As the deadline for the filing of candidacies draw near, realignments are now happening left and right with the Liberal Party (LP) and the Nacionalista Party (NP) being the main beneficiaries. Many administration stalwarts have left the so-called political giant, Lakas-Kampi, mainly due to the perceived weakness of their current standard bearer, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. Even within the ranks of the opposition parties, many have transferred from one camp to another with Bukidnon Rep. TG Guingona leaving Sen. Manny Villar’s NP to be part of Sen. Noynoy Aquino’s People’s coalition as the Kaya Natin Movement-backed candidate and former Senator Serge Osmena leaving the Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC) to also be part of this LP-led Senate slate.

As these realignments continue, more and more civil society groups who are actively supporting the candidacy of Aquino and his runningmate, Senator Mar Roxas, are becoming wary of the possible political accommodations and transactional politicking that may occur. So far the LP has done well in selecting local and national candidates that represent the kind of new politics and good governance that Aquino personifies but there are persistent rumors that certain politicians with very shady backgrounds and are known to be corrupt are now trying their best to be part of the LP-led People’s Coalition Senate slate and be openly endorsed by Aquino. This is no longer surprising given that Aquino has continued to lord it over the field of current Presidentiables in the recent surveys that have been conducted. As we grow closer to the deadline set by the COMELEC for filing of the certificate of candidacies, you can expect that there will be more of these “highly-experienced” political operators and politicians who will try their best to wiggle their way inside the inner circle of Aquino and Roxas. They will offer Aquino and LP their political machinery and wide network of supporters in exchange for a formal endorsement as an official candidate.

On one hand, the challenge for the people around Aquino is to ensure that these traditional politicians or “Trapos” are kept away from him and LP. They must never forget that the current strength of the Aquino campaign rests on his and his family’s unquestionable integrity and character. If and when political compromises happen and become the norm of his campaign, he would’ve fallen into the trap laid down by his enemies who want him to fight them in their old game of patronage and money politics. In this kind of a game, Aquino will be at a disadvantage given that his current adversaries are savvier, more moneyed and more experienced in this kind of playing field. Aquino has a unique chance of bringing the campaign and politics in the country to a higher playing field that is primarily led no longer by the trapos but by ordinary people like you and me who will proactively work with him in bringing good governance and ethical leadership in our country. His national campaign manager, Former Department of Education Sec. Butch Abad hit it right in the head when he said that this is no longer just an Aquino campaign but it is a people’s campaign. This kind of belief has made Aquino the runaway leader in all the surveys thus, his campaign must continue to be anchored on this if they want to ensure victory by May 2010.

On the other hand, the civil society and people’s organizations that are supporting Aquino should also realize that it is also important to create alliances with politicians and political parties as long as these alliances do not compromise the core values of Aquino and the people’s campaign. These alliances are necessary to ensure that Aquino’s votes are counted properly and protected from the cheating machinery that is expected be in full throttle again come May 2010. Moreover, these alliances are important since if Aquino wins, he will have an easier time governing and implementing the necessary reforms if he will be able to have enough allies in Congress and the local government units. In the field of politics today, we cannot be purists and say that we despise all politicians and political parties since we have seen that not all politicians are engaged in patronage politics and corruption. These icons of good governance and ethical leadership are exemplified by the likes of Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, Ifugao Gov. Teddy Baguilat, Jr., San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Mayor Sonia Lorenzo and Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio. The real key for Aquino and his campaign team is to find that unique balance between the ideals and values that he represents with the realities of Philippine politics. If he is able to find this balance and sustain this growing momentum until the elections, he will have the unique chance of making it to the history books by being able to get more than 50% of the votes, something that has not been achieved by any winning President in recent Philippine electoral history.

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.

While the election fever heats up in our country, the World Bank-Knowledge Development Centers together with the Ateneo School of Government and the Asian Institute of Management-Center for Development Management recently held a governance forum entitled, Panibagong Paraan for Good Governance 2009. This event brought together leaders from local government units, academic institutions, civil society groups and international agencies to discuss best practices that promote transparency, social accountability and effective delivery of basic services to the people.

