HATS for Democracy

TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION, and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines, we ask oursleves — bakit walang pagbabago? Corruption prevails and permeates every level of society. As a result, Filipinos keep looking for HEROES. Heroes that will effect the drastic change the country so desperately needs. We have been looking for the Filipino Obama, long before Obama came into office. Cases in point: Erap in 1998. Arroyo in 2001. And most recently Noynoy, riding the hype of his mother’s death. Had not Cory died, would Noynoy even be considered as a viable candidate? A valid question. Isn’t this pathetic?

Filipinos are personality voters. They are easily swayed by political ads. Personalities. Good looks. But if there is anything this has helped achieve, it is the high level of participation among Filipinos as regard to elections. The Philippines is among the countries in Asia that have the highest voter turn-out in elections ( see www.idea.int/index.cfm). However, while we have achieved this one ingredient to having a good democracy, we still miss a couple more important things to acquire. I call them HATS!

It is not enough that we have democratic institutions in place. HATS supplements this by providing the ideal balance between government and citizens in working towards development of democracy. Philips Shively (1999) has kindly enumerated for me the necessary characteristics that we are looking for in a democratic citizenry, and quite frankly, the Philippines fails a couple of these points:

• High Level of Interest and Information

• Active Participation

• Tolerance

• Support for the Government

High Level of Interest and Information

According to Shively (p. 140, 1999), it is not enough that people participate actively. People may be as active as they want but they will have little effect on what government does because action based on no interest or understanding would be aimless! Democracy not only requires citizens to participate, it also requires those citizens to be well informed.

Furthermore, Shively notes that people who regularly turn out and vote in elections might know little or nothing about the candidates among whom they are choosing; in that case, they would contribute little to the workings of democracy (Shively, p.144, 1999), or even be detrimental to it, in case they vote for the worse candidate.

A classic example is that Filipinos are typically participative in rallies against government policies, but when asked about the particular issue they are opposing (Charter Change, for example), definition just eludes them.

Active Participation

More than just obeying the laws the government lays down, democracy requires that citizens do more than just obey; citizens must take concrete steps to exercise their authority over government, at the very least voting in elections (Shively, p.140, 1999). Moreover, citizens must maintain frequent contact with the government (I texted President Arroyo!) by writing to their representatives, serving on citizen committees, etc.

In the Philippines, among the things we should ask ourselves are these: Did we vote in the most recent presidential and local elections? Did we work in any small or independent way in a campaign for the most recent election?

Good examples of how we may be able to develop active participation is by joining watchdog groups in elections, like PPCRV, or BMPM, and then really participating.

Tolerance

Probably the most difficult of the HATS, tolerance of other people’s opinions is a necessary requirement for a democratic society. According to Shively, “if varied groups are to support their opinions, it is necessary that the people have a reasonable tolerance for diversity; if people could be prevented from setting forth unpopular ideas, then democracy would not function well. Therefore, citizens must be at least minimally tolerant of different races, different religions, different political beliefs, and different opinions that may depart sharply from their own. Citizens in a democracy must be willing to allow these various groups to present their cases freely, otherwise there is a danger that the voters will not be allowed a full range of options from which to choose” (Shively, p.140, 1999).

Questions we must ask ourselves as Filipinos: are you open to having a Muslim man as President? Are you open to having a person you dislike become President? Do you think that leftist organizations should be outlawed? Should the Church be barred from making political opinions?

Support for the Government

Finally, according to Shively, while the three characteristics above are required, democracy also requires that the government maintain authority over the people (Shively, p.140, 1999). What is needed here is a general abstract support for the democratic form of government which can coexist with skepticism about the qualities of individual office holders (Shively, p.144, 1999).

In the Philippines, government is seen as an oppressor rather than a proper authority. Probably one of the reasons Filipinos would get around rules, if they can. If we treat government as an enemy, then we are living in a contradictory society; democracy would never settle here.

