120312 PHILIPPINE STUDY REAL
By Aloysius Laukai

The CEO for Peace and Reconciliation, NICK PENIAI says that the program to send 200 Bougainvilleans to University in the Philippines is the best for Bougainville.

He made these remarks this morning whilst explaining the criteria in which students would be selected.

MR. PENIAI said that since the ABG President JOHN MOMIS assigned his division to work on this project it has taken him four weeks to carry out awareness in Bougainville.

MR. PENIAI was addressing over a thousand parents and possible students at the BEL ISI PARK in Buka town this morning.

He said that out of the TWO THOUSAND APPLICATIONS distributed over TWO HUNDRED have been filled and returned.

MR. PENIAI said that the first batch of Bougainville students would leave for the Philippines in May this year as classes would start in June.

He said that the cost of individual students to study in Philippines would be TEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED KINA and this should cover Tuition and Lodging fees, Passport fees and weekly allowances for the students.

MR. PENIAI said that the second batch of another 200 students would go to Philippines in November.

A member of the CEBU STUDY from the Philippines, MR.JENSEN GO CHOW was also there to answer to queries by parents at today’s gathering.

Ends

Comments

[Sebastian Hurokoli]

Hi Students in Philippines and commentors. All this time, as how our comments was going, I though ABG provided scholarship for students to study in Philippines and was accusing the people who conducted the selection process as failed to do it in a more effective way. However, this was not the way I thought. Now I know students with their parents have met all the costs involved. Thanks for giving the right information.

I would like to say sorry for any comments I made that hurts. I felt I was one of those "concerned" was referring to when saying going "blah!blah!blah!". Only one thing we must know is that we must try to be good at all cost. What ever we do paints a picture of Bougainville.

[Mala]

Thanks students.. take those comments as challenges and prove them wrong and move forward and onward..never give up...... I am coming over to join you guys there next year, because our teritary institutions here seem to be so expensives.....

Kotz

[joseph]

Thanks AL for this work. To the students, I want to assure you that we are with you and we care about your studies because you are the ones who will be making decisions when many of us are old. Please donot be put off by the negatives comments that were made in the blogg.

Again best of luck in your studies.

joseph

[Aloysius Laukai]

I have purposely allowed comments on the Philippine issue so that by seeing every body's comments you can now better understand where they stand.
Thankyou Students to really come out and put your side of the story. As the saying goes there are two sides to every story.
Regards
Aloysius Laukai Moderator

[joseph]

Roots Mangi and Concerned. I want to thank you both for coming onto the forum and telling your side of the story. Many times, people react to stories on the newspapers and can easily stereotype etc.. I was onces in your shoes but under Ausaid sponsorship. I want to encourage you both to do your best in your chosen fields and prove to us and also your families back home that you are not there by mistake.

All the best to you both.

joseph

[roots mangi]

referring to Aga who said that we are fail students and we are here on scholarship.ill make this clear that we came because our parents sponsored us ,now can you stop complaining and think before you talk because you are waisting your precious air on senseless topics,,yu mas faul yah..

[concerned]

People enough of your negative comments and criticisms!!! First of all for your information, i'm one of the students studying here in the Philippines. Alright lets get things straight! The ABG didn't even sponsor us and its not even a scholarship!!We came here with the money from our own parents! And to you Aga or whoever you are, let me get things straight with you. Whom are you referring to as failures huh??? We were not even handpicked by Mr Peniai but off course he is the one who coordinated the program so whoever had the funds available with good transcripts were able to apply.So we were the fortunate ones to make it through. And for goodness sake we did not even fail!! There's no such thing as fail my friend! Just because of the limited space in our universities in PNG, as for myself, i was not able to make it through..So get your facts right before you open your bigmouths and go blah blah blah!! Anyway i'm enjoying my life and i'm happy with my studies here so far. A very big thank you to Mr Peniai for such a wonderful opportunity. To you all critics out there if you keep on having negative thoughts, Bougainville will get no where!!How are we ever going to get referendum when we keep on criticizing one and other all the time?? We are the human resources of Bougainville so lets work together to develop our nation. Thank you!! WANBEL EM STAP!!

