In
the Diocese of Legazpi, the voters education module for the 2016 elections is
called “SILAG”. Silag is a Bikol word that means “transparent”. It also
stands for “Social Initiative for Local Accountability in Governance”, the
overall program framework for people’s empowerment and good governance advocacy
of the Social Action Center (SAC). The SILAG brand, already present in a
few SAC Legazpi projects such as partnerships with line agencies and local
government units, and capacity-building trainings for grassroots organizations,
now extends to its Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)
election campaign.
Session 1, “Kita Man an Dangogon (Let Them Listen to Us this Time): Setting-up a People’s Local Governance Agenda”. We thank Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan’s “Kuwentuhang Bayan” for articulating our kindred desire to make the election season not just an exercise in discerning the qualifications of candidates but also in raising the quality of dialogue between candidates and voters by encouraging communities to express their own agenda of pressing community concerns and the common good, instead of just waiting for candidates to present their platforms of government.
Session 2, “May Marhay Magsayuma (It’s Better to Say No): Challenging Barriers to Empowerment and Good Governance”. We are also grateful for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) “One Good Vote” module for the consistent and impassioned campaign against vote-buying and selling. We adapted the “One Good Vote” spirit into our local language and setting in order to come up with a session that challenges the most resistant barriers to HOPE (honest, orderly and peaceful elections), such as public cynicism, vote buying, and political dynasty.
In crafting this module, we applied
some lessons learned from our long institutional track record in community
organizing and election advocacy, and drew inspiration from other voters
education projects. The result is a campaign whose methodology expands from the
usual moralistic preaching into a more audience-driven learning, whose advocacy
transcends beyond the elections into the much broader arenas of good governance
and people empowerment, whose support structure improves upon the current
stand-alone PPCRV model into a synergistic movement that maximizes the strengths of the
Church’s structure and network, including its partners in government and civil
society.
Session 1, “Kita Man an Dangogon (Let Them Listen to Us this Time): Setting-up a People’s Local Governance Agenda”. We thank Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan’s “Kuwentuhang Bayan” for articulating our kindred desire to make the election season not just an exercise in discerning the qualifications of candidates but also in raising the quality of dialogue between candidates and voters by encouraging communities to express their own agenda of pressing community concerns and the common good, instead of just waiting for candidates to present their platforms of government.
Session
1's objective will be accomplished by PPCRV units when they gather the
output of all vote-ed workshops conducted in parishes in a city or municipality
into easy-to-remember five, seven or ten-point agenda, and present them to
candidates for adoption in their respective platforms. The adopted local
community agenda in turn will be the basis for measuring and demanding
accountability from winning candidates as they take on the task of governance
later.
Session 2, “May Marhay Magsayuma (It’s Better to Say No): Challenging Barriers to Empowerment and Good Governance”. We are also grateful for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) “One Good Vote” module for the consistent and impassioned campaign against vote-buying and selling. We adapted the “One Good Vote” spirit into our local language and setting in order to come up with a session that challenges the most resistant barriers to HOPE (honest, orderly and peaceful elections), such as public cynicism, vote buying, and political dynasty.
The participants’ commitment
against vote-buying is reinforced with a sticker campaign in homes, offices,
and vehicles. The sticker says: “Kami
Pamilyang Kristiyano, Dai Nababakal an Boto” (We are a Christian Family,
Our Votes are Not for Sale).
Session 3, “Banwaan
Pagturuwangan (Solidarity for Community Development): Promoting People’s
Participation in Local Governance. To
this mix, we add the message that this election need not be a zero-sum game if
your favored candidates don’t get to win; that PPCRV volunteers need not easily
despair in case vote-buying becomes rampant and massive again despite their
best efforts; and that no matter what happens, the election season still opens
up windows of opportunity for genuine people’s participation in local
governance – provided we do our part.
Session 3 raises awareness on various
participatory mechanisms, especially provisions in the Local Government Code
for non-government and civil society organizations’ participation in local
development councils (at least 25% CSO membership) and local special bodies. Section
108 of R.A. 7160 mandates that “within a period of 60 days from the start of
organization of local development councils, the nongovernmental organizations
shall choose from among themselves their representatives to said councils”. The session also includes information on the Bottom-Up Budgeting
initiative and the Local Poverty Reduction Action Team (50% CSO membership).
SAC Legazpi intends to follow-up
its PPCRV campaign with post-election projects and activities within the SILAG
framework such as organizing, accreditation assistance, and capacity-building
of grassroots groups, so they can effectively participate in and influence
local governance processes.
In a big picture perspective,
elections are part of the value-chain of good governance. The other parts of
the chain include policy-making and the budget process, people’s participation,
transparency and accountability, and effective and efficient service delivery, among
others. The clearer we recognize the role of elections in this value-chain, the
better for our people to get the best value out of it, which means making
elections truly a means for sustainable community development, inclusive
growth, and nation-building. This should be the end game of any voters
education project.
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