Filipinos are continually searching for a Savior, The One, The Anointed One. A Filipino Obama. And if the institutions fail, if the politicians don’t deliver, if the government is corrupt — they complain. They complain. And they complain. Finally fleeing to another country. Little do they know that CHANGE is rooted in responsible citizenship, and they are nowhere near achieving it.

1986: We have changed the government and installed a revolutionary one.

1987: We have changed the Marcos Constitution and made it democratic.

1991: We have changed the structures of local governance and made it more democratic and empowered.

2001: We have deposed a thief from The Office and replaced it with a new one…

Hindi ka nagbantay.

We have changed everything to accommodate DEMOCRACY. The only thing left to change is…

2009: YOU.  It’s your time to change. And when you try to do, remember: HATS.

BAKIT BOBO ANG IREG??

Ayon sa isang prof sa AB, dalawang klaseng tao lang ang pumapasa sa polsci: yung matalino, tapos yung madiskarte. Malamang, yung ireg, hindi isa sa mga yun. O hindi nga ba? Sabi kasi ni Joed, palaging ireg yung mga tatanga-tanga sa class… eh ayoko namang mag conform sa ganun… mayabang ako eh!

Sa kinasamaang palad, naging ireg ako. Haha! Dahil mas nag-enjoy ako maging tamad kaysa mag-aral. Mas masarap naman talaga eh. Anyway. BOBO NGA BA ANG IREG? Eto ah: Stereotype lang yun! Tss, naniwala ka naman dun. (Matalino ako eh, sorry.) So bakit napagkakamalang bobo ang ireg? Ilang rason:

Una: walang contact sa regular students. Kaya hindi na-uupdate kung may quiz, assignments, o papers na ipapasa the following meeting, o di kaya ay hindi madadamay sa GM tuwing may make-up class. MALAS MO.

Pangalawa:  Dahil madalas, may naibagsak na subject ang ireg na kailangang i-take ulit kaya napagkakamalang bobo. MALAS MO.

Pangatlo: Wala silang kaibigan sa classroom kundi mga ibang ireg din, kaya yun, walang katext, walang kakopyanahan, walang tagabigay sa kanya ng readings at handouts. MALAS MO.

Ano ngayon ang dapat mong gawin kung ireg ka? Eh di yung ginagawa ko!

Number one: Fifth year ka na! Taena, diyos ka na diyan sa college  mo — use that to your advantage! May karapatan kang mag-angas at mag-coerce ng mga tao para makuha mo ang kailangan mo. Parang ganito:

Me (text): Mr. president, kelan ba panunuorin yung vid? Kelangan ko na mapanuod, ayoko mag-cram. Kung pwede, mag set kayo ng time para panuorin ng buong class, text mo ko tas pupunta ako sa school kahit sobrang busy ko sa office ngayon [isang kasinungalingan]. Kung di, isend mo sa email ko yung softcopy ng vid ngayong gabi, gusto ko kasi matapos na bukas to.

Class President: sige po, itetext ko po kayo. Pasensya na po.

— this worked wonders.

Number two: Makipag-kaibigan sa mga gago sa class, sa mga matalino sa class, sa presidente ng class, sa mga babae sa class. Huwag i-isolate ang sarili mo. Underhanded ka na nga kasi hindi kayo pareho ng schedule, di mo pa sila kaiibiganin, di ba? Sila ang mga anchor mo sa pagpasa sa class na kinasasalihan mo. Sila ang hihiraman mo ng notes, kokopyahan mo sa exam, at mag-uupdate sayo (kung naging close na kayo) sa mga pangyayari sa class.

Numebr three: MAG-ARAL. Nakakahiya ka naman kung bobobo-bobo ka pa sa class, ireg ka na nga! Pinanindigan mo talaga yung stereotype ah! Ano ka, walking cliche?! Kailangan mong ipakita na bilang upperclassmen, mas matalino ka sa mga ito. Pramis, titingalain ka ng mga yun. Ako pa, eh ako highest sa class. ^ ^ (Ang yabang ko!).

