TRANSITIONS Focus on the Philippines Yearbook 2010 FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH Published by the Focus on the Global South-Philippines #19 Maginhawa Street, UP Village, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines Copyright@2011 By Focus on the Global South-Philippines All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may be reproduced, quoted or used as reference provided that Focus, as publisher, and the writers, will be duly recognized as the proper sources. Focus would appreciate receiving a copy of the text in which contents of this publication have been used or cited. Statistics and other data with acknowledged other sources are not properties of Focus Philippines, and thus permission for their use in other publication should be coordinated with the pertinent owners/offices. Editor Clarissa V. Militante Assistant Editor Carmen Flores-Obanil Lay-out and Design Amy T. Tejada Contributing Writers Walden Bello Jenina Joy Chavez Jerik Cruz Prospero de Vera Herbert Docena Aya Fabros Mary Ann Manahan Clarissa V. Militante Carmen Flores-Obanil Dean Rene Ofreneo Joseph Purruganan Filomeno Sta. Ana Researcher of Economic Data Cess Celestino Photo Contributions Jimmy Domingo Lina Sagaral Reyes Contents ABOUT THE WRITERS OVERVIEW 1 CHAPTER 1: ELECTIONS 15 Is Congress Worth Running for? By Representative Walden Bello 17 Prosecuting GMA as Platform By Jenina Joy Chavez 21 Rating the Candidates: Prosecution as Platform Jenina Joy Chavez 27 Mixed Messages By Aya Fabros 31 Manuel “Bamba” Villar: Advertising his Way to the Presidency By Carmina Flores-Obanil 36 Villar’s Leadership By Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III 41 Automation Success at 32 Percent; PCOS Accuracy Remains a Mystery By HALAL 44 Been There, Done That– Observations on the Elections By Fang Chih-Yung 48 Diatribes of an Election Observer By Jerik Cruz 53 CHAPTER 2: ‘NEW’ GOVERNMENT 61 Farewell to the Legacy of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo By Aya Fabros 63 View from the Left: The Noynoy Aquino Presidency By Reihana Mohideen 69 P-Noy’s “New Dawn for Democracy” and the Future of Democratization By Jerik Cruz 77 What’s at Stake in the President’s Anti-Corruption Crusade? By Herbert Docena 86 Update on P-Noy’s Corruption Crusade Missed Opportunities: How P-Noy’s “Matuwid na Daan” Fared in 2010 By Carmina Flores-Obanil 90 Family Matters: Delving into the 2010 Winning Political Clans By Carmina B. Flores-Obanil 99 Party-list Winners: Whose Interests are Represented? By Mary Ann Manahan 118 CHAPTER 3: NEW POLICIES? 123 Interview with Secretary Joel Rocamora Giving the Sectors Voice within Government 125 The Conditional Cash Transfer Debate and the Coalition against the Poor By Walden Bello 133 Conditional Cash Transfers and Corruption By Dr. Prospero E. de Vera 141 From PPP to CCT: Where is the Country Headed to? By Rene E. Ofreneo, Ph. D. 144 Social Watch Philippines: A Position Paper The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program 159 CHAPTER 4: PEOPLE’S ASPIRATIONS 165 From CARP to CARPER By Carmina Flores-Obanil and Mary Ann Manahan 167 Hacienda Luisita Debacle: Where to After the Legal Arguments? By Carmina Flores-Obanil 175 Progressive Provisions in CARPER 184 Climate: A Matter of Survival, a Question of Justice by Joseph Purugganan 185 Confronting Education Woes: Less Politics, More Resources for the Poor By Clarissa V. Militante 189 CHAPTER 5: REGIONAL CHALLENGES 197 Claiming the Right to Information in Asean By Nepomuceno Malaluan and Jenina Joy Chavez 199 Business as Usual in Asean’s Trade Policy By Joseph Purugganan 202 The Cochabamba Water Wars Continuing Inspiration for Water Justice and Democratization By Mary Ann Manahan 209 (6th Asean People’s Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam) On Solidarity and Action for a People-Oriented Asean: Personal Reflections By Fang Chih-Yung 220 Burma in Malaysia: Working, Watching, Waiting By Aya Fabros 224 2010 Figures 231 ABOUT THE WRITERS DR. WALDEN BELLO is currently Akbayan party-list representative to the 15th Congress, where he also serves as chair of the House Committee on Overseas Filipinos. Bello is member of the Board of Trustees of the non-government, Asian regional group Focus on the Global South. He had authored several books, including the best-selling “The Anti-Development State: The Political Economy of Permanent Crisis in the Philippines,” which already had three editions abroad and in the Philippines, since it was first published in 2004. MS. JENINA JOY CHAVEZ is the Philippine Coordinator of Focus on the Global South, and represents the organization in regional formations, such as the Southeast Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA). She had edited and refereed various publications on alternative regionalism, the most recent one being the soon to be published book ____ , which Routledge is set to release in the first quarter of 2011. MR. JERIK CRUZ is research assistant in Focus and currently finishing his master’s degree in Philosophy at the Ateneo de Manila University. Among his other tasks in Focus, he co-coordinates the Standing with the Poor Platform. MR. HERBERT DOCENA is