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The event will beginin a few inutes...

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Palasyo ng Kuwago:

On Transparency and Accountability in PH Governance

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bit.ly/NYV2022Attendance

Check in now to receive a certificate of attendance after the event.

Let’s volt in!

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Ang Boto Mo Ang Kinabukasan!

Katotohanan ang mananaig,

Mamamayan ang maririnig

#NowYouVote2022

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Voting is

a right.

Photo Source: Used by Rappler/Nigel Tan in “What the PH constitutions say about the national language”

The election process is the single most powerful exercise of rights of Filipinos as this single-handedly can make or break the future of our country.

The right to vote or suffrage is enshrined in our very own Constitution.

Ang boto mo ang kinabukasan!

Voting is a Right

The election process is the single most powerful exercise of rights of Filipinos as this single-handedly can make or break the future of our country. The right to vote or suffrage is enshrined in our very own Constitution.

Section 1, Article V of the 1987 Constitution provides that “Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year, and in the place wherein they propose to vote, for at least six months immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.”Unless disqualified, EVERYONE has the right to vote. However, aside from being a right, it is also a responsibility.

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Voting is

a responsibility.

Photo Source: Used by New Tang Dynasty (NTD) TV in the article,

“Philippine mid-term election political family duel”

Given the power to choose the government who will lead the country, it is our responsibility to carefully study the candidates and their platforms.

Ang boto mo ang kinabukasan!

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Voting is

a shared experience.

Photo Source (LEFT): Filipinos waiting to vote at Culiat Elementary School in Manila yesterday. The midterm polls are expected to strengthen President Rodrigo Duterte's grip on power, opening the way for him to deliver on pledges to restore the death penalty and rewrite the Constitution. by AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Photo Source (RIGHT): Filipinos queue for cash subsidy from the government amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Batasan Hills, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, by REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Voting is a shared experience; both in the sense that when we vote, we do so together with the whole country, and whoever wins, it will be us who will either shoulder or benefit from the results of the election.

Ang boto mo ang kinabukasan!

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Prizes Await Winners!

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Palasyo ng Kuwago:

On Transparency and Accountability in PH Governance

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A pair like no other:

transparency and accountability

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific defines Transparency as:

When decisions are taken, their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations.
Information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement.
Enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media.

In Castillo and Gabriel’s study entitled “Transparency and Accountability in the Philippine Local Government”, they mentioned that transparency embraces accountability.

The effectiveness of transparency is measured on the degree of accountability that it would provide to government personnel.

“Transparency embraces accountability”

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Section 1, Article XI, 1987 Philippine Constitution

“Public Office is a public trust.”

Discussion Guide: Emphasize the power of the people to put people into government power. All while people not in government have little power besides voting and active civic participation, it is then thrust onto public officials to fulfill their platforms and to preserve their public trust.

Section 1, Article XI, 1987 Philippine Constitution and as enunciated in Section 2 of R.A. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees)

Public Office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.

The International Association For Political Science Students (IAPSS) mentioned that the people choose their government; this is why they is accountable to them. Thus, the government must ensure that the power vested upon it is not abused.

A public office is created to effect the end for which government has been instituted which is the common good; not profit, honor, or private interest of any person, family or class of persons (63 A Am Jur 2d 667)

Justice Malcolm in the case Cornejo v. Gabriel discusses that the basic idea of government in the Philippines is that of a representative government. The officers being mere agents and not rulers of the people.

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Checks and balances

Angara v. ELECOM discussed the Separation of Powers to be the exclusive power of each department within their jurisdiction, while the system of Checks and Balances maintains coordination between these departments.

Former SC Justice, Isagani Cruz mentions that these two concepts were adopted in the 1987 constitution because of the people’s fear of returning to a dictatorial rule, similar to the government under President Marcos.

Angara v. ELECOM discussed the Separation of Powers to be the exclusive power of each department within their jurisdiction, while the system of Checks and Balances maintains coordination between these departments.

Former SC Justice, Isagani Cruz mentions that these two concepts were adopted in the 1987 constitution because of the people’s fear of returning to a dictatorial rule, similar to the government under President Marcos.

The Case of U.S. v. Ang Tang Ho further discussed the three branches which are the Legislative (law-making body), Executive (law-enforcing body), and Judiciary (law-interpreting body).

Legislature has no authority to execute or construe the law
Executive has no authority to make or construe the law
Judiciary has no power to make or execute the law

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According to the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, the Philippines ranked 115th out of 180 countries with a score of 34, efforts to control corruption in the Philippines mostly appear stagnant since 2012.