So, yun lang. I’m rewriting the stereotype of ireg!

Erased from the Face of the Earth

Several years ago, a few quarters after the inauguration of Gloria Arroyo as the president of the Philippines, I can vividly remember her declaring in one of her State of the Nation Addresses that “we are back on the international map!“. It was with a hint of pride when she declared this, as she lured investment confidence back into the country. I, on the other hand, imagined how on earth countries could be “erased” from the “international map”, whether they were deliberately ignored by other countries, or simply put away as inconspicuous, or to be more apt, irrelevant. I was in third year high school.

Several years passed and I took up the course of Political Science in the University of Santo Tomas, and my political instincts grew to a more than average sense (it made me read daily broadsheets, watch international news particularly CNN, take interest in global politics and economic phenomena). Two years ago, the Philippines caught the attention of the world as its economy grew to a phenomenal 7.3 percent, when it used to average between 3 to 4 percent annually. This was incredible, and everyone was frantic about the outlook for the country known as the “Sick Man of Asia”. The Peso which averaged 56 to a dollar a couple of years back, was performing incredibly, rising against the greenback and finally reaching a seven-year high of 40 to a dollar. Finally, international credit rators S&P and Moody’s upgraded the countrys economic outlook from “negative” to “stable”, which means that the country is safe for investors to put their money on, and which eventually made the country lower its interest rates.

Speculators were a little bit skeptic however, considering the history of political instability the country has had to deal with over the years, and predicted that the economic performance would heavily depend on whether the country could sustain the political atmosphere at the moment which was quiet. I was watching CNN that night, and I remember the Philippines being shown to have a “low pressure” atmosphere and would be experiencing rain for the next five days. I find the CNN forecasts more accurate than the local weathermen.

In a sense, we really were on the international map! Foreign analysts taking interest with the Philippine Stock Exchange Index, Manila being on the headline of the Washington Post, the Economist, and the Wall Street Journal (reporting on the improving economic performance of the country), and finally, CNN forecasting the country’s weather over the next five days! Phew.

And then we fell apart again. Thanks to radical senator Trillanes who staged a coup again (amidst the economic growth; he was charged with economic sabotage later on), and then came the Food Crisis of 2007-2008 where the Philippines got especially hit being the world’s largest rice importer. Of course, there is to blame the politicking in the country with its domestic political quarrels about constitutional reform and a possible term extension of government officials masquerading behind it. We were slowly erasing ourselves from the international map — because foreigners don’t give a damn about our domestic politics and how we always like to do our laundry in front of the whole world. We were falling from grace. We fell from grace, yet again.

Amidst all this things, I still watched my favorite news channel and waited for the weatherman to come to the bit and show the Philippines being smothered by yet anonther tropical cyclone being shown on the satelite. Instead, The Philippines was reduced to just “Manila” in the CNN weather highlights showing the highs and lows of temperature. The CNN weatherman used to talk about the Philippine archipelago in detail and how wet or dry we were going to be in the coming days.

Yesterday, as I flicked the channel to CNN just in time to see the weather highlights, there came the map of India, and they were talking about how dry and hot it was there. Next came the map of Japan, and the weatherman reported how average the weather is over there in Tokyo. Next came the map of Southeast Asia, with the Philippines smack right in the middle of it all, and I could see a big low pressure area hovering over the island of Luzon, over Manila. I expected the weatherman to cover this atmospheric phenomenon, which was odd because the Philippines was supposedly in the middle of summer. But he talked about the weather in China and how nice it was there (China is perfomring well in the global financial crisis), mentioned a few lines about Jakarta (Indonesia is expected to be least affected in the region by the Global Recession because of its heavy reliance on local industry and local demand for it), and did not mention Manila.

It is very wet this summer, and we could not even become so much as precipitate in CNN.

Ten Naughty and Silly things you did as a KID

Here is the rule: once you are tagged, you are supposed to list down ten silly or naughty things you did as a KID. Then you Tag TEN people as you post! =) You cannot tag me. Enjoy!

