Janette Toral is asking for a blog brainstorm and discussion about the important issues that presidential candidates should address during their campaign. Basically, the question is: What are the issues that you would like our candidates to talk about in the 2010 national elections?
Here’s my wish list (in countdown order) of the Top 10 Issues I Would Like My President to Address through Policy, Propaganda and Programs:
10. Ensuring National Security and Maintaining Peace-and-Order
a. How does the next president plan to convince the rebels to lay down their arms? I read an article by Ignacio R. Bunye in the Manila Bulletin about the government’s recent success of fighting insurgency in Bohol. Does (s)he plan to continue this type of approach or does (s)he have a more effective strategy?
b. Does (s)he plan to continue to get US military assistance in resolving the conflict in Southern Philippines?
c. What are the plans for the police, the military, and the Justice department?
9. Protecting the Environment
In 2001, the Asian Development Bank identified Philippine environmental issues in the ADB’s Asian Environment Outlook 2001. The issues identified by the report include overexploitation of natural resources caused by the increasing population and the expansion of agricultural, commercial and industrial sectors. The report also pointed out the lack of sincere government efforts to control the degradation of the environment. Seven years down the line, how have we addressed these issues? And more importantly, how does the next administration plan to protect our environment?
8. Urban Planning and Management
Aside from the usual urban issues such as traffic, pollution, overcrowding, etc. I hope that the next president can address the problems of squatters and slum dwellers. In the July-August 2006 issue of the United Nations (UN) Chronicle, there was an article entitled The State of the World’s Cities Report 2006/7: Urban and Slum Trends in the 21st Century which talks about the issues facing metropolitan areas. The original UN report stresses the importance of reducing urban poverty and inequality by improving the living conditions of slum dwellers and squatters. Issues include malourishment and malnutrition, illiteracy, diarrhea, HIV, short life expectancy, high child mortality, lack of access to water and electricity, poor sanitation, indoor air pollution, overcrowding, eviction threats, and many others.
7. Developing Rural Areas
It’s becoming more and more common knowledge that the wealthy landowners in the rural areas have strong links and direct ties with the Philippine government ever since the first Philippine Assembly during the American colonization in the early 1900s. And so the feudalism that began during the Spanish times has never really been looked into because the government has always looked after the hacienderos, and the common tao in the rural areas has always been enslaved by the system. For further reading on this topic, I highly recommend the book, The Rulemakers - How the Wealthy and Well-Born Dominate Congress, (http://www.pcij.org/bookshop/rulemakers.html) written by Sheila S. Coronel, Yvonne T. Chua, Luz Rimban, and Booma B. Cruz and published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
6. Implementing a Progressive Population Control
In my personal opinion, the present administration needs to review its national population policy. In a GMA News article, PCIJ points out that Filipino women are the ones most affected by the country’s push for natural family planning methods. In addition, Keith Suter’s article in the Contemporary Review points out that 1.4 million new jobs have to be created every year to match our economic growth with the population increase. And what’s scary is that our present population of about 85 million can double by 2034.
Needless to say, the Catholic Church’s influence (grip) on state laws and policies regarding birth control is a major cause of the overpopulation problem. So I want a president who can say no to the demands of the officials of the Church or any religious organization. We need a president who will enforce the separation of church and state as written in our Constitution.
5. Ensuring Proper Health and Nutrition for All
I don’t think we need to explain why this should be one of the government’s priorities. Two things are worth mentioning: 1) preventive healthcare and proper medicare for the majority of Filipinos; 2) safeguarding of the quality and affordability of generic drugs.
4. Providing Quality Education to All
Another one that doesn’t need to be explained. Voters should demand concrete educational programs from the candidates. We don’t need promises. We need action.
3. Fighting Graft and Corruption in all Government Offices
As I pointed out in another post, “Ang Lagay Eh†(RP Tops 2007 Bribery Survey by Transparency International), it’s high time we put a stop to the corrupt practices of some of our government officials and public servants.
