Transition Council for beginners

Hi V, F, All,

Alam mo, the original article by this person S.C. Austero is actually published sa inquirer today by some group claiming to be the Mahal ko Bayan Ko movement. But if you ask most cause oriented groups, this organization seem to be virtually non-existent till now. I guess they should have called themselves Mahal Ko ung Kurakot ng Bayan Ko, heh-he.

In any case, back to your question on names & the next government. Sa totoo lang, all the legal or constitutional doors to seek the truth and remedy it seem to be now all but closed. If the impeachment would have been allowed to proceed, then we would have either the vice president or the senate president to take the reins of power. That did not happen.

If ate glo would have called for an election, then that would necessitate the cleanup of the COMELEC and holding of national elections. Then we would have known the real winner of the 2004 elections (at a great cost, though), but we would have established our duly elected leaders. Of course, that did not happen nor do we think that GMA will risk it given the lesson of the Marcos years.

On the establishment of the Truth commission, truth is, no one will believe it would be 'truthful', heh-he. So that was scrapped. NOW WHAT?

Despite what GMA thinks is her victory at suppressing the truth, I am actually proud of the many Filipinos who will not stop searching for the truth. If they cannot find it in the legal arena, then they will find it elsewhere and the last place left for them now is the streets.

People Power is not UNconstitutional, nor is it illegal. Even the gma administration's best conjurers cannot discredit people power as the people's legitimate tool to seek for truth & justice, try as they might with the aid of the apathetic segments of society.

Now back to your question. As the only viable option to seek the truth is through people power, the victory of any people power revolution will necessitate the formation of a 'transition/revolutionary council' which would guide the country to its next elections. We already had our experience with this during EDSA I. The difference with Edsa I is that while the 'revolutionary/transtion council' had Cory as its figurehead, it had no representations from the most marginalized sectors. Soon
after the establishment of the Cory government, the more progressive sectors were even booted out from government. This is partly why the first government after EDSA I failed to deliver its promise of genuine change.

This time, if people power would succeed, a transition government is proposed to be headed, of course, by those who had taken the pains to go out into the streets to make people power happen. Yes, you would have here the presence of some people we consider as trapos, and those associated with the past government. That is not all, however. The more imporant thing is, that in the proposed transition council, marginalized sectors would have to be represented. These include farmers, workers, OFWs, urban poor, scientists (yes, even scientists & other professionals).

Herein comes the absurdity in asking their names....If farmers nominate Danilo Ramos for farmer representative or Carmen Deunida for urban poor representative or Connie Regalado for migrant workers, how many of us would recognize these people through their names? Nope, I don't think we would recognize these people through their names. We would know of them through the work they have been doing all these years in supporting the cause of their sectors. And this how the members of the transition council will be chosen. It would include their principle, track record, acceptability to most, etc. To my mind, a truly honest and sincere individual is more often than not unknown. We just have to create a system where we can find them by knowing their track record.

Now, what's the plan of this transition council? For most of the marginalized sectors, this would be the easiest to outline. Farmers would demand genuine agrarian reform, workers for just living wage and industrialization, urban poor for housing and employment opportunities, students for the right to free quality education, etc. For the first time, we may have an opportunity to actually outline these very basic issues as the next agenda of whichever government will take its place. We may even have the opportunity to change the constitution to incorporate these demands so that the next government will have to work on these very basic issues.

If we want this transition council happen and be headed by mostly the sincerest and most honest individuals who are acceptable for us, then I suggest we organize ourselves to make people power happen. The transition council can only come about when the liar and the cheat is ousted from Malacanang.

See you in the streets.

T