celebrate 70th birthday of Schoenberg and which brought to the small campus the most important interpreters and performers of the music of the composer.]
15. M.C. Richards, literature
16. Albert William Levi, philosophy
17. John Wallen, psychology
18. David Corkran, history
19. Ilya Bolotowsky, art
20. Theodore Rondthaler, history and Latin
21. Trude Guermonprez, weaving
22. Max Wilhelm Dehn, mathematics

For its part, the PHSA curriculum includes the following disciplines and specialized studies for creative and artistic expression:
- Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry, Playwriting, and Journalism in English and Filipino
- Dance: Classical Ballet, Modern, Philippine Folk, Composition and Staging
- Music: Solo Voice/Solo Instrument, Theory, Composition, and Ensemble

Classes (Chorus and Chamber)
- Theater Arts: Acting, Production Management, Technical Theater, History of the
Theater, Theater Theory and Directing
- Visual Arts: Visual Perception, Sculpture, Art Appreciation, Studio Painting,
Materials and Techniques, Figuration, Pottery, and Printmaking

Elective courses that complement the major arts courses are also offered on a semestral basis: Computer Graphics, Photography, Ethnic Ensemble, Rondalla, Music for Non-Music Major, Music for Dancers, Basic Journalism, Ballroom Dance, Basic Acting for Non-Theater Arts Major, Philippine Folk Dance for Ballet Major, Ballet for Philippine Folk Dance Major, Research in the Arts, and Community Service.

Community Service consists of outreach projects held in both rural and urban communities where students share their learnings and experiences via regular recitals, exhibits, competitions, and festivals. PHSA students also participate in local and foreign educational and exposure trips and periodically renowned artists, cultural leaders, government officials, and alumni hold interactions and master classes with the students. “…co-curricular activities for the students include writing for the school paper, attending religious services, coaching peers, managing the Student Council, and a host of other life-enriching experiences”.

The PHSA’s distinguished alumni include Grace Nono (Theater/Music), Raymond Red (Visual Arts/Film), Gerry Leonardo (Visual Arts/Painting and Installations), Shamaine Buencamino (Theater/Film) Hiyas Hila (Music/child prodigy pianist), Soliman Cruz (Theater/Film), Jonathan Zaens (Music/ bass baritone), Biag Gaongen (Theater) and Candice Adea (Ballet).

At its recent 30th commencement exercises, PHSA was formally inaugurated into the Smart Schools Program through which it can make use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the advancement of the arts in terms of integrating in the educational process and in reaching out to a wider public, as well as access to online content, continuing teacher training and free web hosting services.

As the PHSA reaches out to the world via technology, Black Mountain has remained closed for the last 52 years. The college was owned and operated by the faculty so funds were commonly scarce. Due to the impending war in the 40s, the plans for a campus designed by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer had to give way to a simpler plan by American architect A. Lawrence Kocher. During schoolyear 1940-1941, students and faculty constructed several buildings including the Studies Building , a faculty cottage for Heinrich Jalowetz, music teacher, and his wife Johanna.

The Second World War “brought new hardship to the college which was too small to qualify for the wartime programs which sustained many colleges and universities”. Young Americans, including Black Mountain students, joined the war effort, and the school community that remained was made up mostly of older Americans, European refugee faculty and women students. The college nevertheless kept with the times, holding summer work camps to complete the construction of the new campus, and expanding the college farm to provide additional food, and mining mica, a strategic war material.

Approval for benefits under the GI Bill of Rights was critical to the post-war survival of the college. New faculty were hired: Americans interested in an alternative teaching environment, as well as refugee professors from Europe . Young men returning from the war were eager to find a non-authoritarian atmosphere in which to study.

In the spring of 1949, after a year of (intellectual) dissension and bitter conflict, Josef and Anni Albers, Theodore Dreier and other faculty resigned. They had been at the college since its beginnings and had provided continuity and structure. There remained a community divided within itself about the direction the college should take.