2. Attracting Foreign Investments and Protecting Labor Welfare
We all know that we need more jobs in the Philippines and I would like to know what my next president’s plans are to make sure that we can compete with our South and Southeast Asian neighbors in attracting foreign investments.
and the most important issue that the government should address is (drumroll please)…
1. Developing the Philippine economy through entrepreneurship and by promoting the welfare of OFW’s
Ris posted “Sir†John Gokongwei’s speech about the power of entrepreneurship and how he has built his empire on it. Read the full speech on Ris’s blog. It’s truly inspiring.
I believe that developing the economy should be on top of the list of our next president. We Filipinos are very creative and industrious when it comes to starting a business enterprise. Often, we hear successful businesnessmen tell us that it’s all about sipag, tiyaga, at abilidad (diligence, determination, and abilities). I dare say that these three things are innate to Filipinos!
In addition, I hope the next president can have a program to promote the welfare of our country’s number one export: the OFW’s. I also hope the government can find ways to encourage long-serving OFW’s to come back home and invest their hard-earned savings in the Philippines.
So now, it’s your turn. What are the issues that matter to you as a voter in the coming national elections? Speak up and be counted!
Blog about it. Read and comment on other blogs about it. And let’s make our leaders listen to the VOICE OF THE PEOPLE!
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
References:
1. Speaking out; the Bohol Experience on Uprooting Insurgency. Manila Bulletin. Publication August 27, 2007. c 2007 Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp
2. Bank report paints bleak picture of Asia’s environment, CNN, June 20, 2001
3. The State of the World’s Cities Report 2006/7: Urban and Slum Trends in the 21st Century. Eduardo Lopez Moreno and Rasna Warah. UN Chronicle. Volume: 43. Issue: 2. July-August 2006.
4. PCIJ: Church’s gain in population policy is women’s loss, Aug 14, 2007.
5. The Philippines: What Went Wrong with One Asian Economy. Keith Suter. Contemporary Review. Volume: 289. Issue: 1684. Spring 2007.
Recommended Reading:
1. Challenging Traditional Politics, by Karol Ilagan, PCIJ
2. Asian Environment Outlook 2001, Asian Development Bank
3. The Political Economy of Philippine Rural Development Since the 1960s. Arsenio M. Balisacan, Nobuhiko Fuwa, Margarita H. Debuque. School of Economics, University of the Philippines
4. Family planning flip-flop costs P840m. Christine F. Herrera, Manila Standard Today, Feb 23, 2006
11 Responses to “Awit na Nananawagan (In Response to Janette Toral’s Call for a Blog Brainstorm about 2010 Elections)”
That’s a lot of issues and problems that the presidentiables should answer and address (truthfully with clear plans) during the next election period. But then again, will we really hear them say their plans regarding those problems? Maybe yes, but vaguely. Our elections will again be a big “peryahan” complete with dancers, clowns, and entertainers (unfortunately the magicians are behind the scenes).
I think all of the issues tackled here were intertwined. An example is the development of rural areas is deeply intertwined with the problem of insurgency and rebellion. Most of members of the NPA were from rural areas that were abused by the feudal system.
I hope that the next president will start a good program of improving the welfare of the urban poor. I do not like what Bayani Fernando’s way of tackling this problem. His method, it seems, is just elimination of the slum areas. MMDA just demolish houses and send them to far off places with a promise of working electric lines and water connections.
[Reply to this comment]
Hi Ishmael, you’re right in saying that a lot of the issues are intertwined. I think that’s just the way it is - make a change in one area and it creates ripples in the other areas of Philippine life. It’s now up to our presidentiables to decide which area will have the greatest impact to our society and that should be her/his priority.
The president only has 6 years and what’s sad is that even if (s)he’s doing an excellent job, (s)he has to step down after her/his term. I hope that sometime in the future, we can change this so that great leaders can continue thier programs.
For me, I personally believe that we should continue to focus on our economy.
I think the issues for the Presidentiables for 2010 is not changing , the no. 1 issue is still Poverty , more and more Filipinos are getting poorer. So many Filipinos are migrating to other countries for jobs. They don”t think they gonna have a good fortune in the Philippines. I dont think an election is the solution for the country’s problem.
What would happen in the next election is still the same struggle of the elite for a vested position in government. So issues for the Presidential election is just a rhetoric.
