“Fertilizer Management” Is Correct Critical Thinking, But The World Bank Should Be Thinking Wholes And Not Simply Holes!

The World Bank thinks it has the intelligent internationally implementable initiative against the impending food crisis: “Fertilizer Management.” “Fertilizer?” Or “Fertility?” That is the question!

Juergen Voegeleadvices on “How To Manage The World’s Fertilizers To Avoid A Prolonged Food Crisis” (22 July 2022, World Bank Blogs, blogs.worldbank.org). In 99 words, Mr Voegele, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, assesses as all-in-all an appropriate approach:

Hidden behind the worst global food crisis in a decade, fertilizer prices have skyrocketed and remain volatile. This poses a serious threat to food security, as the planting season starts this summer. So far, the war in Ukraine has mostly affected countries importing wheat and corn. But many countries, including some major food exporters, are net fertilizer importers. Persistently high fertilizer prices may spread to a broader variety of crops including rice, a staple which has not yet seen war-related price hikes. We must act now to make fertilizers more accessible and affordable to avoid prolonging the food crisis.  

“Fertilizer Management” – That is critical thinking.

Mr World Bank enumerates three broad steps for countries to take:

(1)   “First, countries should lift trade restrictions or export bans on fertilizers.”

(2)   “Second, fertilizer use must be made more efficient.”

(3)   “Third, we must invest in innovation to develop best practices and newer technologies that will help increase output per kg of fertilizer used.”

In response, I Conservative Agriculturist say:

1^st step is not easy – countries exporting fertilizers are bound to protect their farmers above all.

2^nd step is all right. Farmers should prevent the wastage of fertilizers as much as they know how.

3^rd step is problematic – and it will take so much time.

“Fertility Management” – That is holistic thinking.

Even if all those 3 Sustainable Development Steps were taken quite successfully, I agriculturist say “Fertilizer Management” is limitedthinking; that approach assumes that fertilizer is the critical factor in agriculture in any country of the world.

Fertility Management is the much more intelligent approach at these critical times – and even in ancient times!

And now I will tell you of one approach to Fertility Management that Mr World Bank has left out:
Regenerative Agriculture (RA).

Artificial or chemical fertilizers, which Mr World Bank has assumed as givens, are degenerative factors:
(1) they poison the soil;
(2) they poison the organisms that help crops grow healthy;
(3) they grow crops that are unhealthy and call for more chemicals for protection;
(4) the crops produce unhealthy foods, what with chemical pesticide residues – and,
(5) above all, with the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that they produce, they are climate change allies!

Organic fertilizers are regenerative because:
(1) they return the natural nutrients that crops need to grow well;
(2) they nourish those soil organisms that nourish crops naturally;
(3) they grow healthy crops that do not need weedicides & pesticides;
(4) they produce healthy foods, with no chemical residues;
(5) they produce zero GHGs – helping fight climate change!

World Bank: We should think Wholes and not simply Holes!@517

“Many Hands Make Light Work” – Ancient Greek Proverb. “Raise Your Hands To Help Your People First!” – Frank A Hilario

A good friend, Wilfrido Villarama, points out to me the preoccupations of today, people looking for government’s “community-action initiatives” such as Community Engagement, Solidarity, And Citizenship (book authored by Jalton C Taguibao, cover shown above). In those 3 broad concepts, something huge is missing! Guess what?

Now, what does the book contain? In its website, of both original & updated versions, both undated (main.vibalgroup.com), publisher Vibal repeatedly says:

This book focuses on the application of ideas and methods of the social sciences to examine challenges of contemporary community life. It focuses on community-action initiatives such as community engagement, solidarity, and citizenship as guided by the core values of human rights, social justice, empowerment and advocacy, gender equality, and participatory development. It enhances students’ sense of shared identity and willingness to contribute to the pursuit of the common good.

Excellent cover, excellent summary! Calling Filipino citizens to contribute to the pursuit of the common good by watching out for “human rights, social justice, empowerment and advocacy, gender equality, and participatory development.”

Where are the people helping themselves first? Essentially, the Taguibao book calls for citizens to be “watchdogs” – but not call for citizens to be “workdogs.”

Too many watchdogs, no workdogs! For instance, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) was founded on 25 October 1953, or 69 years ago, by Catholics (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org). What has the FFF done for the common good except complain?

