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WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS AND LIMITS OF MY POWER AS A CITIZEN

By Kirsten Adecer

As having experienced being a citizen in several LGUs growing up, from Mindanao to Visayas and now in Luzon specifically in the NCR, I can say that as a citizen we have so little power. Consequently, I can say that LGUs are very similar in the way the roles of the citizens.

Citizens should be given a bigger role and should have the power and influence to demand for what they want and what they deserve. I believe that citizens in the country especially those who do not have the means to have better livelihoods or have bigger incomes don’t have as much power as other citizens with wealth do.

I am saying this because seeing how Philippine politics plays out and how corruption is so prominent even at the grassroots such as barangays there really is so much you can do or want for yourself and for others as just a citizen. If you really want something for yourself and actual change in your situation in this third world nation you really need to do it on your own. It is a dog eats dog and a survival of the fittest situation where you have to look out for yourself because you really can’t ask anyone else to do it for you. I believe that citizens’ most powerful role is being a voter because this is only what politicians see us as. They give us our demands but not all of it only to appease us especially during election period. I believe that as citizens we should have bigger power or influence especially over the government as the government should be afraid of their citizens not the other way around.

What are the prospects and limits of my power as a Citizen

By: Kay Zarate

Growing up during my elementary and secondary years, my school’s top vision for its students included being a committed citizen. I always wondered if they were successful in raising their students to have this quality. I think I was able to really think about my contributions as a Filipino citizen when I was already in the University of the Philippines. It was at this university that I came to love my country-- all its ups and downs and made me really think about what it meant to be a citizen here. It took the wider exposure for me to understand and appreciate what my country had given me.

One class that is required for us to take is Fil 40. In this class, one thing that stuck to me where we played a game. Students were asked a question and they could either sit or stand to convey their answer. After answering many gruelling and sensitive questions testing our loyalty to the country, the final question told us to stand if we thought the Philippines had hope-- and all of us stood up. That really makes the heart warm and it proves that the country does have hope. No matter all its shortcomings now.

Citizens have the power to do anything once they put their minds to it. It really is just a matter of people wanting change to happen and everyone doing their part for it to happen. I think it is difficult to feel power when one is alone, but we should know what every 1 person making an effort is 1 more person adding to change in the country.

What are the prospects and limits of my power as a Citizen?

By: Thea Espidol

As a student of Public Administration and throughout the course of our PA 162 (Citizenship and Governance) class, I realized that my power as a citizen exclusive of election season and my suffrage right is extremely limited. I unfortunately learned this the hard way because I tried – and failed – in proposing a project to an LGU just because I wanted to help.

And while I want to initiate projects and programs to my city or even to the LGU within my vicinity, it had been constantly proven to me that this is easier said than done if one does not share direct contacts or linkages to officials or public servant then one’s proposals would never see the light of day.

As is the case of our group’s experience with Mandaluyong City, if I had let the bureaucratic process prevail and if I did not call it in, we would not be able to finish our interview and we would not even be let anywhere near the project site. Try as I may to be an outstanding citizen, but then I would know that I am being unrealistic and hopeful on wishful thinking.

Unfortunately, I learned this during my internship at the Department of Foreign Affairs, just before my final undergraduate year. Being an intern in one of the offices within the DFA showed me that being a part of CSOs would end up making me feel that a peg in a machine, without any say in anything.

What are the prospects and limits of my power as a Citizen?

By: Luis Emmanuel G. Fleta

Sometimes I think that us regular citizens are just mere sheep being led into place by government sheepdogs, and we’re not allowed to go astray or deviate.

While this analogy could go either way and that discipline and control is usually a good thing, it doesn’t mean that citizens should not have a voice and limited stake in issues that really matter.

As we all know, the 2019 South East Asian Games is ongoing (as of this writing). And this is one of the moments I realized just how much power citizens hold as a collective. Collectively, our combined opinions and the overall public sentiment can put so much pressure to the organizers and officials which eventually resulted to better output with regards to our hosting of the SEA Games.

However, that’s collectively. Individually? It’s a different story.

One of the best ways to have a hand in public decision-making is to have enough credibility. Sadly, credibility is oftentimes synonymous with wealth or more specifically, influence bought by money. In these times, government infrastructure projects and contracts get easily handed out to powerful and well-connected people. Ordinary people like those affected by Right-of-Way Acquisitions and Informal Settler Families - these are the people whose voices should be heard.