During the first day, multi-awarded Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City shared with the participants how they are able to promote transparency through their i-Governance program which enables ordinary citizens to easily access information pertaining to how their city budget is used by simply logging on to their website. Robredo also shared how they institutionalized through a city ordinance the formation of a People’s Council which sits in the different committees of the city government. This council serves as a partner in implementing government programs and at the same a watchdog as well to ensure that the local government continues to be held accountable to the people for their actions. Robredo stressed that by getting people involved in governance, they will also co-own the programs and by doing so, they will also continue to support the leader that has empowered them. This way of governing has enabled Robredo and his team to win the past 5 local elections without spending enormous amounts of money or resorting to illegal means. The people’s council model has since been replicated in Quezon City through the efforts of QC Councilor Bolet Banal and Mayor Sonny Belmonte.

Former Mayor Baby Congco of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija and Mayor Florante Gerdan of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya also shared that the leader who is able to deliver basic services effectively will usually win the elections. Congco, a 3-term mayor in her town, shared that in the past elections, her opponents would spend more than 5 times the usual amount that she would spend and yet she would still come out on top because her constituents easily feel the impact of her programs and projects particularly in education and healthcare. Gerdan, who used to be part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said that he works as if every day is an election day wherein he always goes out of his way to ensure that the important needs of his people are served. Although limited by resources, Congco and Gerdan continues govern effectively by finding private sector partners such as Gawad Kalinga, Ateneo de Manila University and the Zuellig Family Foundation to help them in their projects.

Mayor Fermin Mabulo of San Fernando, Camarines Sur sums it up well as he modifies a famous quote from the movie Spiderman by saying that, “With shared power comes shared responsibility.” Further stressing that good governance thrives when people are empowered and participate in the government’s efforts to ensure public welfare and development. Their experiences all show that an aspiring leader need not have millions of pesos to ensure winning an election. When people see that a leader practices good governance and provides opportunities to get their constituencies involved, it is the people themselves who will work to always ensure that this leader will continue to win the elections.

Be part of Panibagong Paraan 2009 and be updated with our future activities by adding us up at Facebook or sending us an email at panibagongparaan2009@gmail.com.

Harvey S. Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo School of Government.

THE growing euphoria about the Presidential bid of Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has been attributed mainly to him being the only son of the martyred former Senator Ninoy Aquino and the well-loved former President Cory Aquino. The Filipino people who have grown tired of the rampant graft and corruption practices perpetuated by leaders of this present administration are now looking for a leader who has integrity, right moral values and can inspire Filipinos to once again dream and work for a better future. They saw all of those qualities in Ninoy and Cory, naturally many of them now see it in their heir apparent, Noynoy.

Despite this, one cannot also say that Noynoy hasn’t earned his own stripes in the realm of politics and governance having been a well-performing Congressman who represented Tarlac for nine years and now being a member of the Senate for the past two years. Many question his legislative record but a brief check on the kinds of laws he has authored or helped craft would indicate that his main focus has been on preserving the integrity of democratic institutions and the promotion of transparency and social accountability in our government institutions. These are areas where the present government has found to be lacking especially when it comes to social accountability wherein not one person involved in the Fertilizer Scam, Hello Garci, Swine Scam and the NBN-ZTE Broadband deal has actually been tried and put to jail.

Another second generation political aspirant that looks very promising is current Bukidnon Rep. TG Guingona, who recently left the Nacionalista Party of Senator Manny Villar in favor of being drafted by the Liberal Party-led People’s Coalition as the official Kaya Natin Movement-backed Senatorial candidate in the coalition. TG is the son of known nationalist and former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr., who is also known to have been a staunch ally of former President Aquino. TG was also a former classmate of Noynoy during their early days at the Ateneo de Manila University. TG’s main advocacy is the promotion of greater transparency in the use of the National Budget. He has been going around the country to educate people with regard to how the more than a trillion peso budget is used and misused by the present administration. Aside from this, he continues to work with Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon in promoting the passage of a Disaster Mitigation and Management Law that would help our country prepare for future calamities as we have seen in Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

