The Lakas-Kampi Merger: For Better or Worse

We have yet to see that the merger of the two dominant administration parties (Lakas & Kampi) is more to its advantage than otherwise. For now, one thing is certain though – that this political marriage seems to be between couples only (Puno & Prospero) minus the relatives. At any rate, it is expected that the maxim - "in unity there is trength" may still hold true here.


(Picture courtesy of http://midfield.wordpress.com)

For example, in the case of North Cotabato, Rep. Lala Talino Mendoza (of Kampi) and Vice Gov. Manny Pinol (of Lakas) are now all poised to go against each other for the gubernatorial post here. From all indications this is unstoppable.

Several other instances of Lakas local candidates pitted against Kampi local candidates happened in the 2007 elections. In most cases the rivalries reached such magnitude and intensity that they might have created wounds that even this merger could not heal.

In a situation where the political marriage between Lakas and Kampi was possible only at the top, there is a loose pseudo alliance at the local level which can be exploited by the opposition to its advantage. What may have been acheived by the merger was creating a body with one head but having split tail whose whips do not synchronize. In that situation, former Pres. Ramos was right in saying that the merger was done with undue haste and I would add lack of grassroots consultation within the party heirarchy.

PaLaKa (Partido Lakas Kampi) boosts of more than 70% membership from Governors and Mayors across the country but how they would react, or act, to this merger especially with respect to the coming presidential election is something interesting and could baffle political analysts.

Creating Space for LGU Participation in the Peace Process

By Maugan P. Mosaid, Ph.D.

If we look back to the failure of the MOA-AD, observers and critics were one in saying that the main culprit has been the lack of consultation at the grassroots level. What happened was we had a high level GRP-MILF peace negotiation that was not well-grounded as it lacked one of the most important ingredients to the recipe of the peace process - the citizen’s input.

Speaking of citizen’s input to the peace process, the MLGUs are the frontline government instrumentality who can spearhead this kind of activity by initiating community dialogues. An LGU-led consultation is a new approach to the peace process or even the settling of community-based disputes.

Giving space for an LGU-led initiative to solicit citizen’s input is a pioneering effort as far as the peace process is concerned. Since 1975 when the formal peace negotiation between the GRP and the MNLF started, no LGU was ever involved, much more, consulted.

This is expected to be a breakthrough in the peace process. However, the LGUs cannot just be poked right away into taking on this new role without considering their capabilities to undertake such initiatives. Certainly, they would need some sort of capability building in terms of conceptualizing the whole thing and equipping themselves with the appropriate tools and techniques to generate substantial inputs and ensure success.

Realizing the importance and significance of all these things, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), an international NGO based in Washington DC, has come to the fore to enable some selected LGUs in the conflict-affected areas of North Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, all of Central Mindanao, along the aspects of initiating, facilitating, mediating and resolving conflicts whenever possible at the community level. Some fifteen (15) MLGUs from these provinces were invited to a designing workshop in Davao City on May 13-15, 2009 to run them through the whole process of conflict management and peace negotiation and find out where they would need immediate interventions.

The NDI-sponsored (and supported by the UN Multi-Donor Act for Peace) seminar workshop was aptly titled: “LGUs Creating Space for Citizen Dialogue on Peace and Security: A Designing Workshop”. It basically started with the question: “What would be the constructive role of the LGU in the peace process?”

Taking off from there, we were given a rundown of the presentations of Prof. Rudy Rodil (member of the defunct GRP negotiating panel) on “How Peace Became and Continues to be Mindanao’s Most Compelling Challenge”. We were presented with the root-causes of the so-called Mindanao conflict from its historical perspective. Now, the conflict had grown and expanded from its local and national dimensions to something international since the Organization of the Islamic Conference became interested in helping to resolve the conflict.

The next presentation was that of Director Alex Umpar of the Office of the Presidential Assistance on the Peace Process (OPAPP). It gave us a rundown of the government’s efforts in addressing the issues of peace and security outside the confines of the negotiations. In the interactions with the participants that followed, it was noted that raising the “peace fund” from local source, as for example, the internal revenue allotment, is quite sketchy in terms of its legal basis, unlike the calamity fund which is fixed by law at 5% of the IRA.