In the fall of 1949 Black Mountain faced “the formidable task of healing the badly fractured community, of raising funds, and of reexamining the college’s goals.” An administrator hired to reorganize the college and to raise funds failed to do both. Never theless, until 1953, the college continued to have a general curriculum although the offerings were limited. Although the college continued to espouse the inherited ideals of the 1930s such as community living, a farm, work program, and faculty-run college, the community was, in fact, comprised largely of artists and scholars with little interest in farming, administration or maintenance. Periodic efforts to give the college a more traditional structure and program were unsuccessful. A conventional college with an authoritarian administration inevitably meant a loss of academic and creative freedom. The GI Bill benefits were dwindling, and the conservative atmosphere in the 50s made it virtually impossible for experimental ventures to raise funds. Eventually, the faculty was paid in beef allotments and parcels of property were sold. Finally, in the fall of 1956, the closing the college started but a postmortem issue of the Black Mountain Review, the college’s school paper, did not appear until the autumn of 1957.

One October 1995 reunion, the Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center asked alumni to mount in 18" x 24" panels "letters home to mom," journal entries, art, poetry, photographs, essays and other memorabilia.

The PHSA’s mountain home, Makiling, is threatened by indiscriminate private subdivision and other commercial developments, and a resultant degraded ecology facilitated by corruption at many government levels.

Black Mountain College is now Camp Rockmont , a private, Christian camp serving nearly 1,700 young people from all parts of the world and home to the Black Mountain Festival and the Lake Eden Arts Festival. Listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, its 550 acres of mountainous woodlands and private lake remains a beautiful rustic setting but not as beautiful, perhaps, as when it was home for that one unique experiment in American education then renowned for its an uncommon vitality and responsiveness and remembered until now.

THE OLD HOUSES OF SAN JUAN

(work in progress)

San Juan
San Juan City was once the Municipality of San Juan del Monte until June 17, 2007 when it gained cityhood.

Its borders are Quezon City (N and E), Mandaluyong City (S), and Manila (W), hence its claim to "being in the center" even as it is the second smallest, in land area, among the Metro Manila cities and municipalities - 5.94 sq. kms.- land area, < 1 percent of MM total area. [12º 36’ latitude due M and 121º 02 longitude due E]

In this limited territory, there was recorded in 2006 a population of over 204,000.


Before the Spanish colonistas arrived, San Juan was a village, later an encomienda in the 1590s. Later, as a barrio of Santa Ana de Sapa, it was ruled by the Muslim chieftain, Lakan Tagkan (married to Bouan).


In 1602, the Dominican friars built a retreat house for their immediate use, where aging convalescing friars stayed. Later, the Dominicans Constructed a convent sanctuary and a stone church dedicated to the Holy Cross, a church destined to be ravaged during the Spanish occupation. To this day, the thrice-rebuilt church of the Holy Cross stands on the same site, with the Aquinas School for the boys and the Dominican College (Colegio de Jesus Maria) for the girls. In 1783, San Juan became independent of Sta. Ana but it was still then a barrio.

History remained silent in the town of San Juan until August 30, 1896 when Spanish-Filipino war erupted and became the most inspiring battle in our history, the Battle of San Juan Del Monte.

= the town derived its name from the patron saint San Juan de Bautista (Saint John the Baptist), and “Del Monte,” often annexed to it, was named after the hilly structure of the land. =

Municipality to Highly-Urbanized City

For quite some time, the effort to convert the Municipality into a highly-urbanized city had been difficult. Not only because of its small land area and limited income, but its population, according the National Statistics Office, seemed to be decreasing every census year despite the influx of people due to establishment of high-rise condominiums and business enterprises in the municipality.

In 2006, Representative Ronaldo Zamora re-filed the cityhood bill in the House of Representatives geared with a special computation of its population and boasting of the remarkable 200% increase in its income. It was approved and later forwarded to the Philippine Senate. Both Houses approved the bill and, on March 2008, it was transmitted to the Office of the President for signature. The 30-day veto period lapsed which automatically entitled the provision to a plebiscite.



After months of campaign, the plebiscite was held and received more than 96% of YES votes. On June 17, 2008, Republic Act 9388 Converting the Municipality of San Juan into a Highly Urbanized City was approved.



Location and General Description
San Juan is a small congested City located in the heart of Metro Manila. It is among the smallest political subdivisions of the Metropolis. Its land area of 5.94 sq. kms. accounts for less than 1 percent of the region. Located in the very center of the Metropolis, it is bounded by Manila in the west, Quezon City in the north and Mandaluyong in the east and south, at coordinates.


