Part 2 of a three-part feature on stories of resistance in Davao City
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The glass walls of development worker and aspiring congresswoman Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana’s office in Davao City are filled with scribbles: Of communities they must still visit, concerns they need to discuss, and issues to bring to the miting de avance. On the other side of the wall is a map of Davao City, where they chart their way through their communities.
Sporting her signature single long braid swept to the side of her face and carrying a slew of rainbow-colored masks, cuffs and flags, Maglana told Philstar.com that when she filed her Certificate of Candidacy last October that, of course, she wants to win.
"Somebody asked, and said, ‘what is this, are we just trying? Are we just making a point?’"
But as a neophyte candidate, Maglana is certain: "I want to win now. I think there is a very distinct window of opportunity provided by the May 2022 elections that is different from other elections."
She did not expound but others have said that the coming elections come with the highest stakes: The world is grappling with the pandemic, the Philippines has a trail of blood all over from the administration’s drug war, and a dictator’s son is on the rise to the highest seat of the land.
Maglana is one of the three opponents of incumbent Rep. Paolo “Polong” Duterte (Davao City), whose family boasts of a generation-old hold on the southern city. But she said her running is not her directly going against the president's son.
"It just so happened that we are both running [for the post]. By the way, there are two others vying for the spot… It just happened that we ae running at the same time and we are asking for support of voters," she said.
No to 'Duterte playbook'
As the day bleeds into early night, a few of Maglana's volunteers at their headquarters stay to pack campaign materials for their next sorties. It was a Tuesday, just five days since the start of campaign season for local elections and their work stretched out before them.
Maglana is not blind to the reality that she is up against someone with an established machinery. More than that, she is trying to woo voters who, for a generation, "only know one dominant family name in terms of political leadership."
Of course, name recall will not work for her, Maglana admitted.
"We cannot copy the playbook of traditional politicians. Because if we will copy in terms of machinery and money, no one can beat them: They wrote that playbook; they perfected it," she said.
After working for decades as a development worker, Maglana said she’ll campaign the way she has helped communities for years: Through conversations.
"I talked about going around, listening, observing, and introducing myself. It’s part of it," she said.
In her blog profile, Maglana said she has 30 years of experience of capacity building, technical assistance and direct support to local governments and communities under her belt.
Through this, she has worked with every segment of society: from national officials, international partners and communities where she has honed her craft in sustainable development and durable peace.
She shared that in her few days of campaigning, she learned that there are communities in the urban center that have never had an opportunity to meet their representative — a post held by the president's son since 2019.
"It is important that they know their leaders and we’re banking on that and we’re hoping that, come May, that despite the very real machinery of the Dutertes and the reality of resources that they have and that other candidates don't… I believe that people can make their choices," she added.
Winning the seat and the discourse
Maglana is a daughter of migrants who came to Mindanao in the 1950s. Having spent her life in Davao City, she said in her blog she came to see how the IPs and the Moros constitute a significant part of the city, while she recognized how many other people with different strengths have come to settle to the southern city.
It’s why she chose rainbow as her political color — not just because she is a proud lesbian — but because she believes everyone in Davao has a contribution to the city: "Not just the politically aggressive, even economically progressive making a difference in the economy… the environmentally progressive, the technologically progressive."
"The only way Davao can grow and be better than where it is — now do you coast, stay where you are or do you aim higher? Different colors, different capacities and one vibrant reality that we are all aspiring for," Maglana added.
And for the residents of Davao whom she has strong faith in, Maglana said she believes they deserve better choices, and this includes having the option to elect a woman representative, which would be a first in the 85 years that the city's 1st District has existed.
Her simple pitch: Genuine recovery from the pandemic, good quality of life for the people of the 1st District, green solutions to the environmental problems, grassroots-oriented approach for peace and human rights, and governance that is democratic.
And the development worker is resolute in fighting for a chance to represent her people. "The best metric of success is winning the elections, but there are other metrics," she said.
For the neophyte candidate, just rousing the voters — 41% of whom did not bother casting their vote in the 2019 midterm elections — to take a political risk would be a win.
"I’d like to change that. I’d like to get the people of the district invested in the future of the district and they will show that by voting. So, to me, when the percentage of voting, in terms of actual votes this May, that is another metric of success,” she continued.
But more than that, Maglana wants to elevate the level of discourse: Teach them what a legislative representative can do and what someone from the executive branch can do — and make it issue based.
Nothing wrong with activism
Maglana is aware she is taking on a Herculean task of going against a 35-year-old norm and political education is just a small part of it.
In Mindanao, where red-tagging is rampant, Maglana wants to remind people of their political rights and that voting is just part of those. "Reminding them that politics is not bad. That being an activist is not bad," she added.
The development worker said she has long been tagged for being an activist, but she treats it not as an "issue" but a badge of honor.
"It only means you dig deeper in analyzing issues, you have basis, you have data evidence, you are not afraid to stand up and talk. It does not mean you’re always in rallies. Part of being an activist is connecting and helping other groups and people," she said.
"So, if those standards of being an activist, I don’t see anything wrong with being an activist and that needs to be said and that needs to be ascertained because, otherwise, our political movement becomes too narrow and we’ll end up with a future where — I'd hate to think — where we don’t move at all,” Maglana added. — Photos and videos by Philstar.com/EC Toledo