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NAGA CITY, April 19 (PIA) --- With less that three weeks before the national and local elections, numerous stakeholders have initiated to bring up and clear out significant issues that concern the electorates, this time on mainstreaming political reforms in the country.
The Political Democracy and Reforms (PODER) and Government Watch (G-Watch) of the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG), in collaboration with Ateneo de Naga, Naga City People’s Council (NCPC) and Jesse M. Robredo Center for Good Governance (JMR Center), recently spearheaded the forum on the "Ill-Effects of Dynastic Politics and the Imperative of Political and Electoral Reforms as a Campaign Issue".
The forum was held April 13 at the Ateneo de Naga Campus participated in by representatives from people's organizations, academe, and government agencies, among others.
Joy Aceron of the Ateneo School of Government stated during the forum held in Ateneo de Naga here that the 2016 elections appear “critical” in terms of turning elections into an accountability mechanism.
“Election is a transition. On the other hand, we can turn it as an opportunity by making the election an accountability mechanism and we do that by providing information dissemination venue that facilitates the interaction of the candidates and the citizens, and by making sure that the electoral process is itself credible, that it’s really the will of the people that will be reflected in the vote come 2016 Elections,” Aceron added.
Renne F. Gumba, executive director of JMR Center for Good Governance, discussed the issue on political dynasty in relation to local governance and Bicol development.
Gumba quoted the Asian Institute of Management policy study in 2011 which cites that “political dynasties in the Philippines are found in regions with higher poverty levels and also shared Center for People Empowerment in Governance or CenPEG’s findings that poverty and social inequality are worse in provinces with deeply-entrenched political dynasties wherein it cited Bicol as the 4th poorest region and ARMM occupying the top post as poorest region in the country.
“A state that is anchored on families and clans with narrow and exclusivist interests and loyalties is bound to create difficult problems for state formation and democratization, particularly, in the absence of strong national political institutions. Moreover, the accountability mechanisms that form a key aspect to the democratization process becomes short-circuited by narrow kinship loyalties rather than legitimized by broad citizens’ choices,” Gumba furthered.
Aside from Professor Gumba, the organizers also invited other panelists such as incoming dean of Ateneo School of Government Ronald Mendoza and Ronnie Holmes, president of Pulse Asia, to share their views on the local context of political electoral reforms and related studies on academic and dynastic politics.
All the collated inputs will be used in the brainstorming sessions to be conducted with the different sectors specifically youth and civil society organizations (CSOs) and will be used as an input for possible future actions that the organizers will undertake to be more responsive to the needs of the electorate. (MAL/LSM/JRM-PIA5/Camarines Sur)
This article was first published on http://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/861461043689.