“The government’s response to COVID-19 has been characterized by abusive enforcement and major violations of human rights and media freedom.”

Transparency International defines Corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.

The same organization listed the different forms that Corruption takes, such as:

Public servants demanding or taking money or favours in exchange for services
Politicians misusing public money or granting public jobs or contracts to their sponsors, friends and families
Corporations bribing officials to get lucrative deals

115th out of �180 countries

“The government’s response

Source: Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en

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Corruption perception index of different administrations

President	Term	Corruption Perception Index Provided by Transparency Org
President	Term	RANK Higher Rank perceives a more corrupt country
Ramos	June 30, 1992 - June 30, 1998	55 as of 1998
Estrada	June 30, 1998 - January 20, 2001	65 as of 2001
Arroyo-Macapagal	January 20, 2001 - June 30, 2010	146 as of 2010
Noynoy Aquino	June 30, 2010 - June 30, 2016	101 as of 2016
Duterte	June 30, 2016 - Present (2021)	115 as of 2021

Source: Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en

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Our Taxes, Their Pockets.

Source: Department of Finance

Every P100 contributed through tax, P60 is given to the national government while P40 is given to local governments.

?

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The costs of corruption

Public fraud reflects not only the type of government the country has but also the apparent situation of millions of Filipinos who are under this type of leadership.

Political costs: Your freedom and rule of law
Social costs: Your participation and even your trust in government
Environmental costs: Your chance for a healthy environment and a sustainable future
Economic costs: Your opportunity to build and grow wealth

Source: Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en

Transparency International lists down the costs of Corruption ranging from Political, Social, Environmental, and Economic costs.

RECOVERY OF ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH

Rappler reported that as of 2020, the Philippine government has recovered P174.2 billion in Marcos ill-gotten wealth. The same online website mentioned that the PCGG's recoveries of ill-gotten wealth from its awards from courts over time, serve as a reminder of Marcos corruption during the dictatorship.

The accumulated amount was distributed to farmers through the agrarian reform program and the coco levy trust fund, human rights victims of the martial law dictatorship, to the PCGG for its general fund, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) which is mandated by its charter to get shares from awards to its client agencies, and the Office of the President

PORK BARREL

The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more popularly called as the pork barrel, is the lump sum discretionary fund allotted to members of Congress for spending on priority development projects. Once again, the pork barrel becomes the center of controversy for the umpteenth time. A whistleblower divulged that the anomaly was orchestrated by one Janet Lim-Napoles, a businesswoman who is accused of embezzling Php 10billion in the PDAF. It is alleged that some legislators endorsed the transfer of money to bogus nongovernment organizations managed by Napoles.

public fraud reflects not only the type of government the country has but also the apparent situation of millions of Filipinos who are under this type of leadership.

Lawmakers found it questionable that some institutions that are non-COVID-19 health facilities, or reported few COVID-19 cases, received large amounts of funding and received payments within just a few days compared to others. They also questioned why some hospitals that didn’t have PhilHealth accreditation and have pending cases of alleged anomalous monetary claims also received funding under the mechanism. The report also recommended charges be filed against officials involved in the alleged overpricing of proposed procurement of several pieces of IT equipment.

PHILHEALTH CORRUPTION

Devex enumerated the corruption allegations for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), including questionable funding to non-COVID-19 health facilities and alleged overpricing of proposed procurement of several pieces of IT equipment.

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Art. XI Sec. 17 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

“All public officials and employees, whether regular or under temporary status, are required to file a SALN.”

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“The spirit of accountability is wanting”

Maintaining public trust with financial transparency

Duterte's 2017 SALN was the last that was made public which was released in 2018.

NOTES ON THE NEW MEMORANDUM BY OMBUDSMAN (Duterte’s Defense)

Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series of 2020 of the Office of the Ombudsman prescribes a lengthy process for a citizen to see the SALN of an official.

There are two conflicting takes on this:

It is just for the protection of the privacy of government officials.
It is unjust being that in matters involving public accountability, the private lives of government officials are not separable from their official public duties as stated by Rappler.

We look back on the case of Nera v. Garcia where it was stated that “The private life of an employee cannot be segregated from his public life.”

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s (PCIJ) request for President Duterte’s SALN has been delayed for 3 years, from 2018 to 2020.

Eirene Aguila, co-convenor of the Right to Know Right Now Coalition (R2KRN) gave a comment,

“The spirit of accountability is wanting. How can the people trust the government if there is no transparency?”

