Rise to full stature as sovereign citizens!

Manny Valdehuesa

IT cannot be overemphasized that had the spirit of autonomy been promoted since the Local Government Code (R.A. 7160) was enacted in 1991, we would all have developed proficiency in autonomy or self-governance by now, easing the way for the advocates of federalism to have it adopted.

All that was needed was for our people, especially the masses and the truant elites, to know their role—and perform it!—in their immediate community.

Their participation in local public administration would have given them the knowledge and confidence necessary to provide the dynamism of People Power that a federal system demands from below.

Fostering sense of community and responsibility in citizens is important for democracy to thrive. Citizens must be engaged in the governing process, not be mere recipients of government goods and services.

Self-government gives people the experience necessary for success in practicing local autonomy. Learning to collaborate with their officials is also important, as they can seem aloof and intimidating even within the intimate framework of one’s barangay.

Through active participation one gains experience and self-confidence in contributing to public policy, in helping make public decisions, and in exemplifying what a government of the people, by the people, and for the people does.

This teaches the citizenry about political science and good governance effectively. It gives them a feel of their sovereign role in safeguarding and protecting the wellbeing of their community.

It really is democracy in action, with people power rising from below, deriving its force from an assertive brand of citizen sovereignty.

The good thing about having the Republic anchored upon the participation of people at its base is that, instead of merely await directives from the top, or for power to be devolved from the central government, the people themselves would generate reforms and other initiatives, which then spiral upwards to galvanize the whole political structure.

This is the Pinatubo approach to good governance (rising, growing from below), as opposed to the Pinatulo (or trickle-down) approach from above which traditional politicians (trapos) prefer so that they can keep the power to themselves.

But this pinatubo approach is possible only if the people are truly empowered and motivated. Only then can they assure order and harmony, enforce the Rule of Law, and create their own prosperity—even in defiance of those in power and others who seek to dominate them.

In other words, the urge to build the nation and the enthusiasm for carrying it forward should originate from the grassroots—thereby lifting society from the doldrums, animating the economy, and rousing people from their apathy.

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As for federalism, its advocates should know that this system works well only if it is rooted in the spirit of selfeliance, of self-governance, even of independence. These attributes must resonate in the hearts and minds of people at grassroots level, flowing from their consciousness of being the strength and dynamo of national progress and prosperity.

After all, everyone is part of the grassroots and should be conscious of being so—a fact that should not be obfuscated by wrong concepts or pretentious attitudes that turn a lot of leaders into pedants and hypocrites.

Far too many Filipinos, by reason of social standing, economic status, or whatever, carry on as if they’re above the grassroots, superior to the masses, the elite, and a breed apart. Typically, they will say, “The masses are out there in the barrio, while I’m here in the city, in an office, in a campus, or in our church.”

Such people fail to appreciate that these places are also located in some barangay or other, meaning, a barrio. In fact, one can say that every Filipino is a barrio boy or barrio girl. After all, we do live in a barangay, whether urban or rural, where everyone else lives, grows up in, works, and, ultimately, is buried.

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One should not be detached from the reality of his barangay situation—where he also casts his vote and performs his sovereign power.

To deny it is to betray a hangover of what is called “colonial mentality”—wherein to be identified as a barrio dweller was to be looked down upon and to be classified as an “indio”—a country bumpkin in awe of the central government. That was when Filipinos were vassals and subjects of the Spanish Regime.

It’s time we discard this colonial mentality; to eschew the patronizing treatment which did so much damage to our selfespect and self-image as a people.

Let us rise to our full stature as the sovereign citizens of our land. Let us resist being manipulated by the very people we elevate to leadership positions. And let us exorcise the so-called leaders in our society who pump up their ego with pompous rhetoric and self-praise, grandstanding. They merely betray a basic insecurity and a lack of character or maturity.

(Manny Valdehuesa Jr. is a former Unesco regional director for Asia-Pacific; secretary-general, Southeast Asia Publishers Association; director, development academy of Philippines; member, Philippine Mission to the UN;  vice chair, Local Government Academy; member, government peace panel during the administration of Corazon Aquino; awardee, PPI-Unicef outstanding columnist. An author of books on governance, he is chairman/convenor of Gising Barangay Movement Inc.. E-mail: valdehuesa@gmail.com)