A
Roundtable Discussion on Philippine governance after the May 2004
elections
PROCEEDINGS
Php 50.00
104 pages
 The
purpose of the roundtable
discussion was to achieve a consensus among participants on
the state of Philippine governance since the crucial elections of
May 2004, when, for the first time since Ferdinand Marcos, an incumbent
President ran in an election on the basis of the claim that she
had to finish what she had begun in 2001, as well as to articulate
proposals to address Philippine problems, and critique existing
approaches and policies if necessary.
Among the initiatives that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said
she had to continue to address were the economic crisis, poverty,
unemployment and corruption in government, as well as peace and
order and the Muslim and communist-led insurgencies.
Based
on her own claims then, the success or failure of Philippine governance
so far can be measured in terms of the answers to the following
questions:
-
What steps if any have been taken to halt the economic crisis
and broaden employment as well as business opportunities as
measures to address chronic Philippine poverty and improve the
Filipinos’ quality of life?
-
To
what extent has the problem of corruption – which has
been identified as a major cause of the fiscal crisis, mismanagement
and the loss of billions of pesos that could otherwise have
been used for social services, infrastructure construction and
economic inputs – been addressed?
-
What of the perennial complaint about peace and order which,
together with government corruption, foreign investors almost
always raise as a reason for their hesitation to invest in the
Philippines? Has the peace and order situation improved and
to what extent?
-
How has the participation or inclusion into mainstream politics
of marginalized sectors and groups been encouraged and the democratic
rights of the people promoted and protected?
-
As far as the Muslim and communist-led insurgencies are concerned,
what steps if any, have been taken to solve them? Are these
steps working, or can they work?
If indeed there are clear and consistent steps have been taken
to address these issues as President Arroyo pledged during the
elections, what are the chances of their viability? If no such
steps have been taken, or if the steps that have so far been
taken are not enough, or perhaps even contributory to making
existing problems worse, how may we account for it, and what
proposals can be advanced to address existing problems and to
prevent the making of new ones?
For
copy and further information, please contact Center for People
Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), 3F CSWCD Bldg., University
of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 1105 Philippines. Telefax:
+632-9299526
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