The Inquirer reported that President Duterte is only respecting the guidelines issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on the release of his SALN.

Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series of 2020 of the Office of the Ombudsman prescribes a lengthy process for a citizen to see the SALN of an official.

The Ombudsman, Fact-Finding and Intelligence Bureau v. Valeroso, G.R. No. 167828, April 2, 2007. Thus, the Supreme Court said that the law mandating full disclosure of wealth in the SALN is a means of preventing the evil of unlawfully acquiring wealth and “is aimed particularly at curtailing and minimizing the opportunities for official corruption and maintaining a standard of honesty in the public service.

Unexplained matter normally results from the nondisclosure or concealment of vital facts.

SALN, which all public officials and employees are mandated to file, is the means to achieve the policy of accountability of all public officers and employees in the government. By the SALN, the public are able to monitor movement in the fortune of a public official; it is a valid check and balance mechanism to verify undisclosed properties and wealth.

Non-disclosure of SALN

In The Ombudsman, Fact-Finding and Intelligence Bureau v. Valeroso, it was said that a SALN:

“is the means to achieve the policy of accountability of all public officers and employees in the government.

By the SALN, the public are able to monitor movement in the fortune of a public official; it is a valid check and balance mechanism to verify undisclosed properties and wealth.”

Section 11 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees or R.A. 6713 provides the penalties of a fine or a suspension for the non-disclosure of SALN.

Rule 10, Section 46 of Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service provides the penalty of suspension for the first offense and dismissal from service for the second offense.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the database of the Panama Papers which includes the biggest leak of tax records from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Certain government officials such as the Angara spouses, the Marcos family, and Former Sen. Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal were included.

The ICIJ also released a report on the “Pandora Papers” which reveal offshore activities of some government officials from the Philippines who failed to disclose these in their SALNs.

Some of the named officials are, Arthur Tugade, Juan Andres “Andy” Bautista, and the Gatchalian Family.

Article VII, Section 6 states “No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of the incumbent during which such increase was approved.” referring to the President. This prohibition is secured by the constitutional requirement of submitting a SALN, which is under the title of Accountability of Public Officers (Article XI, Section 17). By the doctrine of necessary implication, it can be inferred that the lawmakers intended that Section 17 includes NOT ONLY the submission of SALN but also its RELEASE.

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Historical Revisionism

Transparency is Truth and Facts

Bloomberg reported the advent of “patriotic trolling” during the Duterte Administration that included inauthentic pages harassing individuals or posting fake news to appear like organic support to the government, some of these incidents were:

Trolls making #UnfollowRappler go viral and posting “I want Maria Ressa to be raped repeatedly to death.” after Ressa made the article “Propaganda War: Weaponizing the Internet.”
Trolls posting a fake endorsement by Pope Francis, with the words “Even the Pope Admires Duterte” beneath the pope’s image.
Trolls created an #ArrestLeilaDeLima campaign

The Philippines resoundingly cried ‘never again’ to the horrors of the Marcos dictatorship through the People Power revolution of 1986.

Thirty years later, the Filipino people have come to realise that success is indeed fleeting. On 18 November 2016, the remains of Philippine dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos were buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani—the Heroes’ Cemetery.

Pangalangan, R. L. A., Fernandez, G. B., & Tugade, R. R. L. (2018). Marcosian Atrocities: Historical Revisionism and the Legal Constraints on Forgetting, Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights

With the benefit of ease of accessing of information in the digital age, it also brought the ease of spreading false information or popularly known as “fake news”.

Misinformation is “false information that is spread, regardless of intent to mislead.” (Consequence/Result)

Disinformation means “false information, as about a country’s military strength or plans, disseminated by a government or intelligence agency in a hostile act of tactical political subversion.” It is also used more generally to mean “deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.”(Cause)

(https://www.dictionary.com/e/misinformation-vs-disinformation-get-informed-on-the-difference/)

Revisionism is defined as the theory or practice of revising one's attitude to a previously accepted situation or point of view.

*Insert attempts to cover up Marcos dictatorship’s onslaught

As a result, Ferdinand Marcos is now buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. This is one proof of historical revisionism. Despite the atrocities committed during the Marcos regime, he is now technically considered as a “Hero” due to his burial at LNMB.

On top of that, the Marcoses are attempting to even revise History books in school.

