By Harvey S. Keh

I was in Naga City over the weekend to witness the inauguration of the Naga City Governance Institute, which is an initiative by the local government of Naga City to promote best practices in local governance all over the Bicol Region.

As we all know, Naga City under the leadership of Mayor Jesse Robredo for the past 18 years has been transformed from a 3rd class city in the 1980s to the queen city of the Bicol Region today.

As a testament to his outstanding leadership, Robredo was one of the first Filipinos to receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service which is acknowledged as the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize. Among those who came for the inauguration were Bert Hoffman of the World Bank, Bill Luz of Ayala Foundation and Prof. Leonor Briones of the UP-National College of Public Administration and Governance.

During the talk of Prof. Briones regarding the challenges that the Bicol region continues to face in terms of uplifting the quality of life of its constituents, I was struck by her presentation of the high poverty rate that the Bicol region has.

According to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), the poverty incidence in the region is at an alarming 51.1% based on its latest statistics which was gathered in 2006.

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By Harvey S. Keh

AT the rate things are progressing with regard to the 2010 elections, it seems that the number of Presidentiables are growing every month. Just this morning, I woke up to the news that known environmental advocate Nicanor Perlas has also declared to run for President while there are also news stories that last year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service, Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela is also being prodded by peasant and youth organizations to consider to also run for the highest position in the land.

This just goes to show that there is indeed a growing discontentment by many Filipinos here and abroad about the current state of our politics and a great longing for better leaders who will advocate good governance and ethical leadership in our country.

Yet, the sad reality that many of these reform candidates face–including the likes of Gov. Eddie Panlilio of Pampanga, Chief Justice Reynato Puno and Jesus is Lord (JIL) Evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva–is that if all of them decide to run for President in 2010 then I can guarantee every Filipino that all of them will also end up as losers in the said elections.

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs, good intentions alone will not be enough to elect a reform President, financial resources are a given. I remember a conversation I had with former Senate President Franklin Drilon. He told me that you need millions of pesos to run a national campaign not to buy votes but to actually take care of your operations such as hiring campaign staff, paying for the rent and utilities expenses of your campaign office, organizing and feeding your volunteers, traveling expenses and most importantly, paying for television and radio advertisements.

With so many reform candidates positioning for the 2010 polls, I doubt that there would be enough donors and resources that they will be able to raise to put up a viable campaign.

I think the real strategy now should be to look at the current survey results (SWS and Pulse Asia) and assess the chances of each candidate.

In my conversations with both Panlilio and Padaca, who are both Kaya Natin! leaders, they both told me that they will always do what is best for the country and not their own personal ambitions.

I think this should be the attitude of all the current reform Presidentiables, they should all work towards unifying their forces in the hope of supporting a common candidate or even running under a common unity reform ticket.

Recently, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan also declared that he will run for Vice-President as an independent while he also launched his Register to Vote (R2V) project that also brings together known reformists such as Panlilio, Padaca, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, Ifugao Gov. Teddy Baguilat, Jr., Atty. Alex Lacson, former Rep. Neric Acosta and Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel together for a common cause of encouraging the Filipino youth to register for the upcoming polls.

Imagine if all of these groups converge under one common reform ticket in 2010, I am sure that whomever they decide to support for President will surely have a strong chance of winning. If they don’t and they decide to go on their separate ways then this will just benefit the present administration and we can all rest assured that another corrupt traditional politician will win in 2010.

This coming 2010, courage, genuine love for country, openness and more important, humility will be factors to avoid a recipe for disaster, which will leave us again wondering what could have been if only we made a sincere and genuine effort to be united for a cause that is much greater than each one of us.

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

By Harvey S. Keh

WITH the current moves by the allies of the administration to push for Charter Change through a Constituent Assembly, the prevailing Ethics case filed by Senator Jamby Madrigal against former Senate President Manny Villar seems to have taken a back seat in the national consciousness of people.

Just recently, a media study came out stating that Villar has already spent more than P300 million for his advertisements and infomercials. I am sure many of us have actually heard Villar’s infomercial with Boy Abunda wherein he tries his best to explain to the general public his side on the controversial P200-million C-5 insertion scam. I had lunch two weeks ago with someone who works at one of the major television networks in our country and he told me that this Villar infomercial is easily costing Villar more than P20 million a week which is spent mostly on buying up the necessary airtime needed.

Which now goes back to the same question that many of us continue to ask, why doesn’t Villar subject himself to an investigation by his own peers at the Senate? His continuous non-appearance and refusal to cooperate in this current ethics investigation all the more leaves many of us to doubt his credibility as a leader.

Let us remember that if there is one thing that many Filipinos are disgusted with as regards to this present administration, it is the lack of transparency and accountability. Villar’s current stance already shows the Filipino people what we can expect of him and his administration if he does become President of our country. How can we expect him to follow the law when he becomes President if he can’t abide by it now that he is only a Senator?

Given the fact that maybe many of his colleagues are just using this investigation to drag him down in the current Presidential derby, I believe that this is not enough reason for him to disregard the rules and policies of the same democratic institution that he used to lead. If he is innocent as he claims to be then he need not be afraid to come forward and take part in this investigation. With the media coverage given to the hearings, people will easily see whether his colleagues are impartial or not and it will also give him an opportunity to clean his name in the eyes of the Filipino people. As the Holy Bible states, the Truth will set you free.

Instead of spending millions on infomercials trying to clear his name, Villar should just spend a few hours to cooperate and explain himself in front of his fellow senators. If he thinks this issue will just go away and die a natural death, I can assure him and his supporters that it won’t given that he has declared himself as a possible Presidentiable in 2010. The millions that he will be able to save can be spent more wisely by providing much needed scholarships to poor but deserving public school students or building homes for the thousands of homeless families in our country. If Villar wants the vote of every Filipino, he should start earning it by coming forward and subjecting himself to the same laws that govern every Filipino regardless of social status or position.

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

By Cristyl Mae Senajon

ELECTING a president is akin to hiring company employees. It follows certain rules and procedures. Example, an aspiring employee will tender his/her professional portfolio to the hiring company. If lucky enough, this job-seeker qualifies to go through the company’s set application and screening processes.

A presidential aspirant is no different. He/she submits his/her Certificate of Candidacy to the Commission on Elections together with the other requirements set for by the commission. In the company, when all the examinations and deliberations are done, the one who passed the pre-employment selection criteria gets the job. In elections, the candidate who reaped the highest number of votes wins the position.

But companies think better. When they hire, they hire the best people to work for them so they get maximum results based on a set of criteria that works both to the company’s advantage and the employee’s benefits.

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By Harvey S. Keh

THE recent approval of House Resolution 1109 by the congressional allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo clearly shows that this present administration will put out all the stops to ensure that it will stay in power beyond the 2010 elections.

HR 1109 will allow the members of the House of Representatives to convene itself into a Constituent Assembly with or without the consent of the Senate, a co-equal legislative body as stated upon in our present Philippine Constitution.

Clearly, we now see that we have a House of Representatives that is dominated primarily by Congressmen who do not represent their constituents’ sentiments and beliefs but the interests of a few ruling elite in our country today.

News reports have said that the President and her cohorts used the allotment of the Pork Barrel as bait for the Congressmen to sign the resolution.

As if adding insult to injury, instead of working until the wee hours of the night to ensure the passage of pro-poor laws such as the Extension and Reform of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARPER), the allies of the President chose instead to pursue its objective of pushing for Charter Change before it adjourns its session on June 3.

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