On the local government front, Joy Belmonte-Alimurung, the only daughter of current Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte will be running for Vice-Mayor. After graduating from Ateneo de Manila University, Joy decided to join the Jesuit Volunteer Philippines (JVP) and was assigned to live in a rural village in Bukidnon for a year to teach children coming from indigenous communities. Moreover, she has continued to serve as President of the Quezon City Ladies Foundation which continues to develop cultural programs and provide livelihood opportunities to women who live in depressed areas. Since last year, she has also consistently provided leadership and social entrepreneurship training to youth leaders coming from different baranggays in Quezon City. Apart from these, she realizes that helping manage one of the largest cities in the country is no walk in the park thus she has made it a priority to prepare for the position by studying Urban Planning and Development at the University of the Philippines (UP).

These three scions of highly-accomplished political leaders in our country will be hard-pressed to fill the big shoes that have been left behind by their parents. Yet, just by looking at their past track records of maintaining integrity in their effective delivery of public service, we can all feel confident that they will not only make their parents proud but more importantly, they will make each of us feel proud to be called a Filipino.

Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com

Harvey S. Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo School of Government.

STATISTICS show that 54 percent of the total voting population comes from youth bloc. Of the 2.6 million new voters, 80 percent are youth.

These statistical data show just how fundamental the role of the youth will be in shaping and determining the outcomes of the highly anticipated 2010 National and Local elections. If tapped well, these young Filipinos may well elect and put into power a whole new breed of leaders who lead the country on the fence of accountability, transparency and integrity, thereby creating a government that is more effective and more responsive to the needs and welfare of its constituents.

If this is going to be the scenario, and I’m keeping faith this will be, no more migrant Filipino workers will ever need to leave their families behind in search of greener pasture beyond borders, no more kids will be left to labor in the streets to feed their families; they will be sent to school to learn to read and write, no more families will go famished; no more Filipinos will die without being seen by a healthcare professional and above all, no more Filipinos will choose to be indifferent because they will now hold accountable their leaders for their statements and actions.

These changes though will come about only, if and only when young people, for the most part, choose to exercise their democratic rights by getting into the process of registering names on the 2010 voter’s list and exercising right to suffrage come election period.

The more crucial part however in relation to electoral processes, lies in being able to create and provide every means and ways for young voters especially first-timers to learn and be educated about the candidates—their platform of governance, track record on prior public undertakings, stance on pertinent issues and everything else that speaks of their person and character. After all, ineffective governance and unethical leadership don’t sit well with us, anymore.

Apart from these, youth claim their stake through other election-related engagements. Several youth-led organized groups are actively promoting initiatives in line with that of voter’s education in the country such as Youth Vote Philippines and Young Public Servants whose thrust is to get the unconverted vote into registering before 31 October and provide the voter-to-be such indispensable information as candidate’s comprehensive profiles, Millennium Development Goals as the checklist for candidates, and polls, among others to making an informed decision come 2010.

Ateneo School of Government’s Generation Change composed of student leaders from the Ateneo de Manila University is also making dent on the future stakeholders of the country through educating the youth groups of the 3rd District of Quezon City with their shared views and insights on voting for the right leaders in our government.

A number of youth, in the same breath, have chosen not to quibble but lay wager on the presidential candidate they feel strongly for and passionate about this up and coming election. There is PiNoy Power and YoNoy! for Sen. Noynoy Aquino, Kabataang Nasyonalista for Sen. Manny Villar, and pool of youth volunteers for National Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro and former President Joseph Estrada, respectively.

These youth-led campaigns prove the fact that the youth are in no way letting this chance pass up, the chance to do something through voting the right candidate therefore altering possibilities for a better future in this country.

