The most recent tragedy in Congress to pass the Freedom of Information Act is only a symptom of a bigger problem, which can be found in the inherent systems of government institutions in the country, a failure which combines both the behavioral deficiency of our politicians and the lack of continuing and evolving engagement of our people.
The Freedom of Information Bill would have allowed the general public to have access to government-held information, in particular, for the citizens to track where their taxes are going. Many things have been said already, that this should have been passed, but the real question now becomes, who elected these Congressmen in the first place? Again, a wrong attitude towards the electoral process can be the first and ultimate step towards passing legislation of great importance such as this. We put forward demands that this Congress pass the FOI Bill, but again, isn't it too late a hero considering that the citizens put themselves on the spot by electing these no good politicians?
I continuously laud the efforts of NGO's and other civil society groups to pressure outgoing Speaker Boy Nograles to pass this bill, but then again, isn't it that efforts of mass protest should not be centralized only in Manila, but instead should spread in the constituencies of these absent congressmen to where their interests and their political survival lies? I'm sorry, but rallies and mass protests have peaked in such a way that the general public doesn't want to engage anymore in these movements, but they are looking for a more EVOLVED way of making POLITICIANS accountable for their wrongdoings, and everyone is looking for some sort of more legitimate and productive exercise of practicing democracy. I'm not saying the right to assembly should be shut down, but then again, we have to sort of re-invent the convention of going out, doing street theater and shouting our lungs out, often in vain and only for media consumption. In fact, signature drives can be more effective tools in making these politicians accountable, in their very own districts, as to the reason why they should perform effectively and why they should pass important legislation pending.
I would not say much about our politicians, because it's really common knowledge what they're made of, and even an uneducated person would know how terrible most of them are. However, it is the institutional frailities that make it such for these people to take advantage of it. First, there's no accountability in attendance of Congressmen. If regular employees have timecards and are fired from their jobs if they fail to meet the required number of days in work, how come we can't institutionally demand that failure to attend in Congress' blockout days (which should really be chartered) can be a ground for impeachment in office? We need to institutionalize a BLOCKOUT DAY every session week where ALL of our CONGRESSMEN would be compelled to attend by law to attend, or else, reasonable punishment would be dealt with them accordingly.
There should be stop gap measures which should be implemented institutionally so that these politicians would be more accountable to the people.
However, if we still keep on putting the same people in the 256 seat Congress, we expect nothing out of institutionalization of this kind of transparency or even important bills pending would be passed.
It always starts during Elections, the kind of people we vote is reflective of our individual views and perspectives in governance. Whether we like it or not, OUR vote or MANY who voted for these absent congressmen is also REFLECTIVE of the kind of perspective we want for our government. The lack of ownership in terms of faults here in the country is also what is lacking in our citizenry, thus the TOTAL blame should never just be pointed to these absent congressmen.
Institutional Reforms should be coupled with Behavorial Change, something that all citizens must be willing to accept and imbibe, because it is also the false expectations and wrong notions we have in our responsibilities which set a precursor for disappointment amongst many in the system and thus, apathy towards governance. Unless we demand our electorate to be more wise, discerning in choosing all those who will represent them in government, from the national up to the local level, then it will always happen to us that we will be in a perpetual state of disappointment and hating government.
The FOI Bill will never be passed unless we get things done right, in choosing our leaders, in making them perform their job properly not just by mass protest, but making them accountable through their very own constituencies in their own districts to be liable come next election, should they fail- and in making our fellow Filipino's more involved, more discerning and more responsible with their own participation in our democratic processes.
Its time to be more dynamic, its time to go out of the box and re-think our strategies and its time to change our attitudes, not only towards our government, but also towards our own.
"Be accountable, be responsible, and don't just look into other people's actions, when your eye is also a problem."
The Freedom of Information Bill would have allowed the general public to have access to government-held information, in particular, for the citizens to track where their taxes are going. Many things have been said already, that this should have been passed, but the real question now becomes, who elected these Congressmen in the first place? Again, a wrong attitude towards the electoral process can be the first and ultimate step towards passing legislation of great importance such as this. We put forward demands that this Congress pass the FOI Bill, but again, isn't it too late a hero considering that the citizens put themselves on the spot by electing these no good politicians?
I continuously laud the efforts of NGO's and other civil society groups to pressure outgoing Speaker Boy Nograles to pass this bill, but then again, isn't it that efforts of mass protest should not be centralized only in Manila, but instead should spread in the constituencies of these absent congressmen to where their interests and their political survival lies? I'm sorry, but rallies and mass protests have peaked in such a way that the general public doesn't want to engage anymore in these movements, but they are looking for a more EVOLVED way of making POLITICIANS accountable for their wrongdoings, and everyone is looking for some sort of more legitimate and productive exercise of practicing democracy. I'm not saying the right to assembly should be shut down, but then again, we have to sort of re-invent the convention of going out, doing street theater and shouting our lungs out, often in vain and only for media consumption. In fact, signature drives can be more effective tools in making these politicians accountable, in their very own districts, as to the reason why they should perform effectively and why they should pass important legislation pending.
I would not say much about our politicians, because it's really common knowledge what they're made of, and even an uneducated person would know how terrible most of them are. However, it is the institutional frailities that make it such for these people to take advantage of it. First, there's no accountability in attendance of Congressmen. If regular employees have timecards and are fired from their jobs if they fail to meet the required number of days in work, how come we can't institutionally demand that failure to attend in Congress' blockout days (which should really be chartered) can be a ground for impeachment in office? We need to institutionalize a BLOCKOUT DAY every session week where ALL of our CONGRESSMEN would be compelled to attend by law to attend, or else, reasonable punishment would be dealt with them accordingly.
There should be stop gap measures which should be implemented institutionally so that these politicians would be more accountable to the people.
However, if we still keep on putting the same people in the 256 seat Congress, we expect nothing out of institutionalization of this kind of transparency or even important bills pending would be passed.
It always starts during Elections, the kind of people we vote is reflective of our individual views and perspectives in governance. Whether we like it or not, OUR vote or MANY who voted for these absent congressmen is also REFLECTIVE of the kind of perspective we want for our government. The lack of ownership in terms of faults here in the country is also what is lacking in our citizenry, thus the TOTAL blame should never just be pointed to these absent congressmen.
Institutional Reforms should be coupled with Behavorial Change, something that all citizens must be willing to accept and imbibe, because it is also the false expectations and wrong notions we have in our responsibilities which set a precursor for disappointment amongst many in the system and thus, apathy towards governance. Unless we demand our electorate to be more wise, discerning in choosing all those who will represent them in government, from the national up to the local level, then it will always happen to us that we will be in a perpetual state of disappointment and hating government.
The FOI Bill will never be passed unless we get things done right, in choosing our leaders, in making them perform their job properly not just by mass protest, but making them accountable through their very own constituencies in their own districts to be liable come next election, should they fail- and in making our fellow Filipino's more involved, more discerning and more responsible with their own participation in our democratic processes.
Its time to be more dynamic, its time to go out of the box and re-think our strategies and its time to change our attitudes, not only towards our government, but also towards our own.
"Be accountable, be responsible, and don't just look into other people's actions, when your eye is also a problem."
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