As an ordinary citizen, I wish that this same credibility and influence be attained by the likes of the masses. And maybe collectively, this potential power can be realized.

#PA162 #IndivOutput4 #Journal4

What are the prospects and limits of my power as a Citizen?

By Lucia Buenaventura

I have realized, that without a position, I cannot initiate projects for the welfare of everyone within my proximity. With an organization, however, I may be able to create an event that can benefit people. As a citizen of a city (primarily Manila), I can avail of services given to people living in Manila. I have a right to complain as well when services are not provided adequately.

I am a consumer and constituent of the LGU I live in. I follow their rules, such as the traffic rules and regulations. I have a right and power to vote each election season. I also avail of their frontline services.

I am limited to becoming a constituent with rights and needs. But I can help through volunteer work in initiatives that I feel I can be of use. I can also donate relief goods in times of need. Being a citizen means that I am acting within the bounds of the law and I am also protected by it.

Video of our PA 162 group going to Mandaluyong–– doing the ocular visit, going to the city hall and doing our interviews, and ending up with an adventure!

What major insight have I gained so far from my on-going experiences in engaging the initiative?

By Kirsten Adecer

The major insight I have gained so far from my ongoing experiences in engaging the initiative is that LGUs, maybe even including agencies and departments, around the Philippines seem to have fairly a lot in common-- that they all take a while to reply and give feedback whenever you need something for them. in this case, when we have been emailing and contacting the Mandaluyong LGU they did not reply for weeks despite being given a physical letter and emails by our group.

I believe that a lot of government agencies and LGUs around the country have this similar problem in which it really takes a while for citizens to hear back from them whenever we need it and it would be better to go there physically and go to all the point persons or offices you need information or services from because if you depend on them just doing or giving what you ask from them it won’t work at all.

I have experienced the same thing from other LGUs and agencies especially through my school work and projects as a public administration student from NCPAG. Being a public ad student entails a lot of firsthand experience and interaction with LGUs and government agencies because of our academic work and projects thus, I am not new to this type of service and feedback from an LGU.

Although Mandaluyong may be a slightly better LGU than others as they are much more reachable and reply faster than my past experience with other LGUs such as of Quezon City, it is still disappointing that even with such small information we need it still took around a month for them to properly reply and give us time. However, even then we were still being passed from one official to another and one office to another as to who would accommodate us.

What major insight have I gained so far from my on-going experiences in engaging the initiative?

By Luis Emmanuel G. Fleta

As a part-time resident of Mandaluyong City, the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is something of significant relevance to me, especially as someone who commutes through the thickness of traffic everyday.

It’s funny how our group actually obtained more data regarding the ongoing bridge re-construction from another agency instead of the actual LGU itself. Inquiries with the city office have proven so far to be just failed attempts at communication. And the bureaucracy of requesting for letters and fixed appointments to hopefully visit the site and talk to local engineers or officials have been so far brutal. So with this, we turn to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Based from 2019 data from the Investment Coordination Committee NEDA Board (ICC-NB) list of approved projects, we have discovered so far that as of January 2019, the construction progress is at 0.765% taking into account that groundbreaking started in July 2018.

It took almost a whopping six months to reach less than 1% progress.

Of course, we are desperately hopeful that construction pace have sped up ever since or else it will take roughly 60 years if it maintains the January 2019 construction status that NEDA gave. Sure, 60 years is an exaggeration considering there have been multiple Senate hearings that delayed construction (Senate investigations regarding the dubious bidding handed over to a Chinese firm), but even if the bridge was finished in less than a year, the fact of the matter remains - the whole construction is in controversy.

Throughout this whole endeavor, I realized that in any construction project pushed by our government, it always has three phases that should undergo scrutiny: pre, post, and during.

‘Pre’ refers to everything planning and approval-related like technical aspects, bidding awards, how it will be financed. ‘Post’ refers to everything evaluation-related like whether or not outcomes or outputs are achieved and up to standard. Meanwhile, ‘during’ in the context of construction refers to the integrity of the process as well as the speed and quality of work. All three should be closely watched under a microscope. And oftentimes, not everyone is given a chance to hold that microscope.

