Democracy and citizen journalism: Hitting the tipping point

MANILA, Philippines - CHANGE happens gradually, and in trickles that shall be brought by the thousands of people working to make it happen in their own circles, in their own individual ways, until everything reaches the ‘tipping point.’

The tipping point is that point at which change becomes inevitable, unstoppable, irreversible. In the context of the May 2010 national elections, this point may come when the people makes the decisive stand for their right to vote for the leaders they want, and assert that choice by ensuring that the sanctity of the ballot is protected.

This — the protection of the ballot — becomes an aspiration because this is not the norm in the Philippines, at least according to the way we have seen things work. Large scale cheating (or perception of it) has always marred Philippine elections. The accusations have reached the highest echelons of power, and went as high up as the doorstep of Malacanang, putting the entire electoral process and the people who man it under a heavy cloud of suspicion. What’s worse, these accusations have never really been resolved. Thus, we were - still are - forced to go through the daily motions of democracy with the unresolved issue of legitimacy hounding endlessly our leaders, shaking up our institutions at the slightest provocation, striking a deep wound within the core of our democracy.

Against this background of a wounded democracy, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs founded its citizen journalism project. Evolving from Citizen Patrol in 2005, to Boto Mo, iPatrol Mo in 2007 to Bayan Mo, iPatrol Mo in 2008 to Boto Mo, iPatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula (BMPM) in May 2009, citizen journalism has taken the form of alternative truth-gathering and truth-telling participated in by non-professional journalists, or simply put, citizens.

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs officials led by senior vice president Maria Ressa went to Cagayan de Oro’s Liceo de Cagayan University to share the story of this citizen journalism movement to 655 workshop participants, who are the newest additions to the BMPM’s 62,994-people strong membership.

The workshop was organized by the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs and the ANC in cooperation with the Canadian Embassy. Other workshop speakers were Charie Villa, Head of abs-cbnnews.com and Mobile, and Glenda Gloria, ANC chief operating officer.

It was the workshop’s second swing in Maguindanao, the first one having come in July in Davao and General Santos. Close to 5,000 people have participated in these big workshops.

The next big BMPM gathering happens Feb. 19, 2010, 6 p.m. as the Ako ang Simula: Himig ng Pagbabago concert at the UST Parade Grounds and Athletic Field gathers the biggest bands in the country to perform especially for BMPM citizen journalists, or Boto Patrollers.

The workshops are opportunities to educate people about how they can participate more actively in democracy by guarding their 2010 votes. The guarding part takes on an interactive and highly visible role as technology has empowered people to share information — stories, pictures, videos — with each other and with the world. There is no other way right now, because technology has empowered people to directly talk to each other, to do away with the once-monopolistic power of the traditional media to set the agenda. Now people can directly say what it is that matters, what it is that they think needs talking about. Together with the professional journalists who will never be rendered irrelevant as long they are able to provide the context and insight into issues, an army of citizen journalists working with professional media can only effectively push the tipping point.

From the way this has unfolded for BMPM, the citizen journalism project of ABS-CBN, a large conversation has begun. The conversation is happening between the people and the media and government leaders, even as another layer of conversation is happening between the people themselves.

This makes the situation ‘ripe’ for the tipping point. From Ressa’s perspective, citizen journalism can help push for the inevitable, unstoppable, irreversible change this May 2010 because people can decide to heal our wounded democracy. We can decide to make our institutions, our elections work. We can fight attempts to undermine the voting. The way to do it is to expose wrongdoers. We all can spotlight the attempts and ward these off. We all can call attention to these, use the media as our megaphone. We all can patrol our votes and our democracy. We all can be Boto Patrollers.