No, Mr Taguibao is not calling for workdogs, as I put it – those watchdogs of ours, as exemplified by the FFF, exist for the purpose of criticizing the government, which is every citizen’s right – but they have not pursued any community development project right where they are!

Those citizen groups do not help themselves in pursuit of the growth of their communities according to their best of lights. That is what is missing in “Community Participation.”

Even the American National Democratic Institute (NDI), as pointed out to me by my friend, does not have the right frame of mind. It says in its own website (ndi.org):

Ensuring that government actually works for the public good requires informed, organized, active and peaceful citizen participation. Citizens must, therefore… [develop] the skills to voice their concerns, act collectively and hold public officials…

Even the American NDI has only half of the equation! Citizens must be helping themselves first before yelping against the government. Community participation works in 2 ways: people complaining and people helping themselves.

And so, without naming names, we are calling on non-government organizations (NGOs), community and civic groups, to think hard of how they can help their members and the community at large – with or without government assistance. You cannot complain against inaction if you have not done any action to help yourself first!

“Nilalahat ko ang mga NGOs – puede ba, hindi puro ngawa, walang ginagawa!” I am addressing all NGOs – help the people first before you complain for them! Labor for your community enough first before you lambast the government for not doing enough!@517

Can An Almost-82-Year-Old Male Ilocano Work From Homer (WFH) Deliver Excellent Editing Results With Technical Manuscripts In English Via Microsoft Word? Asking For A Friend!

From my personal experience dating back to 1976, manuscripts for technical journals have mostly 3 problems: missing parts, incomplete or poor reasoning, and problematic grammar. Whatever your target journal is, I can help you based on my varied editorial works (plural) in the last 46 years.

(Image sources: “5 Types” from iLovePhD, ilovephd.com; (“Write, Edit” from Washington University, icts.wustl.edu)

ANN asks, “What Are The Major Reasons For Scientific Manuscript Rejection?” and answers her own question (Scholar Hangout, manuscriptedit.com):

Research paper writing is a specialized skill that all academicians have to learn. While publication is an essential part of the profession, the rates of rejection by journals are too high. Estimates suggest that for highly regarded journals like Cell, Nature, and Science, the rejection rate is as high as 97%! That is to say, of all the 100 submissions, only 3 make it through editorial and peer review scrutiny, and this is for top professionals of their fields! Therefore, it is critical that authors are aware of the reasons for rejection in order to avoid the same.

The most number of reasons for rejection that I have seen is from the US of A; PubMed Central has a list of 11 (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) –
(1) lack of novelty, originality, and presentation of obsolete study;
(2) improper rationale;
(3) unimportant and irrelevant subject matter;
(4) flaws in methodology;
(5) lack of interpretations;
(6) inappropriate or incomplete statistics;
(7) reviewers’ field of knowledge and discretion;
(8) inappropriateness for the journal;
(9) lack of in-vivo studies;
(10) inappropriate packaging of the manuscript; and
(11) journal’s popularity and the priority given to the manuscript by the Editor.

If you have a problematic manuscript such as a technical paper, or thesis, dissertation, I strongly recommend that you look for an Editor near you – if not, PM me on Facebook for my email. Send your manuscript and I will give you editorial advice within 24 hours – free!

Rotated to read vertically, the right image above says, “How To Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word.” I rotated the image using MS Word, yes – that is the power of software, as well as the power of knowing that power.

Starting with WordStaron Innocents Day in 1985, since 1987, as a writer and editor and desktop publisher, I have been using MS Word in the last 35 years! I have not only mastered my writing and editing – I have mastered my software.

Yes, I use MS Word all the time; and I use Track Changes to edit your manuscript so that you can easily see, without asking me, where I edited: changed any sentence; deleted any word or phrase etc. I usually rewrite the abstract because that is the poorest originally written part of a manuscript; this is based on my experience of 46 years editing agriculture and forestry manuscripts: technical papers, theses and dissertations.

The best way for anyone to edit your manuscript? Digital. Thank God for digital this & digital that!@517

BBM Sir, Under Your Presidency, PH Agriculture Can Become The World’s Model – But We Have To Wake Up The Sleeping Giant Called "University Of The Philippines Los Baños"!

Above, in the middle of the image, beyond the structure going up, before Mt Makiling in the background, is the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, now 114 years old. In terms of agriculture, my alma mater UPLB does not deserve any red flower in homage, having been sleeping a hundred years – It has defaulted on Organic Agriculture!

