@benign0 noticed the sudden appearance rather engagement of Manolo Quezon (@mlq3) on Twitter.

Of course, and seeing one of the first of MLQ3?s many subsequent tweets, we all know where he ultimately stands. That’s because this isn’t the MLQ3 in the 00?s form of his prime as a relatively independent communicator. This time his ability to deliver insightful commentary is encumbered by a real boss with a real political agenda.

That’s not to say he will not contribute mightily to the long overdue uplift of the quality of the national “debate” which, not to put too fine a point to it, has been getting more and more idiotic by the week. He certainly will, perhaps moving from the preferred networking platform of the ADD Generation where he is limited to just 140 characters per spiel and onto writing proper articles on his seminal blog Quezon.ph. But he will at best be a thoroughbred horse running fast but harnessed and reined.

Back in the good (bad) old Arroyo administration days, Manolo was always in twitter and in plurk. Those were the free-wheeling days when anything goes from “Majestic Ham” to current events. Then he suddenly kept quiet as the May 10 elections neared and appeared again on Twitter a day or two before the May 10 elections to greet me a “happy wedding anniversary”. While I know he needs to be prudent with his discussions in Twitter, I cannot help but miss @mlq3 as the person. I need to remind myself that he is now a high level Cabinet official.

Like @benign0, I noticed that the presidential Communication team display “an astounding clumsiness with dealing with the social media mob, which is bizarre considering MLQ3, an experienced Net jockey and a long-respected member of that community, was among their leaders.”.

Manolo is the best person to engage with the social mob.

He is easy to talk to. Understanding an issue or the message in Twitter can lose its effectiveness when the tweeter is abrasive or rude. I once talked to @dawende (Lacierda) and he just sneered at me for being judgmental. How far can a discussion go with that attitude?

Manolo’s tweet on December 13 caught me by surprise. It was an hour before midnight, a day before Chief Justice Corona would deliver his speech. Just a few hours earlier, my husband asked me if Manolo was online and if he still reads the tweets. I even said “Oh I am sure he reads them but he has to be cautious now because he is working for the President”.

Well, divine providence, Manolo suddenly tweeted.

Whatever his reasons are, a calm and level-headed engagement with Manolo is far more informative, enriching and rational than the hot-headed approach of @dawende (Presidential Spokesperson for President Aquino). I am not sure if Manolo will continue to do this or this is just a temporary engagement to lighten the agitated mood on Twitter. Even Abi Valte (@abi_valte) joined us in the discussion. This latest development makes up for the lack of social media engagement that President Aquino said he would have in his administration. It is not the answer to the lack of social media engagement.

It is a start and I am looking forward to the day when we , the bloggers and other social media users actually have coffee and just talk with President Aquino and other Cabinet members.

Anyway, read our discussion:

Since January you might have seen me curating tweets here using Storify. I was quite happy to be given this private beta opportunity. I cannot count the number of stories culled from Storify here in Blog Watch. I have tried other curating tools but Storify rocks them all.

The good news is Storify public beta is now open today. Now many more people have the chance to tell stories in this new form, and be part of the future of storytelling online. This is still very much the beginning of the journey in Storify.

Storify stories have been viewed more than 13 million times on Storify and across the Web since their private beta launched at the end of September 2010. There were 4.2 million views just in March, their biggest month yet.

And for some added background about Storify, please see this interview by Robert Scoble with co-founders Burt Herman and Xavier Damman

Private beta users have created more than 21,000 stories. Storify stories have been embedded on more than 5,000 sites — including some of the most-read destinations on the Web like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, BBC, NPR, PBS, CBC and many other blogs and sites.

Storify is powering an entire show on Al Jazeera that revolves around social media. Such great opportunities for citizens out there wanting to create a social change.

We need curation more than ever. Well if you don’t get curation, below is a good slide presentation “The Fine Art Of Content Curation”, the fine art of selecting, spreading and creating content or read resources on content curation.

The Log Ban is welcomed!

Here is the executive order.

MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 23

DECLARING A MORATORIUM ON THE CUTTING AND HARVESTING OF TIMBER IN THE NATIONAL AND RESIDUAL FORESTS AND CREATING THE ANTI-ILLEGAL LOGGING TASK FORCE

WHEREAS, the entire country has been a witness to the ever-changing climatic conditions brought about by the La Niña phenomenon;

WHEREAS, the destructive effects of the phenomenon on the environment are apparent in many regions in the country and it is an accepted fact that the effects are worsened due to the continuous denudation of the forest zones;

WHEREAS, the watersheds and the river systems supporting existing or proposed hydroelectric power facilities, irrigation works or existing water facilities are in need of immediate protection and rehabilitation;

WHEREAS, it is the obligation of the State to protect the remaining forest cover areas of the country not only to prevent flash floods and hazardous flooding but also to preserve biodiversity, protect threatened habitats and sanctuaries of endangered and rare species, and allow natural regeneration of residual forests and development of plantation forests;

WHEREAS, it is imperative to arrest the degradation, pollution and contamination of the river and water systems and to stem the wanton destruction of the forest resources;

WHEREAS, Article XII, Sec. 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitutional provides that “the exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State”.

