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FOP May 2009

Dear Readers,

This May, FOCUS ON THE PHILIPPINES brings together commentary on the party list and the upcoming elections. Here, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Mon Casiple and Men Sta. Ana discuss the significance and the implications of the Supreme Court decision, which paves the way for 32 more party list representatives in Congress—including FOCUS senior analyst and Akbayan rep Walden Bello, whose first privilege speech, tackling the crisis, is also contained in this issue. This new twist in Congress underscores the character and contradiction of the kind of ‘democracy’ we have in the Philippines. According to our analysts, the good news is that we can somehow expect substance and some intelligent discussion in the House, with more platform-based groups gaining entry through the PL system. The bad news is, with the likes of Presidential First Sister-in-Law Marilou Arroyo and General Palparan sneaking in, the party-list continues to serve as a backdoor for trapo groups, political dynasties and ‘fly-by-night’ organizations, adding notoriety to an already discredited institution; all this presenting a preview of next year’s catch not just in the party list but in the over-all national elections and a case to push for changes in the law.

In any case, a lot of attention is geared toward 2010, for various reasons. May signals the run up to the next elections, eagerly awaited by many-- if only because it marks the final stretch, the beginning of the end, the last year of Gloria Arroyo and her cronies-- among them FOP editor Aya Fabros, who cranks it up in Welcome to Verwirrung. There’s also a growing number of emerging groups and movements banking on the possibility of reform arising from the ‘excruciating slow, incremental’ processes of electoral and institutional change. While there are sections that do not see any gains arising from the routine exercise of elections under a democracy held hostage by elites, there’s still this reverberating call for greater vigilance, with Cha-cha schemes, parliamentary plots and other similar attempts threatening to prolong our agony and accelerated deterioration under GMA. Here, as we ask ‘Can Alternative Reform Candidates Win in 2010?’ we are also reminded: ‘Gloria Forever: She Will If She Can.”

As we find ourselves confronting twists and turns in the political scene, as we enter this blitzkrieg of TV ads, tarpaulins and televised politicovelas, as we start counting down from 365 to 1, we’re compelled to take note: this is not a good time to just sit and wait things out.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride ahead. Make sure you’re not stuck in the back seat.

***********************
Perspective: WELCOME TO VERWIRRUNG/ Aya Fabros

Focus Monitor: THE PARTY LIST SYSTEM: A QUICK INTRODUCTION/ Jenina Joy Chavez

Development Brief: PRIVILEGE SPEECH ON THE CRISIS, 28 APRIL 2009/ Walden Bello

Political Round up: RULING ON THE PARTY LIST/ Miriam Coronel-Ferrer

Political Round up: “NEW” PARTY LIST POLITICS/ Mon Casiple

Political Round up: IN DEFENSE OF PALPARAN/ Men Sta. Ana

Political Round up: GLORIA FOREVER: SHE WILL IF SHE CAN/ Joel Rocamora

Political Round up: CAN ALTERNATIVE REFORM CANDIDATES WIN IN 2010?/ Harvey Keh

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