Facebook initially started receiving complaints about inauthentic pages. It seemed harmless enough—they supported a range of candidates, and most of them appeared to originate from zealous fans. Soon, however, there were complaints about Duterte’s Facebook army circulating aggressive messages, insults, and threats of violence. Then the campaign itself began circulating false information. In March one of the campaign’s Facebook pages posted a fake endorsement by Pope Francis, with the words “Even the Pope Admires Duterte” beneath the pope’s image. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines posted a statement saying, “May we inform the public that this statement from the Pope IS NOT TRUE. ... We beg everyone to please stop spreading this.”

Ressa had already watched Duterte’s supporters undo his opponents. Senator Leila de Lima, who had led an investigation into Duterte’s extrajudicial killings in Davao City, was targeted by viral Facebook articles with headlines like “Leila de Lima is an idiot” and “Leila de Lima is the patron saint of drug lords.” An #ArrestLeilaDeLima campaign began—the origins are unclear—and in February she was arrested, on drug charges that she disputes. (De Lima is listed by Amnesty International as one of the world’s “Human Rights Defenders Under Threat.”) Duterte also targeted the Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the nation’s most prominent newspapers, in part because it maintained what it called a kill list—a record of drug war victims. In public remarks, Duterte called the owners of the newspaper “sons of bitches” who “went too far” in their “nonsense” and warned that “someday, karma will come.” In July, the family that owned the paper announced it was selling it to a wealthy businessman who is a close friend of Duterte’s.

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Mga Pangakong Napako

For the record, we do not want war with China. China is a good friend.

Press releases shape the perception of the people while they hide behind these to do the contrary.

Tabitha Bonilla emphasized the importance of election promises in her book,

“Campaign promises are a cornerstone of representative democracy. Candidates make promises to signal to voters their intentions in office and voters evaluate candidates based on those promises”

According to Rappler, President Duterte vowed to protect the territory of the Philippines in his 2016 presidential campaign, in a promise of riding a jet ski to the West Philippines Sea.

In 2021, Philippine President Duterte derided those who literally believed in his 2016 campaign promise to ride a jet ski to the West Philippine Sea by expanding his "joke" during a public address again devoted to criticisms of his China policy.

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IN OR OUT?

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Padrino System

Patrons, but not saints

Both Cronyism and Nepotism are forms of favoritism towards a person or a group not because of honorable skills or their track record but because of personal likes or dislikes.

Cronyism is a form of favoritism referring to partiality towards friends and associates.
Nepotism refers to partiality to members of the family or as we commonly known as the concept of “political dynasties”

The padrino system, or patronage in Filipino culture and politics, is the value system where one gains favor, promotion, or political appointment through family affiliation or friendship, as opposed to one's merit.

Nepotism places loyalty and obligations to one’s family over obligations to one’s employer. We cannot reasonably expect people to abandon the love and support of their families, the primary sources of people’s identities and the sources of emotional, social, and financial support for most people, for a particular job. Nepotism is damaging because any claims that family members make must take precedence over any organizational requirements. Jones and Stout (2015) have correctly claimed that nepotism creates dilemmas for managers, which is why most organizations have policies that remove family members from personnel decisions about their loved ones— exactly the sort of practical policy mitigation that can limit the negative impact of nepotism and favoritism. Working with family members creates tremendous strains—just ask anyone working in a family business.

Nepotism and cronyism are bad for employees who are forced to weigh conflicting obligations, they are bad for coworkers who become demoralized when they suspect the worst, and they are bad for organizational performance.

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The Philippines’ Largest Strawman: An anti-oligarch agenda, for oligarchs

Nikkei Asia reported that four days into Duterte’s presidency, he said, “The plan is to destroy the oligarchs embedded in the government.”

While Duterte attacked telecommunication companies, the administration continued with the promise of a third telco and awarded it to the company of Uy.

Uy was one of Duterte's top presidential campaign donors and is estimated by Forbes Asia to have amassed around $2 billion in debt.

Antonio Trillanes IV mentioned, "As it is, it's now oozing with preferential treatment and, at worst, cronyism,"

As President Duterte maintained close ties with politicians in Davao City, the government has allocated double the amount for the public works budget of Davao. Projects have been in delay but this has spurred private investments in Davao.

Many of the Philippine’s wealthiest companies, that were ruled by family dynasties, benefited from close government ties such as Ayala, Alliance Global, LT Group, Metro Pacific, JG Summit, San Miguel, SM Investments, and Udenna.

Dennis Uy, who built Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, has racked up directorates and seats on the boards of companies, many of them owned by old-money oligarchs eager to associate with a man so closely linked with Duterte.