IT has been more than a week now since Typhoon Ondoy ravaged Metro Manila and nearby provinces. We have all heard horror stories of people swept away by floods and families spending almost 24 hours atop their roofs while praying earnestly that the rising flood waters will not reach them. Thousands of families continue to live inside cramped evacuation centers as their homes and personal belongings were literally washed away. Those lucky enough to still manage to save their homes spent the last week cleaning up and fixing what was left. Personally, the whole ground floor of our house in Malabon was submerged for several hours in flood water, leaving all our electronic appliances including our two cars in our parking lot as casualties in the wake of Ondoy.

A highly respected mentor of mine told me last week that finger pointing and blaming at this time of crisis will not help but I also believe that if we as a people do not learn from this tragic experience then history may just repeat itself. Many questions come to my mind right now. Given the fact that we already know that we can expect more than 20 typhoons to visit us every year and we are also one of the most disaster prone countries around the world, why wasn’t our national government agencies led by the Department of National Defense ready or prepared to address such a national calamity? My friend and his family who spent more than 19 hours atop their house in Marikina wasn’t even rescued, they had to wait until the flood water had subsided before they went down on their own and walked their way out of their village. Another question is, why can our national leaders afford first class plane tickets, 5-star hotel accommodations and dinners at fancy restaurants in other countries yet we cannot even afford to buy enough rescue equipment such as rubber boats and amphibian vehicles? Finally, why did the flood water rise at such a high level and at such a fast pace? Where did the money for a better flood control and drainage system go? I hope the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) didn’t use it to purchase print ads on national dailies that depict their leader as the so-called, “Tamang Daan sa 2010”. International groups have consistently said that billions of pesos are lost every year due to graft and corruption that is rampant among many of our current government leaders. Imagine if those billions went to the development of better flood control systems, roads, rescue equipment and advanced weather prediction facilities then I’m sure not so many Filipinos would be suffering today.

Again, I totally agree that the blame game will get us nowhere but at the same time, we should also make sure that our government leaders who didn’t do their jobs should be held accountable for their actions or inaction. What we don’t want to happen is for people to forget that if only our current government leaders used our funds correctly then I’m sure not so many lives would’ve been lost, not so many houses would’ve been destroyed and not so many bright futures would’ve been shattered. In the 2010 elections, let us not forget these lessons that Ondoy taught us, let this serve as a reminder that by voting for the same old traditional politicians and leaders, we will get the same old service or lack of it that we are getting now. Let the 2010 elections be a time for all of us to finally say NO to this pervasive culture of prevailing self-interests and patronage politics. Finally, let our vote in 2010 be a vote for effective, ethical and empowering leadership that our people so truly deserve.

Allies of the government have said, stop the blame game, let us all unite in this times of crisis and just move on with our lives. Tell that to the mother that lost her home and her children last week. Tell that to the newly married couple that invested all their life savings on a brand new home only to see it washed away by the flood. Tell that to those families who continue to get sick while sharing a small 40 square meter classroom with 30 others inside an evacuation center.

Move on? Sure, let’s definitely move on since there is really no point to stay angry but let us hold our leaders accountable for what has happened, learn from this experience and promise ourselves that we all be involved in our own small way to help elect better leaders in 2010 because the Filipino people most certainly deserves much better than what we are getting now.

Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com .

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Harvey S. Keh is a concerned Filipino citizen.

TODAY, I will attend a funeral of a youth leader who worked concretely for reforms in the 2004 elections by campaigning for a presidential candidate who he thought embodied the hope for a new Philippines. I saw Malvin Ordeniza (1980-2009) worked earnestly in the 2004 campaigns because he believed that without reforms in 2004, he and the rest of his fellow youth would be a lost generation. Five years ago, he saw for himself how a flawed system of elections that is personality- and patronage-based ruled by money and violence robbed him of his future. Five years after, the governance the resulted from that flawed elections took away his life when he was not given his needed medical attention because he did not have the money to pay for it.

Reforms in 2010 are not ideas that are up there. Change that needs to happen in 2010 is not an abstract concept. It’s real. It costs and will cost lives of people. We must make change happen in 2010 or the likes of Malvin who believed in change and worked hard for what he believed in will perish; and our country will not only lose another generation, it will lose hope.

