Isaac Jabola-Carolus

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July 05, 2009

4. Highlights of the Week(s) II, part 2!!

Fearing that you would become too exhausted to finish reading if I just posted one really long entry, I decided it could be beneficial to split it up and post a second:

TWO OTHER MAJOR ACTIVITIES!
• TindigNation launch: The coalition against Charter Change and the convening of a Constituent Assembly (see post #2) held a launch event last weekend, i.e., a mini-carnival, speeches, and musical performances pronouncing its existence. Unsurprisingly, every Filipino was there except the President and the two thirds of Congress who support ChaCha and ConAss. Yeah, no kidding. Actually, it was a relatively small event (maybe a few hundred people) held in an indoor sports complex in Quezon City. In attendance were members from about 80 political and civil society organizations (very impressive!) which was a huge improvement from the twenty-some tally at the planning meeting I attended two weeks ago. Carnival activities included “stick the President’s mole in the right spot on her face, blindfolded” and “chip the golf ball into the President’s mole” (really hard).

Okay, so this wasn’t really “work”, but it still contributed to my understanding of how Filipino civil society organizations and various political interests work together to make things happen. Furthermore, it was a good reminder of the importance of media to civil society and politics. As with the anti-BNPP protest march, media coverage was crucial to the success of the event. It received a couple minutes on the Saturday night local news, as well as an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. If not for the news and press coverage, the launch would have been largely invisible.

Note: I think I got swept away in some light, premature pessimism during post #2. Right now, it actually looks like pro-ConAss efforts will not succeed because the Senate is just not having it: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/06/17/09/con-ass-dead-without-senate-law-professors. Also, I forgot to mention that the system of government here is American-style Presidential, with judicial and bicameral legislative branches, thanks to the splendid American colonial period (not splendid at all). There may be a lot less "checking and balancing" here because the three branches act in such remarkable unison, but their actions clearly demonstrate that Philippine government is also of the elite class.

• Days working on a forthcoming paper dealing with the impact of the global financial crisis on local Filipino workers (or, capitalist globalization has made everyone vulnerable, and reliance on exports and remittances only makes things worse, but people are tough): My current writing project for KPD. It has consumed most of my in-office time this past week. I will put up a link once it is complete.

I will be spending this coming with the KPD and ASSERT chapters in the Central Luzon region. The main items on the agenda are: 1) Visit the special economic zones and the workers there who are hoping to organize; 2) Work with a teachers’ association in Bataan; 3) Not get dengue fever. Next time I’ll try to post links more links to articles about the issues I’ve mentioned. And please excuse any type-os or nonsense – I have written in great haste and will proof read in the next few days.