I took that photo on my 70^th birthday, 17 Sept 2010, with my Casio Ex-S5 camera. 2 years later, I bought my Lumix FZ100 digital camera and almost singlehandedly produced my first coffee-table book, The Filipino Farmer Is Bankable, for the Agricultural Credit Policy Council’ssilver anniversary 25 April 2012, with Jovita Corpuz as Executive Director. At that time, already I had taught myself digital writing, editing, desktop publishing. As a 1965 UPLB alumnus, BSA Ag Edu, I say, “Nobody should stop learning!” And teaching.

Sorry, but UP Los Baños has stopped learning and teaching something old, something new!

The concept leading to organic agriculture had come out in the early 1900s yet (Britannica.com). UPLB was born 1908, now a centenarian – too old to learn about a subject as old as it is?

UP Los Baños has not seen fit to encourage farming that is both farmer-smart and climate-smart – organic agriculture.

BBM Sir, let us not follow the unschooled example of UP Los Baños and instead learn and promote organic agriculture for the country in the next 6 years!

Let’s take 2 Big Lessons from Sri Lanka, which failed to become the world’s model in agriculture – that country is now in a nationwide crisis. Why because of the bad policy of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa imposing organic agriculture nationwide allat once!

What are the big lessons from Sri Lanka’s downfall?

1^st Big Lesson –
Organic Agriculture is worthy of national adoption.

2^nd Big Lesson –
Let us not declare Organic Agriculture to be adopted nationwide in one single day or week – we have to do it intelligently.

Why Organic Agriculture (OA) for the Philippines?

1.     OA is Productive.
When you apply organic fertilizer on the soil, your crop has all the nutrients it needs to grow and bear fruits. Organic comes from plants, and to plants it will return.

2.     OA is Healthy.
Nature designed it. Not a single part of the organic fertilizer is unhealthy to your crop and therefore your crop bears healthy fruits.

3.     OA is muchCheaper than chemical agriculture.
The plant parts that become organic fertilizer come from local sources and no part is imported – and therefore sells much cheaper.

I cannot over-recommend organic agriculture.

The use of organic fertilizers is a method of the so-called RegenerativeAgriculture. It’s called regenerativebecause it renews the fertility of the soil by man-aided natural means and does not need artificial or chemical fertilizers – no need to import those.

BBM Sir, we need to regenerate the whole Philippines from mis-development. And we need to start from A – Agriculture!@517

Book To Publish? For Help, You Came To The Right Place! Ask For FAH – Fast And Helpful

Digital Publishing is one Smart Revolution today. If you’re looking for a desktop publisher for your book, look no further! First with the desktop computer and later with the personal computer (PC), I have desktop published (DTPed) about 20 books in the last 28 years. Yes, I’m an original aboriginal, Ilocano.

Yes, I use Microsoft Word – while MS Word is not called a desktop publisher (DTP), my DTPing books via MS Word means I had mastered the ins-and-outs of this software a long, long time ago yet! And with my UPLB BS Agriculture major in Ag Edu, Civil Service Professional, I say I am a good student because I have a good teacher!

Discovering will get you places.

In 1994, I desktop published my first book, for UPLB professor Ofelia Karganilla Bautista (OKB) – her book was Introduction To Tropical Horticulture (Second Edition) published by Searca. The book’s Introduction in part says (searca.org):

The revision of the first [edition] was done with the recognition that there have been important changes and advances in the field of horticulture in the past 10 years. However, this book still deals more on smallholder horticulture. It also remains to be introductory in nature.

While this book focuses mainly on Philippine horticulture, the principles discussed are applicable to all countries of Southeast Asia. The language was kept as "popular" as possible for the benefit of those who have special difficulties with the technical language.

I was also the unofficial “Final Editor” of the book, correcting and revising where necessary (and telling the book’s main editor-author Ms Ofelia). It was all of 597 pages. I must have used MicrosoftWord Version 4.

In Dec 2005, I desktop published and edited my own book, Indios Bravos (Jose Rizal As Messiah Of The Redemption), 164 pages in bond-paper size. I published it in limited edition.

