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D emocra cY
PersPectives
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18 r
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MARTA SERErttA l. DIOKNO
I

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I

pubtic property' Some of the

of the larger ehilippine society and the treatment of
I

.ruiiin rrir,ich the differences emerged in the survey also surfaced in the Democ-
project. Notably, these acc_ount for some of the very issues that un-
I

;;8.;J"
;;;i"; cnaitenge the effectiveness of democratic values, practices and institu- I

tions in the country as this paper will show. I

A conference was held in Baguio on 2l-22 September I996, in which I9 l

papers on the perceptions of citizenship and democracy from various viewpoints

I
I
:

were presented for discussion, Two of these were overview papers while the rest I

were case studies of specific institutions or sectors of society. Nearly 50 partici'

a

i
pants from'different parts of the country sorire belonging to organizations and i

others not, participated in the conference'

i

The participants were organized into nine workshops to discuss the role of i
l

the following in the conceptual and value formation of citizenship and democ'
racy: family, schOol, churches, indigenous communities, bgsiness and wOrkplace,
i

government, legal system, media, and NCOs. ln general, the questions asked of :

the paperwriters and the workshop.participants dwelled not only on perceptions,

but on values and belief systems, practices and structures in the family, the work-
I

place and other sectors that reinforcei or contradict the ideas and exercise of
.
i
!

democracy and responsible citizenship. The exchanges in the workshops, the i

plenary discussions as well as the papers presented during the conference serve
as the primary basis of the analysis discussed here.

Perspectives on Democrocy ond Citizenship

terms used

services, fair and impartial system

ability of public officials. The attributes whlch the conference participants asso.
ciated with democracy are respect for the rights of others, concern for their wel-
fare, unity, justice and equity. ln essence these descriptlons boil down to two
related sets of concepts: power
- its distribution in society, the relations that
result from the pattern of distribution, and the responsibilities involved in the
exercise of power; and the fruits of power
- its moral dimension and purpose,
the benefits that accrue from a just or unjust distribution of power, and the ben-
eflclaries at the receiving end.
Thus of the four elements of the democratic vision.summarized by Mancx
and osal,'three were affirmed by the study, namely: the commitment to indi-
vidual freedom and the person's responsibility in the exercise of this freedom; the I

il
concept of popular sovereignty and political equality; and the necessity of a legal i,
i:
system to ensur€ stability and protection from arbitrary acts and decisions. fhe
i:!.:
founh element, the belief in the power of human rationality, in particulaf its abil-
ityto lnfluence the course of human events, was impticit,in the conference dis- i.i
l:
cussions. sgveral workshops, for instance, stressed the ne'ed for more dialogue, I

.l
deeper analysis of issues, and thoughtful deliberation in the resolution of pioU]
lems and conflict.
ii

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ir
Becoming a FiliPino Citazen: Perr pectives on CitizenshiP and Democracr
. 19

Porticipotory, Redistributive Democrocy

Moreover,whilerecognizingtheroleofelectionsandotherformalmecha.
nisms, the conferen.. puni.iprnt *.ru critical
of the inherent bias of these exer'
lii.ii"r*or of the ,on"v.'0. Both in the workshops and the plenary sessions,
democracy than the ballot' lndeed'
1

the participants insisted there was far more to

very littl'e. The more dominant
ih;; il places in theiountry where voting means is a process, fundamen- i:
,i.* .*pi.rsed in the confeience was thit democracy
groups and. Ile
ii

iiil, i *aV of life, *rn, of relating

"
with other individuals,
ii
,i
iiit.,anaacollectiveproceSSofdecision.makinginordertoattainpoliticallib.
erty, social justice and equitY. :,
preferred mode of
Participatory democracy thus emerged strongly as the
in contrast to the elite modll which the conference rejected' lt is :i .'
democracy,
conference participants described
int.r.itinl'to note that in their own words, the and participatory de'
ll
;;;;tly li;; political theorists distinguish between elite
that in elite democracy, the "true
,"..1V. Coxrn and Anqro, for example, explain
political
!,

function of the vote is simply to choose among the bids for power by
panicipatory democracy, "what makes
.iii.i irU t" accept leadership", whereas in in ruling and
I:

i;;g";d leaders also makes ioigooa citizens --active.participation

beirig ruted and also in public will and opinion formation"'- :r

The conference as a whole maintained that democratic processes work on

pointed
different planes. For example, the workshop on indigenous cornmunities
ort t*o levels of activity: indigenous or traditional democracy, which ls practiced
"without theory" (that is to say' with no written laws), and Western'derived de.
mocracy, with elections and a w hole gamut of coded laws and political institu-

good, some of very

misslng in today's formal democracy.
Furthermore, the results of the project indicate a strong preference for redis-
tributive and developmental modes of democratic governance as defined by Mm.cx
and Osa{.'The first emphasizes government's responsibility to effect a more
equitable distribution of resources and capabilities. From the point of view of the
conference participants, land, income and wealth are the most crucial targets for
:'l

redistribution. Without redistributive measures, there will always be obstacles to

the exercise of rights and the practice of democracy. The second, the develop-
mental mode of governance, highlights governmentb role in shaping a just soci-
ety py "creating and sustaining a shared culture of democr;itic values and hab-
its."' The cultural aspects of democracy figured prominently in the conference
discussions on citizenship and its attendant norms and values.

ldentity qnd q Sense of Belonging

Citlzenship, by convention, is the most basic identification with the nation :.:]
and as such, is oriented towards the state and its expressions in law and policy. i;,
! l:
Generally, howevel except perhaps- among the politicians and government offi. i:I .:. 1.

cials lnterviewed in one case study," a legalistic framework of citizenship did not ;:...,
::
figure strongly among the perceptions identified in the project. lnstead, citizen- ',,1
t.
ship was frequently described ln terms of attributes associated with belonging to ji
I

a larger community, and of processes by which cltizens negotiate the nature ind I
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 i

2O r MARIA SERENA I. DTOKNO i

',i..
I

obligations to the community. ln

extent of their rights as individuals and their
perspective of citizenship approximates rhat of Manftr
ihlir"nr., theref-ore, the "an identity.defined.by atundle of rights
O,rrr, who look upon ;itiz;nship as
"nJ Juti.t and by an awareness of others in a similar position"'
"nJ by the
From a normative point of view, the qualiti-es of citizenship suggested
pride and na-
conference are honesty, loyalty to the larger cdmmunity, collective
iiohal identity. lt is inieresting that these attributes were among the eight clus' I .,..,
survey. Although these are the
ilii of urf r.s probed into by the I994 NSo-Ateneo
participants in the study differed
norms commonly used to describe citizenship,
from the usual perception in tilo respects: first, in their conception of the com-
*rnity; and second, in their assertion that citizenship embodies not just obliga'
tions but also rights.
The "larger community", which is the conventionally accepted source of a
common identity and the focal point of a citizen\ loyalty, is the nation. Confer.
ence partiCipants, however, were insistent that the local Community, too, deserveS
a place in the citizen's nexus of loyalty, pride and identity. The reasons for the i.r
expanded definition stem largely from the difficulties encountered in identifying i':
wiih an abstraction such as the nation, in contrast to the more concrete reality of !:
i;
the immediate community. ln some instances, as the subsequent discussion will I:
shoq the two conflict with each other. Also, in some pans of the country (per-
t:
i
r:,a' t.:
haps in more places than we would care to admit), social affiliation is multi'
,i

layered, in which identification with the family or clan lies closest to the heart,
i
t:
and identification with the Filipino, farthest away.
t,
::
Furthermore, whereas the usual notion of citizenship emphasizes the person's I

duties as taught at home and in school, and often invoked by government, partici'
n,tlre pr:oj9ct asserted th e body of entitlements citizens enjoy (or ought to ., , i:::: i
I

image of a good citizen ls the

tax-paying citizen, the honest vote[ the driver who obeys traffic rules (a rarity I'

nowadays). But a good citizen is also one who asserts his or her rights, speaks I

out in defense of the voiceless, respects the environment, treats women and men I
!

