The internet has a key role to play in this election. I for one am excited about it – not just because I’m a bit of an internet junkie, haha – but because it’s a great way to communicate directly with all of you who share our passion to change the country. It also gives you the opportunity to be more involved than in the past elections. Make no mistake that this election will determine whether or not we can turn our country around.

Many of you have already come forward and I’m very thankful to those who’ve e-mailed me or tweeted in the past asking for posters and baller tags to help support Noy and myself. Change in this country won’t come from TV ads. Change will come from people who fight for it. Your passion and your conviction are worth more than 10 spots on TV. If you’d like to be a more active participant, please e-mail volunteer@marroxas.net. You can also invite more people to share our cause via the info-graphic in this note.

No matter where you are in the country (or even outside of it), you can be a part of reforms and good governance by signing up, by giving us feedback, by collecting contact details for our lists of supporters. I am thrilled that the internet allows us this medium of campaigning: one based on a shared passion for change rather than a passion based on making money from power; a campaign based on a character of a people taking their country back from those addicted to money politics, to trapo politics.

Just recently I was in Davao and while I was eating lunch, someone asked me a question about my blog entry on educational reform. Her name was Iris. She didn’t completely agree with some parts of our Senate Bill but she liked the general direction of our plans to improve the education sector. She wanted to know how she could help… not with regard to the bill itself but in getting Noy and myself elected. Without asking for anything in return, she asked to volunteer and be a part of this movement for the simple reason that she wanted things to change in our country. It’s always very moving when you realize you’re not alone in a fight… when people show their belief in you and join you not because they want something out of it but because they feel it’s the right thing to do. Our only chance lies in this: that many consider reforms and good governance a vital goal for this elections.

For the many Iris’es just waiting to help, thank you. We will not let you down. Lalaban tayo!

M.

Hi all,

First, let me say that it’s great to have settled down again after an amazing honeymoon experience in Japan. As soon as I got back to the country though, a lot of my friends wanted to know if it was really me and Korina who were ‘tweeting.’ Let’s just say that I found the question amusing.  Just so everyone knows, I’ve been using Twitter since late last year; Facebook, for over two years now (although these days I prefer looking at the comments in my fan page rather than my personal account). I’d also like to call myself a blogger but I don’t think the number of articles I’ve written will justify the title, haha.  Hanggang ngayon parang newbie pa rin : )

At first, I thought that these social networks were just for getting in touch with my contacts online, sort of like e-mail only more social. Later, I was pleasantly surprised to find many of my schoolmates from high school and college adding me up as friends. People from work and even constituents from all over the country started sending me messages. Medyo na-overwhelm ako.

Reading messages came by the hundreds on some days. I’d add people up only to find out that I was limited to just 5000 friends. Now that I’ve gotten a hang of it though, I’ve limited myself to occasionally reading and answering messages, posting photos, and tweeting when time permits. I particularly like it that Facebook has a fan page that doesn’t limit the number of contacts I can have. My good friend Noynoy now has over 100,000 fans supporting and listening to him.  Sobrang impressive ang pag-dami ng supporters! I am very proud that the internet population is doing its share in bringing about change to the country.

For the record, let me state that these are amazing tools for a country like the Philippines, a country so divided by geographical boundaries that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on without news coverage by national TV networks and newspapers. These physical limitations are now so easily beaten by two-sentence tweets or status updates. Nakakamangha.

Some say that these social networks belong to the younger generation and that us politicians should stay out of it. Sa palagay ko, hindi e. It’s an interesting experience, to say the least, both for the politician and his constituents. What better way for us to hear what people have to say than having comments appear real-time in a medium which everyone treats as their online identity? I remember when Congress attempted to railroad cha-cha with HR1109, the web exploded with so much negativity that one can’t help but be impressed with the online reaction. When the $50,000 dinners were held in the states, the net once again erupted in anger. When the flooding occurred in the metropolis, I remember reading dozens of contact details spreading virally because of both celebrity and non-celebrity tweets.  It’s no secret that the the relief effort after the typhoons was largely a product of “bayanihan 2.0” – a combination of web and Filipino culture. Ang galing talaga!

I’d go even as far as saying that it might be a good idea for all our officials to have Facebook and Twitter. For one thing it would make them more accessible to those who’re interested in reaching them. For now, just for myself, having both Facebook and Twitter accounts, reading about what people say about current events, and tweeting every now and then about my own public, personal, and even married, life seems like a good way to start. Who would’ve thought that something that allows for so much transparency in government could be so easy and fun to use at the same time? Until my next update, feel free to let me know what you think about politicians and the internet in the comments below. Thanks!

