vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 3 months, 4 weeks ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Challenging traditional politics

Posted by: Karol Ilagan | January 31, 2008 at 9:57 am
Filed under: Governance

IN this country where governance is defined more by our public officials’ narrow self-interest of ensuring their access to perks and privileges, even as charges of corruption and malfeasance spare no one, not even the Supreme Court and the Office of the President, a disillusioned public comes as no surprise.

Amid this degenerate political culture, the hope and assertion for new politics — the kind where no politicking sidesteps reforms to resolve the political crisis — must ever remain potent, said the Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party. At a forum celebrating its 10th anniversary last Friday, the party-list group urged the public to reject traditional politics and to push for new politics, particularly with another presidential election in sight.

“The condition is not so hopeless that the country has to make do with candidates that would only worsen the situation,” said Ronald Llamas, Akbayan president. “They should position themselves vis-à-vis radical, political and economic reforms that must be taken even before the 2010 elections.”

Emphasizing the pressing need for a new kind of politics, University of the Philippines sociology professor Randy David however explained that in all transitional societies, the problem has always been “how to build something different from what already exists, while avoiding assimilation by conservative forces.”

“The paradox of new politics is that, in theory, it is perhaps the only type of politics that can offer us any hope of survival in the modern world,” David said. “And yet, at the same time, in a transitional society like ours, its practice seems to offer little promise or meaning unless it compromises with traditional politics, or plays second fiddle to revolutionary politics.”

Read the full text of David’s “The Dilemmas and Tasks of New Politics.”

At the forum, David distinguished various forms of politics in society by their goals and methods. Starting with traditional politics or “trapo,” David described its goal of preserving the existing order of society — its inherited hierarchies and inviolable norms — as signified by the unexamined fixation with the rule of law. He also enumerated its well-known methods, which are:

fostering of dependence and patronage through the exploitation of customary norms like “utang na loob” or debt of gratitude
elitist paternalistic rule that combines benevolence with calibrated intimidation
obsession with consensus and disdain for free debate
unaccountable disposition of public wealth
unchecked exercise of public power

At the other end of the spectrum, David names revolutionary politics, which aims to completely overhaul the existing social order through the imposition of a new political-legal order, seeking to regulate nearly every aspect of social life. Its accompanying methods are characterized by the following:

armed struggle and/or the capture or enlistment of the armed forces of the existing State
revolutionary upheaval
full deployment of the State’s security forces to crush dissent at least in the immediate period following the seizure of power
excessive reliance on the regulatory powers of the State to maintain societal stability

David further explained, “In contrast to these two poles, new politics aims to reform institutions and revise existing routines and procedures in accordance with the demands and pressures for change that are already manifest in society, careful not to embark on comprehensive programs of transformation that cannot be sustained by the existing objective conditions.” Favored instruments of new politics are:

non-violent resistance through the creation of autonomous social movements and people’s organizations
formation of self-sustaining electoral parties with clear ideologies and programs
debates and open fora in mass media
social critique
mass mobilizations centering on clear-minded advocacies
community organizing for popular empowerment at all levels of society

The immediate objective of new politics is to end mass poverty and public ignorance as a condition for the progressive democratization and modernization of society, David stressed. “Its thrust is thus more evolutionary than revolutionary, more to strengthen the foundations on which to build the new, than to invent something new from nothing.”

The dilemmas David refers to can be witnessed in the problems faced by individuals who have taken upon themselves the role of new politicians. One of whom is two-term Governor Grace Padaca who ran head-on against the political Goliaths of Isabela.

“As a candidate, I was taunted. They said I was crazy, foolish. ‘Pilay lang yan, sabi nila,’” Padaca lamented. “They did not take me seriously until it was time to count the votes.”

Padaca’s victory in the gubernatorial election in Isabela ended the Dys’ 40-year dynastic rule in the province.

“The first three years of my being governor were very difficult. I had to live with all the blows from everywhere that came my way — all the Dys’ people in the capitol, not to mention, my struggles of adjusting from being a polio-stricken girl since three who was more used to being taken care off but now has to take care of one-and-a-half-million Isabelinos,” Padaca recounted. “If the trapos cannot kill your body, everyday, they will try to kill your spirit.”

Now on her second term as governor, Padaca has realized that power can be a good thing. “It can help you make a lot of difference, especially to those who have lost almost all hope in government,” she said.

Akbayan has invited Padaca as an exemplary figure in government to prove that the Philippine political landscape can still be changed. “The only way to reject traditional politics is for ordinary citizens to reclaim politics,” said Llamas. “Akbayan hopes to rekindle the trust of the Filipino people and make them believe that democracy can work and it can be made meaningful.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 and is filed under Governance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 people have left comments

This article needs to be shared with all the people who are calling for reforms in our country.

I particularly like this bit:

The immediate objective of new politics is to end mass poverty and public ignorance as a condition for the progressive democratization and modernization of society.

Mass poverty and public ignorance are really two of our worst public enemies. They shouldn’t be seen as problems that afflict only the poor and the uneducated. They should be seen as problems that affect every man, woman, and child of all ages and from all walks of life.

lestercavestany wrote on February 1, 2008 - 1:17 pm | Visit Link

WE ARE CHANGING FROM TRADITIONAL TO NEW POLITICS IN BUGUEY,CAGAYAN, UNTIL MAYOR IGNACIO BOBOT TARUC, WON IN THE LAST MAY ELECTIONS HOWEVER,TAINTED WITH CHEATING.THERE’S AN ELECTION PROTEST NOW AGAINST HIM, AND INITIAL FINDINGS SHOW THAT MOST OF THE BALLOTS WERE MARKED BALLOTS MEANING THERE WAS MASS CHEATING. HOW DID HE DO IT? THERE WERE POLICE FORCES, WHO WERE NOT ASSIGNED BY THE COMELEC, AND WERE IN BUGUEY ON THE EVE OF THE ELECTION, MORESO, THE COMELEC WAS OFFERED MONEY AND POLICE FORCES LED BY NOW CHIEF OF POLICE HAROUN PAGADOR AND SUPT ALEXANDER RAFAEL WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY THE ONES INVOLVED IN THE RANSACKED HOUSE OF THE ANTIPORDA AND AMBUSH OF JUDGE NATHANIEL PATTUGALAN OF CAMALANIUGAN, CAGAYAN.

buguey_watchdog wrote on February 1, 2008 - 3:04 pm | Visit Link