So what would happen on the pre election and election day its fun. What could we do , a system does not change in few a few years. Probabaly in decades , changing system is not a party.
[Reply to this comment]
I know what you mean. Based on our past and present experiences, the future looks bleak. But one can always hope that good things will come our way. PCIJ’s blog the other day was very positive about the changes in our country’s political climate. I’d like to share it with you: http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=2150
Right. Poverty remains to be the overarching culprit reponsible for our national malaise. Poverty, ignorance, powerlessness spiral into a vicious web entrapping the whole nation into daunting paralysis. The resulting vicious mesh entangles us all–except the few extremely rich and powerful ones–in a deadly morass.
While every citizen has a socio-moral and political duty to do ones part in chipping this vicious cycle, the elected officials, foremost among them, the President must lead in applying the resources of the nation in the alleviation of poverty.
The family–urban and rural based–should be the target unit. The revolt against poverty should be waged from all fronts.
Since, the Philippines is basically an agricultural country, a genuine Holistic Agrarian Reform Program can be a concrete avenue towards development of the countryside. Holistic implies the total development of men, women and children. This will require not only equitable land distribution but also skills training, support services, financing, and value formation–industry, care of the environment, community spirit.
Urban families require on-site development of the depressed areas, entrepreneural training and small business financing.
The majority of poor Filipinos who are easily victimized scheming politicians, hold the rest of the nation hostage to their subservience to political patronage.
Let us be on the lookout for a candidate who has a clear vision and viable plan for the improvement of the poorest of the poor of the Filipino families. They are growing in number by the day.
As every family acquires economic stability, the members can avail of education and gradually develop their power for self-determination in a democratic society.
[Reply to this comment]
I like what you said, “The resulting vicious mesh entangles us all in a deadly morass” - I had to look up the word “morass” to check if it had anything to do with the sh*+ that we need to up with from some of our government officials who have the audacity to call themselves public servants.
Mag-dilang anghel ka sana
I really hope that effective and principled government workers “are growing in number by the day”
Well done for such inspiring list of issues and concerns that you want to discuss during the 2010 Presidential election! Honestly, the main core of the problem of the country is “transparency”! Make the people aware of the transactions of the government and implement the laws and regulations effeciently regardless of what the status in the society, whether you are the President or just ordinary janitor in the mall. Well, I love to travel and fortunately, for the past 20 years I already been to alot of places. Tourism is very important element of any nation’s progress. Like Thailand, despite of language barrier, the country is ahead of us and this is because of tourism. Some people will argue on this but the positive contribution of tourism outweighs the negative ones. Tourism is also an effective way to protect the environment because the government will ensure to have definite plans and programs to protect these tourist attractions! Finally, promote our Filipino art and culture through various annual festivals and events that attract people both local and abroad to attend…
[Reply to this comment]
Hi Reymos, isn’t it spooky that you raised the issue of transparency just before jun lozada’s testimony in the senate.
I just hope all the efforts being exerted by the opposition leaders will create changes for the better.
Thanks,
Lester
As I have mentioned in my first comment, when transparency is there, no official will be tempted to do anomalies, thus the government funds will be used in various sectors of the society to improve the standard of living especially in the rural areas. The other important thing to be addressed is “education”. The government should provide funds for poor and deserving young Pinoys to go to higher education. Improve the curriculum in state colleges and universities! Like in the UK, there is alot of scholarships available for students to do further higher education thru massive campaign. The British government even encourages international graduates to stay for a year after finishing their studies. I truly believe that the government will work together with the business and industry sector to create more jobs through a formal on-the-job-trainings or “placement” (for a year, not just for 480 hours) as part of the curriculum… Indeed, it is not an overnight affair to change the Philippines, but little things make a difference in the long term. Every little steps is always a step forward for the betterment of Pinoys!
[Reply to this comment]
…Every little step is always a step forward for the betterment of Pinoys! Reymos (UK)
[Reply to this comment]
[...] Other bloggers have also written their issues in Janette Toral’s Important Issues on Philippines 2010.
Of course somewhere in the wish list for political reform, you will also find fighting graft and corruption. [...]
[Reply to this comment]
Feel free to express your self