equally, and so on. The emphasis on building a sense of community, with its i
'rl
accompanying body of rights and obligations, is therefore the bedrock of citizen- .t
I

I ship. Conference participants also linked the practice of sharing to the concept of
stewardship in the care and management of resources and the environment. :l
I

Effective Citizenship in Democrocy

Finally, the project affirms the basic link between citizenship and democ-
racy. The more traditional track espoused by persons in authority (government
leaders, school teachers) has been to focus on formal government structures and
procedures (such as the branches of government, how laws are made), which are
the subject of civics class. But the more pro-active approach, which the confer-
ence adopted, is to vlew citizen hip, in the words of a businessman interviewed
in one case study, as "a,demoe/acy of shared values and understandings through
a deliberative process."'' Hence the emphasis in this paper on the derriocratiziiq
function of citizenship.
Panlclpants in the research cited several examples of pro-active citizenship,
which can be summed up in two categories. The first deals with indigenous, day-
to-day practices of democracy and decision-making in communities where formal
 Becoming a Filiplno Citlzeh: Perspectives on citizenship and Democracy . 2l

government mechanisms and elected officials may or may not exist- These com'
lrunities select their own leaders, conduct their own consultations with commu-
nity mernbers and settle disputes without recourse to the coults. Such assertions
of power by the community, even though they are not defined as democratic in
the formal iense, are exercises of democracy from the standpolnt of popular de'
cision-making. They, too, constitute the practice of citizenship as defined by
members of the communitY'
The second category consists of initiatives, taken by organized groups or
sectors who engage in formal democratic processes, to also explore othervenues
of expression and alternative solutions. These actions are often made when citi-
zens feel their rights or interests are threatened. Trade union workers interviewed
in one case study of the legal system learned from their experience that legal
"
methods alone were not sufficient to win their case in court. Since access to the
courts is normally greased with mOney, which the workers did not have, they
decided to rally in the streets in order to gain an additional venue of advoiacy.
"No (street) rally, no (court) decision" became their battle cry. The workers won
their case (though no final decision has yet been made owing to the endless
round of appeals by management) and attributed their victory to the concerted
actions they took outside the judicial system. As the case study concludes, "deep
in their heans, the respondents were awarenthat the key to theirvictory lay out-
side the narrow constraints of the courts."
Citlzenship therefore involves a set of obligations on both the part of citi-
zens and of the state. Had the workers not come together to assert their rlghts
and pressure the state (through the judicial system), for example, to carry out its
duty to protect the rights of its citizens, the very idea of citizenship would have
.
:-becorne. us eless.gr.'i ne ffect ual,.And ; as a po I i tical theo,rist.concludes ; ,where citi
.

,theiE,ca4 be no real demoe r,acy.J.'

Making citizenship effective, then, is the work of government and of citi-
zens. on the part of government, the conference itressed the need for public
accountability, which involves not merely taking redponsibility for onet acts but
conducting oneself according to democratic ways and beliefs. covernment, too,
must apply the legal system equally to all. Just as important, it is government,s
responsibility to ensure that the social requisites for the practice of democracy
are present: a decent standard of living, employrnent, education, health and other
services, and access to opportunity for improvement and a better tife.
On the part of citizens, the conference emphasized the need to perform their
obllgations and exercise their rights. ln orderto strengthen thelr capacity to carry
these out, the people must organize at various levels in the community, ihe work-
.,
place, accprding to their social sector, by gender and so on. collectlve'ly, they can
::.: j.'
map out and. lmplement their plans, negotiate with other entities including'gov-
ernment, and apply pressure, when necessary to bring about the desired iri"is".

Molding o Sense of Community

There are, howeve.r, other-perceptrons of citizenshlp and democracy
which
the paniclpants recognlzed and crltlclzed. one is the view *r"t jo"J.iiil";;;i;
mEans being able to do what one wants to do as long as no one
is hun in the

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 {

22 r MARIA SERENA I. DIOKNO

also reflected this perception' For

process. The 1994 survey on Philip.pine values for the problems
*t" Oi'iata on the question ofcontend
instance, respondents
concern
with' The extreme
r,lr".,i.ii"wn difficulties to
of others when they other (wa'lan g pakialaman)'
for the
version of this percepti;; is total lack of concern
good citizenship'
*f,i.f, tfr. conierence iound antithetical to
The construction'of identity and a sense
of belonging is thus crucial from ..r:1
I'j.;:

several points of view. From the standpoint

of democratic governance' the iden'
vision, the means
base of coltective acrion, a shared
;il;i;i,ir;nr1,ip i, ,r,,"r.rv of citizens yet unborn' From
to a sustainable future, and the link to generations
claim to citizenship means
the soclat psychologi;;t-ferspective, the individualS others who also see them'
group of
that the person ,.l.t"i t,"?iuii or himself to a
selves as citizens .-fiig.ipotity. Crorp identity th.e.n serves ]f "a coOnitive and
"f
motivational basis for the elaboration of beliets
and benavlor'
i.:..,t. ri
ln which citizens
Building an identitY has three main c oncerns: instrumental,
with rules and identities c6hsistent with and sup-
and officials act in accordance
beliefs embody and
rtive of democ ratic processes; moral, i n which values and
wh ro-
nforce democratic principles; and tran sformative,
individuals, in n t-
cess of "self-reflectio n and redefinition of
ties." " ln all three concerns, several factors simultaneously come into PlaY at
level of the individual, the institution, and the communitY to .l
various levels: the :

which the indivldual belongs.

!

lndividuql Attitudes ond Troits i

Several of the conference works hops pointed out contradictions in the ev-
:
!

eryday behavior of some Fillipinos. Filipi'n os bathe daily and value cleanliness in
"'t-hij h o irie; f.6 r' i riStan te,'b'ut' rhany throw clgarette butts,and other garbage in the '
., ":

streets.:" FiliPinos will helP out without question in an emergencY but maY'be,.,.
indifferent to violations of human rig hts. This dualism highlights the contradic-
tion between self interest and .the goo d of the community, which also surfaced in
the I 994 values survey. The respondents were dlvided, for instance, on the ques-
tion on caiing for public property (such a s toilets, buildings) and on whether t,such
care should be taken in the same way th ey care for their own possessions.
According to some of the conference participants, the negative traits that
reinforce this dualism are the excessive desire to go along with one's peers in
order to belong or be accepted (sobrang pakikisama), subservience and lack of
concern for the public Aood. On the other hand, there are positive traits that
enhance a sense of community, such as caring for others lpaglingap), sympathy
in time of need or trouble (damaYan), and a basic respect for elders and social
institutions. ,l

The case study of organized labor in Davao notes the tendency of workers to
be passive." They normally do not exercise their rights unless their interests are
threatened byleither their employers or the state. The study finds that "under
normal'conditions, workers are obedient and law-abiding. They believe ... they
must follow management policies, be law-abiding and loyal to the government ..."
Some workers, i[cording to the study, actually invoke their right "not to partlci-
r: .. pat$'even in matters that affect their welfare.
 (

.;.:.i:

on CitizenshiP and DemocracY : 23

Becoming a FiliPi no Citizen: Perspectives

Butattitudesdochange.Sometimestheyarechangedbyeventsthatsweep
studenis' identification with the
the nation. ror instanle, ;i;;;y
of
.etemeni'ary
during'rn",iirr raw, and a high level
in 1986
nation showed, ro*lur.tln rg'ez overwhelming char'
ii .

