Activity Updates


September 2010 - Launch of the maiden issue of the Focus on the Global South Policy Review

September 19 - In Malaysia will be held the forum called "Regional Strategy Meeting on Emerging Social and Cultural Concerns in ASEAN: Climate Change, South East Asian Peoples’ Right to Information, Labor Migration and Domestic Work and Platforms for Civil Society Engagement with the ASEAN."  Focus Philippines will make a presentation on "Building a Case for an ASEAN Protocol on Freedom of Information"

September 23 - 26
- Asean People's Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam. Fore more information, please send inquiries to the following: <apfhanoi-pc@aseanpeoplesforum.net>, <apfhanoi-ws@aseanpeoplesforum.net>. Ms Dorothy Guerrero, who is in the Bangkok office of Focus, seats in the Program Committee.

September 27 - October 1 - Freedom of Information Advocacy Week

September 23 - FOI Forum
     
September 27 - R2KRN will visit the Senate to renew the FOI campaign
     
September 28 - R2KRN will meet with Representatives of the Lower House

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FOP July 2010 PDF Print E-mail
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Dear FOP Readers,

On July 26, a nation awaits the address of its new leader.  It might have been understandable for many of us that the inaugural speech was merely a montage of issues that the new government would prioritize and promises to keep that were anchored on the anti-corruption, anti- poverty campaign advocacy “Kung walang korap, walang mahirap”.  The crowd applauded to the speech spoken mostly in Filipino that tugged at the people’s hearts.
 
But the State of the Nation Address (SONA), the first one for President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, is much anticipated for the vision to which the new president can rally the people and the legislature; for the policies and programs he will spell out that may spell a genuine and radical difference for this country. The past presidents had made a big show of the SONA—President Fidel Ramos had Mang Pandoy to symbolize Ramos’ vision of economic progress and President GMA had her “bangkang papel” (paper boat) boys from the urban poor community in Payatas.

President Noynoy Aquino may not need such symbols—‘props’ would probably be the more appropriate term.  What is important is for the hope he had inspired to be finally anchored on substantial policy articulations and clearly outlined programs. In this July issue, FOP News Analysis and Features tackles the areas/sectors that had lagged behind in terms of much needed transformation; where a strong political will engendering profound change is needed: education, agrarian reform, conflict in Mindanao and freedom of information. Like the rest of the nation that will be glued on television and radios, we are hoping these issues will be addressed on July 26.

Sincerely,
Editor

News Analysis

Agrarian Reform Agenda: Uncertain under P-Noy’s Administration?
By Carmina Flores-Obanil and Mary Ann Manahan


Confronting Education Woes: Less Politics, More Resource Management Favoring the Poor
By Clarissa V. Militante

The Limits of Illiberal Colonialism
By Herbert Docena

What’s at Stake in the President’s Anti-Corruption Crusade?

By Herbert Docena

Freedom of Information Advocates Appeal to P-Noy
By Right to Know Right Now Coalition


Feature Story
Book Review: To Move Forward: Confront Legacy of Damaged Institutions; Solve Flaws in Systems & Policies
 
FOP June 2010 PDF Print E-mail
Dear Readers,

In this June issue of the FOP newsletter, now called FOP News Analysis and Features, yours truly is taking on the role of editor, as Aya Fabros begins her Asian Public Intellectuals (API) Fellowship.  Aya will be on leave for a year starting July to do research on the political agency—perceptions and practice—of global workers in Malaysia and Japan.

A brief note about our June issue:  we say farewell to the legacy of GMA and her government, but not without, as Aya says in her opinion piece, confronting, threshing out and addressing this legacy, lest we again conveniently and collectively forget what the nine-year regime is about—regression.  We have to remember in order to make this regime accountable; this is the way to begin looking forward to what’s ahead under the Aquino administration.  Amid the euphoria brought about by the victory of a popular president—perceived to be the total opposite of the exiting head of state—and in an automated election that speeded up the vote counting in ways we haven’t imagined before, we believe there is need for a moment to settle, take a deep breath, look at the electoral process and its results more closely and critically (without belittling the voters’ euphoric feelings), and see what we’ve really got in terms of the newly-elected government, including and especially in the legislature and local governments.  We’ve seen how Congress can act as deterrent to reforms, much more so to far-reaching change, when those occupying the seats of power in that branch of government represent self-serving political and economic interests.  Who will be in this “new” government?  What or whose interests will they represent and work for?  What can we expect from Noynoy Aquino’s presidency?—are just a few of the questions that our news analysis pieces attempt to address, while our feature articles provide observer’s point of view of the goings-on during election day.

