Overall, huge reasons to be worried and disappointed about, with little positive to hold on to.
This conference-workshop is meant to start putting the citizens and civil society at the center, not mere expectators and recipients of policies and services - but as active actors pivotal in direction-/ agenda-setting and in leading this country to a better future.
In the Philippines, since the end of martial law, civil society has been hailed as “the savior of governance,” playing the roles underperformed by the government or filling the gaps in the services needed by the people. One of the most crucial elements of civil society engagement in the Philippines is its reform work that is varied and encompassing. These actors constitute a large portion of what is being referred to as reform movements in the Philippines, which consist also of the reformers in government, political parties, local government units and other arenas.
This policy study is a follow-up to two cause-and-effect studies of PODER on election-related violence, one in Abra and the other in Nueva Ecija. The project involves scanning of ERV in selected hotspots, documentation of successful civil society initiatives to prevent ERV and policy assessment study of government response to election-related violence, particularly its major perpetrators: loose firearms, partisan armed groups and political dynasties.
A chapter by La Viña and Aceron in the book, Agenda for Hope: Democratizing Governance. This chapter proposes a movement for nation-building among reformist leaders from the different local government units (LGUs), the bureaucracy, the citizens’ groups, and even among the circles of some modernizing elites, that would develop a system of synergy and interdependence to be able to connect their efforts, share a common vision for the country, and eventually execute a coordinated strategy of capturing power at the national level.
These provide profiles of four initiatives in response to election-related violence (ERV) in the 2010 elections. The initiatives profiled are: Abra Multisector Group (AMSG) in Abra; Masbate Advocates for Peace (MAP) in Masbate; Vote Peace (various areas); and Good Wednesday Group (GWG) in Maguindanao.
Citizen Reform Agenda 2010 or CReforms 2010 is a consultation process initiated by the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) through its PODER program that aims to bring together the broadest possible representation of citizen organizations in the country to identify key reform agenda or issues that candidates and political parties must address for the 2010 elections.
This provides reflection paper on the Partisan Civil Society discussion series, arguing the case for political party building in the Philippines.
This chapter will search for an aspect of political parties that can explain the mal-development of party politics in the country, and can provide a feasible point of reference for party reform measures.
This discussion series reflected, examined and investigated the lessons and prospects of the involvements of societal forces in the contestation of state power.