The Citizen Reform Agenda 2010

In the Philippines, we probably have the broadest, most dynamic and innovative reform work in the world; yet it is also probably the most ineffective in bringing about structural change, particularly these recent years. It is unfair to say that the reform movements are at fault. They are doing all they could but the prevailing political order, the patronage-based politics, is just too deep-seated in society. To have a chance of making a dent, the reform movements need to be a formidable force and they can only do so if they recognize their common interest and common agenda; and work together to transform politics.

This is a formidable task and it requires a lot from us. The Citizen Reform Agenda 2010 is our humble contribution to this cause. There is no way that this space alone can transform the reform movements into a formidable force, but it is a key process in making that happen. The agent, the person, the one who will be the leader, is critical, especially for us Filipinos. But the reform agenda we want, the issues we find most critical, that’s the soul of our struggle. That’s what will endure. Hence, efforts like this must be undertaken, though it is hard and tedious.

This is a space and a process for bringing together the reform groups and linking their advocacies to a key political process, the elections in 2010. It also serves as a mechanism to fill up the gap of underperforming political parties that are supposed to be doing the interest-aggregation and agenda formulation. It also aims to promote issue-based and platform-oriented elections in 2010.

First, we had to look back to the past and know the previous reform agenda and issues. Second, we had series of consultations and consensus-building inviting the broadest possible representation of the reform movements in the Philippines. We had the process of review and finalization of key agenda and issues involving the participating citizen organizations. Finally, we presented the reform agenda and issues of the citizens to the public.

The next phase for CReforms 2010 is to engage the candidates and political parties; as well as the public. But to effectively do this, we must also engage a critical player that mediates the message and the messenger, the media. The ASoG has partnered with the biggest networks in the country to aid in the dissemination of the citizen reform agenda and issues and in promoting issue-based politics in 2010.

The CReforms 2010 was able to engage about a hundred citizen organizations. They are from different persuasions ideologically, politically and even meta-physically. They are working on different development themes of CReforms 2010. There were some of these groups who would never attend the same event, but they were able to get pass that. These are reform-oriented and progressive groups with different background and varying perspectives.

The outputs of this process are the key reform agenda and issues on Anti-Corruption, Political and Electoral Reform, Environment and Sustainable Development, Local Governance and Human Development (Education, Employment, Housing and Health).

These development areas do not at all encompass the entire development or reform areas; but we selected these for a simple and practical reason that the School and our key partners have solid work and expertise in these areas. Furthermore, other groups are very active consolidating the agenda on other areas like poverty reduction, economic development and peace.

These key reform agenda and issues identified during the consultation and consensus-building process are developed into Agenda Papers, which the participating groups and organizations would hopefully use in engaging the platform-development of candidates and political parties. Finally, a covenant for reforms entitled “We Will Make Change Happen in 2010” on an audio-visual presentation (available through YouTube) is prepared to be an instrument for CReforms 2010 to engage the candidates and political parties in the 2010 elections by soliciting their commitment to the covenant and response to the key agenda and issues in the CReforms 2010 Agenda Papers.

Key Reform Agenda and Issues

The agenda on anti-corruption calls for the promotion of a culture of transparency and openness in government by providing the public access to information and avenues to participate in governance. It also calls on the professionalization of the bureaucracy, the strengthening of the autonomy and accountability of local government units and the reforms in the justice system.

The agenda on political and electoral reform include the implementation of the constitutional provision banning political dynasties, the strengthening of the political party system and the reform of the Sanggunian Kabataan (SK) as vehicle for youth participation in democratic governance. It also includes the call to consider Constitutional reforms such as federalism to expand local initiatives, shift to a parliamentary system to broaden people’s participation in legislation and governance and limiting the role of COMELEC to election administration by defining a separate system to handle election protests.

