Nicanor Perlas

Party: PARTIDO NG MARANGAL NA SAMBAYANAN/INDEPENDENT
By Eva Callueng

Nicanor ‘Nick’ Perlas (Nicanor Jesus III Pineda Perlas) was born in Manila to parents, Jesus C. Perlas, Sr. and Anunciacion M. Pineda in January 10, 1950. Young Nick finished his elementary and secondary education at Ateneo de Manila. He continued his tertiary education at the Xavier University, in Cagayan de Oro with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Major in Agronomy, Minor in Agricultural Economics in1972. After college, he entered Graduate School at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños with a degree of Masters of Science (Candidate) in Botany (Environmental Sciences) in 1978.

Nick has received various awards and citations: Various NCAA Gold Medals in Track and Field (100-m, pole vault, others); Athlete of the Year, Ateneo de Manila High School (1968); Silver Medal, Math and Science Club, Ateneo de Manila High School (1968); University Scholar, Xavier University College of Agriculture (1968-1972); Highest Honors and Valedictorian, Xavier University College of Agriculture (1972); and Dean’s Honor List, University of the Philippines at Los Baños (1977). He also is a distinguished recipient of both national and global awards namely: Right Livelihood Award or Alternative Nobel Prize (2003); UN Environmental Program Global 500 Award (1994); The Outstanding Filipino Award (1994); William F. Masterson, S.J. Agriculture Award (1995); and Public Service Award, Municipal Government, Maasin, Iloilo (1972).

This presidential bet is married to Kathryn Carpenter but separated by mutual, respectful, and friendly agreement. They are blessed by a son, Christopher Michael.

Nicanor Perlas is an Environmentalist, an Expert Consultant and Adviser of government agencies including the United Nations, civil society organizations, and academic institutions on human development, multiple intelligence , peace & development, poverty reduction fair trade , anti-corruption, moral renewal, participatory governance sustainable agriculture, environmental protection, and sustainable development. He authored over 500 articles/writings including the international best seller, Shaping Globalization: Civil Society, Cultural Power, and Threefolding.

As a leader, independent Presidential candidate Nick Perlas is being described as someone who is deeply spiritual with unshakable and sterling personal values. He promises to root out graft and corruption for he does not support nor belongs to Traditional Politics (TRAPO). Having been able to inspire thousands through his work in transformative change and acquiring a global reputation as a visionary thinker and agent of positive change, Nick pledges not to be eaten up by the system and to consciously work towards changing the system.

Based on the Mulat Pinoy team’s research, Nick Perlas’ platform is as follows:

Population and the Environment: Sustainable Population
Anchor the thrust of achieving sustainable population levels in the pursuit of poverty eradication and enhanced quality of life for all. Experience from other countries shows that the population stabilizes once a country achieves equitable economic, political, and cultural development.

• Uphold the Integrity of Creation
• Promote Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries
• Enhance the forest reserves and cover of the country while providing adequate livelihood for forest-based communities.
• Increase the social and ecological performance of the mining industry
• Promote the expansion of culturally sensitive ecological tourism.
• Improve air quality of major human settlements in the country.
• Improve management, quality and sustainability of the country’s water resources.
• Accelerate the adoption of zero waste management.
• Stop noise pollution
• Develop a strategic response to the challenge of global climate change.
• Promote the rapid use of consumer-saving, green technologies in the energy sector.

Government Resources and Population Dynamics: Advance Moral and Effective Governance

• Eradicate corruption
• Build partnerships for social Justice
• Conduct massive public education.
• Identify the best (top 100) anti-corruption initiatives and reward these independent efforts with financial and other forms of support as well as mainstream their innovative approaches for others to follow.
• Transparency
• Make all government budgets, projects, and expenditures, including the Office of the President, public by prominently displaying this information in the website of all government institutions.
• Clean and Responsible Fiscal Management
• Improve Fiscal Position of Government and the allocations in the National Budget to attract both domestic and foreign investments, thereby offering more employment opportunities for the poor and ensuring adequate funding for social services and lesser tax burden for the poor.
• Disbursement
• Advocate for the removal of pork barrel from the national budget to ensure that tax pesos are used, not to promote transactional politics that worsen the condition of the poor, but to eradicate poverty.
• Involve civil society and business corruption watch groups in procurements and bids of government projects.
• Increase the economic efficiency of government corporations (example National Food Authority) so that these do not drain the national budget.
• Reform tax rate structure.
• Ensure the meaningful and organized participation of indigenous peoples and communities

Population and Food Supply: Eradicate Poverty and Enhance Quality of Life for all

• A vibrant broad-based economy.
• Promote Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries

Population and education: Promote Creative Education and Inner Change.
Better schools, colleges and universities, drawing out the many talents, intelligences, and potentials of students, are crucial. Equally important is self-directed education and transformation. At the end of the day, it’s important to also address the factor of inner change—taking responsibility for changing our hearts and minds. No one can do our inner work for us. And there can be no genuine change in a system or institution if the people who work there do not change. Depressed, apathetic, and poorly trained people cannot create visionary and high-performance organizations, much less a world-inspiring country. Individual and cultural transformations are the foundations of the other pillars.

Population and Health:

• Install a nationwide health insurance system, in cooperation with business and civil society, that allows the poor, with a minimal and easily payable premium fee, access to preventive medical approaches as well as primary, secondary, and tertiary medical treatment.
• Task the Department of Health to install a nationwide system of holistic and preventive approaches to medicine.
• Bundle health and nutrition services with educational objectives where appropriate; e.g. breakfast feeding and basic gardening programs in school.
• Conduct a massive skills-oriented awareness campaign on sanitation, nutrition, and environmental health to lay the foundations of preventive approaches to health.
• Mobilize development partnerships with indigenous well-drillers, water system engineers, socially responsible businesses, community organizers from civil society to ensure that every community or family has access to clean sources of water.
• Advocate for a balanced approach to the reproductive health bill, balancing the right to life and importance of responsibility vis a vis the right to free choice. Anchor deliberations and debates on scientific conceptions of evolutionary biology and embryology. Responsible education is crucial in all phases and stages of reproductive health.
• Gender Equality: We recognize and practice true gender sensitivity that respects the unique contributions, capacities and needs of both women and men.

Population and Housing:

• Partner with civil society and business to provide a holistic approach to meeting the housing needs of economically poor families.
• Encourage government, business, and people’s organization partnership to transform urban squalor into well-managed and vibrant housing communities for the urban poor.

References:
http://www.nickperlas.com/?page_id=2 Retrieved on March 14, 2010 at 8:13pm
http://www.nicanor-perlas.com/ Retrieved on April 2, 2010 at 2:54pm