[kopraks]

Osem mi wanpla grassroots pikinini mi laik sapotim tsol ol students go skul oversease.upla ol lain woki kainkain koment osem,upla mas understand na sta isi, nogat man m gutpla lo disla graun.pasin jeles tsol wokim na bougainville tait lo develop!

[Paul Fernandez]

Thank you Joseph for your comments and I do appreciate those kind words. I did not know the person involved in Cebu is Nick's son who is also personally known to me. My short stay in Bougainville has endeared me to the people there that I will always do my best to support all your dreams and endeavors. In fact everyday I keep myself abreast with news there especially also now that you have the Bougainville Bulletin. A greater part of me is left in Bougainville especially with the President and his family, friends like Willy, Albert, Nick and many others!

[OGOI]

Enough of complaining upla ol jealous man meri thats why na upla save toktok planti tumas.....Because your parents cant afford.....

[Sebastian Hurokoli]

Just reflecting on the CEO's comments. He said sending Bougainvilleans to Philippines is good for Bougainville. Yes, it is good for Bougainville, but it needs better planning and should have been done in a better way to reflect the objective for ABG to fund the students education in Philippines.

Comparing Rays' comment where they went through an year selection process to be awarded the scholarship with the COE's four weeks awareness in Bougainville does not make sense at all to me. One can infer that this project was for personal interest and gains but they have used the ABG banner to use public funds.

I learned from a staff of Scholarships PNG in Port Moresby that their relatives (sons or daughters) are not eligible to apply for scholarships as this may raise conflict of interest and can be viewed as a "WANTOK SYSTEM" if the son or daughter is being awarded a scholarship.

Because there are no regulative mechanisms that should guide this project are place, the project has given Bougainville and PNG a bad name at the international level.

Thanks. liklik tingting tasol i kam antap gen long bagarap emi kamap pinis.

I think the CEO should apologies to the people of Bougainville and Philippines.

[Sebastian Hurokoli]

Bad decisions will always give us bad results. I think by now Bougainvilleans should have learned and known this. The case of that drunk student in Philippines is a result of a corrupt selection process. Corruption is crippling development in Bougainville. Think of the Philippines project as money wasted on un-viable projects as result of corrruption.

[Aga]

It is absolutely disturbing to know that all thosehandpicked by Peniai and his cohorts to undertake studies in the Philpnes were Failures who dropped out in the PNG Education system.I was totally surprised to see them in Pom,guess what? Half of them arelong time residents of Sohana/friends of Peniai family.You see them drinking beer,partying, selling betel nuts, smoking drugs etc..Dont expect any thing very good from all of them,There may be some students who would take this opportunity to become usefull and concentrate in their studies.Dont be surprised if most of them return with all Fs in their transcripts. Why dont they give the opportunity to hard working students who score better marks in school then those who fail as aresult of their own fantasies?
I think it is better for ABG to set up Vocational Schools/Technical schools and invite Phillipne Teachers to come and teach if such arrangements would continue in the future.

[AROB Benito]

Nick Peniai is the man behind the arrangement of the Bougainville students(with poor marks) studying in Cebu.Thanks Nick for sending your sons and daughters to Phillippines and now you can see your name spelt Penini on the news paper.

Thanks for taking the initiative but the thing is that you took the wrong approach thats why all these happened.

Ol bikman yupla mas careful now.ABG em no blari private bisnis blo yupla.

[Ray]

Very interesting. The first lot included the Selection Dept's CEO son. Won't be supprised if the others in this lot are the offprings and relatives of the Selection Panel.

I've just returned from my 2yrs AUSAID Scholarship. To get accepted, we went through a rigorous one year selection process. I don't know how these hippies were selected and now they are painting a bad picture of the whole of Bougainville.

If we keep on hand picking this way, I'm sorry we won't get any where.

Inap lo wantok System ya.

[TM]

Is this Penini Nick Penia's son?. What a shame. I did my four years studies in the Philippines and it was where I earn my degree in Education. What is more important education or going around driking behaving and pissing on ones pants as reported by Paul A Fernandez from Cebu eyewitness. Who ever organised their study trip to the Philippines must recalled these students back.

