By Harvey S. Keh

LAST week, we were all caught by surprise by the sudden announcement of Senator Mar Roxas that he was withdrawing from the 2010 Presidential Elections to give way to the candidacy of his party-mate and good friend, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Senator Aquino is now being asked my many groups to take the cudgels for genuine change and reform that have been left behind by his parents, former Senator Ninoy Aquino and former President Cory Aquino. I greatly admire Senator Roxas for this act of true statesmanship and this also further bolstered my belief that there are still many good people in Philippine politics. Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, a fellow stalwart of the Liberal Party also announced that he is willing to forego his bid for the Vice-Presidency if and when Senator Aquino decides to choose Senator Roxas as his running mate. Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio and Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca followed Senator Roxas’ self-sacrifice by also announcing their withdrawal from the Presidential and Vice-Presidential race to also support the bid of Senator Aquino. Through these acts of sacrifice, I am very confident that it will only be a matter of time when all the reform groups will converge towards supporting Senator Aquino and a common slate that would represent the change that every Filipino has been longing for.

Yet, as I read a major newspaper (not the Philippine Daily Inquirer) last Sunday, I was disappointed by an article written by a regular columnist who said that it was good for Panlilio to back out from the race since he didn’t have the money to run a national campaign which he mentions as having at least 1 billion pesos. This kind of thinking is what has led the country to where it is now. Moral, upright and good leaders opt not to run during our elections because many people tell them that if you don’t have money you will not win. This is also the reason why more often then not Filipinos are left with no other choice but to always choose between the lesser evil since those who have the genuine desire to be of service do not anymore run for office since they do not have enough financial resources. Moreover, this kind of thinking has led to patronage politics and politics as a business wherein the politicians would “invest” millions or even billions to win an election then they would “reap” the fruits of their investments by siphoning off public funds that should be used to provide basic services to the Filipino people. Worse, they will also have no choice but to grant political favors to benefit the people who donated millions in their campaign. If we will all accept this columnist’s way of thinking then I will be the first one to tell all of you that Senator Noynoy Aquino will not win in the 2010 elections. His current net worth is less than 15 million pesos as compared to Senator Manny Villar’s billions of pesos.

However, like many of you, I refuse to buy this columnist’s argument of having billions of pesos in order to win in the 2010 Presidential elections, Gov. Eddie “Among Ed” Panlilio won in Pampanga against his well-funded and politically-entrenched opponents despite only having an initial fund of P 1,000. Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca also won not only once but twice despite her opponents spending millions of pesos against her. Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija won despite not having any posters or tarpaulins during her campaign. If we want to elect a reform President like Senator Noynoy Aquino that will not be beholden to the self-interests of the ruling oligarchs, business groups and traditional politicians, this President must be elected through the support of ordinary Filipinos like you and me. Like the Aquino family who has given already so much of themselves for our nation, every Filipino will also need to make our own small sacrifices such as chipping in our own small share of funds to help in his campaign, volunteering our time and talents and going out of our way to convince our friends to support Senator Aquino. This is our chance to prove once again to the whole world that the Philippines can lead the way in showing that the power of a true democracy lies in the hands of the people and not in the hands of a few.

Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com
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Harvey S. Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government.

By Harvey S. Keh

Amidst the nation’s mourning over the passing away of international democratic icon and former President Cory Aquino, the Supreme Court decided to rule against the appeal of Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio to stop the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) from proceeding with its decision to start the recounting of votes casted during the last 2007 Gubernatorial Elections in Pampanga. It will be recalled that in 2007, various civil society, church and peoples organizations bonded together to support Panlilio against two of the closest allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, then Board Member Lilia Pineda and then incumbent Governor Mark Lapid. Despite having very meager resources and no political machinery to bank on, the support of thousands of ordinary Kapampangans led Panlilio to victory over his two well-financed rivals. This inspiring victory of Panlilio in the home province of the President gave hope to millions of Filipinos worldwide that people power is still alive and well in our country inspite of the numerous political and corruption scandals that many of our current government leaders have been involved in. Despite having no prior experience in politics, Panlilio has since tried his best to govern effectively and ethically, recently leading his province to win the prestigious Gawad Galing Pook Award for Outstanding Local Government Units in 2008.

Now, two years after Filipinos all over the world celebrated this momentuous victory, we are now in danger of losing it because of a pending recount which was filed in the COMELEC by Pineda. While every losing candidate has the right to file an electoral protest, what is surprising is the undue haste and attention that the COMELEC has been giving to this particular case against Panlilio. Currently, there are several other earlier electoral cases that have been filed but have not been acted upon by the COMELEC, doesn’t the COMELEC think that these cases should first be resolved before the Panlilio case? Also, Chairman Jose Melo of the COMELEC even said on record that instead of the usual 4 teams that will conduct the recount, the COMELEC will be forming 21 teams to hasten the recount process. Why single out the Panlilio case again? Could there be a hidden hand from Malacanang moving behind the scenes and influencing officials of the COMELEC? In addition to this, many ballot boxes that have been transported already to the COMELEC main office were found to have been tampered or missing their locks, how can we trust that these ballot boxes still contain what is the true mandate of the people of Pampanga if their contents have already been altered prior to the recount? Finally, the COMELEC has already said that it will spend millions of pesos for this recount, given that Panlilio has less than 10 months to serve before he finishes his term, wouldn’t it be better for COMELEC to focus its attention to ensuring the automation of the 2010 elections and to spend this amount for other more worthwhile expenditures such as providing better pay to poll watchers and public school teachers?

