By Harvey S. Keh
Contributor

LAST week, Pampanga Governor Eddie “Among Ed” Panlilio again made the headlines and even the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) when he broke the news that the reason why he wants his Police Provincial Director relieved from his position is due to the latter’s refusal to cooperate with him in his fight against illegal gambling particularly jueteng in his province.

What even made the news even more alarming was the fact that there are allegations that it was First Son and Pampanga Congressman Mikey Arroyo who was exerting pressure on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure that the demands of Gov. Panlilio will not be given. If we will recall, in the last 2007 elections, one of Gov. Panlilio’s main opponents was Lilia Pineda who was then a Provincial Board Member and wife of alleged jueteng lord, Bong Pineda.

We all know that despite meager resources and limited amount of time to prepare, Gov. Panlilio through the support of the civil society and church groups was able to win and one of main thrust of his administration was to put an end to jueteng in Pampanga thus, ridding his province of the label, “the Vatican of Jueteng in the Philippines”. Barely a year in office, Gov. Panlilio filed a plunder case against Bong Pineda for his alleged involvement in jueteng operations all over the country.

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By Harvey S. Keh
Contributor

THE past weeks we have seen yet again another controversy involving the first family particularly first gentleman Mike Arroyo. According to an alleged report by the World Bank, the Arroyo has been at the receiving end of bribes given by contractors who aim to corner infrastructure projects run by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and primarily funded by the World Bank. As a result of this report, the World Bank has decided to suspend and ban these contractors from taking part I any future biddings for their projects. This issue has since elicited various reactions from our political leaders. Our Congressmen and Senators have since began their own investigations regarding this matter with even one congressman saying that it should be the World Bank and not Arroyo who should be investigated. Up until now, Arroyo continuous to create all sorts of excuses just to be able to avoid being called and asked by Senators who are trying to get to the bottom of yet another corruption scandal that has been an all too often refrain in this present administration.

What is primarily lacking in our present government and leaders is transparency and accountability. Sadly, our President didn’t even help as she even took out a right to information clause in our National Budget which would’ve made it easier for ordinary Filipinos to ask where our money is going. We have also seen that prior corruption and political scandals have died a natural death not because they were resolved but simply because the attention of media has been shifted to other equally pressing and important matters. Up until today, we still haven’t heard Senator Manny Villar explain clearly about the budget insertions that he allegedly made that would favor his real estate company.

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By Joy Aceron*

The understanding and practice of civil society in the Philippines has evolved over the years, with many meanings and permutations ascribed to the term civil society. These multi-faceted views and characteristics of civil society reflect how vast and diverse societal actions are in our country.

In the Philippines, we see in practice all the major arguments and views on civil society. We see (1) the associational civil society based on Touqueville and Putnam’s argument about social capital or strong civil society as a critical element of democratization; (2) the counterweight civil society that presents a dichotomy between society and state and civil society serving as a force that guards against a tyrannical or predatory state; and (3) the hegemonic civil society based on Gramsci which looks at civil society as a space for political contests where civil society serve as trenches that protect the state. Civil society in the Philippines could refer to actors, a space, a phenomenon or processes and form of communication at the same time.

The seeming “democratic rollback” in the country under the current administration poses serious threats to civil liberties and political rights that constrict the space for non-partisan and “harmonious” civil society work; hence more than ever, the fundamental significance of partisan political work by civil society actors requires serious consideration. Institutions of democracy are weakened, as repeatedly pointed by advocates and scholars; and the serious implication of this on citizens’ participation is that without the restoration of these institutions to their supposed form, citizens’ engagement with these institutions could be distracting to the real reform work and thus could be destructive to democratization.

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