Browse Think Pieces and other opinion articles published on G-Watch as well as other websites.
Think Pieces
Does the PNP View Ordinary Filipinos as the Enemy?
At around 11 in the morning of July 27, two officers from the Manila Police District (MPD) entered the nave of the Quiapo Church, walked towards a small group of activists sitting on the back pew, and without any warning, seized a blue-and-white paper bag containing several placards from party-list group Akbayan. The officers did not immediately offer any explanation for their action, but as Rappler’s Camille Elemia wrote later in her article, the posters “were not being used” when the incident occurred.
Is the government sabotaging its own COVID-19 response by undermining trust and neglecting social assistance?
By Joy Aceron*
In the past weeks after the expiration of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the Duterte administration took several actions that indicate its overreliance on policing or enforcement of quarantine laws as its main approach in fighting COVID-19.
Citizen Health Entitlements in COVID-19 Pandemic
By Joy Aceron and Victoria Maglanque*
In a health emergency, entitlements of citizens that ensure their health, safety and security are most crucial. Not only that it ascertains individual welfare and rights, it also avoids over-burdening the health system with patients that require intensive care.
Facing the Pandemic: Citizen Entitlements During COVID-19
This duty of the government to deliver entitlements becomes even more necessary during periods of crisis, which worsens the condition of the poor and the vulnerable. We can see this in the current health crisis caused by COVID-19.
Releasing the Names of Social Amelioration Beneficiaries can be an Effective Accountability Measure
A crisis situation can worsen government’s inefficiency and abuse of power. This, in turn, makes it harder for societies to respond and recover from disaster in a way that takes care of the victims and the most vulnerable who suffer most. This makes transparency, participation and accountability (TPA) measures extremely critical during crisis situations.
However, not all TPA measures are equally effective. And for TPA measures to be effective, they need to employ integrated approaches that enable both the demand side of accountability (citizen voice) and supply side (government’s capacity to respond)
Citizen Accountability Efforts as an Integral Part of the Philippines' COVID-19 Response
By: Joy Aceron
In my April 2 Rappler article entitled ‘Challenges facing social amelioration for the coronavirus, I underscored the importance of citizen accountability efforts given the immense powers and resources that the Executive now wields:
A Question Amidst the COVID 19 crisis: Where has all the health budget from sin tax gone?
As it seems, the Philippine health sector is ill-prepared for the COVID19 outbreak. This is not surprising after budget cuts, corruption allegations, politicization of health governance and political leadership’s focus on security and order going after opposition, activists and poor drug offenders.
How Vulnerable are the COVID-19 Procurements to Corruption?
On March 23, 2020, the House of Representatives and Senate deliberated and passed a bill that grants immense powers to the president to address the COVID-19 threat. The proposed legislation was quickly signed into law on March 25, 2020 with the title Bayanihan We Heal as One Act or Republic Act 11469.
Among the powers granted to the president by RA 11469 are exemptions to the government procurement law in order to undertake procurements in the most “expeditious manners” (Section 4.k). Some of the items listed that can be procured with exemptions include:
Goods, such as personal protective equipment (PPEs), different surgical, laboratory, medical equipment, supplies and consumables, testing kits and other needs to be determined by the Department of Health Good and services for social amelioration measures in favor of affected communities Lease of real property or venue for use to house health workers or serve as quarantine centers, medical relief and others Establishment, construction and operation of temporary medical facilities Utilities, telecommunications and other critical services in relation to the operation of quarantine centers, medical relief and aid distribution centers and temporary medical facilitiesMahusay at Epektibong Demokratikong Tugon sa COVID-19, Hindi Diktadurya
Naninindigan kami na hindi na kailangang palawigin pa ang kapangyarihan ng Pangulo upang magkaroon ng epektibong tugon sa COVID-19. Sapat na ito upang bigyang direksyon at liderato ang gobyerno at buong bansa sa pagsugpo ng COVID-19.
Ang kelangang palakasin ay ang kakayanan ng mga frontliners sa health sector at local governments sa pamamagitan ng pagbigay sa kanila ng mga tulong at suporta na kanilang kagyat na kailangan.
Prioritize Support for the Public Health System! Pass a Supplemental Budget for Public Health Response to COVID-19 Now!
A Statement of Government Watch (G-Watch)* on the COVID-19 Crisis
A crisis like no other is upon us. The COVID-19 pandemic has already killed 12 people in the Philippines with 140 found positive cases as of March 15, 2020. The numbers continue to grow. In the world, more than 140,000 people have been infected by this deadly virus and has claimed the lives of almost 6,000 individuals.
On Elite Capture, the Poor and Patron-Client Networks
By: Joy Aceron
In my continuing readings of evaluation studies on participatory reforms, I noticed that the concept of elite capture is repeatedly pointed out.
I like how one material (Saguin 2018) differentiates elite control vs. elite capture and the measures to address them using existing literature.
Ano ang Pananagutan? Isang Repleksyon sa G-Watch Ako, Ikaw, Tayo May Pananagutan 2020
By: Francis Isaac
(Ang sulating ito ay batay sa talumpating binigkas noong 14 Pebrero 2020 sa Batasan Hills National High School, Lungsod Quezon sa pagpapasimula ng Spoken Poetry Competition bilang bahagi ng Ako, Ikaw Tayo may Pananagutan Awareness-Raising Campaign ng G-Watch.)
Why the Need for Accountability Education?
Last February 14, Valentine’s Day, G-Watch had its 3rd Ako, Ikaw, Tayo May Pananagutan (AIM-P) Awareness-Raising Campaign Day with the theme “Kabataan, Pusuan ang Pananagutan.” This year’s campaign focused on engaging young people in accountability conversations, especially officials of Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Councils). All over the world, today's youth are leading collective actions to address pressing issues such as social injustice, corruption, abuse and climate change. In the Philippines, participation of the youth is given so much recognition and importance that it has now been institutionalized in every barangay through the SKs. However, SK as an institution needs strengthening and support. G-Watch aims to contribute to this by engaging SKs in accountability work
Reclaiming the Inclusivity Agenda: Further Notes on the ‘Reform-Revolution Continuum’
Inclusive politics and governance, inclusive development and growth, inclusivity, inclusiveness –these are the most recent buzzwords within development community and among political elites these past few years. In the Philippines, even the military and police are arguing for their greater involvement on the premise of inclusivity.
How Participatory Reforms Can Enable Voice But Fall Short Of Transformation
Reforming the budget process to be more open and participatory to civil society and citizens has become a popular approach around the world. This trend represents great potential for democratic transformation, especially in countries where the allocation of public resources has long been left in the hands of a few. However, attempts to undertake such reforms in the Philippines have had mixed results. The Philippine experience with Bottom-Up Budgeting (BuB) offers valuable insights into the pitfalls that must be avoided for participatory reforms to be transformative.
Why Sovereignty Should Concern Every Filipino Today
The government needs to reclaim being the government of this country that protects and cares for its people by asserting and advancing Philippine sovereignty on the West Philippine Sea. Filipinos need to remind the Duterte government of what their being the government for and who ultimately owns the power that those in government temporarily hold.
My List of the Good and Worse about the 2019 Philippine Elections
Overall, huge reasons to be worried and disappointed about, with little positive to hold on to.
Bangsamoro as a "New Unity"
Last January 21, parts of Muslim Mindanao held a plebiscite to determine what will form the new Bangsamoro entity created through the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), a landmark piece of legislation that is a product of decades of struggle of Moros for their right to self-determination.
There is a critical misconception that is quite common even to those who would opt to give peace in Mindanao a chance. Some people who are mostly doubtful of the peace process are under the impression that the ratification of BOL is a victory for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that comes with a reward, including (to some, at least) the power over the to-be Bangsamoro entity itself. This is wrong. It is a big misconception and a misunderstanding.
‘Closing Civic Space:’ A Space for a New Movement-Building
The agenda ‘closing civic space’ has been taken up extensively of late in transparency, participation, accountability, open government and anti-corruption spaces. I have been asked to give talks on this topic in three separate international events, namely the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Tbilisi, Georgia in July; the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Copenhagen in October; and this week in UNODC’s workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. This is recognized as a key issue in the Philippines. In the event of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Philippines that G-Watch attended in Tagaytay several weeks ago, the challenge of ‘closing,’ ‘shrinking,’ ‘constraining’ civic space has been pointed out in all workshop groups when asked what are the main challenges confronting Philippine civil society today.