As a resident of the area or even if you’re not, perhaps you’re just a commuter or a passerby, the conclusion is that we’re all stakeholders in the project. We should not just be waiting around and waking up hoping that one day we could finally pass by that bridge again. There’s always a way to be involved,. You’ll be surprised by just how much pressure our collective opinion and efforts can bring to the table.

#IndividualOutput3 #PA162

What major insight have I gained so far from my on-going experiences in engaging the initiative?

By: Kay Zarate

As the semester progressed, and the group has tried to contact the LGU, I learned that it really is difficult to contact them. Since the one of the topics of this class is the active citizenship, I found this troubling. It would be difficult to voice out comments, complaints, or just any sort of direct participation when the LGU themselves are hard to reach.

Another insight I gained is the importance of each LGU and the direct impact they have on individuals. Since they are/should be present and reachable, they should know what the people want and need. Thus, they are the best to formulate projects and programs for the community. Since there are lapses in these procedures, it affects so many people. For example, the delay in the bridge in Mandaluyong affected so many people-- not only in the area, but the people that use the bridge everyday. All these people had to look for alternate routes for their everyday travels. I realized how big of an impact the LGU has. I knew that their decision affects the people, but engaging in this initiative deepened my understanding of what if means to be a citizen in terms of their rights, duties, and responsibilities

Mostly, I realized that our LGUs still have a lot of work to do. They have the closest interaction with the country’s constituents and are the most convenient way to talk on ground. Especially the barangays, they hold the important task of seeing to the day-to-day needs of the people. It should come to our attention how valuable it is for them to operate at their best.

What major insight have I gained so far from my on-going experiences in engaging the initiative?

By Lucia Buenaventura

For so long that I have been a student in NCPAG, each time we ask to get an interview with a government office (with the official), it takes so long before our letter gets received and the request acknowledged. During our ocular visits, we are being passed from one office to another. Even with a personal appearance and request, forwarding our letter was a hassle.

I have however, seen and enjoyed how LGUs play a huge role in the citizens’ lives. I like how it seemed like everyone knows everyone and would accommodate those in need. They (the staff) are still within the bounds of the Mandaluyong jurisdiction, so when we requested to view the Estrella-Panteleon bridge, which connects Makati and Mandaluyong, they could not accommodate us.

I felt somehow, that every person does their role and part in society, all within the bounds of law. Even though, let’s say, they wanted to help us in pursuing our research regarding the bridge, they cannot do that because there is a restriction, and there is a boundary.

What major insight have I gained so far from my ongoing experiences in engaging the initiative?

By: Thea Espidol

While I aspire to offer positive insight on the Mandaluyong City LGU, its usual operations, and the initiative on the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, I find it unfortunate that the only feedback I could give on the city that I grew up and currently reside in is negative–– all of their processes take longer than necessary, they lose files (whether hard or soft copy), and they are non-consultative to their constituents.

As the member of the group that is nearest to the assigned LGU and the consequent coordinator to the office, I have learned that their bureaucratic processes really take a while. I learned this the hard way, given that I had tried to go through the “honest” process and leave the letter as well as send an email to the Office of the Mayor and the Communications Department in spite of supposed personal connections at my disposal. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, at almost a month later since I sent soft copy of our request letter on 28 October, they asked me to resend the email again, but with the guarantee that our group would be accommodated the following week.

In spite of the assurance that the group’s request is granted, it still is disappointing that the processing took that long to warrant either asking for help from direct contacts, or continuously following up that the group’s projected timeline gets constantly pushed back and the requirement ends up getting crammed somehow.

As the group furthers on in the research regarding the specific governance initiative, the fact solidifies that no one was consulted regarding this project before it was approved and it just happened somehow. It also goes to show that the officials within the Mandaluyong City LGU are immensely detached from the true state of their regular constituents since until today, the bridge is not yet done and is so far back in delays and the officials are not doing anything because they have not felt the drastic and highly inconvenient effects of their supposed developmental initiatives.

This spurs from the fact that there are new rerouting and one-way traffic schemes in some parts of Mandaluyong City that are supposed to be some of the alternate routes to get to neighboring cities until the completion of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge. To add to this, the direct attached access city to Mandaluyong City is Pasig City and with another bridge being constructed, there are little ways of immediately getting out of Mandaluyong without going through extreme traffic congestions.

