By Harvey S. Keh

THE merger of the two major administration political parties, Lakas and KAMPI will definitely alter the political landscape in favor of whoever will become the administration standard bearer in the 2010 Elections.

Although many political analysts continue to believe that a President Gloria Arroyo endorsement will be a kiss of death, an endorsement will also give the candidate a wide grassroots network of more than 1,000 local government leaders for the 2010 elections.

Many people forget that when it comes to the national polls, it is not often the most popular who wins but rather the one which has the strongest political machinery on the ground.

The candidacy of the late Fernando Poe, Jr. in the 2004 Presidential elections can easily attest to that. Although FPJ drew huge crowds wherever he went, he was still unable to translate these into votes that would be counted in his favor.

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Joy Konstantine G. Agustin

I BELIEVE former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada said it correctly that he and Kabayan Vice President Noli De Castro would be the toughest rivals in the 2010 elections.

That is, of course, supposing the law acknowledges the legality of his being able to run again for the presidency.

Coming from a similar background, with both having the much needed appeal of the masses, the two men are assured of getting a big chunk of support (converted into votes) from the poor, who, as what Erap claims, comprise of about 80 percent of the Filipino voters.

Erap, though convicted with plunder but was swiftly granted pardon by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, continues to charm the masses during his provincial sorties. It is as if the Filipino has already forgotten that at one point in history, this man has been tried and convicted of stealing money from the people.

And while the so-called opposition leaders, Villar, Roxas, Lacson, et al, continue to do their separate tactics to rank in the surveys, Erap’s popularity easily moves his name on top of the list.

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By Harvey S. Keh

FOR the past few months, I have seen and listened to different infomercials from our political leaders who are now posturing as possible Presidentiables in the upcoming 2010 National Elections.

In one infomercial we see a Senator showcasing his concern for the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers and at the same time brandishing the fact that like majority of Filipinos today, he came from very humble beginnings.

Unfortunately, this same Senator is now the subject of corruption charges filed by his fellow senators on his alleged involvement in the C-5 double insertion road scam. I

In another infomercial we see another Senator riding a “padyak,” then asking two children from a depressed community on what their dreams are. After the two children answer him, he suddenly asks the boy who is driving the “padyak” to stop. Then in the next scene, it is now the Senator who is driving the “padyak,” showing everyone that he is one with the poor in their fight against poverty.

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By Harvey S. Keh*

FOR the past months, there have been many launching of different movements which are all working towards the 2010 National Elections.

Last year, the Ateneo School of Government together with Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio, Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo launched Kaya Natin! which aims to promote good governance and ethical leadership to different institutions all over the country.

Then we heard about the launching of the Movement for Good Governance (MGG) which has served as an umbrella organization of different civil society organizations that are all working towards electing the right set of leaders for our country.

The MGG is also working with another umbrella organization of youth groups, Youth Vote Philippines, to ensure that many young Filipinos will be able to register and vote for the upcoming elections.

Last week, we saw the rise of two new groups, one group is still nameless although they are spearheaded by credible leaders such as Senator Francis Pangilinan, Akbayan Representative Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel and well-known author Atty. Alex Lacson. This group plans to go school hopping all over the country in the hopes of encouraging young people to register.

The other group is called Change Politics wherein they expect to gather different Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Peoples’ Organizations and other like-minded institutions to commit to a selection process that would come out with a common reform candidate for President as well as other elective positions. Change Politics is also led by known civil society leaders such as former DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman and PAKISAMA Executive Director, Soc Banzuela.

The good thing about all of these efforts is that these are all starting more than a year before the elections. These civil society groups have realized that by preparing early they will be able to have enough time to ensure that they will be able to make a dent in the upcoming polls.

Many of the leaders of these groups felt betrayed by this present administration given that it was through their collective efforts which led towards the ouster of then President Joseph Estrada in 2001 and the ascension into the Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through the EDSA 2 People Power Revolution.

I have talked with many political analysts who have told me that the sad reality is that many of these civil society groups are well-intentioned and offer good alternatives to the country however, they are often divided during the elections thus, unable to make a candidate in the national scene to win.

One of the political analysts said civil society does not know how politics in the country work thus they are unable to help the candidates they support.

The recent victory of US President Barack Obama has often been attributed to his use of Internet technology. But not many people realize that as strong as his virtual campaign was his ground campaign which he honed during his early days as a community organizer.

Imagine if all the experienced community organizers from different NGOs in the Philippines will work hard to campaign for a common candidate, then the chances of this candidate will be greatly enhanced.

In the local level, we have already seen the power of a united civil society in the recent electoral victories of Padaca and Panlilio. Could this be replicated on the national level or would the civil society again be divided and end up losing a critical election in 2010?

I am one in hoping that this coming 2010, all these various efforts towards electing better leaders for our country will eventually bear fruit. This can only happen if all of us that aspire for a better Philippines will learn to set aside our own personal agendas, differences and ambitions so that we can all unite into a cohesive force that will shape our country’s history. If this truly happens then this coming 2010, let us all watch out for civil society’s revenge.

Harvey S. Keh is the Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo School of Government and the Lead Convenor of Kaya Natin! Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com.

By Harvey S. Keh*

WHEN the Ateneo School of Government initially convened the Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership last July 2008, we began with the belief that despite all the bad stories we hear about poor governance and rampant corruption in our government, there are still many government leaders who are doing good and genuinely serving the country.

Kaya Natin! was started by three outstanding local government leaders, two of which are Ramon Magsaysay Awardees (known as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize) then two more local government leaders (Mayor Sonia Lorenzo and Gov. Teddy Baguilat, Jr.) joined the movement and more recently, seven new Kaya Natin! leaders were formally inducted into the movement. By the end of the year, the movement aims to have at least 100 government leaders in its fold.

Kaya Natin! selects its new set of champions based on the criteria of Effective, Empowering and Ethical Leadership. A leadership scorecard using these three main criteria is used to gauge whether a past or present government leader can be eligible to be part of this movement.

What sets the movement apart from other similar good governance groups is that we also serve as a leadership sanctuary to government leaders who want to do what is right in their respective areas.

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