currently finishing his doctoral studies at the University of California in Berkley. He was formerly program officer at Focus; he continues to be a passionate advocate of climate justice, and peace and democracy—especially in relation to the Palestine-Israel conflict. Docena did a special, in-depth research for Focus on the Clean Development Mechanism, which Focus published in 2010 into the book “Clean Development Mechanism Projects in the Philippines: Costly Dirty Money-Making Schemes.” DR. PROSPERO DE VERA is currently a Professor of Public Administration at the University of the Philippines; he specializes in the fields of legislative studies and policy advocacy. He had done work for the legislature here in the Philippines and in the US since the 1980s. He writes political pieces and runs a blog called “Political Post.” MS. AYA FABROS is a senior associate and program officer in Focus, but is currently on leave to finish her research as Asian Public Intellectual. With a bachelor’s degree in Economics and master’s degree in Sociology, she had done special researches on alternative people’s economies and de-globalization. She had also produced, edited and co-edited several books and publications including the annual Focus on the Philippines Yearbooks and Project 2010: The Legacy of the GMA Regime, which Focus published in 2010. MS. MARY ANN MANAHAN is a senior associate and program officer in Focus; her work covers issues relating to the commons (land, water, agrarian reform) and to international financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, issues of privatization and regulation of public utilities, resource management, and on imagining and building alternatives at the macro and micro levels. Her educational background is in sociology and women and development studies. MS. CLARISSA V. MILITANTE is currently Media and Communications Outreach Associate of Focus; in this capacity, she is also coordinator of the Policy Review and Focus’ e-newsletter, FoP News Analysis and Features. She edited Yearbook 2010; she was the author of Different Countries, a novel that was long-listed in the 2009 Man Asian Literary Prize. MS. CARMEN FLORES-OBANIL is a research associate and Coordinator of Focus Philippines’ Development Roundtable Series (DRTS) and Deconstructing Discourse and Activist Retooling Program (DDARP). She also does research and advocacy work on agrarian reform and rural development. She is assistant editor of Yearbook 2010. DR. RENE OFRENEO was former dean of the University of the Philippines’ School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR). A leading scholar in the Philippines and Asia on labor issues and industrial relations, he also served in the capacity of an arbitrator at the Philippine labor department. Retired from work in the university, Dean Ofreneo remains an advocate of pro-people development and is an active partner of Focus through the DRTS program. MR. JOSEPH PURRUGANAN is a program officer in Focus; he coordinates the work on the sub-programme Trade. In this capacity, he is co-coordinator for Southeast Asia of the EU-ASEAN FTA Network. Purruganan also spearheads Focus’ advocacy work and networking in the Philippines on the issues climate change and climate justice. He was editor of the special issue of Focus’ Policy Review on climate justice. MR. FILOMEN STA. ANA is currently the Coordinator of Action for Economic Reforms. He also regularly contributes to the opinion column “Yellow Pad” of the Business World Online. MS. CESS CELESTINO is a research assistant in Focus under the Standing with the Poor Platform; she gathered data and prepared a write-up on Philippine socio-economic situation in 2010. HALALANG MARANGAL or HALAL, a poll watchdog that focuses on auditing electoral results to ensure statistical integrity, contributed a report based on a statistical study it did in April 2010 on the automated electoral system. SOCIAL WATCH PHILIPPINES, an international network of citizens’ organizations, contributed its position paper on the Conditional Cash Transfer and the 2010 budgeting process of government. Social Watch’s main advocacies touch on the causes of poverty, poverty eradication, and good governance as it relates to the fight against poverty and equitable distribution of wealth and resources. Overview “Mr. Benigno Simeon Aquino III’s ascent to Malacañang stands as one of the most significant political events in recent Philippine history,” wrote Jerik Cruz in his piece “P-Noy’s ‘New Dawn for Democracy’ and the Future of Democratization.” If we are to describe what the year 2010 was about, this is the statement that best says it. This is not to diminish the value and meaning of other social-political events that defined our lives as a people in the past year. But ending a nine-year presidency that was leaving us with unsolved corruption cases involving the highest ranking officials of government, political scandals (cheating, conspiracies to usurp power) and stained, even ruined, institutions of government (politically appointed justices and ombudsman, and elected officials more loyal to their political-economic interests than to the people’s) should definitely be event of the year.