howevei, t ur" such an

after EDsA.,, Not all n^iionrt .u.nts, or domestlc workers ii
acter and *h.n'i;;il"-i;;;t'' ui tt g iises overseas
always tran'
Balabagan'o), their impact does not
.ii.
"r"n
Flor Contemplacion .nd-larrt,
scend the level of puufii sympathy
or emotion that they invoke' :i.
.iI' I

rl
othertimesattitudesarechangedbyinvolvementinservice-orientedactivi.
for Social Progress observed that the 'i!.
ties. The chair of ttre-ptritippine Business
community (such as assisting coop-
social development proiu.t!'or the business -i
livelihood projects) affect not only the ben'
ti

eratives, starting ,p if ri *u"i y-based ;li.:

eficiarycommunitybutalsothebusinesssector.itself,sometimestothedismay
of business. As he exPlained: i!

lnterventlonlnapoorcommunltyaffectsthetradltlonPlpowerstructure.
usurer. Direct rlce trading by a
social credit lrmits the clout of the village But when ];
.""p".",fr" raises real lncome and does away wlth middlemen' also the desire for'
ll

you foster entrepreneurship and self-rellance'-you foster

::,lj:: .'l
press back agalnst the buslness sec-
self.determlnatton. T[re community may
obJectives of
;;;;;;;, t;y, the needs of the landless farmers clash wlth the
plantatlon economles.

Because of this, he concluded, member.firms

of the foundation are increas-
impact of their bdsiness into
ingly compelled to ir.to1 the social .ottt ina iocial
image of cold-hearted
their decisions. rnis iii*.l.o.u change frorh the prevalent
of profit. But it-is a.change that is also
business firms run solely by the logii of1e1
asse-rtion of i1; !11ere.1ts' More
,,,,[1oug-tli-quor1tr,v.-an.org-a{zed 9ommul'ltvs .
' '
of iocial factors will stietch to the extent
_ir;";-" fr,a I'Ol,ripi"v('iOfir'iaei.tton its position despite
that the community"is''oigahizedt'and prepared to abide by '

offers by business io r*.[t.n the deal or dull local resistance.

i '.: -, ,

lnstitutionol Foctors
The value component of identity construction is shaped by societal agencies
that enter the life of the individual from childhood all the way through the rest of ! :,
ine person's tife. The insriturions which influence the values of citizenship and i
{. ':' I
J.rnoat"ay are the family, church, school, media, government and, increasingly,
:
,

lr
non-government and people s organizations. !.:

The research shows that Filipinos do not usually acquire a sense of national .l;'
i, | - ., :

ldentity from the family. Children are taught the basic human values of honesty, 'ii,'r'
love, disclpline and respect for elders, but notlons of community are confined to
the iamily'and the concept of public good tends to be left out of family values. i,
il
However, cenain family practices do support democratic valueS. Family rules and
decisions are tempered by bargaining (bigaYan), thus giving room for negotiation.
Rules also he.lp the young learn to respect and live with others. The role of women
in urban and ruralfamilies is also changing forthe better. But generally, socializa-
tion within the family does not include the notion of communlty or natlon."
It is not definite whether and to what extent authoritarlan practices in the
family reinforce or run counter to democratlc values. On the one hand, discipline
.i:
is a necessary element of living in community with others and social responsibil- il

l-
 24 , MARTA SERENA I. DIOKNO

ity, a foundation of community life.0n the other hand, the association of good-
may become a factor that
ness witfr obedience (ang mabait na bata aY masunurin)
i*-p"i"i i"ilepenaeni th-ought, whic-h children normally express bv thinking out
loud, asking questions ,nd.,ren differing with the opinions of elders. The case
,irJi "f iriai families in Bukidnon tends to suggest' though somewhat tenta-
tively, that authoritarian practices in the family have not helped mold democratic
;i,;; "
What is clear, though, is that part of the reason why Filipinos have difficulty
primordial nature
in developing a sense oicommunity and the public good is the
of iinstrip afTiliation in the Philippines. Put in another way, the Filipino family is
obligations pale in com-
io ,trong a social unit rhat all other societal entities and
pirirrn.it,. family is also the most basic, and in far too many cases' the only
welfare agency that cares for its sick, sends its children to school, and so on. lt
should thln be no surprise that the family, more than the state, commands the
greatest loyalty and affiliation of its members. Why be loyalto an entitythat does
not help you, or comes to you only when it needs your vote?
On the other hand, extreme family ties are unhealthy for democracy. The
study refers not just to the oft-repeated example of family dynasties in politics
and Lusiness (and some trade unions), but to the more fundamental question of
building a iense of community outside of the family. For one, there is the seem-
ing inr"bifitv of the Filipino to care for the "anonymous stranger,"" ln marked
cortr"st to the ease with which support is extended to those one personally knows.
From the point of view of citizenship and democracy, the danger is clear. lnjustiCe
comes to be measured in terms of one's relation to the victim. lf the victim is
publicly known, as in the case of Ninoy.Aquino, or comes to be known, as in the
case of Flor Contemplacion, public empathy and solidarity can be expected. But
, xo!,if
ly (private) interest-and' public (nationa
good are highly demarcated, as the study of some urban mlddle class families in
Quezon City suggests." since hardly any connection is made between the two,
the tendency is to advance the family interest and ignore the public Aood, or
weigh the public good in terms of how it will benefit the family without regard for
the effect on others in the country or the community. The I 994 survey on values
confirms this finding. Close to B0 percent of the respondents agreed that "[t]he
needs of the family and not the larger majority are the most important consider-
ation in our decisions in life."'"
While families are prepared to teach their children basic human values and
instill discipline, they look to the schools to teach nationhood and its associated
values. A comparison of Social Studies textbooks during and after the Marcos
dictatorship shows that both promoted the values of national pride and identity,
national unity and loyalty to the nation." one welcome development is that the
textbooks today include human rights whereas the martial law textbooks did not.
Howevei present day textbooks bear traces of the past. For example, they stilt
tend to stress citizenship (largely defined as dutles) more than democracy (per-
: ceived as rights and freedoms).'Textbook discussions of rights a.e ,suaily'fol-
lowed bylongerdiscussions of obligations which portraygovernmentasthe source
and dispenser of rights. Also, more time and coverage are allotted to concepts of
citizenship than to democracy. As the student moves on to high schoot, gi"rter

.:ii:
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 on CitizenshiP and r25
Becoming a FiliPin o Citizen: PetsPectives

emphasisisplacedongovernment,sexpectationsofthepeople,particularlyVot-
ing in the elections'
Studies textbooks notes'
As the case study on the Social
sup'
associated with democracy are also
It is arguable if all the values embodied in the
hand' citizenship which is
portive of cittzensiii' On'it]t other of democ.
a.*".ra.ic origins of many values supportive
state can uproot .r,l. the
racy. For .*"'prt,iil" 'uru"
of "nutionul unity" when subsumed under
when it is the rallying point under the
aegis
concept or aemocru.y-tr'J,rr.r"n,
of a state-defi ned citi zenshiP'