To me, this speaks on both the level of a Public Administration student merely requesting for a fraction of their time for a class requirement and on the level of a constituent of the City of Mandaluyong for their lack of consultancy. This experience and the apparent detachment of officials to their constituents’ difficulties prove that wow, –– pardon my French –– we do have really shitty government officials who just prove on a daily basis that they do not give a rat’s ass about the average juan.

#PA162 #IndivJournal3

Group Entry # 2: Ocular Visit to the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge in Mandaluyong City

During one of our research breaks, members of the group went to Mandaluyong City to do our initial ocular visit of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge. The group also went to Mandaluyong to validate the said governance initiative.

Coming from Quezon City, the group passed by EDSA and turned right at one of the focal exits to enter Mandaluyong City. Once the group entered Mandaluyong, warning and informative signages could already be seen that tell motorists of the closed Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, especially those streets that are on the way to Makati City. Even after going around the vicinity to check the extent of the posting of these signages, the group had seen that there are a lot of these posted signs, moreso on the barriers in the streets that supposedly alleviate traffic.

Unfortunately, the group was unable to take pictures of the signages, but the group had ensured that these signs were scattered on every road –– whether on the main roads or the smaller ones –– that supposedly leads to the Bridge and Makati City.

While there are signs that say that the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is closed for reconstruction and widening, there are no signs that point to any reroute or alternate routes to Makati City. It seemed that motorists are left to their own devices to find other routes given that signs only say “TO EDSA” or “TO MAKATI CITY”, but once a motorist turns, they are left on their own to either look for signs, figure out their own way via the various applications on their phones, or ask around for directions.

Unlike the apparent misfortune of most to get lost within the busy and narrow streets of Mandaluyong City, the group had been in favorable enough circumstances to be welcomed in the Mayor’s Office and later on in the City Engineer’s Office for some of our questions to be entertained.

According to the City Engineer, our research of the governance initiative had been accurate thus far in terms of the funding, construction, and the previous timelines as well as the partnership between the LGUs of Mandaluyong and Makati Cities, but the completion of the project is yet to be determined since it is currently facing delays, as per usual.

What do I hope to achieve?

By: Thea Espidol

As someone who lived in Mandaluyong City for all of my life, I would say that I got to be one of the lucky ones, what with living in the supposed middle of the Metro. And consequently, it is the same city wherein we were tasked to focus this semester on for our PA 162 class.

And while I admittedly consider myself lucky, unfortunately, not everyone could say the same thing. Particularly, with the living conditions of everyone else– the hours spent on traffic, the hassle of commuting, the expensive basic commodities... the list could go on and on.

To add to this, our chosen project for this particular class is the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge. It is the main connection of Mandaluyong City to Makati City. And recently, it had been closed down for widening and expansion, yet again.

Making things worse, this reconstruction of the bridge had been delayed for a few months already and is no close to its completion. Additionally, the citizens of both cities have been greatly affected with the sudden change and little information dissemination.

At the end of the day, what I hope to achieve is accountability and consultation from local government officials with their constituents. I hope to become a trailblazer and an agent for change in involving citizens and stakeholders more.

#PA162 #IndivJournal2 #mandaluyong

What do I hope to achieve?

By: Lucia Buenaventura

I transferred to Quezon City from Manila to live near school. One of the ordinances under the 20th City Council of Quezon City is establishing a Public Veterinary Clinic which will provide affordable health care services for domesticated pets/animals within the territorial jurisdiction of Quezon City (Ordinance No. SP-1854, S-2019).

It was mentioned that just like human beings, pets should be accorded with necessary and affordable health care and veterinary services possible. It greatly warms my heart that as a self-sufficient student providing for a cat, I can give my pet the basic needs he deserves.

Along with the other organizations that help promote the welfare of the animals, such as FOCA, ALAGA, Cara, and Cats of Technohub, among others, this ordinance greatly gives aid and sustenance to their purpose.

I do hope to achieve a better community for humans and animals, just like what I see on social media about foreign countries aiding and welcoming animals in their stores, homes, and even the streets. Quezon City is a good pet-friendly environment; I love seeing the establishments open to having their customers bring in their furbabies.

Build, Build, Build? Or Build, Sustain, Sustain? (What do I hope to achieve?)

By: Luis Emmanuel G. Fleta

The common notion and indicator for economic progress is the presence of skyscrapers and infrastructure like the ones in Makati and Bonifacio Global City (BGC). While that may be partly true, the concept of sustainable development is often lost in the discussion as long as the bosses are satisfied and the economy is buzzing.

