by Harvey S. Keh
Contributor
JUST a few weeks ago, I listened to a National Situationer report given by the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB), the socio-political arm of the Jesuits here in the Philippines.
SLB is known to be one of the most credible institutions who can give an honest to goodness analysis of what is the real state of our country and in their report they emphasized the following:
a.) Yes, the country’s economy continues to grow and, in fact, we have one of the highest growth rates in Asia. However, despite the economic growth, more than 25 million Filipinos continue to languish in poverty.
b.) 62 percent of Filipinos actually die without even having the chance to be seen by a healthcare professional. To make things worse, medicine prices are 5 to 45 times higher here in our country compared to other countries in Asia like Thailand, Pakistan and India.
c.) 3.7 million families continue to be homeless in our country despite efforts being done by non-profit organizations, such as Gawad Kalinga.
d.) P1.2 trillion had been lost to corruption in the last 5 years.
e.) Out of 10 Filipino students who enter Grade 1, less than 2 will be able to finish College.
f.) The brain drain continues in our country as 121 Filipinos leave the country every hour. By the end of this year, we can expect that there will be approximately 8.5 million Filipinos abroad.
These sad realities made me discern the reason why we continue to remain a poor country, despite the fact that we have such a beautiful country blessed with the brightest people in the world. Is it because many of our best people choose to work and live abroad?
Was Conrado De Quiros correct when he mentioned in one of his columns that the middle and upper classes of our country couldn’t care less about what happens because we always have an escape hatch of migrating and living abroad when all else fails in the Philippines? I don’t think that these are entirely correct assumptions since I continue to believe that majority of Filipinos still want to see genuine change and reforms in our country.
Many Filipinos living and working abroad whom I have talked to and corresponded with via email still continue to hope and dream that they will one day be able to come back and live in a Philippines that can provide them and their families with the right opportunities to live a just and prosperous life.
In the end, I think everyone will agree with me that one of the major reasons why we are here is the fact that we continue to elect poor leaders who would rather protect vested interests of their own families and those that have supported them in the last elections.
It’s depressing to note that the reality of Philippine politics is that a good, competent and decent person cannot be elected to power if she or he doesn’t have millions of pesos to use in the campaign.
Of course, we have already seen some exceptions to this “rule,” in the persons of Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio, Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo. All three have clashed with moneyed and well-entrenched political dynasties and have come out victorious. But their victories remain only at the local level and it seems that we will need a more herculean effort to finally elect a President that will not become beholden to a few individuals, interests and families.
According to some friends who have had experience in being part of a national campaign, they say that you need at least P1 billion to have a chance at the Presidency.
Is it impossible then to elect a President that will not become beholden to a few wealthy families and will genuinely serve the interests of Juan dela Cruz?
I don’t think so but if we want that to happen, we should all make that happen starting with the growing Filipino middle class who are mostly living and working abroad.
Imagine if every single Filipino living and working overseas will pledge to donate at least $5 each to support an upright, ethical and God-fearing candidate who has a proven track record in public service, then that would amount to $42,500,000 or a whooping P1.9 billion!
This candidate could then have a fighting chance of being our next President and if she or he wins, she or he can govern properly without being beholden to a few people and their vested interests. As soon as we have enough pledges from Filipinos all over the world, we can then do something similar to a primary process to select the right person whom we can all support.
I propose this idea to every Filipino working or living overseas who still dreams of a new Philippines. I think it’s time that we all invest in choosing the right President for our country. We have less than two years to go before the 2010 National election. Thus the time to act is now. The power to choose our next President should not be in the hands of a few but rather it should be with each and every Filipino.
If you believe in this idea and proposal, please send me an email at harveykeh@gmail.com so we can work together in choosing the right leader for our country who will run a government that will genuinely work towards promoting the common good.
Harvey Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government, and is also the Executive Director of AHON Foundation, a non-profit organization that builds public elementary school libraries all over the Philippines. Harvey also teaches Theology at the Ateneo de Manila University-Loyola Schools.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Harvey,
It is an excellent idea and it is doable. Count me in. You do need to develop the structure in as far as managing the funds is concerned. Please advice the bank account details when ready.
At this stage, I am helping drive away a family political dynasty in Biliran.
Best regards.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Dear Harvey,
I heard your call. It’s a great idea and I have thought about it too, with a small variance. I believe that if there will be a real change in Philippine politics and governance, it should start from every Juan Dela Cruz who wants change and vote for a change. Majority of our countrymen wants change, many wants change but don’t vote, some complains and wants change but don’t vote, some just wants to complain. If you are eligible to vote, there is no excuse for not voting! The usual “Kasi parepareho lang naman ang mga politiko.” is not an excuse. It may be really hard to choose if there is no good candidate who is running, so the adage “Choose the lesser evil.”, I guess, is better than not voting at all. I believe that if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain.