lfcitizenship,astheSocialstudiestextbooksimply,wereanarrowsetof
obligations(state-oriented)anddemocracy,anequallynarrowbodyofentitle-
argue that training for_ citizenship would
not
rnents (people-orienteJi-on. could consisti of both duties and rights'
necessarily tead to dJmocracy. But citizenship one ought to lead to the other'
the service and training ior
each in
";'ih;;ih;t
Also,teachersdonothavemuchroomforflexibilityidthechoiceoftheirtgpics
time. The workshop on education pointed
in terms of both r"rron pr"nt lnd class
with the state-prescribed curriculum and there
out that all lesson pr"n, ,iirit.ompty
Hence ihe tendency of teachers to be
is hardly time to in.oipor"i. social'issues. is the gap between reality in
textbook-oriented. An equally importantronsideration
civics lessons taught in the classroom.
the world outside ttre sciiool'and the
The Catholic Church is another institution
that helPs shape ideas'of citizen'
where more than eightY per.cent of the PoPula'
shiP and democracY in a country
BishoPs Conference, the church
tion are Catholic. Through the influential Catholic
with social realities as discerned in
periodicallY issues Pastoral letters which deal
of the These statements, which are read d uring the Sunday
.mass, one c ardinal calls the church's "social j ustice ministry.""
form Part o
ition on such toPics as the envi'
Through the letters the church expresses its Pos
rs and most recently, opposition
ronment, human rig hts, overseas migrant worke
to changes in the Constitution'
mold public opinion is difficult to
Just how effectively the pastoral letters
a.selected parish in Davao indicates that the
.iuag.. A stuJy of their impaci on of the factors that limit
bishops' messages ur. noi uniformly accepted. Some
their effectiveness are the use of English, the lack of specific follow-up actions
ind related activities, the perceived incongruity between the. statement of the
;;,-1,,;;;;;d the lifestyle of the clergy, reservations of parishioners about the
if,rr.i,t interference in politics, and the fact that the statements are not distrib'
uted after they are read in church. The study also suggests that the fear of Cod
works as a more powerful driving force in accepting the pastoral let-
,orr,"ti,,r"t gospel.-'
terS than a serlous appreciation of the moral imperatlves of the
A similar study, this time of sermons glven by a Protestant pastor in a church
in Quezon City, alio points to the reservations of some churchgoers about the
cr.,rrcnt involvement in politicS.'' This despite the use of biblical terms to de-
scribe the concepts of citizenship: for example, the idea of a good publiC servant
aS a Steward rather than a proprietor of common resources, or the use of the
UiUtical exho.rtation to spread the "good news" to free people from blindness and
despalr as analogous to the task of a good citizen'

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 25 I MARIA SERENA I. DIOKNO

The inflUenCe Of media on public perceptions of citizenship is less defined, :

in part because of the variety of shows air-e,d on television and overthe radio' and 1l
1i
effect of media from other value-forming
ii* U.."rt. it is difficult to isolate theportrayals
social institutions. ln general, positive of citizenship in television shows ]:
t,igt tiglrt a citizen's loyalty to and defense of the country a desire for peace and
i:
Soiial harmony, and increasingly, ecological consciousness. ln contrast, the most
frequent negative images are Violence, betrayal of onel country weak enforce'
ment of the law, corrupt.politicians, and sexism.
The conference workshop on media observed that Philippine televisionl pen'
chant for happy endings affects how it portrays models of citizenship. The pri-
mary reason for this preference is the showl rating with the public: higher rat'
ings mean more money. But ethical beliefs that good always triumphs over evil or
that the good are rewarded and the bad, punished, apparently also influence the
choice of story endings. Sometimes these considerations prevail because of pres-
sure from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, a govern-
ment watchdog whose role teeters between that of a monitoring agent and out-
right censor. But the pull of ratings is harder to resist; hence the preference for
shows that entertain rather than teach values.
However, recent findings suggest a growing market for intelligent television
programs. For example, a survey of I 2 barangays in the second district of Quezon
City, a predominantly urban poor area, shows a high patronage of news and pub-
lic affairs shows, contraryto the stereotype image of the urban pooras preferring
mainlysoap operas." lntelligent programs and good ratings, then, are not mutu-
ally exclusive, and it is possible for media both to inform and make money.
At the same time the workshop asserted that media can and sometimes
does play a fiscalizing role in society by,providi ues for the discussion of
affairs. Also
in the format or presentation of media
programs. To ensure that the concept of citizenship is not drowned out by the
commercial interests of media owners, the workshop suggested that citizens regu.
larly feed back their reactions to media outfits.
covernment infrequently appears as a role modelof positive values. ln speak-
lng of the need for a "new citizenship," for instance, the president of a leading
bank called for "a renewat of popular government red by public seryants who see
themselves as citizens first: representative agqnts of the people, rather than the
purveyors of goods to a population of clients."" The fact is that government does
play a role in the transmission of values. Not only does it mirroi these values by
the behaviorof its officials and bureaucrats and the laws and policies it executesi
government can help form national identity in a number of ways.
First, it prescribds official programs such as the curriculum in state-run el.
ement-ary and high schools. second, it provides the framework and the environ-
ment for the exercise of rights and the fulfillment of social obligations. The
sec-
ond polnt is especially important in a culturally diverse society ui ifr. pt ilipji"ui. ..1
of the craft of governance," according t0 MARcH rhd Osmr, ,is a.rjoping
-Pan
institutions that simultaneously accommodate the.ideals of political .orrrniti ,i
equality, and reason and the ideals of pluralism and diversitv,-iniiitrtions
that are
capable of maintaining trust and mutual affection within
while simulta-
"';;iii .: I

il
Becomin a Filip inp Citizen: PersPectives on CitizenshiP and Democrecy. 27 I

I
l
I
based on
neousty accommodating end uringlv inconsis",t] :Y??I'-1L,,{F*'nas
I
I

afflnlty'
fimily iies, religion, ethnicity, language' or personal
i,'

at the central and local

Unfoftunately, case studies of government officials i.
as defined by their inter'
.u.f r irgg.it i 1-iit.t narrow perception of citizenship
i
i
f
for one study, l.
interuiewed
ests as politicians. ln the case of forrt.en congressmen :

for instance, elections emerged as the most frequent response to the question I
:

and citizenship that they deem most :

r"gurJing the practices relating to democracy Li

i;p";;*. lndeed, among th-ose interviewed who belong to the ruling (Lakas)
I
i

oartv. elections ranked equal in importance with freedom of expression and

citi-
in Valencia, a rural mu'
Il.ii"niJip.tion." tn the study of the local g6vernment premium on the citizen's duty
I

;ilp.li,i;i; rl,gsror Orientat, oificials placed a high

to pay taxes.
Moreover, !n the Philippine experience, government officials and institutions
have proved to be unreliable or unstable agents for prorr;otin9 responsible citi'
I
i

zensfrip and democracy. As Znlcrm notes, democracy will flourish as more and
I

*oi. .-.ni.ts of power emerge and points to the growth of non-governmentvalues and
oeoote's orqanizations as a positive development in support of democratic ii
and citizenihip." First, through advocacy, awareness campaigns and organizing
activities, these organizations help communities work out common goals and I

carry out self-help programs, the uttimate objective being the empowerment of
the people. By taking these initiatives, communities are then able to implement
their own ldeas of democracy and the common good. Seconfl, these activities
also foster a sense of community on which the practice of citizenship is grounded.
Many NCOs and people's organizations are able to link their programs with the l

larger questions that affect the nation as.a whole, so that eveh as community and

on-and faces -
iimitir pro more and more possible.
Conference participants stated that the pafticipation of people in governance
is determined in large part by the level of the communityS organization, the exist-
ence of functional leaders and members, and the presence of a livelihood or r:e-
source base which can enable the community to sustain its efforts; in short, their
capabilities. .Non-government and peopleb organizations are particularly effec-
tive ln utilizing non-formal venues of expression and decision-making that influ-
ence policy makers in both the government and the private sector. Legislators rely
on media, for example, to gauge public reactions to social issues.--
Jus-t as capaLiilities help form identities, so do identitiEs help enhance capa-
blllties."This ls evldent in efforts by NGOs to engage in value formation in their
leadership .training, .seminars on gender sensitivity and other human resource
development programs. The case study of the leadership training program by an
NCO speaks well of the impact of thF training on the recipient leaders and indi-
rectly on the rest of the community.oo Not only did the grassroots leaders acquire
personal skills that benefited them dlrectly (for example, communication and in:
teraction skills) and expanded their area of responsibility; they, too, gained knowl- :t" I