Key reform agenda on local governance that would ensure substantive decentralization include four main points: (1) More devolution and autonomy from the national government through a policy review on the Local Government Code of 1991; (2) Installation of a more equitable system of local finance management that effectively equips local governments of resources for their service-delivery and administrative needs; (3) Substantive constitutional reform that explores federalism as a viable political framework in empowering local government units and decentralizing political power; and, (4) Strengthening transparency and accountability mechanisms for local government units that equal the power that is devolved to them.

The agenda on human development calls for a development of a strong domestic economy that respects labor rights; the installation of quality and accessible education; public access to healthcare services; and the improvement of housing program implementation with emphasis on the respect for human rights.

Lastly, the agenda on environment and sustainable development calls for the adoption of Philippine Agenda 21 as an alternative sustainable development framework; structural reforms on environmental laws and implementing government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; a sustainable ecological management that will enable the restoration of forests and biodiversity; and the development of a comprehensive plan to address the impact of climate change.

We call on the public to engage the candidates on these issues and the others they find most critical. Let us “reclaim our future by making the 2010 elections center on issues and platforms, not personalities; on principles, not money politics; on reforms, not patronage.” Most importantly, let us all work for reforms in 2010 because it means saving lives and giving hope a chance once more.

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Joy Aceron is Instructor at the Political Science Department of the Ateneo de Manila University and concurrently the Associate Director of Center for Social Policy of the Ateneo School of Government heading Government Watch and Political Democracy and Reforms (PODER).

The past three weeks we have all been witness to the rebirth of hope and change in our country brought about by the recent declaration of Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s that he will indeed continue the fight left behind by his parents and make a run for the Presidency this coming 2010 elections. The reaction of the Filipino people to Aquino’s candidacy has been nothing short of overwhelming as evidenced by the banner story of the Philippine Daily Inquirer today which states that according to an SWS Survey conducted in the vote-rich areas of Luzon, 50% of Filipinos would vote for Aquino while the former top-notcher Senator Manny Villar is a far distant second at only 14%. This momentum for unity, reform and change has also been fueled no doubt by the personal sacrifices made by Senator Mar Roxas, Governor Eddie Panlilio, Governor Grace Padaca and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. Roxas, Panlilio and Padaca all said that they will no longer pursue their bids for the highest position in the land while Pangilinan has clearly stated that he will also forego his bid for the Vice-Presidency to support an Aquino-Roxas ticket.

So what is next for these four selfless public servants?

As we all know, Aquino has categorically said that he wants Roxas to be his running mate in the 2010 elections which I think is a very good decision given the deep relationship and trust that these two gentlemen have for each other. Let us remember that the position of Vice-President is very important given that s/he will just be a heartbeat away from being our next President. Thus, it is imperative that Aquino choose someone whom he believes can become a good leader for our country. Roxas also comes from the vote-rich Western Visayas region which will definitely help Aquino who in turn comes as well from another vote-rich region, Central Luzon.

Panlilio is still deciding whether to continue to pursue politics or go back to the priesthood. His main focus right now is to ensure that the on-going recount filed against him by his opponents will not prosper thus, his group Kapampangan Kontra sa Recount together with Kaya Natin and Kilos Na are currently asking for support from friends and supporters towards raising funds to pay the revisors at COMELEC and continue to protect the integrity of the result of the last 2007 elections. If Panlilio decides to pursue politics, he has told us that he is eyeing a Senate run under the Aquino ticket or another run for Governor against current Vice-Governor Yeng Guiao and Senator Lito Lapid.

For Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, who, aside from being a co-founder of Kaya Natin, is also a stalwart of the Liberal Party (LP), she is currently being eyed by LP to be one of their Senatoriables together with former Senate President Franklin Drilon, Rep. Ruffy Biazon and former Rep. Neric Acosta. The dilemma that Padaca is currently faced with is that she can still run for one more term as Governor and the clamor for her to stay in the province continues to grow. In our last conversation, Padaca remains open to running for the Senate but said that she will continue to consult her supporters before she makes a final decision on her plans for 2010. Padaca together with former Senate President Jovito Salonga and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo are all LP leaders who were awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service (acknowledged as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Asia).