Tony Malamo

[joseph]

Now I understand that the kid involved is Nick Peniai's son. This is totally unacceptable! You have given Bougainville a bad name. When I was younger, when I won the Ausaid scholarship, actually we were taken through an induction week, actually two weeks. We were taken through everything, what to do and what not to do, and the consequences for all actions (both academic and non academic) were all given.. I am not sure whether they do it these days...

I would expect the same or similar kind of sessions to be given to those students going to the Pillippines or to a foreign country for tht matter.

The action by young Peniai actually has far deeper consequences, such as stereotyping, or even attenuating the chances of future students. We should ensure that this is not repeated again.

Joseph

[joseph]

Thank You Paul for this update. Your account of what exactly happened is appreciated. Drinking and behaving like half humans in a foreign country must not be tolerated. Those students should be count themselves lucky that they are in Phillipines but if it was another country, it would turn out to be totally different.
Paul, if you have the chance let the Bougainvilleans there know, that they are lucky to have been given the chance to study, otherwise they would not even have a chance in PNG itself. They should study hard to make themselves useful citizens, to help Bougainville develop..
joseph

[Paul A. Fernandez]

The incident in Cebu involving Benedict Penini is not the only instance where such similar incident happened. I was a personal witness last August 6, 2012 at the Windsor Tavern in Sta. Rosa, Laguna here in the Philippines. A group of students (about 10 of them) from Lei, PNG had too much to drink. Two or three of them started to behave badly and pissing on their pants. The owner who happens to be my employer asked them very nicely to leave the bar immediately. He even offered some drinks on the house as goodwill. But they refused. I approached their leader by the name of Bernard and addressed him "Wantok". He was so surprised. I introduced myself and told him I personally know President John Momis.I advised him to lead the group out as they upset the owner and the other customers. After so many heated arguments they finally left with much reluctance. A similar incident happened in the same bar last July by a different group again from PNG during the State of Origin games which they watched aired at the bar. They were literally thrown out of the bar with the help of some policemen after they started to be unruly breaking glasses and other fixtures inside the bar after too much drinking. Now the owner has declared that they are banned from the bar. I learned from Bernard that there are 60 of them in the Philippines studying at MAPUA Institute of Technology in Manila and the Adventist School in Laguna. I felt embarrassed but I am glad they are not from Bougainville, a place I've learned to like more so its people during my brief stay there as guest of the President.

[Ai ro kukah]

This is an embarrasing situation for Bougainville. Whoever authority within the ABG that facilitated the student to study in the Pilipines needs to apologise to the Pilippines government.

[joseph]

it is in deed a disgrace if the report is true. Penini(?) where is this name from? should not have behaved in that manner. But then I guess he has his side of the story.

Drinking is a real bad habit in Bougainville. Somebody tells me that there are more beer shops than kai bars on Bougainville. Penini(?) Is it Penini or Peniai? his acts may be rooted to the drinking culture on bougainville?

[Sebastian Hurokoli]

Its interesting. Bougainvilleans who went to Philippines are off tract. I think in future, when they are send for studies, they should be more focused. What presented here is very bad.

See link:

http://www.pngfacts.com/1/post/2012/09/drunkard-papua-new-guinea-student-mauled-in-philiphines.html#.UE5gaqCJwAg.facebook

[Gatana]

Was this arrangement ever made public?
First time I have heard about thsi is through this forum today.
Agree with Lanbong, in that for sustainability of this studies, the education department should take the lead.

[Jeff]

I very much agree Lanbong

[Lanbong]

My strong feeling is that anything to do with scholarships has to handled by either Education Division or Human Resource Division. What has the Peace Division to do with human resource development for Bougainville? We should do away with short term solutions and start looking at long term strategies towards developing Bougainville's human resource.

If I had been in Mr. Peniai's shoes, I would have excused the President and given this to Education and HRD. Enough of duplication please!

[Patrick Mallinson]

Has someone looked into the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii?