CODE-NGO’s Advocacy Program Officer Sandino Soliman and Membership Program Officer Milet Aquino participated in the Philippine Civil Society National Consolidation Workshop held last July 21-22, 2022 at the Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros, Manila. The activity was organized by The Asia Democracy Network (ADN), together with InciteGov, the La Salle Institute of Governance, and the Initiatives for International Dialogue. The activity aimed to assess the situation of democracy, civic space and civil society in the Philippines, define gaps and challenges, and explore opportunities and possible spaces for civil society engagement in the next few years.
Navigating in the New Administration
In her opening remarks, InciteGov chairperson Mardi Mapa-Suplido said that they gathered participants from different parts of the country who can help assess the current gaps and challenges in asserting our shared belief in democracy. She hoped that the different participating civil society groups can synergize their efforts at the end of the activity. Moreover, she emphasized how they invited two participants from each organization to participate – including one from the younger or next generation of leaders. Ms. Suplido said the youth can serve as the “second wings,” likening how birds flying in a V-formation take turns being the leader when the other gets tired.
The workshop started off with a plenary discussion on the Philippine democracy situation. Political Science Professor Cleve Arguelles presented how the Philippines is becoming an autocratic state, noting that there are now more sophisticated tactics to target civil society, such as: repressing civil society organizations (CSOs), attacking press freedom, limiting foreign funding, and reducing avenues for consultation. ADN Secretary-General Ichal Supriadi also gave an overview on the present democracy and human rights situation in the Philippines and Asia.
The participants then mapped out possible obstacles and opportunities under the new administration. Some of the identified obstacles include threats to security and safety by the state, attacks to press freedom and freedom of speech, and rampant mis/disinformation. Meanwhile, the civil society participants said they may draw opportunities from different volunteer groups and youth that were active during the campaign, as well as continuous opportunities to engage with the government.
For the last activity session, the participants reflected on the practices of the pro-democracy sector using Open-Space Technology. One good practice highlighted is encouraging increased youth and CSO leaders in electoral participation. This is also a way to build allies both at the national and local levels. Nonetheless, pro-democracy groups would still continue their principled engagement with the government regardless of political stance. On the other hand, the pro-democracy sector participants tend to silo with their advocacies and initiatives. Hence, there is a need to be more grounded and inclusive of other groups.
A Long Way to Go
The lead discussants validated the identified obstacles of mis/disinformation. Malou Mangahas of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism talked about what media used to be and what it is now by bringing up questions that pro-democracy advocates should discuss. Her discussion on fake news highlights its effects on the media. When the words “fake news” are used, these draw in the news from the media and are lumped together with all the “un-truths”. The speaker admitted that the media also has its lapses with mal-practice of some journalists. Despite this, it used to be that the source of information was verified by the media and the media then is a credible and reliable source of information.
Today, Filipinos get their information from several different channels that they consider credible. She shared the very huge amount of data that Filipinos consume on a daily basis, both online and offline. If this data already has “un-truths”, then the “truth tellers” will have a long way to go to catch up with the Filipino audience.
Dr. Francisco Magno of the La Salle Institute of Governance shared the value of the research in countering mis/disinformation. He shares the same view with Ms. Mangahas that the academe is also undermined by the proliferation of mis/disinformation. He nevertheless shares his hope that evidence-based research will convince Filipinos of the existence of mis/disinformation and will be able to distinguish these with the truth. Just like the time when the whole scientific community believed that the world was flat and eventually shifted their paradigm to the current standard that the world is round.
Next Steps
Participants wrote down ideas on how the CSOs in the Philippines should move forward. The recognition and active involvement of the youth became a recurring theme, especially in light of the upcoming Sangguniang Kabataan elections. The need to sharpen political education also appeared in the ways moving forward. One group recognized that CSOs may “play” different musical instruments but when played together, there is harmony similar to a musical orchestra performance. At the end of the workshop, the organizers and the participants committed to fine-tune the workshop outputs and hold regular discussions on democracy. The workshop participants form part of a Philippine Democracy Network that will endeavor to carry out the democracy agenda of civil society.