The presentation of Mr. Kaloy Manlupig, President of Balay Mindanao, gave us a clear view of how localized negotiation can be made possible by relating to us their experience in negotiating with the RPMM (Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa sa Mindanao), a breakaway faction of the CPP-NPA which operated in Northern Mindanao. It gave us the message that small victories can be won at the community level in the presence of a credible mediator who has mastered the art of transformative mediation.

I have appreciated the non-conventional approach to peace negotiation that was employed. The conventional approach has been the cycle of 1. CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES 2. NEGOTIATION 3. SIGNING OF AGREEMENT, and then 4. ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM. The non-conventional approach used in this particular negotiation was 1. CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES 2. EXPLORING THE ROOTCAUSES OF THE CONFLICT 3. EXPLORING SOLUTIONS TO THE CONFLICT 4. TRANSLATING THEM INTO TALKING POINTS 5. NEGOTIATION 6. SINGNING OF AGREEMENT 7. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT, and 7. MONITORING AND FEEDBACKING. The advantage of the latter is that the benefits of negotiation can already be implemented along the way even without the benefit of signed formal agreement. The latter is dependent on the so-called “peace dividend” or the benefits of negotiation is addressed at a much later stage.

Finally, we were given the presentation of Prof. Saturnina Rodil about “Finding Solutions to Complex Problems”. We were made to understand that somehow there is an interconnection between and among existing problems. One may be the cause or effect of the other/s. Then, given the nature and magnitude of the issues or problems, why do we have to dialogue? We need to – because different individuals and groups have different perspectives and appreciation of the issues or problems.

The strategies, solutions and recommendations could vary according to the nature and magnitude of the conflict. We realized that not all conflicts or security concerns can be resolved at the LGU level. Somehow, the LGUs must do something to address the peace and security issues in their respective localities.

Our last activity was the designing workshop which primarily focused on conceptualizing the conduct of community dialogues. At the onset, we were cautioned to do causal look-back so that dialogues can lead to the root-cause of the problem rather than the symptom.

All community dialogues must be issue-based. Before the formal talking starts, there should be substantial leg-working and communication until mutual trust and acceptance are established with respect to the issues, processes and people involved.

After all was said and done, I must confess that the result of the three-day designing workshop to create space for LGU participation in generating the citizen’s inputs to the peace process is very encouraging. When every LGU is able to manage, contain and resolve issues of conflict, peace and security in their respective areas – who needs a high level national or international negotiation. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

Putting the Client at the Core of Public Service

The crusade against red tape and inefficiency at different levels of governance may be considered a gargantuan task because it requires drastic change of a mind set and culture which has been so well-embedded in the government bureaucracy. But with the coming into law of RA 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, it is expected that this bureaucratic problem shall be fully addressed in due time.

The law requires all government agencies and LGUs to process applications for permits and licenses at the shortest time possible or within five (5) days for simple transactions and not more than ten (10) days for more complex transactions. The spirit and intent of the law is to put the clients at the core of public service provided by the different government instrumentalities, the public being the very reason for which they exist.

This LGU responded in time to come out with its own performance standards and service pledges as contained in the so-called citizen's charter promulgated by the different Offices as a consequence of a series of workshops conducted which started with the orientation by the Civil Service Commision sometime in the early part of March this year (2009). It is expected that by June this year, the complete copy of our citizen's charter, with all its pertinent attachments, shall come out in booklet form.

Below is our sample service pledge and citizen's charter from the Mayor's Office:

SERVICE PLEDGE

WE, the Officials and Employees in the Office of the Mayor, this Local Government Unit, in deference and reverence to our “Bayan Muna Citizen’s Charter” below, do hereby pledge and commit ourselves to do the following:

Serve with utmost courtesy and politeness in the discharge of our duties;
Utmost fairness in dealing with everyone;
Lay down all the accurate information on the procedures, fees, charges and other requirements of the services we are duty-bound to provide;
Train ourselves to be effective and efficient in the delivery of the services enumerated hereunder;
Acknowledge mistakes and take immediate corrective measures; and
Note at all times that the clients are one of the primary reasons for the existence of this Office.