28 years
of
Community Service
MUNTING NAYON
News Magazine
Operated by couple Eddie Flores and Orquidia Valenzuela
News and Views of the
Filipino Community Worldwide
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM




By Jorge D. Lomboy

 
 


As a prelude, let me take you through a guided tour of the constitutions of our homeland, our domicile of origin.  First we have the 1899 Constitution, known as the Malolos Constitution.  Then we have the 1935 Constitution of the commonwealth period.  Then we have the 1973 martial law Constitution followed the by the 1986 provisional Constitution. And now we have the Constitution of 1987 which was drafted by a constitutional commission of 47 members chaired by the late Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma.  

A constitution is a written instrument embodying the rules of a political or social organization.  The all-embracing 1987 Constitution is more of a statute rather than a constitution for it shows statutory language and not constitutional language which is broad, brief and definite.  As an overview, all of our constitutions are stuffed with a wish list.

Article XVIII, Section 27 of the 1987 Constitution expressly provides that upon ratification by a majority of votes cast in a plebiscite, the 1987 Constitution shall take effect immediately and shall supersede all previous constitutions.  Except for the 1986 provisional constitution, all our constitutions contain a preamble.  The words “…promote the general welfare” are embodied in all constitutions including the current 1987 Constitution.  The number of constitutions we have clearly shows that the fundamental law is resilient and is not designed to resolve future issues and future contingencies.  As such, a constitutional crisis arises from time to time due to political instability which does not attract long-term foreign investments.  When rights are unstable there is uncertainty which is not good for business and not good for the economy.  No investor in his right mind will invest millions in a country when his investments rest on shaky ground.

One wish is state policy under Article II, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution for the state to recognize the vital role of the youth in nation building, and promote and protect their intellectual well-being.  It is state policy to inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.  Under Section 12, the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency shall receive the support of the government.  These state policies are legal fancies that have dried in ink.  It is chaffy rhetoric from legal luminaries.  They are ideals drawn from legalistic minds that to this day lack an iota of reality.  Youth involvement in public and civic affairs are constitutional wishes that are not meant to be.  These state policies inscribed on paper are nothing more than wishy-washy wishes written on sand.

I don’t see how the youth can play a vital role in nation building when the leaders themselves keep building family dynasties, turning the country into a nation of oligarchs.  I don’t see any state or government program proving recognition of the role of the youth in nation building.  I don’t see any state-instigated crusade to encourage the involvement of the youth in public and civic affairs.  Nation building calls for prioritizing the well-being of the youth and not the well-being of oligarchs and family dynasties.  Nation building does not come from a tradition of self-help, self-enrichment and self-service.  Not one of those we call honorable is behaving like a shepherd in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency.  Nation building comes from nationalism, patriotism and nobility which relates to our heroes and martyrs and not to politicians.  For 88 years, from 1899 to 1987, all constitutions were politicized and public policies were torpedoed by private agendas of self-help, self-enrichment and self-service.

The youth need a sugar daddy, a champion of their cause and a knight of their aspirations.  They need whatever help they can get from generous benefactors who sympathize with them.  As the next generation of leaders, preparing them for leadership roles befits the tutelage of those known to have led by precept and example.  Unfortunately there is hardly a sugar daddy, hardly a knight and hardly a benefactor from the well-to-do.  This incongruous situation fictionalized the constitutional wish of promoting the general welfare.  The sugar daddies highly-revered, the knights well-regarded and the benefactors greatly-adulated are leaders who replaced marshal law with ex-marital law through a series of half-blood brothers and sisters. This lifestyle does not sit well with religiosity.  It is utter renunciation of the dignity of every human person, the sanctity of family life, the vital role of the youth and the role of women in nation building.

An intern is an advanced student or recent graduate usually in a professional field, as in medicine or teaching, who is apprenticing to gain supervised practical experience, as in a hospital or a classroom, before entering into a specific profession. There is an internship program for doctors and an internship program for teachers.  The involvement of the youth in public and civic affairs can give meaning only with an internship program in public administration.  Every secondary school institution, public or private, should include an apprenticeship program for its students to work as an apprentice side by side with public employees in government offices.  An internship program for secondary school students in the senior year would familiarize them with how government works as a public institution.  This internship program would give the youth a learning experience on the implications of public service and a chance to run government as citizens under the guidance of its office holders.

Learning by doing is more effective than learning by reading.  The input of the participant is greater then the input of the watcher.  Giving a chance for students to conduct the business of government as a part of school curriculum is for the common good.  There should be an internship program for high school seniors in the legislative, executive and judicial departments of government.  Study of the Constitution as a part of the school curricula is not enough.  By internship in the legislative department, they will have practical experience on how laws are made.  By internship in the executive department, they will have practical experience on how laws are enforced.  And by internship in the judicial department, they will have practical experience on how laws are interpreted and become familiar with proceedings and the appeals process.

An internship program gives the youth an opportunity to obtain firsthand exposure to the internal workings of government in public service.  Without the internship program, the young will never come to know the rule of law, truth, justice and equality envisioned in the 1987 preamble.  With an internship program, they will come to grips with the burdens of responsibility in public business hand in hand with accountability and transparency.  There is an internship program in the medical profession because doctors are dealing with the lives of patients and so clinical experience is important.  There is an internship program in the teaching profession because teachers are dealing with the future leaders of the country and so tutorship experience is important.  There is an internship program in the legal profession because lawyers are dealing with truth, justice, and the rights and freedoms of citizens and so legal research, writing skills and law clerk duties are important. My advocacy of an internship program for the youth would provide meaning to the constitutional wish of promoting the general welfare and promoting the common good.  The involvement of the youth in public and civic affairs could be carried out meaningfully with a sense of urgency in an internship program.

    Tweet
    MoreBITING THE HOOK
    Jorge D. Lomboy

    I draw from the wells of Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun, in the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the...
    MoreINTERNSHIP PROGRAM
    Jorge D. Lomboy

    As a prelude, let me take you through a guided tour of the constitutions of our homeland, our domicile of...
    MoreCAUSE AND EFFECT
    Jorge D. Lomboy

    A cause is a reason for an action or condition.  It is a motive or something that brings about an effect...
     
    MorePPO IN TIP-TOP SHAPE FOR  CARNEGIE HALL IN NEW YORK JUNE 18
    Pablo A. Tariman

       
    A fairly good audience attended the send off concert of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Friday night and they were not disappointed.
            The 80-strong national orchestra under Olivier Ochanine did more than project its solid sound; it also sounded inspired and at par with its soloist, violinist Diomedes Saraza, Jr. who shone in the Sibelius violin concerto....
    MoreNICOLE  SAMANTHA  HUFF, BEAUTIFUL at 18
    Susan Llanera

    A Hollywood-themed Red Carpet event, a magically inspired ambiance that transformed each detail almost to its perfection with the ballroom filled with red, black and gold balloons, the hallway entrance finely decorated with a magnificent 18th birthday ice sculpture and a star-studded eventful experience of a lifetime, was indeed a dream come true for a bubbly girl who has blossomed...
     
    MoreToronto's Durham basketball players get strong attention from Philippine coaches
    Marcelo Dioquino

    Durham Crossover under the auspices of the North American Basketball Association represented Canada at the SM NBTC National High School...
    MoreFilipino Seniors in the Netherlands act to age more gracefully
    Marlene A. Macatangay

     
    “Matatanda na kami.”
    “What will happen when we grow older?”
    “Bilisan natin, nasa...
    MoreFilipino Canadian  Educators Organization Celebrates 10th Year Milestone
    Tony A. San Juan

    Yes sirree and ma'am. T's a memorable milestone....a successful reunion & get-together event indeed!  The Philippine Teachers Association of Canada - PTAC, proudly celebrated...
    MoreSHOULD CHANGE COME WITH ‘UNCOUTH’ PUBLIC BEHAVIOR?
    Pablo A. Tariman

            At the rate he is courting controversy even before he can formally assume office, President-elect Rody Duterte is “making...
    MoreA Tiger Always Growls . . . before he attacks . . . like Duterte
    Carlos A. Arnaldo

    Following the Trump syndrome on CNN, I come to the realization that the Republicans are nominating a presidential candidate whom...
     
    More`CON AMOR’ FOUNDATION B0ARD MEMBERS VISIT PROJECTS IN PHILIPPINES
    By: Orquidia. Valenzuela,  as reported by Myrla Danao

    Businessman Jaap van Dijke, chairman and two board members, Myrla Danao and Dr. John Deen of Con Amor foundation in...
    MoreArt Creations
    Vicente Collado Jr.

    Welcome!

    Many believe formal training is a prerequisite to quality in painting. Not a few will agree with me one can...
    MoreTHE CHILDREN IN DON MANUEL GK VILLAGE
    Orquidia Valenzuela Flores

    Sixty-three children from age three to six years, in the very poor community of Don Manuel village in Barangay...
     
    Disclaimer

    Contents posted in this site, muntingnayon.com, are the sole responsibility of the writers and do not reflect the editorial position of or the writers' affiliation with this website, the website owner, the webmaster and Munting Nayon News Magazine.

    This site, muntingnayon.com, the website owner, the webmaster and Munting Nayon News Magazine do not knowingly publish false information and may not be held liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages arising for any reason whatsoever from this website or from any web link used in this site.