M.

Hi guys,

Over the last few days, we’ve seen many unfortunate things happen to the country. The flooding and landslides have changed and continue to change millions of lives… but in the midst of this calamity, in a nation with morally bankrupt leaders, we find a people who help without asking anything in return, who donate their time, energy, and what little they can spare, to alleviate grief and loss of those affected the most. Watching and being a part of Bayanihan in action is an overwhelming feeling that cannot be put into words but I will try anyway.

Noy and I were in Bukidnon when the rains started. As soon as we heard what was going on though, we rushed to Manila. After seeing the devastation Ondoy caused, reducing parts of the metropolis to small urban ponds, we decided to do the only thing we could: help those who suffered, those who lost, and those who grieved. Warm food, water, and clothes were no longer just idle items in the back of our closets. These were critical necessities to those affected by the unrelenting tide of wind, rain, and floods. I asked my friends and family to help. I asked my staff to help. I asked you to help. This was no order from a public officer. This was a plea made to those capable of contributing the little things they could: canned goods, bottled water, rice, spare clothes, and noodles. Small, maybe even insignificant, commodities to many of us were now items of survival to those reduced to poverty overnight.

With the help of thousands of volunteers, young and old like you, with donations coming from both rich and poor alike, we were able to provide these critical necessities to those needing them the most. Watching the Filipino spirit kick in, in this time of grief and desperation has moved me, our countrymen, and even the global community. I saw a twitter photo the other day which captured everything with the words, “Where I’m from, everyone’s a hero.” One only needs to read and hear the stories in the last few days to know this to be true. This may be one of the worst tragedies our nation has experienced in recent years but it’s also testament to our capacity as a people. I am very proud to call myself a Filipino.

Thank you for volunteering, for donating.

In behalf of those we serve, thank you.
M.

P.S. We are now trying to gather support for our countrymen in the north. Please contribute or volunteer if you can.

Speech made during the FVR-RPDEV Forum

I thought long and hard about what I should say to you. So many things need to be said that we could drown in the minutiae and get lost. I think that’s one of the hallmarks of a good President: not getting lost in the minutiae, keeping the big picture in sight, juggling so many different things atop a high-wire while still keeping his bearings, his principles, and his vision intact.

This good working order is the most necessary ingredient in our development mix. But necessary as it is, it is still insufficient to determine success. And therein lies the facts of life.

I come before you knowing full well that this is a job interview, for hiring come 2010. What comes to mind now is, “To whom will I ensure my company? And in this case, “To whom will I entrust our country?” Who will put together all of the plans and programs, the dreams and ideas?”

And so, rather than give you a five-point program, or a fifteen-point this or a six-point that, I’m going to tell you about my views of government, the state of the economy, why it hasn’t succeeded, and what we ought to do to make it work for the people. I’m going to tell you about these so that you know how I think, and when the call comes at three in the morning, you’ll know the character and the mindset that informs my decisions.

In the last 20 years, we have seen 27 nations of Europe take off the armor of nationalism in exchange for the coat of solidarity and consensus. The ASEAN, in the past 25 years, has put up the ASEAN Charter that sets forth the path into inter-independence. Global citizenry is the call of the times. The more than 8 million Filipinos abroad are our vanguard.

The collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989 came in step with the rapid demise of the world communist order. Today, human security is not challenged by large clashes of ideological forces, but by breaches of security and peace made by small extremist cells engaged in asymmetric war.

Technology is now becoming a tool shaping politics and governance. One can only look at how the crisis in Iran has been catalogued in Twitter, or how the US elections were driven by blogs, Facebook, and YouTube, acknowledging that technology will be our cutting edge to enforce transparency and honesty in Government.

Through this prism and the prism of lessons learned over the last twenty years or so, I believe that we need to rethink what is popularly understood as the interaction between the market and government.

At bottom, this is what I believe: To maximize the power of the market for the good of all people, an activist government is needed.

After we embarked on a golden age of deregulation, liberalization, global and regional integration, thus unleashing the power of the market, it is time that we now all act as one. It is a lesson we could take in this world financial crisis.

Too often we have equated have free markets with having an “absent government.” “Letting market forces work” meant leaving the market alone.