Big pandemic gains for billionaires

Rappler reported that despite the pandemic ruining the global economy, Filipino billionaires saw their wealth grow as seen in the 2021 Forbes billionaires list. The list included

Manuel Villar - wealth grew by 28.6% to $7.2 billion
Enrique Razon Jr. - wealth grew by 43.3% to $5 billion
Lucio Tan - wealth grew by 94% to $3.3 billion
Hans Sy - $3 billion
Herbert Sy - $3 billion
Andrew Tan - $3 billion
Harley Sy - $2.7 billion
Henry Sy Jr - $2.7 billion
Teresita Sy-Coson - $2.7 billion
Elizabeth Sy - $2.4 billion
Tony Tan Caktiong and family - $2.4 billion
Ramon Ang - $2.2 billion
Inigo Zobel - $1.4 billion
Lance Gokongwei - $1.2 billion
Roberto Ongpin - $1.2 billion
Ricardo Po Sr and family - $1.1 billion
Edgar Sia II - $1.1 billion

Rappler also cited that the collective wealth of the Filipino billionaires is totaled at $45.6 billion (P2.2 trillion). For perspective, the Philippines' 2021 national budget is P4.5 trillion.

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Ibon Foundation said the government is using the pandemic as a smokescreen to finance its indulgences such as infrastructure and militarism:

Build, Build, Build (BBB): set at P1.1 trillion in 2021
Makes contractors and real estate oligarchs even richer
Military: around P205.8 B billion for Department of National Defense
Overspending on the military to bolster authoritarian rule and placate restive generals

National debt as of September 2021

11.92 Trillion

Source: Bureau of Treasury

The National Government Outstanding Debt shows the 59.9% debt-to-GDP ratio in 2022 will be the worst in nearly two decades.

Rappler reported that despite the pandemic ruining the global economy, Filipino billionaires saw their wealth grow as seen in the 2021 Forbes billionaires list. The list included

Manuel Villar - wealth grew by 28.6% to $7.2 billion
Enrique Razon Jr. - wealth grew by 43.3% to $5 billion
Lucio Tan - wealth grew by 94% to $3.3 billion
Hans Sy - $3 billion
Herbert Sy - $3 billion
Andrew Tan - $3 billion
Harley Sy - $2.7 billion
Henry Sy Jr - $2.7 billion
Teresita Sy-Coson - $2.7 billion
Elizabeth Sy - $2.4 billion
Tony Tan Caktiong and family - $2.4 billion
Ramon Ang - $2.2 billion
Inigo Zobel - $1.4 billion
Lance Gokongwei - $1.2 billion
Roberto Ongpin - $1.2 billion
Ricardo Po Sr and family - $1.1 billion
Edgar Sia II - $1.1 billion

Rappler also cited that the collective wealth of the Filipino billionaires is totaled at $45.6 billion (P2.2 trillion). For perspective, the Philippines' 2021 national budget is P4.5 trillion.

Build Build Build

makes contractors and real estate oligarchs even richer, swells the pork barrel of politicians, and gives foreign investors the infrastructure they want.

Military

overspending on the military to bolster authoritarian rule and placate restive generals
Between 2020 and 2021, the budget of the defense department increases while the budgets of the health and social welfare departments see a decline from their Bayanihan 1- and Bayanihan 2-boosted spending this year.

Expenses with international suppliers

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Cronies then, Cronies now

MARCOS ADMINISTRATION	DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION
Rappler reported that PCGG was able to recover the following amounts from the named cronies of Marcos: 197 titles representing pieces of real estate property amounting to over P2.5billion, and P250 million in cash from crony Jose Yao Campos P375 million from the accounts of cronies Campos and Rolando Gapud, who was Marcos’ financial adviser P70 million in cash and assets from banana magnate Antonio Floirendo $16 million in Swiss bank deposits, shareholdings in 32 corporations, 100% of the California Overseas Bank shares, and 51% of agricultural lands, and cash dividends in the firms of crony Philippine Ambassador to Japan Roberto Benedicto Shareholdings in Mountainview Real Estate Corporation from crony Anthony Lee P50 million from crony Alejo Ganut Jr. A 4.6 hectare property in Bacolod City from crony Antonio Martel The $50.56 million commission of crony Herminio Disini P18.7 billion from the Meralco shares held by crony Benjamin Romualdez P25.2 billion worth of shares in PLDT owned by crony Ramon Cojuangco P56.4 billion worth of shares in San Miguel Corp. owned by crony Danding Cojuangco These are only a few of the successfully retrieved ill-gotten wealth from the Marcos cronies as there are still cases pending in the Sandiganbayan.	The following cronies who benefitted from close ties with President Duterte: South China Morning Post reported that Dennis Uy was the biggest contributor to Duterte’s presidential campaign in 2016 and he has rapidly expanded his business interests as Duterte has constantly supported him. Bloomberg revealed that Duterte awarded a third teleco. Company to Uy who had no previous experience as a carrier, but emerged as the sole bidder. His oil company, Phoenix Petroleum, now the no. 3 Philippine gasoline retailer. Nikkei Asia reported that CLTG Builders, a company owned by Desiderio Go, the father of Duterte's longtime special assistant, has won over 700 million pesos in contracts from DPWH since Duterte became president. Public infrastructure investment under the Duterte administration has boosted private businesses such as Ayala Land. Duterte’s act of attacking oligarch Roberto Ongpin has led to a transfer of his wealth to a more powerful family with whom Duterte has maintained a strong alliance. The budget for the DPWH Region XI, which encompasses Duterte's stronghold increased by over 100% wherein other regions only increased by 31.