We encourage you to use our articles as reference in your school discussions, organizational publications, blogs, and for our friends in media, to reprint/re-post in your newspapers and internet-based news platforms.  Just remember to acknowledge Focus on Global South Philippines.

Clarissa V. Militante

Contents:

OPINION PIECE

Farewell to the Legacy of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
By Aya Fabros
The parade is all set. The floats are primed, each one signifying feats of an outgoing president intent on basting up some last-minute legacy. The spectacle is ready to swagger before mob and madness. Remember me well, says the spectacle to the crowd, bidding farewell to a thinning public methodically marshaled onto the sidelines. Pompous pageantry, an allusion to significance and substance, marks the final moments of a regime that defined the last nine years of our life as a nation.
READ MORE

NEWS ANALYSIS

View from the Left: The Meaning of the Noynoy Aquino Presidency
By Reihana Mohideen
On June 9 Senator Benigno Aquino III of the Liberal Party (or Noynoy Aquino), the son of former President Cory Aquino, was proclaimed President by the Philippine Congress. Paradoxically, with the restoration of the Aquinos to the presidency, the elections have also resulted in the restoration of the Marcoses to national politics with the former dictator’s son Bongbong Marcos winning as senator, Imelda Marcos winning a seat in Congress and her daughter Imee Marcos taking the governorship in their political bailiwick, the province of Ilocos Norte.
READ MORE

Family Matters: Delving into the 2010 Winning Political Clans
By Carmina Flores-Obanil
If Jesus truly invented dynasties as pointed out by Ramon Durano Sr., of the formidable Durano clan in Cebu and former member of the Lower House representing Danao City, then Jesus must be very happy with the way the May 2010 elections turned out.  If the results were any indicator, the Filipinos would not be seeing the decline of political clans or dynasties in the Philippines anytime soon.  In fact, the last elections saw the victory or the re-election of political families in both national and local positions in their respective bailiwicks.
READ MORE

GMA's Cabinet Members; Eurogenerals:  2010 Election's Big Losers
By Clarissa V. Militante
President Arroyo has often been described as master of the art of patronage politics; that she sustained her hold on power for nine years due to her ability to cultivate, use and exploit local politics as her power base, thus the army of local officials, including congressional representatives, loyal to her.  But her cabinet members and former military men known to be loyal to her seemed to have missed out on this very important lesson.
READ MORE

Party-list Winners: Whose Interests are Represented?
By Mary Ann Manahan
Five years after it was set-up to address the gaps of representational democracy in the country, has the party-list system broken the monopoly of big traditional politics and decreased the tendency for personality politics?
READ MORE

FEATURE STORIES

Been There, Done That--Observations on the 2010 Philippine Elections
By Fang Chih-Yung*
Even before the polling day, doubts about the first nation-wide automated elections were strong and people’s confidence in a clean and peaceful election was low. The malfunction of several Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines during the mock election held by Commission on Elections (Comelec) just a few days before polling day didn’t ease worries about a possible failure of elections. But even under these circumstances, there was a general sense by the public that the voter turnout would be high, since after nine years of rule by a government tainted with corruption, scandals, rent-seeking, plunder, cheatings, and overall lack of legitimacy, the Filipino people were crying for change. And change they hoped to have on the May 10 elections.
READ MORE

Between National Automaton and Sub-national Authoritarianisms: Diatribes of an Election Observer
By Jerik Cruz*
As the dust of the first nationwide automated elections in Southeast Asia settles, several questions continue to brew above the heads of the Filipino public. One of them is: have the 2010 elections been peaceful and democratic? If one toes the line of most, it may seem as if the events of May 10 have somehow been less deadly and less insidious than other polls before it.
READ MORE

Re-posting: How the Left Fared*
                  By Miriam Coronel-Ferrer

Read more >>>
 
FOP May 2010 PDF Print E-mail
Dear Readers,

Monday, May 10, 2010, can be considered the beginning of the rest of our Gloria-less lives, the end of our days in the ghetto of manual elections, the mark of a defining moment in our history as a people. Yes, dearly beloved readers, contrary to the disgust and frustration that news reports have been stirring up in all of us, there’s always the half-full part of the glass, which prods us to suspend our sarcasm and disbelief, to roll with the flaws of a system we are trying to transform, and to recognize the openings provided by this monumental occasion. At the end of the day, we should take comfort in the fact that our intervention does not need to be confined to a single day or restricted to a specific act.

