New watchdog pushes for political reforms

Democracy Watch Philippines, a social initiative of advisory and research consultancy group Stratbase Research Institute (SRI), has formed alliances with student groups and non-government organizations to push for institutional reforms in the country in the wake of the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scandal that highlighted the degree of corruption in government.

The new watchdog  said its   participation in the recent De La Salle University’s Bantay PDAF Forum sought to deepen public discussion on political issues such as the use of pork barrel and mobilize support for good governance in the Philippines.

The forum with the theme “From Citizen Action to Institutional Reforms” was organized by student group Policy in cooperation with Democracy Watch and the Commission on National Issues and Concerns at DLSU’s Henry Sy Sr. Hall on October 25, 2013.

Democracy Watch was started 10 years ago as a project of SRI through a series of online publications Spark and occasional papers which feature political and governance issues.

Educating people in democracy contributes to democratic deepening and of a more attentive public, to  explain Democracy Watch’s participation in the Bantay PDAF forum.

Institutional reforms should start with the conduct of honest, fair and free elections.  By instilling electoral integrity, corruption in government will be eradicated.  Increased popular participation makes it more difficult for elites to manipulate democratic institutions.

As the lead convenor of Democratic Watch,  I have  pushed for reforms to strengthen the political party systems, away from patronage politics, an example of which is the disbursement of discretionary funds or pork barrel to senators and congressmen for their own use.

Transparency and Accountability Network Executive Director Vince Lazatin said pork barrel is one of the 4Ps that characterize patronage politics, with the other three being power, perks and personalities.

Lazatin  said pork barrel encourages patronage politics between the executive and legislative branches of government. Politicians also use pork to court the support of the voters, which in turn perpetuates corruption in the system.

Institute of Political and Electoral Reform (IPER) Executive Director Ramon Casiple also has the same message, saying patronage is the engine of the political rule and influence, with the pork barrel serving the oil of patronage.

Casiple said the alleged P10-billion scam perpetuated by businesswoman Janet Napoles involving PDAF of several senators and congressmen was only a part of an established system where legislators divert a large percentage of their funds to their pockets.

He said the case of Napoles revealed the changing political dynamics in the country and showed that elite-based traditional politics came back with a vengeance.

University of the Philippines Professor Emeritus Randy David explained that the pork barrel system was an American political practice that is now generally prohibited in the US. He said in the Philippines, the pork barrel evolved from local development fund to countrywide development fund to PDAF.

Prof. David said the pork barrel system is one of the most notorious sources of corruption in the Philippines.  It has evolved from simple kickbacks paid to lawmakers by the contractors they recommend to outright conversion of PDAF allotments into cash with the assistance of syndicated fixers.

Million People March organizer Peachy Bretaña, for her part, said the pork barrel system should be eliminated in the annual government budget.  Government spending, she said, should be audited and accounted for.

Participants in the Bantay PDAF Forum all agreed that the government should get rid of the pork barrel in all its forms. They also cited the need to de-politicize and professionalize the government bureaucracy, starting with political reforms that limit contributions from the elite with vested interests.

 The Stratbase Research Institute provides clients with the Democracy Watch series online publication which are snippets of the economic and political developments in the country on a quarterly basis. Both are aimed at providing a macro description of the fundamental indicators of economic and political trends in the Philippines.

On a quarterly basis, the Stratbase Research Institute issues Spark, an online newsletter that covers socio-political and economic analysis of timely issues that affect the direction of the economy and political landscape governing the Philippines. — VICTOR ANDRES C. MANHIT, Lead Convenor, Democracy Watch