On Jan 2007, I began my assignment as writer from home (WFH) for the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)  based in India, when Filipino science thinker & leader William Darwas Director General (DG). I did the DTP for a total of 8 ICRISAT books by me and published in India (except #8):

(1)   Team  ICRISAT Champions The Poor

(2)   The Smart Revolution (image above is the cover)

(3)   Exploiting The Power Of Science, Transforming The SAT

(4)   ICRISAT Innovations Shape The Future Of Drylands

(5)   Science Of The Articulate: IMOD As ICRISAT & Partners’ New Drylands Strategy

(6)   ICRISAT & Partners: Political Will Applied With Science

(7)   ICRISAT & Partners: Thinking Globally, Acting Globally

(8)   Science With A Human Face.

All those 8 books were products of my writing uploaded to the dedicated blog iCRiSAT Watch (icrisatwatch.blogspot.com). Yes Sir, I used MS Word to write, edit, blog, collect and desktop-publish all of them!

What all those books prove is that you don’t need to look for someone who uses difficultAdobe InDesign or Microsoft Publisher to get your book desktop published expertly! Message me on Facebook for my email.@517

Frank A Hilario, Your Digital One-Man-Band Editor Of Manuscripts & Editor In Chief Of Publications

Nobody’s offering personal work from home (WFH) digital services in writing, editing and desktop publishing on Facebook, so I have this day-old blog, “Digital Frank A Hilario” (digfrankahilario.blogspot.com). Yes, I am “Your Digital FAH – Friend And Helper.”

Yes, I enjoy being a WFH. At home, I use 2 monitors: a  Lenovo14-inch ThinkPad, Core i7, and a 20-inch ViewSonic. I set my Windows 10 to background slideshow, so images keep changing in both monitors, from thousands of photographs I have collected with my 10-year-old-now-missing Lumix FZ100 digital camera. Nice views if you can get it!

Yes, I can help you digitally from A to I: Author, Blogger, Communicator, Desktop Publisher, Editor, Editor in Chief, Forest Conservation Advocate, Ghostwriter, Home-Based Contributor, and In-House Editor-Publisher.

We begin. For manuscripts of (1) theses and dissertations, in Agriculture & related fields, and (2) technical papers for publication, here’s some advice:

1.     Title – Do not include such words as “The Effects Of…” or “A Study Of…” They are already implied as a good part of your thesis, dissertation, or technical paper.

2.     Abstract – To help you compose a good Abstract, write it last, not first! By then, you have a good idea what to include.

3.     Introduction – This is where you frame the problem and its background. Authors commonly forget to state the Rationaleof the study or research in the Introduction. The Rationale is the reason for the investigation, the background why. It could be said in 1 sentence or 1 paragraph: Of what importance is the study to science, or society? Is this in a new field or what?

4.     Discussion– In my decades of experience, there are so many authors that mention many a table but do not discuss it! They simply say something like this: “Table 10 shows the results on the experiment on fertilization by N.” Bad.

5.     Conclusion/s – A conclusion is not merely a restatement of any finding, but many authors make that mistake.

6.     Recommendation/s – Similarly, a recommendation is not another way of stating a finding.

7.     Grammar – Many manuscripts have poor English grammar. So, go find a good English Editor for you! You try me. I have been writing in the (American) English language since 1^st year of my BS Agriculture at UPCA (now UP Los Baños) in 1959. I have been editing manuscripts since 1975. I have been blogging in this language for the last 22 years, approximately 8,000 essays (8 million words) so far. That explains my ease in writing and editing.

Finally, about the role of editors regarding theses/dissertations, US-based Best Edit & Proof says (besteditproof.com):

Experienced proofreading and editing services check the entire thesis from beginning to end and make all the necessary changes in terms of grammar, punctuation, referencing, and even sentence construction.

Remember this: If your manuscript or article is not a labor of love, it is not that good! Well, that is good news for us editors, because we have work to do – and get paid to do it for you people!@517

Frank A Hilario, Your Digital FAH – Friend And Helper

Frank A Hilario is a 9-in-1 digital information specialist, from A to I: Author, Blogger, Communicator, Desktop Publisher, Editor in Chief, Forest-Conservation Advocate, Ghostwriter, Home-Based Information Editor, and In-House Editor-Publisher. All work-from-home (WFH). Friend, how may I help you?!

Author –
Since 2000, I have authored at least 13 books: 8 books for the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), 2 for UPLB Vanguards, 1 on Jose Rizal, 1 on UP Los Baños alumni, and 1 coffee-table book for Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC).

Blogger –
Since 2000, I have blogged about 8,000 essays (about 8 million words), mostly on agriculture and related fields. 

