Real reforms and intelligent vote from masa - FROM A DISTANCE By Carmen N. Pedrosa

A campaign for intelligent voting among the masa must be accompanied by real reforms. There is a lot of huffing and puffing to educate voters this coming May elections from what has come to be known as civil society. The rationale of these activities is sound. The thinking goes that if Filipinos can mass at EDSA and act as one in ousting a corrupt and incompetent president, it can and should be able to do the same at elections. The problem is that the differences in wealth and status in our society is not felt (or is at least obscured) within the time frame of emotionally charged events like protest rallies, even one that lasts for five days. A different atmosphere altogether obtains in the course of ordinary, normal life which is the general atmosphere in an election campaign. In campaigns that run for weeks, and months up to elections, the sharp differences between slumdwellers and middle class ladies from NGOs is difficult to bridge. We are confronted with normal, ordinary life. Attempts by perfumed ladies to convince or persuade hordes of ill-clad Filipino masa to vote wisely fall to the ground. The masa will be polite, but will remain held back by doubts about how intelligent voting can change their lives. On the other hand, the power of cash will, if only for one day. I am saying this not to disparage the efforts at educating the masa voter. We have no choice but to do so.

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The burden of political goodwill is on the Arroyo government. But it must be said that the campaign for a wise vote by the masa will be futile unless and until it is supported by positive action from the parties represented by the candidates. Unfortunately in the coming elections, the burden of proving political goodwill rests on the Arroyo government more than it does on the Erap candidates. All the Erap candidates have to say in May is that the promise of change has not come nor is it forthcoming with the Arroyo government. The cash is just a bonus.

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The coconut levy as a test case. Ms. Arroyo need not copy her predecessor whose program for the poor was limited to slogans but who then enriched himself in public office. I mean specific things that the fired up middle class can bring with them to the slums when they campaign for intelligent voting. A good first stop is the issue of the coconut levy scandal which has remained unsolved through three administrations. Here is a test case of the sincerity of this government. Here is a good example through which the Arroyo government can demonstrate it has the will to unravel this problem in favor of the coconut farmers. If her government’s actions favor the coconut farmers, it will not be difficult to persuade the masa to which they belong, to vote intelligently. But short of such positive action, I am afraid asking the masa to vote intelligently is empty rhetoric. Then again, it is the masa who are perhaps more intelligent for resisting electoral reform. What for? they ask. When we come right down to it, masa "ignorance" is directly proportional to their poverty and their perception that they have no stakes in government no matter who sits there. In other words reformists are putting the cart before the horse. The masa will not vote for candidates for merely mouthing reforms. Reforms must be enacted and proven to bring about meaningful change in their lives. It means food on the table, jobs, health, education, houses.

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Coconut farmers are real people. It is easy to talk about the poor in the abstract. It is different when they are addressed as a specific group of people within our polity. In the case of coconut farmers, there are approximately half a million nationwide. Where are the coconut farmers? Roughly half a million spread out across the country with 35,000 in regions 1-4b, 30,000 in region 5, 50,000 in region 6, 80,000 in region 7, 45,000 in region 8 and so forth and so on. These are certified individuals who have registered in the farmers’ welfare program. They are real people who gave of their earnings in the hope that the levy will be used to modernize the industry and in turn benefit them. That has obviously not been done.

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A conflict of interest between the poor and the rich. With competing interests battling for her attention and favor, it will not be easy for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The issue of the coconut levy scandal is an example of a conflict of interest between the poor masa and the oligarchic rich in this country. As president, she is expected to listen to all, but in the end, by her own declaration, she would be guided by the vision of her party which I understand to be Christian Democratic in its inspiration. If she upholds these principles and cobbles a program of government accordingly no matter what pressure is made to bear on her, she will succeed as president.

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My e-mail is [email protected]