Maglana: RevGov and crowdsourcing change

GOVERNANCE and public administration textbooks advise that serious policy directions should be determined through research or planning processes and participatory measures. They may also come from the actual work of government or non-government bodies or life experiences of communities. But it is not often that major policy shifts are done through crowdsourcing, which is what Network Revolution and other similarly inclined organizations seem to want to achieve through their call, mainly made online through social media and crowdfunding platforms, for a mobilization on November 30 to support a shift to a revolutionary government or RevGov.

While it is true that political changes have occurred that also included political mobilizations, such as EDSA 1986 and 2001, the approach of the groups calling for RevGov is patently different.

It involves a seemingly straightforward three-step process that begins with downloading a declaration and joining gatherings on November 30 or through live Facebook feeds that will be documented through videos and photos. Documentary evidence of the gatherings will then be delivered to President Rodrigo Duterte starting November 30. On those bases, Pres. Duterte is supposed to accept the sovereign will and trust to declare a RevGov and achieve seven mandates contained in the declaration.

The mandates include the scrapping of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the establishment of a federal system, the eradication of corruption in both public and private sectors, strengthening security through an Internal Security Act and modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Policy (PNP), bearing down on syndicates engaged in illegal drugs and other criminal activities, and opening the economy to all who want to support our country’s development.

What is not to like about this call for RevGov? The declaration acknowledges peoples’ concerns about an unresponsive political system used by the political elite and oligarchs to further their own interests. It claims provenance from the globally-held principle that government’s powers emanate from people’s sovereign will. It requires nothing more than accessing a file, joining a one-time mobilization in person or online, and posing for documentation. Voila! Problem solved and the future of the Philippines is guaranteed to be all rosy.

The problematic nature of the call and its rationale goes beyond its starkly simplistic logic. It lies in the hijacking of peoples’ legitimate frustrations in order to justify a wholesale transformation that is not in our interest and through fundamentally undemocratic means.

The declaration masks changes that are truly worrisome: tyrannically shifting the political system, intensifying militarism, furthering neoliberalism, and restoring dictatorship.

Federalism should not be dismissed as an option for the country moving forward. But it cannot be imposed from above without widespread discussion, debate, and public participation in decision-making. A solution unilaterally coming from the top is pathetically inconsistent with the decentralizing nature of federalism.

The declaration has a militarist ring to it. It uses terms such as “neutralize” and tries to entice support from the AFP and PNP by dangling legislation of an internal security act and modernization. We already have the Human Security Act of 2007 (Republic Act or RA 9372) which, despite the increased threats of terrorism, seems not have been fully utilized. Security sector modernization has been among government’s priorities starting the issuance of modernization policies RA 7898 in 1995 and RA 10349 in 2012. Tougher laws and an approach that prioritizes armaments, surveillance, mobility and communications equipment upgrade as responses to criminality and security concerns are problematic if they ignore previous efforts to transform the security sector. The Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research argues for security sector transformation to make it “accountable to democratic processes and ensure armed forces to promote democratic norms and principles, which include respect for human rights, observance of international humanitarian law, and upholding the rule of law, among others.”

The innocuous-sounding ‘opening’ of the economy is a brazen attempt to facilitate easier and further utilization of the country’s economic resources by capitalists and foreign interests. Part of what will obviously be scrapped under RevGov are the Constitution’s protectionist provisions. It is tragic that anti-oligarchy rhetoric is being used to bring about unbridled flow of capital, deregulation of ownership, and prioritization of profit-making. These will only lead to heightened exploitation of the country’s patrimony and the Filipinos, the very persons being asked to endorse RevGov.

Those who selected Pres. Duterte in the 2016 democratic exercise are being duped into proving their support for him through an exercise that is not only undemocratic but more treacherously, despotic.

It has been pointed out that RevGov is not supported by the Constitution, and cannot be resorted to without undermining the legitimacy of the Duterte administration. It is plainly a bid to stage a coup, abolish democratic institutions, and concentrate power in the hands of one person.

Will Pres. Duterte flip-flop from his latest distancing from RevGov? Hopefully not.

One cannot claim to be genuinely pro-people and in the same breath covet dictatorial powers. As the quip goes: pick a struggle.

*****

Email feedback to magszmaglana@gmail.com.

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