Communicator –
In 1980, I invented the art & system of Communication for Development (ComDev); 40 years later, I transformed it into Communication for Village Development in the 21st Century (CoViD21). Today, Agriculture motivates me to do CoViD21.

Desktop Publisher(DTP) –
With MS Word, I can write, edit, desktop publish (DTP) a book singlehandedly, up to producing the portable document format (pdf) file that goes into commercial printing. The most dramatic DTP work I have done is the ACPC coffee-table book where I wrote the text, did the layout all by myself and contributed half of the photographs that went into the book The Filipino Farmer Is Bankable (150 pages).

Editor –
I have been editing manuscripts: theses (BS and Masters), dissertations (PhD), and technical papers for publication digitally in the last 22 years, mostly from students and professors of UP Los Baños, my alma mater – including from foreigners.

Editor in Chief –
I have been Editor in Chief twice: for the Forest Research Institute (FORI) 1976-1981, and the Crop Science Society of the Philippinesfor its journal Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS) 2001-2008. For FORI, I was founder and Editor In Chief of the monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitatthat I patterned after National Geographic. With the PJCS, I was a one-man-band digital Editor In Chief who brought that publication from being 3-years late to up-to-date until its inclusion in the international prestige list called “ISI” (now Web of Science).

Forest-Conservation Advocate –
As you will note in my sharing on FORI above, I was Editor in Chief of the FORI publication Sylvatrop that had the subtitle, “Philippine Journal of Forest Research” 1976-1980. The Style Manual was also my creation.

Ghostwriter –
Already starting 46 years ago, in FORI (see above note), when I founded the monthly newsletter Canopy and quarterly color magazine Habitat, when necessary, I filled up the pages by writing articles using pseudonyms!

Home-Based Ideas Contributor –
Just the other month, I helped a doctoral candidate do Internet research and write up a position paper on man-vs-woman politics.

In-House Editor-Publisher –
All-digital in writing, editing and desktop publishing as briefly described above, I certainly can start and be the one-man Editor in Chief of a new/old regular publication in agriculture, or forestry, or village development in general.

Now then, who are you looking for today to engage for your information/communication needs? Choose your digital best Friend And Helper!@517

Looking For An Editor? You Have A Manuscript That Needs Editing. My Advice: “Choose One Who Is Client-Friendly, Digital – And Has Many Years Of Experience!”

What type of manuscript/s do you have that need editing to be good, better, best – book, dissertation, journal-candidate, lecture, manuscript for publication, technical paper, or thesis? As an Editor in Agriculture and related fields, I can help you produce an A-1 manuscript very fast – given my 47 years of experience, and in the last 21 years all-digital. (I can also desktop-publish a whole journal issue, or a whole magazine, or a whole book, for you! I have excellent experiences with those.)

(Image sources: “Freelance Editor” from well-storied, well-storied.com; “Client Friendly” from client-friendly.co, client-friendly.co)

Your Editor must be one who is “client-friendly,” as according to client-friendly.co. Yes, hyphen is necessary; and co, not.com – 2 examples of good proofreading, which calls for wide knowledge of the subject matter, which you should look for in an Editor.

“I AM ADAM" – Here is a complete list of editorial services offered by Frank A Hilario as a one-man band digital wizard. Each ADAM’S service starts with your manuscript and ends with an edited, formatted, layouted (desktop-published) printable version – a full package of digital services from one digital editor whose kind is hard to find.

"I AM ADAM." All-Around Advanced Digital Assistant For Manuscript Management. I’m all personal computer (PC) editorial services, no personal meetings required – no printed manuscripts for me to edit by hand. I’m 10 times faster with the PC, and yes, I’m 100 times more accurate.

I have been an Editor of hundreds of manuscripts in Agriculture and related fields. Consider: 1976-1981, I was Founder & Editor in Chief of the Forest Research Institute (FORI) of its monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat. Note: Those were still typewriter & commercial printer years. And FORI became well-known and well-liked at the Los Baños Science Community as well as abroad among universities, where we had publication exchanges. The writing and editing have to be good to be liked.

To be a good editor, I have to know methodically my (American) English, a foreign tongue – and I have to be thorough and patient. Where did I get my patience in reading and re-reading and re-reading a manuscript, no matter how long it is? Innate gift and/or personal wish neither inherited nor imparted – my father Dionisio got only to Grade 3, my mother Sixta Agapitoonly to the Cartilla.

