Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

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emergence of creativity and innovation at the local level
has been observed, although most of them are short-term
projects. Through case studies on local governmentled
export processing zone project, this paper shows
that there are several local governments that continue
implementing these projects for more than ten years.
Such long-term local development efforts have not been
reported before. The paper analyzes the case studies and
concludes that political factors are the most decisive
the progress and continuation of the projects under
the current formal rules. The paper further explores the
successful cases’ innovative arrangements to overcome
human/financial resource shortage and organizational
instability.
GENE REVOLUTION AND ITS IMPACT ON
FARMERS A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN
INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES
Pennapa Hongthong
The development of intellectual property rights, together
with an advancement of bio-technology, involves
increasing private ownership over the world’s plant
genetic resources. The arrival of Gene Revolution, of
which genetically-modified seeds are the prime products,
distorts the relationship between farmers and seeds.
Once a “common good” and freely available to farmers,
seeds turned to be a property of seed companies.
Farmers no longer know the seeds they grow since they
are not the ones who develop it. Genetically-modified
(GM) seeds are now developed in laboratories by plant
breeders. There are no more seed varieties that suit
the different environmental conditions; seeds are now
designed to be of the same quality and character. Every
single GM seed contains exclusive rights of the plant
breeder who cross nature’s boundaries by mixing one
species of gene to another.
The merging between seed industries and agrochemical
companies makes food security of the world,
as well lives of farmers, to be under control of a few
transnational corporations. All over the world, GM
seeds are introduced by agro-chemical companies. The
unique character of GM seeds designed to grow well
with certain chemicals force farmers to buy pesticides
and herbicides from the same company.
The paper presents how small-scale farmers in Indonesia
and the Philippines are affected by the Gene Revolution
and the IPR regime. Their lives well demonstrate how
small-scale farmers in the South; including Thailand
since political, social and economic conditions are more
or less the same as the two countries, may well be the
ultimate losers in the current game of global IPR and
bio-technology.
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
EMPOWERING THE URBAN POOR THROUGHT
IT TRAINING: PROJECT FOR THE URBAN
POOR IN MANILA
Akira Sato
The human resource market of the Philippines is strongly
affected by globalization. Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI), Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and braindrain
problems characterize the domestic employment
situation of the country. The study focused on the human
resource market demand for poor people in Manila
in 2004. The goal of the study is to know the conditions
to start an international vocational training support in
the Philippines to introduce profitability into NGO activity
through human resource services. IT training is
probable from the view of domestic and international
labor demands for Filipino workers.
THE HOMELESS IN THE METROPOLIS: A
STUDY OF PROBLEMS IN FIVE JAPANESE
CITIES, AND MANILA AND JAKARTA
Suwit Wantoo
The homeless in this study refers to people who have
no house. It does not include those who have small
houses but no stability in living, such as slum dwellers.
It also does not include street urchins. The homeless
in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia have the
same background—all of them are people from the
countryside who migrated in search of jobs in the
metropolis. The homeless in Japan started out going
to work in factories and small companies and became
jobless after the economic crisis that caused the closure
of factories and companies. Joblessness then contributed
to homelessness since the people had no money to pay
rent. The homeless in the Philippines and Indonesia are
mostly bankrupt farmers who went to search for jobs in
towns. But the job markets were tight; hence, they also
became jobless and homeless.
The common problems of the homeless in these countries
were joblessness, lack of housing, insufficient food, and
suffering from the deterioration of both physical and
mental health. There were some differences, such as
the homeless in Japan facing severe health problems
in the winter because the weather was very cold, and
the Japanese homeless being more disdained by society
than the homeless in Manila or Jakarta.
MANAGEMENT OF THE HOMELESS IN
TOKYO AND MANILA: SOME LESSONS FOR
THAILAND
Boonlert Visetpricha
The purpose of this report is to present a study of
the homeless in Japan, Philippines, and Thailand.
The homeless, as per definition stated by the United