I have been incredibly fortunate in my professional career; I have never had to actively search for a job. Upon graduating in April 1962, I was offered a position as a research assistant at the University of the Philippines (UP), which I accepted. This meant that I never had a summer vacation afterwards. I didn’t graduate with Latin honors, but rather just below that level due to a few barely passing grades from billiards-overtime. Thankfully, there was still room for me among my cum laude classmates who had also received job offers.
In my new role, I worked on projects with Professor Agustin “Dodong” Kintanar Jr., a specialist in public finance. Our main focus was to increase tax consciousness and determine the fair allocation of the tax burden. Our work was sponsored by the Joint Legislative-Executive Tax Commission, which is now known as the National Tax Research Center. I had to thoroughly study the entire internal revenue code and become familiar with the survey of income and expenditures, likely the Philippine Statistical Survey of Households. This was all new knowledge for me, as it had never been covered in my college economics classes. I am grateful that Dodong allowed me to work independently, using my common sense.
Another study I conducted alongside Dodong was on the welfare of Muslim Filipinos, which was sponsored by Enrique Zobel’s Filipinas Foundation. Secondary data showed that most Muslim communities lacked basic necessities like post offices, police stations, fire departments, public schools, and health services. It became evident that these communities were being overlooked by the national and local governments, and public officials, especially in Manila, were turning a blind eye to their needs. It became clear to me that research plays a vital role in raising public awareness about important issues.
Research findings should not be considered irrelevant or outdated. Data gathered from surveys should always be preserved. For instance, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted a national survey that included questions commissioned by linguistics professor Brother Andrew Gonzalez, FSC. These questions sought to determine the level of English proficiency among Filipinos. Several years later, the same questions served as the baseline for an inquiry by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines to assess the decline of English proficiency. A new SWS survey confirmed the deterioration of English proficiency. Therefore, it is crucial to digitize and securely store survey data in academic institutions, as the government may not prioritize this task. The survey archives at universities like Chicago, Cornell, Michigan, and SWS are all non-governmental.
Survey findings do not need to be newsworthy to be valuable. For example, SWS conducted several small surveys on family planning attitudes, anticipating favorable results. The purpose of these surveys was to convince politicians that their constituents desired freedom from church-imposed restrictions on family planning. It is essential to challenge skeptics to commission their own independent surveys to test their beliefs. Confidential surveys also hold social value, as they are recognized and valued by private election specialists and other ethical social analysts.
In the realm of political research, customers are beneficial for the bottom line. I am grateful to political customers for their support of my economic research.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
