Kaya Natin!

http://blogs.inquirer.net/philippineelections/2009/05/14/civil-societys-revenge/

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.