*****

Okay, these things happened when I was below the age of seven.

#10. I played with body powder and covered the whole room with it. Imagine the reaction of my mother who came home from work — she made me eat Jhonson’s & Jhonson’s baby powder that night.

#9. I put Vicks Vaporub directly on my eyes. Out of curiosity. I ran to my yaya, shouting “bulaaag na kooo!!!!”

#8. I ate Vicks Vaporub. Apparently, this was a regular activity of mine. My older siblings never stopped me when they saw me doing this. I thought it was normal.

#7. I claimed to have seen 2 dwendes: one blue, one red. I was barely three, and they just had to believe whatever crap I said. Why the subject came up, I have no idea. “Nakakita ka ng dwende?” “Oo.” “Ano kulay?” to which I answered the only two colors I liked: “Red. Blue.” My lola who is superstitiuous, had to send an albularyo all the way from Bicol just to have me looked at! The crazy albularyo indeed said I have seen two dwendes, something she had seen in her tawas.

#6. I claimed to have eaten a live grasshopper. My uncle from the province caught me one from the garden, and let me hold it for a while. When he turned back, he saw I no longer had the green insect, so he asked, “Nasan na yung tipaklong? Kinain mo?” To which I innocently answered “Oo.” My lola got angry and made me drink hot water to “drown” and kill the grasshopper inside my body, which in fact never was there.

#5. I shot a loud air rifle near my ear. “Malakas ba to?” I said, curious whether the gun packed a loud BANG! I held it close to my ears, and then pulled the trigger… BANG!!! I screamed and ran to my yaya, yelling “Bingi na koooo!”

#4. I gathered all the rubber eraser dirt and put them all on my classmates’ heads. You know how you get these thin, long gray rubber rubbush after erasing all the pencil markings you made on a paper? I took the generosity of gathering all my classmates’ eraser rubbish, and secretly put them on some of my classmates’ heads. Teacher Carol caught me and transfered me to another seat.

#3. I stuck gum and drew on the back of my classmate’s uniform. I was five years old, in kindergarden. Teacher Carol caught me (again), which earned me another letter to be handed to my mother.

#2. I peed on another kid in school. I was six years old and went out of the classroom to go to the bathroom. When I got there, I opened a cubicle but there was a younger boy peeing in it. He shouted at me: “Putang ina mo!” (I was taken aback, he was only 4 years old.) And then he turned around, and splashed pee on my left leg. I shouted at him, “Putang ina mo din!”, then I opened my zipper, blocked the exit of the cubicle, and unleashed my bursting bladder in his shorts, his uniform, his legs — all over him.

#1. I peed on my siblings in bed. It was naptime in the afternoon, and we were supposed to sleep, but we couldn’t, so we decided to have our very own afternoon show. My brother and sister were lying down in bed, and I was standing up over them, they were trying to make me dance (being the youngest and easiest to bully). “Wag kayo tatawa!” I said. “Sige, hinde kami tatawa,” my sister answered. I threatened them, “Pag tumawa kayo, iihian ko kayo!” And then I danced. And then they laughed. And then they were shocked as I drew out my penis and sprayed them and the bed with my yellow pee.

Graduation Tag

In these last days of Senior life (at least for some), I give my kudos to those who have successfully completed the Political Science course, always bearing in mind the academic excellence by which these people have led their lives as polsci majors in the university *cough, cough.

I therefore TAG the “Counter boys” for their religious patronage of Counter Strike every break time, crunch time, anytime and yet still manage to scrape passing marks in most of their subjects. CS however, is now replaced by Left4Dead. I had much fun with these friends (albeit me being the kulelat in both games).

I also TAG the “party people” who at times of political crisis amidst academic crunch time choose to remain political. These are the people who craft the political dynamics within the college, always active in their own party affiliations. And yet, at the end of the day, no matter how tight competition was in the elections, nothing is ever personal.