I would like to say now that I use my God-given & personally enhanced talents in writing & editing in science in American English to earn my keep, as well as help spread the good news of agricultural science to my countrymen – not to mention editing foreign students who study at UP Los Baños.

So, if you have problems with your manuscript, I can help you much!

My digital editing rates are? Secret! Email me your digital manuscript first, and then I will tell you how much I charge. No obligations. Facebook me for my email.

A freelance editor who is client-friendly? Yours truly!@517

“Writer’s Champ Vs Writer’s Cramp” – You Are One Of Our Modern Indios Bravos If You Can Start – And Then Finish Writing Your Book!

In these unpredictable times, long after the Spanish conquerors called us Filipinos “Indios,” you have to be an Indian Brave if you want to write your autobiography or memoirs. Actually, your first problem is not these challenging times but the time you spend writing your book! Do you know how to spend it wisely? I doubt it.

This is an author of 20+ books – all of them written in drafts and finalized digitally – thank God, and Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniakfor the personal computer or PC! The image you see above is the cover of my Dec 2005 book titled “indios bravos! Jose Rizal as Messiah of the Redemption.” Singly, I believe Rizal was not after Revolution but after Redemption of the Filipinos from mental slavery.

Today, I am your Redeemer. I will redeem you from your writer’s cramp, your inability to write your book. I am your Writer’s Champ who guarantees you no Writer’s Cramp! What is a Writer-Editor with 50+ years experience and who published his own 20+ books good for? (No, age doesn’t matter! Thank God, I will be 82 in September.)

My very first advice to any author is: Use the PC, preferably a laptop; use Microsoft Windows & Office (MS Word).

To write down your thoughts when memories come anytime, use a cheap spiral notebook.

Remember these 2 things: You are the writer. I am the Editor. You will need an Editor like me if you want to finish your book – and love it yourself!

Remember, according to this Indio Bravo,  “The 3 Rs for Writing Your Book” are:
Recall, Review, Rewrite.

Recall.

Recollect first. Everything you recollect: Type, type, type!

Save each file using the first 5 words you type – you don’t have to think hard for a “nice” filename – you are not after filenames but recording your memories.

Do not add to the file after you have saved it. If you open it again, you will be tempted to revise it – bad for continuing to recall.

Copy all files to a flash drive, for safekeeping.

Review.

When you can hardly recall anything else, it’s time to look at the saved files, one by one, just read – then type out the outline of your book. You will review your saved files and organize/reorganize them according to your outline.

Rewrite.

Then go ahead and rewrite.

As you begin to rewrite – send me the draft!

Never mind the grammatical and factual and sequential errors.

This is where you begin to need editorial guidance. The very first thing I will do is scan your very rough draft to “get the feel” of it all, so that I will know how to advise you to improve it, and where. Unless you are an Undiscovered Exceptional Author, you will need my 50-year old editorial advice before you go on after your recollection.

Meanwhile, finish your Recall. When you are ready for Review, you can then call yourself, “Indio Bravo!”@517

The Dilemma Of My Friend Nestor Maniebo Pestelos, (Not) Coming Out With His Personal-Social Memoirs At 81!

Nestor Maniebo Pestelos from Tiaong, Quezon, married & living in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, is a good friend of mine, mind, dating back 60+ years when we were students at UPCA, now UP Los Baños – we both took the competitive writing exam for the Editor In Chief of the UPCA Student Body Organization’s newspaper called Aggie Green & Gold, and he won. He already had content and style, from voracious reading, including Jean-Paul Sarte – existentialist. Me, never heard of him!

And you know what Nestor Mn Pestelos did as Editor In Chief? He appointed Frank A Hilario, a stranger, full-blooded Ilocano, Tagalog Editor! A historical first. Ah, but in high school, I had been devouring Liwayway and Bulaklak!

The other day or so, I saw Nestor’s Lament on Facebook, this:

Nestor Maniebo Pestelos

NOTES TO MYSELF AT 70 (… First time to be posted)… Surprised I found this in my digital file. This was written 9 years ago, when I reached 70. Must find time to finish it now that I feel my body is approaching its deadline. Morbid but we have to accept our body is not made to last forever. Yes, it has an expiration date.

I don’t think my friend has something he is being careful about, a disease – but I can see he has a dis-ease that has no expiration date – cannot even begin to write his book!

Now you know why I created this new blog of mine – to egg on & help my friend write his book that only he can.