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Political Dynasty: A real life “Game of Thrones”

Based on 2019 official election results, there are at least 163 political families whose winning members include senators, House representatives, or governors. Of this number:

88 are in Luzon
29 in the Visayas
44 in Mindanao, and;
2 families in separate island groups: the Suansings in Luzon (Nueva Ecija) and Mindanao (Sultan Kudarat), and the Arroyos in Luzon (Pampanga) and the Visayas (Negros Occidental).

In Congress, 14 of 24 senators belong to a powerful clan, while in the House, 162 of 300 representatives do – indicating that about half of members come from political families.

At the local level, 60 of 81 governors are from political families. They have a combined 108 relatives holding lower local posts, such as vice governor, provincial board member, mayor, vice mayor, and councilor. Separately, 40* governors are related to incumbent House representatives. Two governors are kin, too, of senators.

Nepotism is damaging because any claims that family members make must take precedence over any organizational requirements.

Jones and Stout (2015) have correctly claimed that nepotism creates dilemmas for managers, which is why most organizations have policies that remove family members from personnel decisions about their loved ones.

Sec. 26, Art. II, 1987 Constitution - The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.

Political dynasties have cleverly exploited over time the poverty of our people and their lack of informed judgement brought about by insufficient education and inadequate understanding of the language that government and media use in presenting, reporting, and discussing government and political affairs. These dynasties make the poor dependent on them for doleouts. During election time, they buy votes, the price of which, I understand, is now P1,000 per vote. (You ask a vote seller why he sells his vote and the answer that you will usually get is a very candid one: “Kasi ho, maski sa isang araw man lang, fiesta ho kami.” Or something to that effect.)

The presence of political dynasties has been in our political system for a long time now and, sad to say, has continued to expand during the past decades to such a wide extent that we have now. I believe there is a political dynasty in every province and chartered city. If so, we have close to 100 families, mini monarchies, governing us continuously for a very long time now. Occasionally, a dynasty drops out and a new one emerges to replace it. In this respect, we are still living in the Middle Ages.

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Poverty in PH is directly related to Political Dynasty

Sources: Rappler.com, Ateneo School of Government

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Plundemic: The case of Pharmally

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It’s time to cancel patronage politics and bad governance

RESIBO CULTURE DEFEATS FAKE NEWS

Rappler reported that Jover Laurio, who is known for her blogs criticizing the administration and speaking out against propaganda and fake news, mentioned:

“Ang hirap paniwalaan pag walang resibo… kaya kailangan may resibo. Sa paglaban natin sa fake news, meron tayo laging resibo”

CALL-OUT CULTURE GIVES FILIPINOS A PLATFORM

Dimalibot, a student from UP College of Mass Communication, made a study on the Call-Out culture in Duterte’s administration. He found that:

“Those who post call out tweets against the Duterte administration feel that this is one effective way of expressing their hate for the Philippine president and his term.”

“ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL

IS THAT GOOD MEN DO NOTHING”

- Edmund Burke

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Unbothered, unbowed, unbent, unbroken: Graceful exits and entrances trump cancel culture

Delicadeza

Rappler reported that former president Gloria Arroyo is reportedly shelving her political retirement plan to again run for representative of the 2nd District of Pampanga despite the issues on corruption during her presidential regime.

Rappler also reported that Bong Revilla ran again for Senate in the year 2019 while his case on plunder was pending.

Then president Erap Estrada was allowed to run for the mayor of manila after losing the 2010 presidential election. In rappler’s summary of the SC decision, Estrada’s pardon is not an obstacle.