I should also TAG the freaks of nature, who are simply phenomenal creatures who always scrape grades of 1, 1.25 and such in whatever subject. This is not normal. At least for Political Science. Kudos to you gods.

We must not forget to TAG the crammers, whose “tomorrows” are always synonymous to “deadlines”. These are the people who live at the edge of things who submit hot, fresh-from-the-printer papers at the 11th hour — and still manage to get good marks.

Next, I TAG the bokadors, who are master speakers and essay writers who can always talk or write about nothing and make it sound like something. Grade: 90.

I TAG the timeless people… whom you can count on to arrive at least thirty minutes late in class. The more audacious ones come during the last thirty minutes of class.

I also TAG the smokers, who think critically and consistently even under tremendous pressure — with the help of the (stress relief) stick.

A fair amount of TAGGING needs to be awarded to the Debarristers, who after being sentenced to life-outside-the-university, still remained inside the university. Kudos, people.

I TAG, the Immortals, who after being stamped debarred (embarrassingly) on their clearance for two terms, still exist within the major.

Finally, I TAG you. Yes, you, Political Science major, who after four, five, or who knows how many years, have survived, will survive, and are still surviving the perils brought to you by your perilous course.

No one in polsci ever leaves unscathed, but not without learning.

Congratulations, survivors! It’s party time. Now bring out the booze.

A Conversation

Just about two days ago, I had a nice little conversasion with a good classmate of mine.

Me: Woe to those who are self-righteous for they have earned their “merit”. Woe to those who have lost their idealism for they are already dead and defeated. Let not the dead corrupt the living, and it’s an easy trap to fall into. Indeed, cynicism is the best weapon of evil, often veiled as realism. There are many good people in the world, and yes, bad people. This shouldn’t be the reason to be hopeless. Let not your minds be corrupted with this deadness. PRESERVE your idealsm — and even a small group of people can change society.

Him: Bullshit. It won’t earn you MONEY, people! Get education and get a good business running. Shut the political thinking etc, the PRESIDENT and GLOBALIZATION won’t hear you.

Me: Puro ka pera, pare. Some people don’t actually live for it, believe it or not. No offense.

Him: ‘Wag mo suweldohan si Dr. Co and Atty. Bong. Do you think you would have learned what transcendentalism and Eminent Domain is?

Me: Hay, pare. Had you any idea what those professors are earning in UST compared to their counterparts in other universities… they have actually been offered higher salary abroad, only, they turned them down had they not been academicians. You misunderstood. Some people don’t live for money.

Him: You don’t live for it, it just makes your life worthwhile rather than computing for the formula to change the Philippines. Who will listen? Who? Wait and strike WHEN the iron is already hot.

Me: If at first an idea seems not credible, then there is no hope for it. Wala pang naihahain na solusyon, tinitira mo na agad na imposible.

Him: You will realize my point when you get to have your first born child in  your own family.

Me: I understand that. You’re one of the best classmates I know, just don’t adhere to pessimism.

Him: I don’t adhere to pessimism. If I adhere to pessimism, then I wouldn’t be studying and hoping to be a successful lawyer in this impoverished country. It’s just not feasible to talk when you are only each other’s audience.

Me: No, not each other’s audience… I really meant to send that message to a select group of friends I know and trust. I know there’s a brand of cynicism going around the batch today, and knowing what (influential) professionals we’ll become someday, I don’t want my friends carrying that trash in mind when they work. It influences more people than you know. =C

Him: If you’re talking about [person], he was just drowned by emotions; he just got tired for a minute… nothing wrong with that. Jordan gets out of hand due to fatigue, but after a rest, he comes to his senses.

Me: It was all over his blog (pessimism, cynicism).

Him: Exactly. It’s our pathetic classmates who are one of the reasons why he wrote that on the night Ma’am Z and Ronna spoke and got humiliated by our EXCLUSIVE CLAIM of having thesis (in lieu of attending retreat). Listen and understand the details first before reacting people. We just shitted ourselves in the deans office by claiming sole ownership in the ENTIRE AB STUDENTRY of having thesis that’s why we can’t attend the retreat.