NOW, THEREFORE, I BENIGNO S. AQUINO, III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

Section 1. Definition of Terms. For the purpose of this Executive Order, the following terms shall be defined:

1.1 Forest Land – it includes public forest, permanent forest or forest reserves, and forest reservations.

1.2 Natural and Residual Forests- are forests composed of indigenous trees, not planted by man.

1.3 Plantation Forest – is a forest where the trees were planted pursuant to a management agreement with the DENR.

1.4 Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) – is a production sharing contract entered into by and between the DENR and a qualified applicant wherein the DENR grants to the latter exclusive right to develop, manage, protect and utilize a specified area of forest land and forest resources therein for a specified period consistent with the principle of sustainable development and in accordance with an approved Comprehensive Development and Management Plan (CDMP).

1.5 Socialized Integrated Forest Management Agreement (SIFMA) – is an agreement entered into by and between a natural or juridical person and the DENR wherein the latter grants to the former the right to develop, utilize and manage a small tract of forest land consistent with the principle of sustainable development.

1.6 Community-Based Forest Management (CBFMA) – is an agreement entered into by and between the government and the local community in a locality, represented by a people’s organization as forest managers, for a specific period wherein the local community is allowed to develop, utilize and manage a small tract of forest land consistent with the principle of sustainable development.

1.7 National Greening Program – is a DA-DENR-DAR Convergence Initiative anchored on the government’s goal of poverty reduction, food, security, climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Section 2. Moratorium on the Cutting and Harvesting of Timber in the National Forests – A moratorium on the cutting and harvesting of timber in the natural and residual forests of the entire country is hereby declared unless lifted after the effectivity of this Executive Order. In order to implement this policy, the following are hereby instituted:

2.1 The DENR is henceforth hereby prohibited form issuing logging contracts/agreements in all natural and residual forests, such as Integrated Forest Management Agreements (IFMA), Socialized Integrated Forest Management Agreements (SIFMA), Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) and other agreements/contracts with logging components in natural and residual forests;

2.2 The DENR is likewise prohibited from issuing/renewing tree cutting permits in all natural and residual forests nationwide, except for clearing of road right of way by the DPWH, site preparation for tree plantations, silvicultural treatment and similar activities, provided that all logs derived from the said cutting permits shall be turned over to the DENR for proper disposal. Tree cutting associated with cultural practices pursuant to the indigenous Peoples Right Act (IPRA Law) may be allowed only subject to strict compliance with existing guidelines of the DENR;

2.3 The DENR shall review/evaluate all existing IFMAs, SIFMAs, CBFMAs and other forestry agreements/contacts and immediately terminate/cancel the agreements of those who have violated the terms and conditions of their contracts/agreements as well as existing forest laws, rules and regulations at least twice. Furthermore, said agreements shall likewise be immediately terminated/cancelled if the holders thereof engage in logging activities in any natural or residual forest or abet the commission of the same;

2.4 The DENR shall strictly implement a forest certification system in accordance with the United Nations standard/guidelines to ascertain the sustainability of legal sources and chain of custody of timber and wood products, nationwide;

2.5 The DENR shall close and not allow to operate all sawmills, veneer plants and other wood processing plants who are unable to present proof of sustainable sources of legally cut logs for a period of at least five (5) years within one month from effectivity of this Executive Order:

2.6 The DENR through the DA-DENR-DAR Convergence Initiative, shall develop a National Greening Program NGP in cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to initiate the educational drive campaign; the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to help in establishing communal tree farms for firewood and other purposes; the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to identify the upland farmers covered by the NGP as priority beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer program; the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to provide the funds for the production of quality seedlings for the NGP from available funds of the government; and the private sector and other concerned agencies/institutions to raise funds and resources for tree planting.

2.7 The Department of Education shall be given priority in the use of all confiscated logs.

Section 3. Creation of the Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force. To enforce the moratorium and lead the anti-illegal logging campaign, an Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force is hereby created. The Task Force shall be composed of the DENR Secretary or his duly authorized representative as Chairman and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Secretary of the Department of National Defense, the Chief of the Philippine National Police, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines of their respective authorized representatives , as members.

3.1 Mandate. The Task Force is hereby mandated to take the lead in the anti-illegal logging campaign and ensure the implementation of this Executive Order under the supervision of the DENR. It shall also assist the DENR in the enforcement of other environmental laws.

3.2 Support from Government Offices and Agencies. The Task Force may call upon the support of any department, bureau and office of the executive branch to assist in the discharge of its functions, such as but not limited to the provision of administrative or technical assistance, logistical support and detail of personnel. The DENR shall provide the secretariat for the Task Force.

3.3 Budgetary Support. The Department of Budget and Management shall provide the DENR an initial budget for the Task Force in the amount of Ten Million Pesos (P10,000,000.00) which shall be sourced from the available funds of the government. Release of the additional amounts shall be subject to the approval of the President.

Section 4. Repealing Clause. All executive orders, rules, and regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby revoked, amended, and/or modified accordingly.

Section 5. Implementing Guidelines – Upon its formation, the Task Force shall immediately formulate the guidelines for the implementation of the policies set forth in this Executive Order.

Section 6. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, Philippines, this 1st day of February in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Eleven.

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

By the President:

(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.
Executive Secretary

The executive order is well received online. Most say “finally”!

Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social. My links collection on anything in Twitter, Facebook, Plurk, curation, digital influence and other social media technologies that interest me as a blogger, news curator and editor

Commentaries, opinions, bills, on the Reproductive Health issues and pending Reproductive Health Bill in the Senate and House of Representatives