Coalition moves to change public governance

Despite the ills in our government and society, a multisectoral coalition is not giving up on the country and vowed to introduce changes to hasten steps toward "nationhood."

Former finance secretary Jesus Estanislao, who leads this initiative for positive change in public governance, said that the coalition is "composed of responsible citizens who deeply, truly love the Philippines."

"Indeed, there is gnawing hopelessness and cynicism that are pushing Filipinos to give up on their country. We blame the President, we blame the government and its people. But we must also acknowledge that our country is also our very own responsibility. We have to face up to the challenge to become truly one nation," Estanislao said.

The initiative, dubbed "Mahal Ko ang Pilipinas," is expected to gather together leaders of key sectors in society — the youth, academe, business, media, civic and professional organizations, labor, the Church, the military and officials from local government units (LGUs) — to map out 20- to 25-year development plans for the country and for each sector or city.

The coalition said it will officially launch today at the Hotel Philippine Plaza "a deliberate and well-planned initiative to finally bring the country close to its dream of unity and nationhood."

The move is supported by 21 cities and a coalition of sectors at the local and national levels. The whole-day event highlights the unveiling of the "Philippines 2030 Road Map" and the "Dream Cities" project.

Estanislao, founder and president of the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA), said in a press briefing that it may take three to four generations to achieve the changes envisioned by the coalition.

"With proper intervention, however, this dream can be attained in at least one generation or about 25 years thus, the 2030 vision," he explained.

The progress report or the "PGS scorecards" of the 21 cities that helped map the "Dream Cities" vision will also be unveiled tomorrow.

The ISA, an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan organization started to work on the Dream Cities concept in 2004. These cities are already in various stages of implementing their comprehensive programs or roadmaps.

ISA used a Harvard-devised business tool called the "balanced scorecard" in tracking the progress of LGUs along a set of key targets. The result is the Public Governance System (PGS), which not only enables constituents to participate in public governance but also ensures that programs are continued despite changes in leadership at the City Hall.

Of the 21 cities, eight have been declared compliant with the PGS process. These are Calbayog City, Iloilo City, Marikina City, Naga City, San Fernando City in La Union, San Fernando City in Pampanga, Sorsogon City, and Tagbilaran City. Thirteen other cities are in various stages of institutionalizing the PGS.

Meanwhile, Dagupan, Iriga, Ligao, Panabo and Tuguegarao were newly initiated into the system.

The Washington-based Center for International Private Enterprises (CIPE), a non-profit affiliate of the United States Chamber of Commerce and one of the core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy, is supporting the ISA’s initiative.

Filipino historian and playwright Dr. Paul Dumol said the Philippines is not yet a nation but a nation-in-progress.

"Papunta pa lang tayo doon (We are still on the way to nationhood). We have a lot of complaints on the assumption that we are a completed nation. But we are still growing up, so to speak. We are in progress, which means that we are in social evolution," Dumol said.

He explained that the biggest obstacles to the attainment of nationhood are the alipin (slave) mentality among the poor and maginoo (privileged) mentality among the rich.

The alipin mentality, he said, breeds dependency while the maginoo mentality prompts the rich to seek privileges in society.

"Our problem today is dependency because it breeds lack of initiative and laziness. The privileged look for exemption from the law, which breeds two big problems — poverty and corruption," he said.

Dumol stressed that solving this problem does not only require change in social structures but a genuine change of heart.

He said the 21 cities will play a significant role in introducing the changes needed by Filipinos for transition to full nationhood.

"We are gambling on the cities to shorten the length of time to attain nationhood," Dumol added. — Pia Lee-Brago