Me: Um, galit ka?

Him. No. I’m ashamed.

Me: Ok. Can I play defensive? Hehe. Sasama talaga dapat ako sa retreat, and I was poised to pay, until Friday when I learned that my members can’t attend due to thesis work. I decided not to come because those two can’t work without me. Not to brag, but I think I’m the glue that sticks both together. Hehe.

Him: Ok, taena ka. Akala ko sasama ka, ngayon ko lang nalaman, sa’yo pa nanggaling na di ka pala sasama. Hehe.

Me: Ako din eh, ngayon ko lang nalaman na di ako makakasama! Hehe! By the way, yung Tienchi na pinainom mo sa’ken nung Marriage class, ano ba ‘yun? SEDATIVE? Nakatulog ako!

Him: Inantok at nakatulog din ako gago.

Me: Eh nag OD ka kasi eh. Geh bro, tulog na’ko masakit na mata ko. Nite.

END

Elusive

Gah! Here is my first non-crap post after so many days, I have to admit that I had intended to write about so many things (the cold weather, the Black Nazarene, the Sto. Nino), but upon opening this page where I compose, words just failed me. The best explanation could be that of the exams week and I had been preoccupied with studies, and yet another one could be emo: I was uninspired! Ugh.

Today, I am elated, thus inspired to write because I got the article I had been looking for after days of searching: Contradictions and Limits of a Developmental State: With Illustrations from the South Korean Case by Eun Mee Kim. Only seventeen pages to read and report for tomorrow! Thank God.

For helping me locate the article, I thank the following persons, Lawrence de Guzman and his UP connections, Carlos Romulo for the info, Marj Perez and her boyfriend for bagging the prized article, Brent Lee for searching his school’s library and sending me the PDF, Cherrie Pastores for her reference, Chester Diego for alumni networking, Michael Rico and Tey Panlaqui, and the beautiful librarian at the UST library’s Science section for helping me with JSTOR.

Now, if anyone needs any scholarly article to be found under the subject of humanities and social science, especially if you are a Political Science major (we could most likely be using the same references), feel free to message me here! I will gladly send you a PDF version.

And now, I will take a bath. Tah tah.

 

P.S. it’s ma’s birthday today. Also my friends’ basketball game against Sociology (versus Political Science) — hope they win.

Something from Arendt

“Each time you write something and you send it out into the world and it becomes public, obviously everybody is free to do with it what he pleases, and this is as it should be. I do not have any quarrel with this. You should not try to hold your hand now on whatever may happen to what you have been thinking for yourself. You should rather try to learn from what other people do with it.”

- Hannah Arendt (Remarks to the American Society of Christian Ethics, 1973)

– I took this from my professor’s Facebook note. Arendt seemed like she was talking in the present when she said this in 1973 – thirty-six years ago, when the Internet did not exist. This is very relevant in the present time when people get the misconception of “privacy” in anything they publish over the Internet.

Last Entry 2008

This will probably be my last entry for the year 2008, being in Baguio. I am in a “coffee shop” in front of our hotel, and I have not had the chance to go online every hour (unlike in Manila) because you don’t really go to Baguio to go online, do you?

I spent a million pesos on souvenirs for friends, food, load, and more food… and shirts. Now, I have no more money. Let’s keep that a secret because my mom will go ballistic at how much I could spend in a day.

Yesterday, we had the chance to “dine” with Gloria Arroyo who sat in the table next to us. Also, I went to ukay and got some cool eyeglasses, geeky. Anyway, I got 

to go back to the hotel for dinner. Shucks. will post more… hopefully.

FRIENDSTER IS OFFICIALLY DEAD

For quite some time now, there have been rumors that the social networking site (SNS) called Friendster is dead. Now however, rumors become reality as incontrovertible facts of Friendster’s death is made official: IT IS DEAD. There.