Ironically it is clear that without the rules and laws and enforcement power that only government can provide, the market may not in fact allocate resources in the most efficient manner. Much less in an equitable manner.

The irony of deregulation is that it needs strong regulators to work as planned, where competition or proper regulatory controls drive down prices and people harvest the gains from these lower prices. Without strong institutions, predatory or monopoly elements that are well-placed to begin with will have a field day. Regulators ensure that consumers, the private citizen, benefit at the end of the day.

Recent examples are the ill-equipped regulation by the NTC of telecoms, and the lapses of the Securities and Exchange Commission on Legacy. These show us that indeed, regulators have been absent in those leagues.

Likewise for liberalization. Without adequate rules and laws and managers who can manage the transition, anticipate difficulties, and provide appropriate safety nets, net gains may be marginal, and even negative. In transition economies, we now know that the ‘big bang’ approach to restructuring, intended to force change by fiat, fails because basic laws and capable oversight agencies are simply not there.

This speaks of another irony. That economic integration requires that each country pulls its own weight. Indeed, self-reliance of a country should be mixed with interdependence. Thus while a country will go hungry if it isolates itself in this new world order, the solution is not to lay itself open for the picking. Borders of economic jurisdictions must be open, but should not be weak. On the contrary, the economic policies within each jurisdiction must be clear and well-enforced for economic integration to work.

In short, we have seen that markets can be ruthless. Greed and avarice are the very fuel of injustice—and it is the poor, the helpless and powerless—who are run over in the rush towards free markets. When elephants clash, the ants get trodden upon. And in our country, there are way too many elephants oblivious to the plight of the people.

The binding constraint to our development path as a nation, to achieving and sustaining a better quality of life for all Filipinos, has been poor institutions, the weakest institutions that stop our development. Regulatory agencies, enforcement agencies, and corruption are empirical evidence that support this.

The per capita growth rate of the Philippines between 1965-1995 was 1.2% compared to the other four in ASEAN at 4.8%, South Asia at 1.9% and East Asia at 6.6%.

Thus an activist government is needed. By activist, I do not mean big or controlling. And certainly, I do not mean corrupt. Rather I mean a government that is nimble, quick to respond and professional.

In IT-speak, a good processor is not just a smart one, but a quicker one. We need a government that can render systematic responses and shorter decision-making processes. One that can deal with surprises, one that is alert, aware of the ever-changing global and domestic environment, and which has the facility to act immediately and effectively on behalf of all Filipinos.

An activist government would have to be built on the foundation of accountability, transparency, independence of enforcement agencies, meritocracy and professionalism. We need to restore these to our public domain where these have been terribly undermined and corrupted over the last eight or so years.

Indeed, the evidence is right here. Worldwide indicators have decreased between 1996 and 2007. The largest decreases have been in Control of Corruption, from 45.1 to 22.2 or a decrease of 22.9 percentage points, and in Rule of Law, from 54.8 to 33.8 or a decrease of 21 points.

The bottom line is the people. To make room for their dreams, to allow succeeding generations to build on the efforts of previous ones, we must have an activist government. A government that seeks out the best, and only the best interest, of the people.

In 1993 or 1995, I heard an anecdote about a certain elder statesman who was at the helm of the peace process in Mindanao. The talks with the MNLF were nearing fruition, and he traveled to Mindanao to say his piece to the people. Traveling down a country road, his convoy was suddenly pelted with sticks and tomatoes. His stand on peace, back then, was indeed not very popular with the people on the ground.

And yet, this was the era of one of the longest ceasefires in Mindanao. It was the era of a successful negotiation with the MNLF; it was an era of peace. We can look back to that day when his car was pelted with sticks and tomatoes as the day when a leader was brave enough to say: You can throw anything at me, but I stand committed to my principles. Now, can we please sit down and talk?

That is what leadership is: It means standing by one’s principles. It means being willing to lay down your cards, despite the spite or controversy that will surely come your way—all of these while resolving conflicts, managing crises, seeing the big picture and connecting the dots all for the interest of the nation.

This kind of leadership happened in one previous administration in recent memory, and it was largely because of the vision and tenacity of a single visionary President.

There’s a saying that says: If you want to go fast, go alone. And if you want to go far, be with many. Thus, my dream is to instill a kind of government that will not rely on a single person to juggle on the high-wire. I dream of an activist government, one that has a streamlined bureaucracy — an army, so to speak, of people who know how to juggle on the high-wire, who do not forget the bottom line: The people and our nation.