For his part, Pangilinan is currently active in helping push the Presidential bid of Aquino. He together with Panlilio, Sonia Roco, Jim Paredes and Bam Aquino are the initial convenors of the movement, Pilipinas para kay Noynoy (PINOY) which brings together multi-sectoral reform organizations towards supporting the Presidential run of Aquino. Assuming that an Aquino-Roxas team-up will materialize, Pangilinan is also rumored to be a possible candidate for Mayor of Quezon City where he once served as a City Councilor.

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.

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.

With less than 10 months before the 2010 National Elections, it seems that any hope of uniting the reform constituency in our country is becoming slimmer as the days go by. Many of us all believe that without a united reform constituency backing a common Presidential candidate and a common reform slate then we might as well accept that we will have another traditional politician backed by oligarchic interests leading our country from 2010 onwards. Right now, we have overseas Filipinos and local government officials led by Ifugao Gov. Teddy Baguilat, Jr. and Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya Mayor Florante Gerdan who are pushing for the candidacy of Pampanga Gov. Eddie “Among Ed” Panlilio. Just recently, we saw a group of youth leaders from all over the country together with peasant organizations and business leaders calling out to Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca to heed the call to lead our country out of our current state of rampant poverty. It’s a good thing that both Panlilio and Padaca, who along with Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo are co-founders of Kaya Natin, agreed not to run against each other and that only one of them will eventually run for President. Ang Kapatiran also announced that they will field their own candidate in the person of the youthful Olongapo City Councilor JC Delos Reyes while some environmental groups have declared their support for Nicky Perlas. Evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva, who lost badly in the last 2004 polls is also contemplating to make another run backed by his rejuvenated and reloaded Bangon Pilipinas Party. Add to this growing number is the fact that although some groups do not consider him a reform candidate, the Liberal Party’s Senator Mar Roxas is currently backed by highly-reputable civil society leaders such as former Department of Education Secretary Butch Abad, former Peace Process Adviser Ging Deles, former Department of Agrarian Reform Undersecretary Gerry Bulatao and AKBAYAN’s Joel Rocamora.

Imagine if all of these groups can come together, set aside their personal differences, work towards a common vision for a better Philippines and eventually field a common slate for the 2010 elections then I would think we can have a strong fighting chance of finally electing effective, ethical and empowering government leaders for our country. Similar to the situation that we found ourselves in 1986, we find that many of our democratic institutions even the recent giving of the National Artist Awards have been bastardized by this administration. Similar to 1986, the 2010 elections will be a battle between those who believe in restoring our democratic processes and those who want to continue to usurp it for their own personal gain. Similar to 1986, we are also faced with the challenge to unite all of these well-meaning groups in order for us to come up with a formidable force that will give this current administration a run for its money in 2010. Similar to 1986, all of these reform groups have to eventually find it in themselves to be humble enough to sacrifice their own beliefs in order for us to unite for a cause that is bigger than all of us. Let us remember that in 1986, the strongest opposition party was Doy Laurel’s UNIDO but eventually for the sake of unity, Laurel agreed to run as Cory Aquino’s running mate. This ultimate sacrifice and act of humility that many have seem to have forgotten led to the bloodless People Power Revolution and the restoration of democracy in our country.

Now as we again draw near the 2010 polls, I hope that the legacy and spirit of President Cory Aquino will again move all these reform groups towards a unified People Power reform ticket in 2010. Two weeks ago, the whole country mourned the loss of Tita Cory, a woman who gave everything until the last moments of her life for the sake of the Filipino people. I hope that we can all find inspiration in the humility and generosity of spirit that she showed when she was still with us. Let her legacy as a true icon of democracy continue to become our rallying point towards the unity that all of us seek.

To Tita Cory, I hope and pray that you will be able to read this one last and final request that we have, please move our hearts so we can set aside our own personal ambitions for the sake of what is good and just for every Filipino. We hope that you will not allow us to put to waste all the sacrifices that you and Ninoy have so gallantly given for each one of us. Rest assured that like you, we will all continue to fight the good fight, finish the race and keep the faith.

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.