I believe in the idea of investing in choosing the right next President of country, but not the way as you have proposed. Asking overseas Filipinos to invest $5 in order that we can fund a campaign is not the proper way to do it. Monetary investment in an election is wrong. What we need is an emotional and investment in principle. A principle, commitment, and conviction that can not be bought at any price. You said it yourself, there has been exceptions to the rule, you mentioned Gov. Eddie Panlilio of Pampanga, Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela, and Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City. Money is not everything. If we make monetary investment in an election, we would be just like them. One way or another, everyone will be asking for a return of their $5 investment.
Of course we need money to roll out a campaign, but it should not be construed as an investment, but a pure donation to the cause without expecting a return in any form. I am pretty sure there are a lot of people out there who are willing to give more than $5 just to support for the cause. Besides, we really don’t need a billion pesos to have a shot at the Presidency. We already have the money, the OFW remittances alone accounts for 13.5% of our Gross Domestic Product.
Here’s how we can win the Presidency. There are around eight million OFWs all over the world. If we can only convince at least two of our family members back home who are eligible to vote to support our candidate, we will get a whopping 16 million votes. That’s three million more than what President GMA garnered in the 2004 Presidential election. Wait, we haven’t counted the votes of the OFWs yet. We can increase this margin if the OFWs themselves will register and vote as an absentee voter.
Now the only problem is, who are we going to support?
Best regards,
SimonJohn Corocoto
Miami, Florida USA
P.S.
I plan on voting in the next Presidential election in the Philippines. I will be going home after six years of working as an Occupational Therapist in the United States and finishing my MBA in Health Administration and Policy at the University of Miami School of Business this December.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Dear Harvey,
I would like to tell you that I support your idea. Your idea hinges on the practical side of how do we really put a good person in the governance of our country, particularly the Presidency. It is indeed a fact that to face the formidable machinery of the well entrenched Political party we have now such as Lakas or Kampi, a presidential candidate should have at least 1 Billion Pesos to finance his candidacy. Had the late Raul Roco had that amount of money when he lauched his presidential candidacy, for sure he will have won the presidency and we could have seen a good governance than what we have now with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. On his death Raul Roco was euligized as the best president the Philippines could have been. But he was not elected because he has no billions to speak of and his machinery was not well oiled for lack of funds.
So your suggestion is just being practical, to fund the election of an honest and a morally upright candidate. If indeed all OFW throughout the world would contribute at least $5 or say $10, that would give a fighting chance to that good candiate, say the Hon. Jesse Robredo of Naga City. It is person like him that we have to elect as our President. But we know that he will not be drafted by Lakas nor Kampi or any party as he is “too clean” for them. The big politicians will surely not like such kind of candidates because they will be restrained in amassing their wealth, their pork barrels and every penny that they can get from the government.
The only hard part on your idea is who will control the funds. When it comes to money so many will have a piece to say. If it is indeed your advocay to elect good people in our government, I would suggest that we put up a Movement or a Party that would support such politicians not only the Presidency but right down the line up to the local governments. But this will be a herculian job and this will need a collective political will from the 9 million OFWs throughout the world. IF INDEED IT IS OUR OBJECTIVE TO PUT HONEST AND MORAL PERSONS IN GOVERNMENT, WE SHOULD UNITE AND MOVE AS ONE TO REALIZE THIS DREAM. LET US CALL IT THE PHILIPPINE DREAM!
Count me in Harvey. I am one with you in your dream!
Rey S. Orbon
Dammam, KSA
August 4th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I am here in New Zealand. I am definitely going back to the Philippines. For all its faults, I love our country very much. I hope we can come up with a list of potential candidates and a bit of a write up on each of them. Then from there, we can provide our own unbiased inputs and thoughts without the usual 2nd hand comments.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:28 am
I fully agree with this idea. I believe it’s not just the OFWs who are supportive of this idea. There are countless nameless faces among the middle class who are yearning to have a dramatic change in our countyr.
It was done in Pampanga where Kapampangans from all walks of life banded together to support a moral and righteous leader. It was a phenomenon like no other where people readily shelled out their own money to support in whatever way a candidate.
If it can be done in Pampanga, ( as it was done in Naga and in Cagayan), then we can do it 2010.
Let’s start the ball rolling now!