Must go back to that Memoirs project I meant to write upon retirement in 2001 but got involved in many development adventures and misadventures. … The clock is ticking fast. Must find time to reduce my work load and devote priority time to writing this “Final Notes on our Way Out.” (Tentative title).

So it’s not 10 years – it has been 20 years in planning, planning – and planning!

Nestor is a friend of Ed Dela Torre, ex-priest and activist. I know Nestor himself went underground during Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr’s Martial Law years, I don’t know exactly when. And do you know who saved Nestor Pestelos from himself?

First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos saved Nestor Pestelos from the jaws of death!

Do you see now how eye-popping it would be to read my friend Nestor’s memoirs, a story of his life as his last will and testament?

I wrote this note as a reminder to myself about this project.

And Nestor wrote that note 1 year ago!

Ayn Rand was one of the books Nestor Pestelos loved to read when we were AGG editors and aggie students. (Never heard of Ayn Rand either.) Yes, he was always reading, even while walking!

Question: Why can’t Nestor Maniebo Pestelos write his blockbuster memoirs? Answer: He has too many things in his mind!

And I’m just beginning to give advice to people who can’t write their memoirs because they don’t have a creative way of doing it!@517

Frank A Hilario, Out-Of-Eden ADAM – All-Around Advanced Digital Assistant For Manuscript Management

"I AM ADAM" means "I am an All-Around Advanced Digital Assistant For Modern Manuscript Management” at your service!

My one-man-band work for the issues of 2001-2008 as Editor In Chief of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS) published by the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP) based at UP Los Baños in Laguna, is an excellent example of what I can do for anybody, or any group, with my skills as ADAM – “All-Around Advanced Digital Assistant For Modern Manuscript Management” – that is an original coinage. With the PJCS, I did everything except write the papers published – I did write the editorial, though; and I designed the covers of all the 22 issues of PJCS that I worked on until it became “ISI” – meaning, it was listed in the internationally prestigious list called ISI (now Web of Science).

This is from the 03 June 2013 essay that I uploaded to my blog named after me: Frank A Hilario (frankahilario.blogspot.com), where I said pertinently about the image above:

This is all about the Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS); you're looking at the cover of one of the PJCS issues that I designed (in fact, I designed all the 22 covers while I was Editor in Chief, 2001-2008). On the cover of this one, August 2005 issue, the PC clip art is the illustration of my editorial, "The Challenge Of Creativity In Science & The Quest For Quality."

So, today, I am offering you my digital services; you can choose one or all of the below:

Writer 
Editor 
Desktop publisher
Layout artist
Image manipulator
Formatter of texts
Designer of pages

I am your Editor In Chief when needed, all digital. You can ask the publisher of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science(PJCS), which is the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP), how I worked on the PJCS so fast and so well – the issues were late in coming by 3 years, meaning 9 issues; I actually worked on the issues from 2003 to 2008 – but I had to begin with the 2001 issue because the journal was late 3 years – and made that journal up-to-date in 3 years, in 2007, meaning I worked double time, all with the PC! And with what quality of editing and desktop publishing? The PJCS was listed in the prestigious ISI (World of Knowledge) already the next year, 2008.

I work 100% on the desktop PC and the desktop printer when necessary.

If you need digital editorial help, send me a Facebook message.

“Democracy & The Proper Role Of Journalism?” “All Media For The Good Of All” – Frank A Hilario

What is the proper role of the “press,” today enlarged as “media,” in a developing country like the Philippines? Inez Ponce De Leon (above) more or less claims in her Inquirercolumn, it is “speaking truth to power” (06 July 2022, “Free Press And True History,” (opinion.inquirer.net).

(“Role Of Media” image from PTV News, ptvnews.ph)

Ms Inez speaks of media’s accepted role. Which is not acceptable to me!

I write based on a self-taught & self-styled journalism born 16 April 1975 starting employment by the Forest Research Institute (FORI), based in the campus of UP Los Baños, where I became the Founder & Editor In Chief of FORI’s monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat.

Thinking back with what Ms Inez just said, 47 years ago I was “speaking truth to people withoutpower!” Was my journalism less?

I quote Ms Inez’ first paragraph in full:

Freedom of speech is invoked so carelessly, it has become wrongly equated with speaking without accountability. Of equal concern, given recent events, is press freedom. Press freedom, however, is not simply allowing lies to flourish in the media. True freedom rests on the journalistic responsibilities of adhering to ethical standards, objective collection of data, and speaking truth to power.

