The mood of Philippine civil society

The series of protests against the massive corruption against the DPWH and the government are/were mainly orchestrated by “civil society” which is appalled at the widespread involvement and magnitude of the amounts. The INK two-day rally, even with ulterior motives, wouldn’t have happened if INK leaders hadn’t sensed the frustration and anger of civil society against corruption. Further bigger or smaller protests demonstrations/rallies will still be civil society-driven, depending on the PBBM administration’s actions and progress of the investigations/prosecutions/convictions of those involved. In the extreme, the survival of the PBBM government may depend on the mood of civil society in the coming months.

  Civil society is defined as the third sector, as contrasted to the public sector (government), the private sector (businesses). But, it isn’t really a distinct group of voluntary associations or institutions as the objectives of this group, which is the promotion of social good, citizen engagements, and collective well being, are also the objectives of the government and private sectors. Civil society’s sphere of influence includes and overlaps at least 60% of the government and private sectors. In Philippine economic distribution, civil society would be 55% from the middle class, 10% from the lower class, and 5% from the upper class. A total of 70% of the Philippine population in all demographic segments.

               For business, journalistic, and personal reasons, I peruse almost all of main and social media, attend rallies, and discuss issues in associations and forums. I join to gauge sentiments and moods of groups of people. Excluding the extremist posts of self-interested bloggers and partisan politicians, the mood of civil society is still anger and frustration, with a degree of hopefulness that the PBBM administration will deliver the promise of conviction of the guilty and the restoration of the plundered money in the shortest possible time.

               There are reasons for this leniency with the PBBM administration. Firstly, the Philippine economy isn’t doing so badly. GDP growth, while slower, will still be in the 5% range in 2025. Inflation will also be in the 1.5% to 2% range with adequate supply of basic goods and utilities. Peace and order is also improving compared to prior years, (economic conditions have a lot to do with this). Secondly, the alternatives to PBBM, Sara Duterte or a civilian-military junta, are unacceptable/unpredictable and could be worse than PBBM. As former secretary Monsod said, it will be a case of from the frying pan into the fire. Duterte’s reputation, performance, and competence aren’t commendable. An extra-constitutional junta is also prone to abuses and authoritarianism that Filipinos have rebelled against already.

               The PBBM think tanks are surely aware, and continue to monitor the mood of civil society to calibrate their moves. The acceleration of the accusations and prosecutions of those involved in the DPWH scandals are in the right direction, although still wanting and not fast enough. The resignation of Singson from the ICI is a setback that should be offset by giving the ICI subpoena and contempt powers. The return of the funds to PhilHealth should be immediate, and the 2026 budget cleansed of pork and unfunded allocations. The increase in the salaries of the military and other uniformed personnel can be icing on the cake.

               The Duterte camp has few positive options to improve their position with the unacceptability of Sara by civil society, and the ongoing saga of former president Duterte in The Hague, the troubles of Senator Bato, Senator Villanueva, and Quiboloy. Under these conditions, there is a 70% probability that the PBBM administration will survive this crisis in the next seven months. There is also a 90% probability it will survive up to 2028, if three senators, eleven congressmen will be convicted/jailed, and at least ?200 billion in assets recovered by the government from the corruption scandal.

ll the means and power to resist sin. And we have to be with him in a strong, determined way, not in a passive or lukewarm way. Do flies gather on a hot soup? No. But they do on a cold or lukewarm soup.

We need to do everything to be with God. Our mind and heart should be fully and constantly engaged with him. We always have reason to do so --at least, we can thank him for what we are having at the moment: health, food, air, work, etc. We should never dare to leave him aside and depend solely on our powers.

Also, we should help others in their struggle against temptations and sins. In this regard, we have to learn how to fraternize with everybody, especially those in some bad spiritual and moral conditions. Like Christ, we should learn how to fraternize with sinners to help them.