As we continue to celebrate the life that former President Aquino lived in the service of every Filipino, we must also realize that it is now our main duty and responsibility to protect the democracy that she and Ninoy Aquino worked and ultimately died for. One of the main pillars and gifts of this democracy is our duly-mandated right to elect and choose our leaders, this right is again being threatened by politicians whose only aim is to promote their own self-interests at the expense of millions of poor Filipinos. Let us remember that this is not just Panlilio or the Kapampangan’s battle but this is a battle that must be fought by all Filipinos who believe that we can still elect honest and upright leaders in our government. This is a battle to protect the democratic gains that ordinary Filipinos like you and me have made against the politics of guns, goons and gold that continues to be perpetuated by many of our traditional politicians. Finally, this is a battle to prove once again that the true power in a democratic and free society resides in the people and not in the hands of the wealthy and powerful elite.

Let us all remember the wise adage that the only way for Evil to Prevail is for Good men to do Nothing.

Will the Filipino people do nothing and allow our hard fought democracy to be usurped once again by a few? I hope not.

Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com

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Harvey S. Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo School of Government. He is also the Lead Convenor of Kaya Natin, a national movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership.

By Harvey Keh
Contributor

LAST week, I wrote here about the possibility of alternative and reform candidates running and winning in the upcoming 2010 National Elections. The responses I received were varied, many overseas Filipinos sent personal emails to me pledging funds ranging from $5 to $1,000 in support of an alternative and reform Presidential candidate, while some sent me responses saying that it will be useless for the likes of Among Ed Panlilio, Gov. Grace Padaca, Mayor Jesse Robredo, Chief Justice Reynato Puno or Bro. Eddie Villanueva to consider to run since they will not win.

One even cited the experience of Bro. Eddie saying that he positioned himself as a reform Presidential candidate in 2004 only to lose badly despite having his Jesus is Lord (JIL) Movement behind him.

Another letter sender said that we should have learned from the experience of the Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidates in the last elections wherein they ran on a platform of change but none of them even made it to the Top 20.

While I agree that we should approach this with a dose of pragmatism and being realistic, I also think that we shouldn’t confine ourselves to candidates that we feel are winnable. If you look at the past elections, Filipinos have always voted and rallied around the usual names, faces and those who are presumed to be winnable, not willing to take a risk on the reform candidates because they feel that these candidates don’t have a shot at winning.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

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.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Karla Angelica Pastores

THE first time I met Jesse Robredo, Grace Padaca, and Among Ed Panlilio, I wasn’t star struck. They did not have an air of superiority around them, and they certainly did not walk around waving to everyone and shaking hands with people whose arms are not even extended. To me, they did not look like politicians, let alone award-winning ones.

No, I wasn’t star struck when I met them. I was awestruck.

Over dinner at Club Filipino one June evening last year, I was listening to these three government officials talk about their problems in their provinces and offer solutions and support to each other. They were seated across from each other, engaging themselves in a lively conversation. As I sat there, a young, somewhat inexperienced fresh graduate, I felt very privileged to have met these leaders and be privy to their thoughts and ideas.

Several months and two more exceptional public servants later, my respect and admiration for Mayor Jesse of Naga City, Gov. Grace of Isabela, Among Ed of Pampanga, Gov. Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao and Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija have only grown. In my work for Kaya Natin!, I interact with these five people on a regular basis, and like that evening in Club Filipino when they first met, I have the chance to know them as people, not as politicians.

As people, these leaders are as real as they get. They have more right to say that they’re just regular people than television and movie stars have –just regular people who have problems and issues albeit scrutinized by the public eye. At least with celebrities, they’re compensated with more than enough; with government officials like Mayor Jesse and Gov. Grace, it’s only their heart for the people and the country that keeps them in public service despite the difficulties.

In today’s political arena where corruption seems to be the norm, government officials like the Kaya Natin! champions are a refreshing twist to the story. Here we have leaders who, while far from being perfect, have put it upon themselves to serve the public with integrity. Not only are they challenging the rules of the game of traditional politics, going against big names, but they do so with a genuine commitment to changing how politics works in the Philippines. They are the faces of effective and ethical leadership in government.

The reality is that these champions of good governance are not that much different from the rest of us. Before taking on the challenge of public service, they were ordinary citizens who only wanted to do something and be someone for others. It was a sacrifice they were ready and willing to make, and it was a sacrifice that was worth every pain and disappointment if only to see their fellow Filipinos leading better lives. They are still ordinary citizens; only now they hold jobs aimed at serving the public.

Ordinary people? Quite probably. Extraordinary characters? Most definitely. The best part is, they’re all real people.