Controversies left and right are rocking the Philippines. The 10-billion Pork Barrel Scam with Janet Lim-Napoles as the mastermind turned out to be a bigger web of deception and corruption involving numerous senators, congressmen, and public officials. I admit, this is not a good time to be a Filipino. Perhaps, some of us are ashamed and embarrassed for what our duly elected public servants has done. But, there is no doubt that our collective concerns and actions as united Filipino citizens during the past few weeks are something to be proud of.
Joining us today was Mr. Vince Lazatin, Executive Director of the Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN), a network of organizations working for greater transparency. We discussed the recent issues surrounding Napoles' Pork Barrel Scam, the reactions of the people, and the role that modern technology plays in the exchange of information, news, and suggestions among us, Filipinos.
Million People March
The Filipino netizens' call for action sparked the massive protests that happened last August 26, 2013 in Luneta, Manila and other parts of the Philippines and the world. Different hashtags, pictures, posts, and tweets flooded the Internet and showed our patriotism and great love for country. Numerous social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, which were just platforms for light chats and mundane news before, now became the venue for the Filipinos to unite and get together for a common goal - to support the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more commonly known as the Pork Barrel.
The Million People March, which happened on National Heroes' Day, highlighted thousands of unsung Filipino heroes - heroes who were walking, chanting, and singing with and for the Filipino people. Despite the controversies, scams, and dishonesties of some, the patriotism, hope, and faith of the many still arose.
My Nation
During the protests in Luneta, our very own Mr. Vigattin, Sir Elison, was interviewed by radio stations DZMM and DZBB about his reaction on the Pork Barrel issue. He answered with a suggested solution for transparency and accountability in the government. With a tool like My Nation, a website that will record and archive all the government's funds from the barangay level up to the executive house, the general public will be able to know where our taxes are actually going. The website is still under development, and we are hoping for the support of those pushing for greater transparency, accountability, and freedom of information. Along with the abolition of the Pork Barrel System, we are also fighting for the passing of the Freedom of Information Law.
Amendments take a long time to finalize and reforms are difficult to implement, but if our urgent, collective voices are heard, we may be able to speed things up. No matter how small you feel as a member of the community, your opinion still matters.
After all, that's what democracy is all about - the power of the people.
These just show that technology plays a very important role in various political and social agenda in the Philippines. Filipino netizens in different social media have been more vocal, active, and immersed in different issues than before. This significant number is a huge addition to the people protesting the traditional way - rallying on the streets and shouting out their concerns. We are fighting against graft, corruption, patronage, and a million other political problems. But more than that, we are fighting against apathy and benign neglect. We, Filipinos, are fighting against the contagious mentality of letting wrong things happen around us just because we feel we can't do anything about them.
And so, we are fighting and standing up for the greater empowerment of the Filipino people.
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