This month’s FOP tackles some of these different dimensions and issues related to the elections. In this issue, Joy Chavez looks beyond May 10 and discusses why candidates’ stance on prosecuting GMA should be seen as an important criteria this elections, in Prosecuting GMA as Platform. Walden Bello looks back and shares with us his review of the year that was, contemplating the question Is Congress Worth Running For? Carmina Flores-Obanil reviews Villar’s political ads and propaganda blitz. This month’s FOP also includes key analysis and recommendations pertaining to the 2010 Automated Elections put forward by the civil society elections-monitor formation, HALALANG MARANGAL; as well as a copy of COMELEC’s resolution on approved contingency measures. As HALAL reminds us, there won’t be any shortage of ‘contingencies’, so it’s important that we read up and pass on.

Focus on the Global South is also very pleased to welcome Clarissa ‘Clark’ Militante, our new media and communications associate. Clark is a writer and a knowledge management expert. She will be on top of all Philippines programme publications and products. Starting June, she will be taking over as editor of Focus on the Philippines. Here, Clark shares with us her first FOP article, What’s their story?, which gives us a broadstrokes look at back stories and side narratives associated with the top three presidentiables.

As always, and precisely because elections isn’t just their story, we would love to hear yours. Please share your insights, comments and suggestions by writing us at

Contents:

PERSPECTIVE: Prosecuting GMA as Platform/ Jenina Joy Chavez

POLITICAL ROUND UP: Is Congress Worth Running For?/ Walden Bello

POLITICAL ROUND UP: Halalang Marangal

POLITICAL ROUND UP: What’s Their Story?/Clarissa V. Militante

POLITICAL ROUND UP: Manuel “Bamba” Villar: Advertising His Way to the Presidency / Carmina Flores-Obanil

SOCIOECONOMIC MONITOR: 2010 Automation and Comelec Resolution 8839: CONTINGENCY PROCEDURES TO BE ADOPTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 10, 2010 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS

Read more >>>
 
FOP April 2010 PDF Print E-mail
Dear Readers,

This April, FOP looks at water, essential services and climate issues. Mary Ann Manahan shares with us news from the 10th anniversary of the Feria del Agua (Water Wars) in Bolivia, commemorating the inspiring popular movement struggle waged to reclaim the Cochabamba water system from a private consortium, Aguas del Tunari, a subsidiary of Bechtel. Many water struggles epitomize the struggle for fundamental rights. Such struggles underscore our resistance to privatization, to corporate encroachment into our commons, to the tresspasses of transnational enterprises and the relentless pursuit of profit at the expense of communities and people. Back home, electricity is also another essential service that demonstrates the pitfalls of privatization and profit-driven service provision. While the recent MERALCO price hike triggered a virtual critical mass of angry consumers, it also shows how industry decisions, processes and related policies tend to skew in favor of corporate interest, hardly reflecting the interest and concerns of consumers. Similarly, debates and discussions surrounding climate change have been restricted to a few, leaving out the voices of sectors and communities, most of whom are most affected by the consequences of extreme weather conditions. Joseph Purugganan writes about the themes surrounding ‘Make-shift for Climate Justice,” a parallel, ‘solidarity’ activity to the World’s Peoples Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth’s Rights, which hopes to amplify grassroots voices that have been muted in high level discussions such as the COPs or even national processes that tackle climate issues.

These events and developments highlight the need for more meaningful spaces for effective consumer and citizen intervention in affairs that affect them. The struggle to democratize these arenas still has a long way to go, but the discussion on the commons and essential services, and the debates on climate justice continue, paving the way, shaping our vision and realization of an alternative future, where the fundamental and the essential—water, electricity, justice and beyond-- are accessible to all.

CONTENTS

A Decade after the Cochabamba Water Wars: Inspiration for Water Justice and Democratization Struggles in Asia/ Mary Ann Manahan

Development Brief: Bringing the Climate Debate Down to Earth/ Joseph Purugganan

Political Round Up: Global Water Activists Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Cochabamba Water Wars


Socioeconomic Monitor: Aghast at April Bill: Meralco Power Rate Hike

Read more >>>
 
FOP March 2010 PDF Print E-mail

DEAR READERS,

The March issue of FOP focuses on women. As we celebrate women’s month, we share with you a snapshot of the state of marginalized women amidst the multiple crisis, as well as some statistics on the gender gap and International Women’s Day statements. Focus on the Philippines hopes to contribute to analysis and disseminate materials geared toward enhancing the work and engagements of poor and marginalized women; not only this March but the whole year round.

Contents:

Women’s Views and Voices Amidst the Multiple Crises: Initial Sharing and Snapshot/ Carmina Flores-Obanil

Women: On With the March, Toward the Elections and Beyond!
(Militarism, Sexism, WTO, Arroyo, RETREAT)

Voters urged to dump ‘anti-women,’ ‘fickle-minded’ candidates/ Alliance of Progressive Labor

Socio-economic Monitor: Focus on Women and Men in the Philippines Closing Gender Gap? / Mary Ann Manahan

Read more >>>
 
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