The theme of the CODE-NGO Social Development Week 2022 was “Magpakahusay: Strengthening Civil Society to Level Up Democracy”. The week-long online event hosted six public forums and learning sessions that culminated with the CODE-NGO 7th Congress. These sessions touched on the questions that civil society organizations, facing societal challenges of the day, ask among themselves. As CODE-NGO Chairperson Aurora Reyes Chavez posed in her opening remarks:
“We know of the weakened state of Philippine democracy. We know of the creeping effect of impunity that tries to curtail our basic freedoms. We ask ourselves – How can civil society live through the next five or 18 years when civic spaces are shrinking? How can we protect democratic principles and norms which are being sacrificed?”
The Opening Session held last October 24, 2022 was graced by two distinguished speakers who discussed at length their respective thoughts on what happened during and after the 2022 national and local elections.
Manolo Quezon III, a journalist, historian, and social commentator, described the political psyche of the Filipinos and how they appreciate their President(s). Filipinos have seemingly forgotten the wrongdoings of former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. by electing and legitimizing the mandate of his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. But the foundational reasons for the political amnesia are Filipinos’ popular empathy with and dependence on a “strongman” to deliver them out of their beleaguered life. Most Filipinos are willing to throw away their worries and support a President who can solve their problems. Because Filipinos perceived that Duterte could declare and make bold and decisive action, and the public anger and disappointment brought by the Mamasapano incident in 2015 had not died down, Filipinos switched their empathy from the Aquinos to the Dutertes in 2016. When the time came that the Dutertes and the Marcoses created an alliance, coupled with 30 years of the Marcos Restoration “project” and changes in the media landscape, the conditions for a landslide victory for Marcos Jr. in 2022 were complete.
Dr. Yabut of De La Salle University talked about how the majority of Filipinos who voted for Marcos Jr. felt they have a strong sense of Filipino social identity but lacked a sense of democratic citizenship. Based on their research and policy paper, Dr. Yabut also explained that while Robredo supporters identified with characteristics of democratic citizenship, their Filipino identity was not that strong.
The speakers give hope as they may be seeing that we (civil society organizations) have our work cut out for us. Civil society will live through the current social realities by re-evaluating the ways we work. We bring the conversation to the people while we are open to understanding their own struggles and stories. Finally, “we must focus on shaping the incoming generation by rebuilding and implanting civic sense in them because they will comprise the future majority. They will be the ones who have to make up for all the mistakes made and prepare for new experiments and challenges to come.”
To watch the recording of this session, click here.
Or read the INCITEGov Weekend Briefer with its notes and key takeaways on this session.
Know more about the Social Development Week!
Visit https://code-ngo.org/socialdevelopmentweek
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