.
edge and ability that benefited their constltuents, such as enhanced skills in ne- t.;:,:.,.

gotiating and resolving conflicts. lndeed, the leaders attrlbuted the increase in
the membership of thelr organizations to more effective leadership.

l
 (

28 r MAR,IA SERENA I. DIOKNO

But some workshops noted the tendency of certain NCOs to impose what
they think is best for the community even though the community thinks differ-
entfy. This has been the experience of certain indigenous communities, for ex'
Several workshop paftlcipants also observed that some NCOs view their
projects in the communities as income-earning activitles and the communlties
";y1pte.
themselves as sources of livelihood. Other NCOs overstay in the communities.
Sometimes, as a result, communities become dependent on NGOs. lt therefore
appears that as in the case of church and government leaders whose moral cred'
ibility (or lack of it) affects their influence on value formation, the same applies to 'ir.l,
NCO workers.
,.:
:

Mqcro-Foctors ot the Societol Level

! ..
At the macro level, the factors that come into play in creating solidarity and i;
democratic values vary accordlng to the definition of society. At least two sub- i:
l:
levels co-exist: the immediate community with which one readily identifies one's l.i:,,
self; and the larger; less intimate grouping of which one is a member, however .,| :

inactlve or detached such membership might be. The project findings show that :

the degree (or lack) of identiflcatlon with the nation depends;,among others, on
the type of communityto which one belongs and the extent to which it is served
by, or benefits from, instruments of the state.
Certain communities who live by oral tradition, for instance, and who prac-
tice communal tifestyles do not identify at all with the Filipino nation.'' lnstead
they see themselves as a whole community, with their own set of values and '',,:.:'
shared goals, struggling to meet their own needs and respond to their own prob-
lems. They may or may not vote, and live a life totally their own. Government
.
-- :i:-,,: -.i..,-.,.--..declsions-hardly affect them and basic servlces are out of their reach. Rather than
l' -,:: --i,:cltlzenship:las:commonly identified with the state, communitCrlan values prevail
ln all matters of tollective concern: the choice of leaderi,'ihiring of resources
and the resolution of conflict. They are, in a community sense, true citizens in a
way individualistic urbanites could never be. But they are not likely to consider :I
themselves Filipino. I

Then there is, too, the practice of multi-layered affiliation. Muslim respon- ,:i
!
dents in one case study found it difficult to define citizenship as the concepr
seemed alien to them. " When asked more general questions about how they view
their membership in the community, several layers of .affiliation surfaced. The
flrst and closest to the core of identity was affiliation by clan or kinship; the -l
second, by-ethnic group (e.9., Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug); the third, by reli- ,l
glous beliefs, (in which such distinctions as Muslim-by-name ind Muslim-by-prac-
tice are beginning to emerge); the fourth, by political affiliation (with a srrong
allusion to the Moro struggle
- past with
last and apparently least, by identity
and present
- for self-determination); and
.,1

&rf the nation. ',:

Furthermore, the question the respondents found most difficult

to answer
was: What ls it like to be a Filipino citizen? This is because "Filipinor,-connotes
"Christlan,*which also connotes domination. Some of those interviewed
replied
that they are..(literally) Filiplnos on paper, that is, Filiplno is the citizensnip tney
indicate on all legal documents (residence certificates, passport applications,
etc.).
But beyond that, their formal identification is, first and foremost,
Muslim and
i,.
Moro.

i .,-
"
'i'!'rli:

.i i.
Becoming a Fillpino Citizen: Pcrspectives on Cltizcnship and Dcmocracy . 29

The multi-layered concept of citizenship is probably true of other communi'

ties aS well. For instan€e, in lsabela in northern Luzon, the folk concept of umili
(roughly, citizen) derives from onel relatlon to the ancestry of the land (the "in'
born"), as distinct from membership acquired by migrants (the "out-born"). There,
'being" a citizen (umilil is more hig.hly prized than "becoming" a citizen (through,
say, reglstration in the barangay).-" The first assumes a shared past and culture
which the latter has no claim to.
Also, identification with the state is likely to vary according to the extent
that the people have access to basic services and enjoy other benefits of citizen-
ship. lt would not be inaccurate to say that the more limited the communityb
access to these seryices, the greater the number of layers that come between the
community and the state. For individuals and communities to want to belong to i.' i

the nation, therefore, it is imperative that government attend to their needs.

The dichotomy of community and nation also raises problems in the exer-
cise of rights which are guaranteed by the state but which may not be recognized
by customary practice or tradition and vice-versa. For example, another case study
of the legal system cited the difficultyof some Muslim women in exercising their
right to choose their husbands or Bractice a profession, prerogatives which, by
customr are reserved for the men. More recently, the public execution of two
alleged criminals by the Moro lslamic Liberation Front exposed the disparity in
the rights system. As MtLF leader cHaoz,ruJmran explained, "we abide by the shaiiah
laws which (mete out) death to those who committed hbinous crimes." He added:
"Philippine laws are man-rnade while lslamic laws are made by cod. This (execu-
tlorl) is legal because this is in accordance with the Holy Koran."' on ttre other
hand, the government has given no life.to the constitutional provislon on respect
enous concept of iancestral,.domain;
;-r,i.r=t!e=11!i_o ,.1.. _:.*-
e, like eihnic a role in the promotion of''balia.social
cepts. The proJect findlngs clearly demonstrate that the use of En glish as the
privileged medium of official and private transactions has worked against the
development of citizenship and democratic values. The conference workshop on
the workplace, for instance, clted it as an obstacle to dialogue between laboG
rnanagement and labor officials. Because collective barg aining agreements, labor
laws and policies do not have popularversions, they are apt to be mlsunderstood.
Business executives interviewed in one case study agreed that the use of
English
poses such a hind rance. 4
not enough dlscourse on democracy takes ptace
,_ our
ln languages. " Concepts of cltizenshlp and democracy then tend to be
-..ft:T_1_l1ry"f,perspective,
alien
notlons superimposed on the people rather than concepts they themselves
evolved.
By using Philipplne languages, however, these ideas Lecomi inJtgenlzed
ana ai-
cessible to all, and not merely to those who read and write en-g[ishlfhe
"ppi"p.ii
tlon of these.concepts by the people is the first and necessi.y;i;p rn the process
of lnternatization. But as long as the ideas are eipressed in'a forergn language,
the practlce of citizenship and democracy wifl coniinu. to u.torinated
personalities. by erite