San Juan may be described as a congested town with very little space for expansion. It is predominantly residential with scattered commercial and manufacturing establishments. The City is politically divided into 2 Districts with 10 barangays in District 1 and 11 barangays in District 2.

Because of its central location and its accessibility to and from all points of the region, San Juan has attracted migrants from other areas. The presence of squatter settlements is a problem the city government has to perennially contend with.

Physical Features

Physiography and Terrain
San Juan is composed entirely of undulating low grade tuffaceous plateau of soil. This means that it has the depth and stability to carry almost any type of construction and it has the ability to absorb and hold water.

Most of San Juan’s terrain is gently rolling with a predominant slope of 2 – 12%. However there are flat areas with a slope of 0 –1% scattered along the western boundary and other parts of the city. Except for these flat areas, the physiography and terrain of San Juan make it ideal for urban development.



Flood and Earthquake Risk
Being in the heart of region’s central plateau, the city is free of earthquake damage risks.
However, areas along the western boundary rimmed by the San Juan River are sometimes visited by floods are barangays Salapan, Balong Bato, Progreso, Rivera, San Perfecto, Batis and sometimes Kabayanan.



Land Use
Of the city’s 5.94 square kilometers total land area, about 63.5% square or 3.77 square kilometers are residential, 16% or 0.95 square kilometers is road network 8.9% or 0.53 square kilometer is commercial, 6.7% or 0.40 square kilometer is institutional and the remaining 4.9% or 0.29 square kilometer is industrial.
Approximately, 10% of San Juan has been rendered unfit for development due to high flood risk and level slope. However, the remaining 90% has very good capacities for urban development.
Based on the proposed land use, the land area intended for commercial use rose significantly to 0.99 square kilometer, representing 17% of the town’s total land area intended for commercial use rose significantly to 0.99 square kilometer, representing 17% of the town’s total land area. Land area proposed for institutional use also expanded to 0.42 square kilometer, accounting for 7.1% of the total. On the other hand, land area designed for residential and industrial uses were reduced to 3.54 and 0.05 square kilometers, respectively. Meanwhile, the land area for road network is still the same at 0.95 square kilometer.



Natural Drainage
Aside from the San Juan River which runs along the western order of the municipality, two narrow creeks outline the north western and south western borders of San Juan. The Ermitaño creek from the northern border of Barangay Pasadena near the creek are also visited by floods due to the presence of the creek.


Maytunas creek, on the other hand, runs along the southern border of the municipality but hardly causes flooding on the surrounding areas.



Population and Demography
Considered as the second smallest in the metropolis, the population of San Juan exhibited a downward trend. From 126,708 inhabitants in 1990, the city’s total population slid to 120,752 in 2002 or a reduction of 4.7%. As a matter of fact, from 1990 onwards, an annual decline in the population has been observed, averaging at 0.39%. This was a stark contrast to the city’s total population of 129,833 in 1980, whose growth was attributed to both migration and natural increase. The town’s total population represents 1.2% of the region’s total.


While a drop in the town’s population was reported, increases in the number of inhabitants were registered in some of its barangays. From the year 2000 to 2002, population growths were reported in eight barangays, with barangay Rivera and St. Joseph registering the biggest growth rates of 26% and 21%, respectively. Other barangays, which exhibited increases in population, include Greenhills, Sta. Lucia, San Perfecto, Salapan, Progreso and Isabelita.


Although San Juan’s total population decreases, its population density on the other hand, rises. Population density is the number of persons per unit of area. From 21,323 persons per square kilometer in 1990, the town’s population density rose to 21,063 persons per square kilometer in 2003.
This indicates that San Juan is becoming less densely populated as the number of people, who live on each square kilometer of its total land area, has reduced to 21,063 persons per square kilometer in 2003 from 21,323 persons per square in 1990.


Of the municipality’s total population, 53% or 64,537 are males while 47% or 56,215 are females.


The population of San Juan is relatively young. 27% or 32,165 people of the town’s inhabitants belong to the age bracket under 1-14 years old.



Copyright © 2008 San Juan City

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