We often forget that buildings are big emitters of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, leading to severe droughts and floods. And for a typhoon-prone Philippines not to mention a densely populated Metro Manila, floods and disasters become a normalized part in the lives of Filipinos living in the urban metro. But this should never be the case. Japan has numerous densely populated cities and they are disaster-prone too. But because they have state-of-the-art facilities, they are able to minimize damage while promoting sustainability structures with respect to the environment. Their floods even look clean and litter-free!

Meanwhile, Mandaluyong City’s green building ordinance have already been in place for almost six years now (passed in 2014). In fact, the city was the first LGU in the country to adopt such kind of ordinance.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, helped Mandaluyong City develop a green-building ordinance that aims to reduce energy consumption in new buildings by up to 20 percent and generate about P355 million in cost savings for businesses and households within the first three years of implementation.

The initial construction costs for green buildings are usually bigger than conventional ones, so naturally it would hurt in the short term. However, the long term savings in operation and maintenance are said to be worth it, not to mention contributing to the longevity, energy-efficiency, safety, and is overall not harmful to the environment.

Now the big question is, why should this initiative come from the private sector only?

As we all know, the current administration has its own infrastructure agenda - Duterte’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program. What I fear happening is no different to what has been happening in the past - favoring low construction costs but neglecting sustainability, prioritizing speed of completion over safety, and just the outright lack of research for greener alternatives.

So, what do I hope to achieve when I say Build, Sustain, Sustain?

As responsible citizens, let’s participate in forwarding the greener advocacy. We are stakeholders too, which means we have a role in the policy-making process. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to create infrastructure especially if it would cater to the Filipino people. But let’s not throw sustainability out of the window if we want to achieve ‘true’ economic development.

#PA162 #IndivWorkshopOutput2

What do I hope to achieve?

By: Kirsten Adecer

I am from Bacolod City and recently, police official Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido has been assigned by President Duterte to transfer to my hometown. President Duterte’s reassignment of the police executive is shocking and disconcerting to me because according to news reports he has instructed the police officer to go “kill everybody” there.

I can only go back to Bacolod during my breaks from school and I feel concerned for my city as the instances of killings in the city and on Negros island have been increasing over the years. Nonetheless, as a citizen of the country and a resident of the city I want crime to be lessened as well although the transfer of this police executive along with the instruction of the president is causing me a lot of concern and worry that the death toll would increase and extrajudicial cases will continue to exist. As a resident, I hope that there will be due process and proper administrative processes as well as a focus on other problems and crimes in the city. I hope that this will not cause a reign of terror for our city and that the people will not be in fear. I hope that other initiatives and projects for the city will also be focused on.

What do I hope to achieve?

By: Kay Zarate

Recently, my family moved to Pasig City and interestingly enough, the city also yielded a new mayor. Now, with the newly elected mayor, Mr. Vico Sotto, there have been plans to make the city better.

According to Rappler's interview with the mayor about his 100 days being mayor, is that one of his major plans is to cut down the budget for many of the city's projects by 10% and to allocate this to the scholarship fund of the city. From 11,000+ scholars before, now he raised them up to 13,000. Next year he wants it to reach 16,000. This shows Vico Sotto's priority in education for the city. He really wants to give support in our scholars so they may reach their maximum potentional. He also changed the name of the scholarship system, and in the first time since ever, it is not named after the mayor, but the city itself. Mayor Vico wanted to emphasize that this money comes from the pockets of the people, and not from him.

As a part of this city, I want the city to gain the most out of the citizen’s taxes. I expect the mayor to handle projects and do their best to work for the people’s interests. Mayor Vico Sotto’s initiative to also rid the city of corruption will be very difficult. Still he is starting from somewhere. With the budget cutting and very strong political will, he started to try and weed out money that is not needed in these projects. This initiative tries to battle corruption. As a resident in Pasig, it's important to know where the taxes my family is paying is going. I want the taxes to go to relevant projects that will help the city or country become a better place for all of us, and education for all is a dream that UP has for everyone. Vico Sotto’s scholarship program is expanding to accommodate more students.

My expectations are high considering Vico Sotto's current reputation in being halting a political dynasty in Pasig City. I think the initiative could yield positive reactions from the public and hopefully will encourage more mayors to do the same with their own cities.

#pa162

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