Historically, Filipino political dlscourse has been wrltten in

the tanguage of
the colonizer (spanlsh and tater, English). lt has also tended to deal
tlons rather than reality. Thus on two levels the discours" rrff"ri, in
with abstrac-
the
content, whiih appeais far removed irornthe .on.ur* oithl-are,"gematter of
Firipino;

l
 30 r lt1ap16 SEREHA t. DloKNo

and ln its medium, which is alien and open

to only a few. writings on democracy,
peas-
ioiinrt"n.", tend to emphasize political rights and freedoms, while Filipino
antS and workers measure their freedoms in terms
of land,f mployment, and ba-
sic needs.
are propound-
But positive signs are emerging. More-and more communities
ing on ihetr own ld-eas of citizenship, different as these might be from
formal,
they do so in their own languages. The potential of lan-
Western constructs; and
jr"g. to alter power relations is tremendous, as shown in a study of the poor
lgraZrh"riiiown of lnipon, Quezon." The lown has a community-based broad'
:,i
iisting program which deals with a wide array of concerns: news, historical and
".1
.utturit pro-gru*t, including a "radio school-on-the'aif segment. The study sho-ws
.,.ir : ..1 that by using Filipino as the medium in all the radio programs,
tiaditional and literate knowledge achieve equal statds and become
available for comment, comparlson, criticism and closeilanalysis by everyone
.... power and prestige relations are thus altered: between the literate and
the rion-literate; between those articulate ln Flllplno and those artlculate in
Engllsh .,. [the latter belng] viewed as more prestigious; between the status of
'-
traditlonal and of Iiterate knowledge.
:t::' ,l
:i -
,...
Language, therefore, is power and tocal communlties who intervene in the
democratizatlon process can do so effectively only if thelr articulations are their
own.
Flnally, the absence or presence of 'the soclal requlsltes for the exercise of
citizenship and democracy determine the nature and extent of their practlce. Pov-
erty or wealth, power or dependence, and the structure of social relations heighten
. .., or..r"educe democracy and pro-active citizenship. Iln the matter -gt_Ihe workersi
y to see how. sub- human wages-can effectively
neutrallze ln democratic ex€rCises. Silence ln exchange for
job security can well subvert democratic practices. Too, the demands of liveli.
hood restrlct a citizen's ability to interuene in political processes. ln Valencia the
local government regularlf conducts the pulung-pulong (popular assembly) as a
venue for consulting the people. The experlence has been successful, in paft be-
I -: , cause it involves face-to-face contact and the expectation of some material ben-
efit for the people. But its effectiveness has been llmited because it takes the
farmers away from their livelihood.'o
Hierarchical structures (or "hierarchizedl' as ZrALcrm prefers to call them) do
not generally support democratic values, whether in theworkplace or in the coun,
try, On the contrary they breed patronage and dependence. The I 994 survey on
values noted that in general, Filipinos tend to depend on thelr leaders to sotve
problems, rather than on themselves. Asked whose responsibllity it is to solve
-- the countryl problems,-64.2'percent of the respon_dents said it was the leadersf
task while 35.8 percent replied it was the cltlzens'." One of the countn/s leading
buslnessmen interviewed in a case study complained about thas attitude. ,,Effei-
tlve citizenship," he said, "depends on people thinking of themselves as produc.
tive people who can build things and do things; people who come up with ideas
and resources; people who are bold; people who are accountable. Thl problem is
that today there are few places where peopld can develop these capacities. ln-
stead, people have learned to expect to get things frorn the government and to
demand that the government flx things,"'r -

,l
Becoming a Filipino Citizen: Perspectives on Citizenship and Democracy t 3l

Social inequity gives rise to the perception that courts and laws generally
favorthe rich and that democracy is only for a few Fillpinos. From powerlessness
springs the vulnerability to authority or to forces outside one's control, which, in
turn, weakens the practice of citizenship. For instance, the case study of media's
depiction of citizenship asked selected viewers about their reaction to a televl-
sion drama in which a witness to a murder refused to tg.stify in court. (The wit-
ness eventually did because she was bothered by her conscience). The respon-
dents said that while they believe it is a citizen's duty to testify to a crime he or
she has witnessed, they understand the witness' reluctance to testify and would
not blame her if she did not, because in real life the witness has no protection
against retaliation by the accused.'3
On the other hand, the effective delivery of government services does en-
courage citizens to carry out their responsibiiities to the nation. tn Valencia, for
example, the people willingly pay their taxes ithe collection rate stands at 60
percent) because the municipal government subsidizes electrical consumption
from taxes.'- This is precisely the added value of providing for the people's basic
needs. lt is much more than an obligation on the part of government, or expecta-
tions of benefits on the part of citizens. lt also has to do with developing a sense
of cornmunity and the underpinning values of care and compasslon. As the study ;

suggests, when government fulfills its obligation to the people, citizens willingly irl :

respond in kind. i
I
j

Potentiol Areos of Conftict

,identity and a net of sclid

tion. One is that ident co n struct

belong and do not belong to the group or community. National identity. as Mancx
and oseucorrectly point out, has both "integrative and divisive effects,"" encour-
aging a sense of community which at the same time is grounded on the notion of
differentiation from others. One effect, therefore, could be Intolerance of outsid-
ers. ln the Philippines, Muslim and Chinese Filipinos have been targets of intoter-
ant attitudes.
The second problem is that identification wlth a group competes with other
types of memberships..The I994 survey, for exampie, aikea how the Fitipino
attachment to the family could be used to develop a commitment to the rargei
soc_iety.* As this study shows, apart from family-"nlliiii"r,'.,tni.iay, retigion
and soclal class or sector also compete with identiiy with the state. rr,ru,i"il.ii"i
membership and commitment could lead to confiict, whether openly as in
the
former Moro'rebellion, or passively as in indifference to lssues of naitonat
con-
cern.
Moreove6 in the practice of democracy the debate has long been
the balance
between indrviduat autonomy (rhe freedom to make p.rronaiitrotces)
publtc aood (the individuats responsibility to society). .nJir,,.
fnaione,s freedom be-
comes another's bondage is the extreme outcome of the failure
io strike a batance
between tndtviduat and sociar good. white it is easy i";t;';"od
good democrat, in practice the values that supporr citizensnii citizen is a
ana democraci

,i
 32 I MARIA SERENA I. DIOKNO.

might not always cornplement each other. It is these potential areas of conflict
thit constantly challenge democratic exercises'
j

Procticol Dilemmos .l
One of the questions raised in the conference was how to find the middle
I

ground between tlre right of workers to be consulted and the prerogative of man' I

Iga*.nt to make decisions. ln the family and the school, parents and teachers
I

eiercise their authority even though their practices might be poor examples of
I

democratic values. The legal system can both be a m3ans of empowerment and a I
t

tool of oppression. There are other gray areas: private profit vs. public good; citizenl I

obedience and respect for authority vs. the assertion of his or her rights; workers'
I

passivityvs. their duty to act collectively; communal objectives vs. individual aspi- I

iations for private ownership; community vS. nation, freedom vs. discipline, and so
I
I

on. I

The conflict between individual rights and social obligations is illustrated in i

this excerpt from an interview with a congressman (a retired military officer). I

I
I

The concepts of free speech and a free press are very important be-
I

cause they say [these are] the basis for the securlty of the citizen against I
I

abuse by the powerful institutions including the government. But the exerclse ,i
I

of these freedoms must be tempered by responsible cltizenship. Freedom

must be canalized along public interest. Dlsclpline has becoyne an endemlc
problem because we tend to stretch the limits of freedom to the detrlment of
public welfare, of safety. That is perhaps why we take carefree acts like
jaywalking, reckless driving, or litterlng for granted. We must begin to change I

our basic attitude towards freedom and responslbility even in those small l
l

thlngs-. before we can go for the bigger things like national stablllty or :
't
I

progress. l

The obvious appeal of the congressman is for discipline, without which free- I

I
I

dom can easily be abused. The danger, however, lies in splitting the two, in di- I

chotomizing rights and responsibilities. one solution is to simply view the exer- I

cise of rights as a citizen's obligation and the fulfillment of obligation as an en-

I
I
I

abling factrir in the exercise of the citizen's rights. As Mmcx and ossr emphasize, I

I
citizenship is
I

"an identity that imposes obligatlons ln the service of liberty .... A claim I

li i
to citizenship is a tacit agreement to conflrm'and elaborate an ethos of civic t, i
I

virtue, duty and obligatlon. Slnce the rights of citizenship adhere to the lden. I
I

tlty of citlzen, they are conditional on being recognized as a proper citizen. !n : I

parttcular, they depend on accepting the responsibilitles of cltlzenshlp., s0

The citizen must therefore be not just free or not just responsible; the citi-
zen must be free and responsible.
That duties are lntegral to citizenship is nothing new. voting, paying taxes
and obeyin_g laws are all normally understood as being part of cittienship. -But the
addition of rights enlarges the perspective from a pissive to an active one. The
knowledge and asseftion of rights are intrinslc to the practice of citizenship, foi
they broaden the idea of responsibility to include whit the business sector, for
example, calls social responsibility, and others call social justice. Looked at
ln

i.t
 I FillPino Citizcn: PcrsP ectives on Citizenship and Democracy ' 33
Becomlng

and welfare is a citizenl responsibility'

another way, respect for the other's right
One therefore cannot inrt. another,
irive wildly, or thro.w garbage anywhere in
entitled to be safe, healthy and re-
the name of freedom,ir the other is clearly
spected as a Person.
who fulfill their obliga'
ln truth, the public good is best served by citizens
tested this yery notion of citizen-
tions ind exercise'their rtihts. The dictatorship Do the first and
duties and their rights'
,'fri, UV Jri"ing a wedge U-ui*.en citizens' ln the process the pub-
forqet the second, *r'rln" message of authoritarian rule.
lic iood was'severelY injured'
popular power was a genu'
This is why the terrnination of the dictatorship by
ine act of citizenship. That it might still not be commonly
viewed as such is a
good obey and never
i.rtirr.rt to the resiiience of the outdated view that showscitizens the contrary. The only
;;;;; ;ihority. The experience of the Philippines
true function of citizenship is to serve democracy, to save it whe-n it is underthreat,
to broaden the scope of democratization to its limits, giving free rein to various
cultural and other expressions. The threat must clearly be directed at the broader
society for democracy's intent should not be the self-serving interest of the few in
;;;.; ln the process of exercising citizenship, power is redistributed and marginal
luttrr"r and iocial sectors, liberated. Democracy finally becomes real.

Community v. Notion
As for the dichotomY b etween community and nation, it is evident that the
gray areas arise from a lack of identification with the nation or a narrow, exclu'
sionary sense of communitY. And it is here where the greatest challenge to citi-
-zenshlp pract ice of citizens
as ours? Yes,
rences ln Fillpino perteiitions aie rooted ln the culture and history of the
community, the sectoral affiliation (peasant, worker, business, government), and
access to the benefits of citizenshlp. But a combination of factors, rather than a
single factor alone, heightens or weakens the sense of citizenship. Muslim Fillpi'
noi feel detached from their Filipino identity not only because of religion, but
also because of a long history of domination and neglect by foreign colonial rul'
ers and a succession of Filipino governments. The Combination of factors here is
significant test the impression develop that culture by itself is the sole determi-
nant of a sense of belonqing. Other segments of society who have been victims of
official neglect or outright exploitation, such as tenant farmers, have cause to
feel the same way even if they are not culturally bound in the way indigenous
communlties are.
The point is that some of the social identitles could also be supportive of
one another rather than competitive wlth each other. A hundred years ago, for
::.i:,:, example, Anons Borurracro and later Apor-rxaruo MaetNt used the concept of family to
describe the Flllpino nation. Treat your countrymen as your kin, they urged the
people, in order to build a brotherhood (kapatlran) of Filipinos. Concepts such as
these are useful from the viewpoint of both the moral and transformative aspects
of identity construction. The instiumental aspect, on the othdr hand, calls for a
mode of governance that builds on identities arising from a range of notions of a
community and creates institutions that foster solidarity within a community and
across communities comprising the larger whole of society. Thls task is not only

,|
 34 r MARIA SERENA I. DIOKNO i

.t

government's but belongs as wel! itizens. As a respondent in one study stated, :i

ihe work of citizens is to reclair, ;tics from politicians and make it the public ri
work of citizens. ,*,'s, lr
l

i
rl
,.1
DemocrocyAgendo
i:
The fundamental question, then, is two-fold: how to develop a sense of com- I

munity and public aood, and how to empower the pe-ople. Participants in the .
iii
i,
Confeience gave many recommendations in the area.of norms, processes, poli'
I
i

cies and structures. Some of their suggestions are already being done though i'. :

evidently not enough and not quickly enough. Hence they bear repeating.
To organize the democracy agenda arising from the conference papers and
discussions, Mrncu and OuEru's framework of democratic.political development
and Pnzewonsrr's concept of effective citizenship are usef,ul guides. The first in-
volves creating "a sense of solidarity that connects the individual citizen to a
broad political community of others and organizes other belongings in a way that
enriches that community"; forming "specificidentlties (character, habits of thought,
senses.of reality, and codes of conduct) that fit into and support a democratic
political orde/'; and building "institutions... [thatl civilize expressions of solidar-
ity anO confrontation of conflict among identities."'o
The second framework focuses on the political and social requirements of
effective citizenship, namely: official conduct in accordance with the law, a judi-
cial system applied equally to all, and the social conditions for the exercise of
citizens' rights.u'
-ln line with these frameworks, the project proposes the following action

(t) lmprove the political and social environment and reduce poverty through :l

structural reforms in order to foster a sense of community and enable citizens

to exercise their rights and fqlfill their obligations.
Unjust hierarchical structures in society impede the empowerment of the
people and cause their alienation from society. ln such a situation, a sense of
belonging can hardly take shape.
lnequiiable structures can be corrected in several ways. one is through re- l

distributive mechanisms in such areas as land ownership, taxation system, and

allocation of benefits and services. The provision of services will not only reduce
the peoplel poverty but also encourage them to reciprocate in terms of tax pay-
ments and other obligations to the state and society. Other means are the delivery
of Justice and the equal application of the law. Legal and political inequalities
erect barriers and uphold exclusionary rather than inclusionary principles. A third
is to ri:structure hierarchical systems even in the private sector, such as flattening
out the c-orporate structure so as to encourage greater participation. ln the loni
run' a reformed structure will boost productivity because *oikert and low teve'i
employees are made to feel they are part of a productive community. Finally, to
further enhance the power of citizens, the electoral system needs to be reformed.

i
:l'
 i: r: ..

on CitizenshiP and DemoctacY t 35

Becoming a Fil ipin o citizen:

institutions responsibte for value formation

(2) Continually re-examine societal
sothattheyincutca.",'",r'"'thanindoctrinate,democraticandcitizenshipval.
ues.
Thisre.examinationshouldStartwiththefamilysothatit,too,includes
family values.it holds dear' one suggestion
democracy and citizenihi;;;;;s1he
is to teach these vatuei ,i 1,o*.
iather than leave this job entirely to the school'
practices in the family, such as expanding
Another is to strengthen democratic
g."a* equality becomes internalized. Still another is to
the role of women ,o ir.,i*
diatofuL'* trrrt childien (and parents) learn to live with
and
encourage more
respect different oPinions' I

content of its textbooks by

For its part, the school must Strive to balancethe
social issues' Both content and
allowing greater fl..1;iiity in the discussion of are best taught in demo-
to be reviewed for democratic concepts
;;;;;i...a their role as moral guardians of society by
cratic ways. churches can broaden Christian ones'
pr.i.ntin6 their mesiages as moral values rather than exclusively
have the same values although they
6,i..i r"f illons and .uririri gtorps probably"church of the poot'', for example, is a
differently. r-he evangelical
more inclusionary .on..pt than onJthat insists on
"ni.rrri.ir.,em rigid interpretations that ex'
clude other faiths.
potential income earn'
Media owners must see that intelligent programs are
a conicious effort could also be made to prisent news from other regions of
"rs.
,t .ornt.y (and not just the major cities) so that the concerns of local communi-
"
ties are wetded into the public consciousness'
On the part of government, public.accountability would take
on added mean-
ing.,if rulers.were to teach by example. Beyond the rhetoric, no Serious assess-
mint nas yet been made of government's "moral recovery" program' for example'
By focusing on the values of popular pafticipation and social responsibility'
and-advocacy programs of NCOs and POs enlarge the notion of public
the training-pro-active
good and citizenship. These activities should continue as NCOs take
I"ra not to infringe on autonomous decision-making processes of local communi-
ties.
The idea behind these effofts is to develop a mode of thinking that will cri-
tique or rethink existing concepts as they are taught, communicated and practiced,
such self-reflection being par-t of the transformative aspect of identity construc'
tion.