Others, media for justice: “We seek to change the media to transform democracy to realize a just society” – Craig Arron & Jessica J Gonzalez, Co-CEO, Free Press (2003? freepress.net).

Me, Media for development: The journalism I have practiced for 47 years is Development Journalism: “Communication for Village Development in the 21st Century (CoViD21).”

If your journalism does not support social development, I will not support it!

Janet Steele, in her bookEncyclopedia of Journalism, explains it (2009, Editor: Christopher H Sterling, academia.edu):

Development journalism is a type of reporting and writing on topics related to the process of economic development. Its supporters define it as independent journalism that highlights news of development projects, provides critical coverage of development planning and programs, and informs readers of how the development process is affecting them.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says, “The press and public must unite… [It is] important for all to proceed with reforms and move the country forward” (30 June 2022, “PM Coy On Political Future, Cultivates Media,” Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com).

That is so important I want to repeat it boldly:

“It is important for all to proceed with reforms and move the country forward” – Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

The Prime Minister of Thailand understands the proper role of journalism but not the Thai journalists themselves!

In his inaugural speech, among other things President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr said:

When my call for unity started to resonate with you, it did so because it echoed your yearning, mirrored your sentiments, and expressed your hopes for family, for country and for a better future.

Journalists, take a cue from BBM on what your journalism is best for: “for family, for country and for a better future.”

“All media for the good of all!”@517

BBM Sir, We Also Need To Create A Brave New World For Agri Journalism – We Need A “Baro a Bibliya Basaen Mannalon” (“Baro a BBM”) – “New Broad Bible for Multiculture” (“New BBM”)

Your inaugural address as 17^thPresident of the Philippines at the national museum at noon today, Thursday, 30 June 2022 – as a whole: Beautiful speech! Noted: You make it a point that to move the country forward, depends on you and us.

BBM Sir, you said:

I am here to tell you about our future. A future of sufficiency, even plenty of readily available ways and means to get done what needs doing – by you, by me. We do not look back, but ahead. Up the road that we must take to a place better than the one we lost in the pandemic.

“A future of sufficiency” – among others, we will need all the intelligent efforts of our farmers. PH Agriculture is not producing enough food because:

To achieve food sufficiency, we must get our farmers to apply enough of the Arts and Sciences of Agriculture. That basically calls for a dynamic Agri Journalism, backed by a Digital Library of Agriculture. Today, we lack both!

I’m thinking of that digital library in 2 languages. In Ilocano, it’s “Baro a Bibliya Basaen Mannalon” (“Baro a BBM”); in English, it’s “New Broad Bible for Multiculture” (“New BBM”) – “Multiculture” insinuating crops & livestock mixes, excellent for agriculture and the environment, especially contra climate change.

I have to introduce myself. I am Frank A Hilario, the “Father of Agri Journalism,” as UP Los Baños alumnus Reynaldo Mendoza points out on Facebook. I did not realize that until today; yes, I am the “Father of the Binhi Awards” [check out my essay, “Journalists, Wake Up! Philippine Agricultural Journalists (PAJ), You Have Been Slipping On The Job. Frank A Hilario, Father Of “Binhi Awards” Proposes New “Ani Awards” For You To Further Serve Science To Serve Farm Families To Bring Themselves To Prosperity!” (29 June 2022, Towards A New Eden, towardsaneweden.blogspot.com]. I fathered the “Binhi Awards” in 1976, and “Ka Doroy” Valencia God-fathered it.

BBM Sir, particularly, you said in your speech:

Yet there is more out there. Like going forward by new ways of doing, that the pandemic forces [us] to adopt, a stronger resilience, quicker adaptability.

In your hope of making our country successful, your hope is my hope. And in our hope for our brighter future and the futures of our children, your hope is my hope.

Sir, the digital library I am proposing is for the brighter future of Agriculture – through intellectual efforts of government-financed state universities & colleges, led by UP Los Baños, translating technical language into high schooler-understandable language; the highschoolers will then inform their fathers.
(“Women in food” image from IFAJ, linkedin.com)

I propose to be the brains behind Baro a BBM/New BBM, being the son of a farmer in Asingan, Pangasinan, and an alumnus of UP Los Baños.

With a digital library for agriculture, agri journalists will help our farmers win the war for prosperity. (A woman could start the ball rolling, yes!)@517