Lorenzana discussed the Delicadeza culture in Manila Times stating that in the Philippines, those who are themselves involved in transgressions cling to their positions like leeches without giving an apology for their previous scandals. The bigger anomaly is that they are involved in nepotism and cronyism wherein they pass the position to the people they favor.

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What government leader do we need?

Honors the public trust instilled upon their office and person. Has a good track record.

1

2

Exemplifies financial transparency by disclosing their SALN and rating excellent during audits.

3

4

Respects and Strengthens independence of our branches of government from familiar or friendly conflicts of interest.

Has a strong platform against corruption.

Advocates through policy against the Padrino System towards ending political dynasties and patronage politics

5

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Good Governance

Accountability of Public Officials

Release of SALN

Political Dynasties

Corruption

Public Office is a public trust.

Under Section 1, Article XI, 1987 Philippine Constitution

Requirement for all public officials and employees

Under Art. XI Sec. 17 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

At least 163 political families.

whose winning members include senators, House representatives, or governors

115th out of

180 countries

2021 Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International

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PLATFORMS FOR ECONOMY

Hold each official accountable for all violations they have done during their tenure
Remove the President's power to appoint heads of constitutional commissions and even members of the Judiciary

Ensure that the citizens are heard
Make pubic data accessible
Simplify government processes through digitalization and automation and through reviewing and updating existing laws and removing redundant and outdated ones

Automation of all government agencies

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

She will push for the full-disclosure bill and if it’s not yet enacted to bill, she will release an executive order.

She also reiterated that public office is a public trust and background checks should be done even if election period or not.

His administration will have a dependent and honest person in each branch of the government.

The palakasan culture should be stopped through leadership by example. He also pushes for the digitalization of all government processes.

CANDIDATES WEIGH IN

ON ACCOUNTABILITY

Pronouncements and Platforms on Accountability of Public Officials

NO PRONOUNCEMENT REPORTED

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PLATFORMS FOR ECONOMY

Ensure that the citizens are heard
Make pubic data accessible
Simplify government processes through digitalization and automation and through reviewing and updating existing laws and removing redundant and outdated ones

Automation of all government agencies

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

Challenged fellow candidates to disclose their SALNs to show that they are not hiding anything.

Assured the public that unlike President Duterte, he will be releasing his SALN in lieu of transparency.

CANDIDATES WEIGH IN

ON RELEASE OF SALN

Pronouncements and Platforms on Release of SALN

Promised that he will make his SALN public information once he writes his SALN again

Dapat lang na ilabas yang SALN walang problema sa akin na isapubliko

Gave a call to all public officials, including President Duterte, to comply with the requirement of passing their SALNs

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

NO PRONOUNCEMENT REPORTED

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PLATFORMS FOR ECONOMY

Strengthen the constitutional prohibition on political dynasties

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

Reiterated her position against Political Dynasties and stressed the need for political reforms, including a review of the party-list system, which she said has paved “the way for consolidating of power of many political dynasties” in the country.

People in COMELEC should not come from politics as well.

CANDIDATES WEIGH IN

ON POLITICAL DYNASTIES

Pronouncements and Platforms on Accountability of Political Dynasties

NO PRONOUNCEMENT REPORTED

Opposed political dynasties saying that democracy must run its course in revealing those involved.

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

NO PRONOUNCEMENT REPORTED

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

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PLATFORMS FOR ECONOMY

Stop corruption

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

Calls out officials who are involved in the Pharmally corruption issue.

Calls for corruption to stop and that judicious use of public funds be ensured so that the government can also finance the modernization of barangay health centers and professionalize barangay health workers. He also plans to make a mega prison in his first three months in office.

There should be an internal cleansing for departments to eradicate corruption.

CANDIDATES WEIGH IN

ON CORRUPTION

Pronouncements and Platforms on Corruption

Wnts to remove Corruption because he believes its corrosive effect on government and the people and says that we have to do a better job.

NO PRONOUNCEMENT REPORTED

Plans on punishing those who have benefitted from plunderers but he does not see the need to arrest past public officials like Marcos or Duterte because it is as if he's only "getting back" at them

NO PLATFORM IN WRITING

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PLATFORMS FOR ECONOMY

Authored the Full Disclosure Policy Bill, the People Empowerment Bill, Anti-Dynasty Bill, and the Participatory Budget Process Bill
Sponsored the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act of 2009
OVP received the highest audit rating from the COA

