Friday, September 05, 2008 Antalan: Empowerment of the poor By Roger P. Antalan Dateline IGaCoS
SOMETHING historic and unprecedented happened during the recent US Democratic Party National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
For the first time, the Democrats chose a black presidential candidate with a funny and very un-American name, Barack Obama. The newspapers pointed out that Obama has a "pedigree that is not typical, not born of wealth and privilege, whose gains come from hard work and sacrifice."
Can this thing happen in the Philippines? Will there be change, a new face, a new leader who will set the right course for the nation and lead it to the path of progress this coming 2010 national elections? Will there be only one opposition candidate for president, chosen after a meticulous public scrutiny and a series of consultations? Will the majority of the people play an active role in the choice of the presidential candidates of both the administration and the opposition? Offhand, the answers to these questions do not look promising.
There is however an emergence of a new spirit of partnership and sharing in coming to grips with the challenges of good government. Last Saturday, 50 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees and 300 community and business leaders met in a forum in Manila to discuss the need for good, effective and credible government to solve the problems of the region.
The forum came up with two important declarations, among others, namely, 1. "Good government is the Key" to progress and development. 2. The RM Awardees issued an urgent "call for the empowerment of the poor. These statements are really nothing new. It is really a repeat of what political pundits have been saying -- that the twin pillars of successful government are "Good Governance" and "Responsible Citizenship". The declarations made during a meeting of highly-placed participants merited news prominence and banner headlines.
Taking its cue from that forum, the Philippine Daily Inquirer featured in its September 2, 2008 editorial the qualities of an effective leader. In summary, this is what the editorial said: "A nation can have good governance only if it has a leader who is honest, upright and incorruptible, sincere and selfless ... a leader who has a special bias for the poor and disadvantaged ... accountable to the people. . . and ethical."
The other specific call -- empowerment of the poor -- is equally, if not more important, in the context of the Philippine situation. The need for an effective and credible government must be supported by "more enlightened and pro-poor policy structures". The poor should be empowered to be active stakeholders in their own development. This can be achieved by organizing communities and building a "more enlightened and proactive electorate."
Year 2010 is still a good two years away. But it looks like there's not enough time and so much to do to empower the voters to make intelligent choices. Because of our multi-party system and our brand of politicking, there will surely be many candidates in the running. Many among the electorate are already "salivating" from the prospect of huge amounts of money for election spending.
The more candidates, the merrier. Discussions on qualifications of candidates and important issues will take the backseat.
A potential candidate is worried. He commented recently, a bit sarcastically, that he will not be dealing anymore with ward "leaders" but with "dealers". The dealer or broker would say: "I have this number of votes. How much will you, the candidate give." And the so-called dealer will shop for the highest bidder.
This is just one example that is cause for worry. Thus, the extreme need for leadership for public participation and stakeholders involvement and responsibility in the local levels. Although civic engagement and responsible citizenship are part of the norms for good governance, most local incumbent politician will have their own vested agenda. They cannot be trusted to work objectively for an enlightened electorate.
The burden will now fall heavily on the shoulders of the non-government groups. The church, the NGOs and the private sector will have to carry the brunt of enlightening the people. Businesses which incorporate social development programs into their objectives would do well if they poured more funds into the empowerment of the poor.
Aside from organizing communities, there are many other interventions that could be done. To mention a few: Making use of mechanisms such as public hearings and surveys, town hall meetings, citizen's forum, consultations and participation in referenda concerning important development options; promoting the public's right to access to LGU information; engaging in consultative process such as environmental planning and city or municipal planning; promoting strong local democracies through free and fair local elections and participatory decision making process; creating a culture of peace and encouraging tolerance of diversity, through public awareness campaigns, and so on.
The people are the principal wealth of the government units. We have rich resources and intelligent and talented people. An enlightened and pro-active electorate will be a big leap forward towards building a strong nation.
