DevC202: Introduction to Development Communication

Tutor Marked
Assignment 3
Critique Paper on The Proactive Information
Society

Submitted by:

Espineda, Melvin Navarroza

2012-81282
Master of Development Communication
University of the Philippines Open University

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TMA 3: Critique Paper on The Proactive Information Society

In the article entitled “ The Proactive Information Society” it claimed here that in the past

20 years, Philippines has become one the largest food producers in the world. It also

claimed here that in Metro Manila, more and more employees no longer report to their

offices but instead work at home on their computer work stations, terminals connected

to their main frame office computers via a time-sharing system. But with what is

happening in the Philippine economy in terms of agriculture, technology, and industry,

are we really confident enough to say that in past 20 years Philippines is really

developed?

Before we start, we should discuss first what really happened for the past 20 years.

Philippine government kept on thinking about the urban planning, modernizing

technology in the government offices, improving agricultural matters, dealing with other

nation just to have an investment in our country, also to build work for jobless people.

With what happened just last week when the Southwest Monsoon hits some part of the

Philippines, due to this phenomena, the government opened up again the issue about

urban planning. This project of the government has been an issue way back the term of

former President Ferdinand Marcos. The plan is to relocate the informal settlers from

their present home to a relocation site which the government spent lot of money just to

built it. But in the past 20 years, the informal settlers are still staying at their places and

the relocation has not yet been started. This project of the government has been

planned but has not been plotted yet.

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TMA 3: Critique Paper on The Proactive Information Society

In the forum written by masamanghidwaan, it was stated that, “The Philippines needs to

reconsider how it allocates and uses its land for commercial and residential purposes.

The Philippines needs to develop its inexpensive low to high rise housing system rather

than wasting huge sections of land for making subdivisions. This will also help with the

squatter problem. This kind of housing is in fact most applicable to the Philippines due

to its large population and small land area. Even schools need to be redesigned into

single building schools not the current design of schools that encompass several

hectares of land. The saved land may then be used more wisely for agriculture.

The Philippines must set limits to city area growth and must prevent unnessary urban

sprawling.

In fact, the Philippines must develop super but denser cities, encourage urbanization,

move people away from rural areas but secure them of employment by creating more

factories and establishing and encouraging the development of small to large

businesses in the city. The free land could then be utilized for agriculture more

efficiently.” (http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=218843) it only

proves the government always make plan but never been implemented.

Another project of the government that has been proposed for the benefits of its offices

was the ZTE-NBN where the purpose was to systemized the connection of one

department to another department, but then again, the project is just plan but because

of the hidden agenda of the former Administrator, this project has been voided.

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TMA 3: Critique Paper on The Proactive Information Society

In the article of Philippine Daily Inquirer, it discussed that, “On April 21, 2007, the

government signed the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with

China’s ZTE Corp.

The project, which called for the installation of a telecommunications network linking

government offices throughout the country, was signed in China by then

Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza and ZTE vice president Yu Yong. It was

witnessed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

ZTE initially offered $130 million for the project.”

(http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/119639/what-went-before-the-nbn-zte-deal-2) This deal

spents lot of money but the filipino never benefited from it.

All of this projects were established to give solution to the main problem not only by the

Philippines but also by the other nation. In Michael Todaro (1977) book entitled

Economic Development in the Third World he tackled that as a development

communication practitioners, it is not enough that we know how poor are or who our

targets should be. We should also know where they are and what are their

characteristics. If we are going to apply it to the reality, the Philippine government

serves as development communication practitioners, and as a development

communication practitioners, they must know not only what to do develop but they must

also know what are the causes or root of the problem. In the given example above, I

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TMA 3: Critique Paper on The Proactive Information Society

have mentioned that Philippine government has been planning to pursue the

urbanization not only in Metro Manila but also in the provinces, but this project has been

planned without analyzing if how will they do it, without analyzing the implications of it,

or what would be the causes why this informal settlers have not been settled for the

past 20 years.

Quebral (1988) further elucidates that development communication is “not publicity

per se, or getting the maximum media exposure for someone or something for

image-building,” which means that these development communication practitioners

(government) should not use opportunities such as urban planning and other plan for

the sake of “pogi points” to the public, they must be responsible enough on how to settle

these things up. As a leader (development communication practitioner) they must be

purposive in informing the public what are the purposes of the projects that they are

planning to establish. They also must be pragamatic in terms of double checking if the

project is really a need to develop a certain thing. Again, in development

communication, they must identify the basic problem, and then, after identifying the

problem they should gather information that will help them formulate a new methods on

how to give solution to the problem.

I would agree with some part of the proactive information society article, that Philippines

has been on the top countries, but I would say that Philippine became worst and

development started all over again because as time goes by the situation sudden

change, maybe because as the government change, many of them doesn’t really know

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TMA 3: Critique Paper on The Proactive Information Society

what are the needs of every pinoy, that some of them thinks of development without a

proper identification of a proble, gathering information and testing methods to know if

the said development can be applied for the long time.

References:

Flor, A.G. (1992). Upstream – Downstream interventions of devlopment communication.

IDC Faculty Papers.

Jamias, j. (1975). Philisophy of development communication. Readings in Development

Communication.

Lent, J. (1977) Development communication: Watch dog or lap dog? InDevelopment

Communication Report. Issue No. 19, Jul 1977.

Quebral, N.C. (1988). Is it government or people communication? In Development

Communication. College of Agricultire, UP Los Banos.

_____________.(1988). Development communication: Status and trends in

development communication. College of Agriculture, UP Los Banos.

Samonte, A.G. (1974). A University’s response to the challenges of development.

Inaugural Address on His Investiture as the First Chancellor of UP Los Banos.

Todaro, M.P. (1977). Economic development in the third world: An Introduction to

problems and policies in a globactive. London:Longman, Inc.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/119639/what-went-before-the-nbn-zte-deal-2

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http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=218843