Can a nonconfrontational citizens’ lobby succeed?

So far, so good. President GMA has laid out a 10-point program by which we can judge her government. These may be broad strokes and do not tell us anything about how she will fulfill these promises. But hold your horses. It is similar to vows that begin any marriage, the metaphor she used to describe her relations with the country. As with most of us who understand marriage, it requires exceptional character to fulfill those vows especially when this is stormy. But these are guideposts to tell us when the effort is not being made to fulfill the vows. The presidency is the same. The difficulties will remain and these are particularly challenging in these times. It can be roughgoing. But with the 10-point program, we will have standards to judge her government by. There is no question that President GMA’s speech is in the right direction. We can’t ask her to have a program of government and then sneer when she lays out one. We will just have to wait and see. That she did not mention anything on constitutional reform, being the touchstone of all other political reforms, is personally disappointing, but these are early days.

I have learned many lessons not to rely on officialdom to fulfill good governance. Equally important, if not more weighty, is to ask how citizens will respond if no reforms are made to move the country forward. There is a very fragile partnership between government and its citizens and this is held together by the Constitution, the social covenant between them. There are many who argue that this covenant is no longer working.

On this score, it must be remembered that the strength of government is only as good as the acquiescence of its citizens. Citizens must have an appropriate response if government fails. EDSAs had once been effective but these are no longer viable. Other methods will have to be tried to revive an effective partnership between government and the citizenry it is supposed to serve. An extreme form of citizens’ response is to act by themselves without government blessing when it sees that it is in the best interest of the country to do so.

Revolution in our time is not necessarily the bloody kind in the tradition of the French and Russian revolutions. I agree with Jack Goldstone in his essay for the Oxford Companion to Politics in the World that what is perhaps most striking about revolutions in the 20th century is their volume and variety. There is a revolution for every need of a country. EDSAs may have gone out of fashion but I will not be surprised if its citizens innovate and try other means to reject ineffective or worse, abusive government. The Philippines was the first country in Asia to establish a republic when mother Spain failed. I am in no doubt that Filipinos will invent whatever kind of revolution is needed to respond to failed government just as it had time and again in its long political history.

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A decent airport is one doable project in which the government can serve public interest. This column has been joined by a wide group of citizens on what can be done without being anti-government. The key is to isolate public interest from the legal difficulties between vested interests. "Edwin Mangunay" <mmasypty @bigpond.net.au> says he is a frequent traveller and uses the NAIA 1 often. He sees the opening of the new airport, in this case, the most viable being the already built NAIA 3, will test the resolve of the administration to really run the country for the people.

As expected, overseas Filipinos and their families receive the brunt of this inefficiency. [email protected] recommends the citizens lobby collect signatures of say a million or so to petition the opening of the NAIA 3 and presented to Congress and President GMA. The signature campaign could start at the outgoing and incoming terminals of the domestic and international airports in Pasay. The campaign could then fan out to all the provincial airports. And then to all chambers of commerce and other civic organizations like Rotary Clubs and Jaycees. Some moneyed guys in Makati could probably help pay the staff to gather signatures (it’s a boost to the unemployed), unless of course, citizens volunteer. He lives in California and cites the case of Governor Gray Davis and how petitions culminated in a recall election. No politician in his/her rightful mind would just ignore the voice of the public who have affixed their signatures.

Peter Wallace, the influential economist who has made the Philippines his home, wrote in support of the Del Rosario proposal for a lease-purchase so the problem of public interest can be isolated while the contending parties battle it out in the courts. He has other suggestions. Sorry, Peter, I may agree with what you think of politicians but this campaign is resolved not to be combative or confrontational. The work now is to put together all the necessary background information on how NAIA 3 can be opened without taking sides in the legal battle. I agree in that respect Ambassador del Rosario’s proposal deserves a serious hard look.

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Citizens’ department: It is good when citizens take an active part in good governance. Here’s one from the residents of Kapitolyo and Pineda who complain that tricycle drivers in EDSA Central have increased their rate by P2.00 The more daring ones or "Mas makapal ang mukha" collect double! If we refuse to pay, things will get ugly.We would have wanted to report this abuse to the local police. But seeing the bigger picture, Edsa Central is a very populated and public area. Is LTFRB aware of this?..Pettizou P Tayag" <ptzou@edsa mail.com.ph> Pettizou P Tayag wrote on the National Super Quiz Bee which she thinks should be supported. It is the longest running and most respected academic competition in the country. The Quiz Bee is a serious academic competition. The elimination process starts from the grassroots level. It involves approximately 1.2M intellectually exceptional students from both private and public schools. Organized in 1976 by Mr. Rasty Tayag with the DepEd it began as a nationwide elementary spelling contest.Because of its success it was extended to science, mathematics, and Philippine history and culture. "Quiz bee" became known in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia when ASEAN members were invited to an ASEAN Quiz Bee held in Manila. In 1988 it became "World Quiz Bee" with support from media mogul, William Randolph Hearst Jr. It will be a pity if it should be shelved for lack of funding and support from government agencies and the business sector. This is one of few times public students are pitted against private school students as co-equals for their intelligence and hard work. Email: [email protected].