CANDIDATES TRACK RECORD

Track Record related to Good Governance

Awardee for Young Achiever Awardee for Government and Public Service in 1994
Convicted by the CA for failure to file Income Tax Returns from 1982 to 1985
Alleged to have an diploma from Oxford University despite the latter refuting this claim stating that it was only a ‘Special Diploma”
U.S. courts gave a contempt ruling with a warrant of arrest
Banned in Switzerland for money laundering

Complaint filed on Tax Evasion but it was dismissed by the court of tax appeals

Complaint filed for Plunder, Ghost Employees, Illegal Gambling but it was dismissed
Mentioned that he may be the first candidate to declare excess campaign funds however this was belied by news reports as many other candidates in past elections had declared unused campaign funds in their Statement of Election Contributions and Expenses

Primarily authored the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the amendment strengthening the law
Delivered a privilege speech entitled Living Without Pork, exposing the evils and temptations presented by the pork barrel system, and called for its total abolition
Involved in the Kuratong Baleteng and Dacer-Corbito cases but it was dismissed

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CANDIDATES RANKED

On Accountability of Good Governance

8.08

7.04

7.47

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What’s the Plan?

Exchange

Take part in 2022’s most important conversation!

Group up and organize. Invest in the company

of advocates for a

truth-based and

youth-led 2022 election.

Engage

Ride the youth wave for new politics and culture in the electorate!

Spark discussions among your family, community, �and candidates through creative means

Suffrage

Make your mark and practice your right to vote!

Ensure an informed vote from yourself, your family, and your local electorate

bit.ly/NowYouVolunteer2022

Pull out youth survey data, voters registration data

Register to Vote

As of 26 Aug 2021, 31.27% of the respondents not yet registered, 41.58% of which are already qualified to register

According to the latest COMELEC data, 31% of the current registered voters, or approximately 18.8 million, are from the youth sector ranging from 18 years old to 29 years old. In the last national elections in 2016, the incumbent president won with 16 million votes. This highlights the importance of the youth in shaping this country’s future. With a little less than 2 months remaining, this figure can still increase if those eligible unregistered voters are given the opportunity to register.

Become an Active Voter

The Call To Action is Clear--Register to vote, and become an active voter. What distinguishes a voter from an active voter is their active civic participation. Now that we’ve given you the knowledge, we want this knowledge to be shared to more and more ears.

Become A Partner

Become a partner and let’s make sure this election cycle is led by the youth, and led by the truth.We here at #NowYouVote open our arms in solidarity to every who shares our cause. Let’s stay connected across the islands, across the cyberspace.

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Palasyo ng Kuwago:

On Transparency and Accountability in PH Governance

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Maraming Salamat!

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What’s the Plan?

Exchange

Take part in 2022’s most important conversation!

Group up and organize. Invest in the company

of advocates for a

truth-based and

youth-led 2022 election.

Engage

Ride the youth wave for new politics and culture in the electorate!

Spark discussions among your family, community, �and candidates through creative means

Suffrage

Make your mark and practice your right to vote!

Ensure an informed vote from yourself, your family, and your local electorate

bit.ly/NowYouVolunteer2022

Pull out youth survey data, voters registration data

Register to Vote

As of 26 Aug 2021, 31.27% of the respondents not yet registered, 41.58% of which are already qualified to register

According to the latest COMELEC data, 31% of the current registered voters, or approximately 18.8 million, are from the youth sector ranging from 18 years old to 29 years old. In the last national elections in 2016, the incumbent president won with 16 million votes. This highlights the importance of the youth in shaping this country’s future. With a little less than 2 months remaining, this figure can still increase if those eligible unregistered voters are given the opportunity to register.

Become an Active Voter

The Call To Action is Clear--Register to vote, and become an active voter. What distinguishes a voter from an active voter is their active civic participation. Now that we’ve given you the knowledge, we want this knowledge to be shared to more and more ears.

Become A Partner

Become a partner and let’s make sure this election cycle is led by the youth, and led by the truth.We here at #NowYouVote open our arms in solidarity to every who shares our cause. Let’s stay connected across the islands, across the cyberspace.

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Ngayong 2022...

Kabataan ang maririnig,

Katotohanan ang mananaig!

Become an active voter now!

bit.ly/NowYouVolunteer2022

Sign the attendance form below:

bit.ly/NYV2022Attendance

@nowyouknowph

48 of 49

Ngayong 2022...

Mamamayan ang maririnig,

Katotohanan ang mananaig!

Become an active voter now!

bit.ly/NowYouVolunteer2022

Sign the attendance form below:

bit.ly/NYV2022Attendance

@nowyouknowph

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Palasyo ng Kuwago:

On Transparency and Accountability in PH Governance