(3) lncorporate cross-cultural activities in public and private sector programs,

including those of schools, churches, NGOs and POs, so as to recognize ethno'
linguistic and culturat diversity in the country and encourage the sharing of
experiences,
Dual or multiple affillations can be jointly maintained but when they come
into conflict, the affiliation farthest away from the core - usually identity with
the nation suffers. The value system that props up citizenship and democracy
-
must therefore be buttressed by concrete activities tHat will bring people across
cultures togdther. A distorted depiction of ethnicity and culture needs to be cor-
rected wherever it appears, on televisibn, in schoolbooks, training programs or
official documents.
 35 r f,fas6 SERENA t. DlOKltO

Examples of CrOSs-cultural activities are the inclusion of indigenous con.

cepts and values in the school curricula and media coverage, inter-faith dialogue,
support for indigenous learning systems, interface of customary law and the le-
gal system, and even basic awareness programs on the identity and culture of
indigenous'communities. By learning the histories of the whole and of its parts,
'ii
the shared elements of 'consciousness and the concept.of public good will even' ti
I

tually surface. ii
ii
Li 1

(4) Further promote the use of Filipino and Philippine languages in all transactions li

so ar to enable the articulation of citizenship and dEmocratic views and values. i

The project shows that language can be a tool of empowerment. Official r

plans, laws and policies must therefore be translated into Filipino and Philippine i

languages. The couns should provide for a system of stenognphic translation.

Statements from churches, labor bargaining agreementq..and company directives )l

should be bilingual, and more public affairs programs, conducted in Filipino and i:
tl
local languages.
The purpose here is not so just to advance the cause of nitionalism (laud-
able in ltselD but to enhance the capability of citizens and communities to engage
in issues of governance and planning at various levels.

(5) continue to harness institutiona! as well as informat meghanisms that open

up space for the exercise of citizenship qnd democracy.
The best way to advance democracy is to combine institutionat and informal
means as in the case of the trade union in Matabon that went both to court and l

streets to ress its case. Some of th

I i:1 ''. :'

g with unies po
cies, and still others are a product of s uccessful partnerships between a group or
secorand government. None of these mechanisms belong to any one group and
the challenge is not only to harness these means but also to contin uously create
new ones in pursuit of the collective good.

I
l
I'
 t

DemocracY t 37
Becoming e Fili pino Citlzen : Pcrspcctivcs on Citizcnsh,p and

ENDNOTES

lJamesG.MarchandJohanP.olsen,Democraticcovernance(NewYork:TheFreePress,l995)'p.2'
Press, 1995)' p'
aemocracy (cambridge: Cambrldge university
2 Adain przeworski, et at., iustaina ble
Unlversitv' "Survey on contemporary Phillp-
, i,li,""r, statistics office (NSo) and Ateneo de Manila
plne Values', 1994,
4 March and Olsen, PP' 2-3'
5JeanL.cohenandAndrewArato,CivllSocietYandPoliticalTheory(Massachusetts:MlTPress'1992)'
p. 5.
6 March and Olsen, PP. 243-244'
7 March and olsen, P,243.
8' Ellen Tordeslllas,'Perceptions of cabinet Members and Legislators on Democracy and citizenshlp
and the Role of 6overnment"'
9 March and Olsen' P. 56. Leaders on Democracy and
loAlfredo Panlzales, quoted in Renato Lee,'Perceptions of
Corporate
CitlzenshlP".
f gawfn dela Cruz, "Perceptions of Lltigants on Court Decisions"
f
I2 dela Cruz.
I 3 Przeworskl, P. 39.
I 4 March and Olsen' P. 74'
I 5 March and olsen, P. 55.
l6 Femando Zialclta, 'Factors, Forces and Values that Undermlne or Promote Democratic Values
and
Civlc Duty ln Filipino Political Culture'.
l7 NSO-Ateneo survey.
I E Arturo Nuera, 'PercePti ons of Workers on Democracy
and Cltizenship'.
l9 Maria Lulsa Doronila' 'Overvlew of Fillpino Perspectlves on Democracy and Cltlzenshlp'. .
:,1
.::..
:'I

20 Contemplaclon, a domestic ed of murdering another Flllplno housemaid,

out the death penalty. ln a spontaneous outpour'
held in'Mranlla and other parts of the country.
e Phlllpplne governmentst. causlng-
relatlons e resignation of the Labor secretary and top Phl
embassy ofrlclals ln Singapore, Balabagan was luckier. (Her case came after Contemplaclo n's.)
Accused of kllllng her employer! husband i n the course of an attempted rape, she wls
punlshed
with several lashes and returned to the Philippines.
2 I Andres Soriano lll, quoted ln Lee.
22 Anna Marle Karaos, "Perceptions on and Practice of Democracy and Citizeilship in an Urban, Middle
Class Family'.
23 Mina Contado,'Perceptions on and Practice of Democracy and Citizenshlp in a Rural, Lower Class
Famlly'.
24 Zlalclta.
2 5 Karaos.
26 NSO-Ateneo survey.
27 Lorna Segovla, "Perspectives on Democracy and Citizenshlp ln Textbooks'.
2.8 segovla.
29 Rlcardo Cardlnal Vidal, clted In Renato Mabunga, "Values Reflected ln and a Community's Responses
to the Pastoral Letters of the Catholic Eishops Conference of the Phlllpplnes'.
30 Mabunga.
3l Rebecca Tones, "ty'alues Reflected ln and a Communltyt Responses to the Sermons of a Protestant
Pastoa.
32 Harnessing Self-Reliant lnitiatives and Knowledge (HASIK), lnc-, Anlnaw: Ang mgaMaralitang Taga-
Lungsod ng Quezon City (Quezon Clty: Hasik, 1997), p. 54.
33 Quoted ln Renato Lee. "Perceptlons of Democracy and Citizenship in the Phlllpplne Buslness Sector."
::.. r'i:',. 34 March and Olsen, p. 55.
3 5 Tordesillas.
.] '],',i:
 {

,:,, 1:.;
38 r MARIA SERENA !. DIOKNO

rPerceptions of Local Covernment Offlcials and Civll Seryants on Democracv and !

36 Adrian Cristobal, Jr., .:
Citlzenship and the Role of Government"'
37 Zialcita,
36 Tordeslllas'
'l
39 March and Olsen, PP. 03-107'
on the Politlcal Culture of
40- MariaAngeles G. Lapefia and RobertJavler,Jr,, "The lnfluence of an NCO
a
I
Community: An lniilal Analysis of tire Experience of the Educatlon for Iife Foundation',
4l Doronila.
42 Wahab lbnhlm Gulalal,'Perceptions and Values of Democracy and Citlzenshlp in Muslim Mindanao".
43 Lapefra and Javler.
44 lsabellta S. Antonlo, 'lmage of the Legal System among Ordlnary Flliplnos in Mindanao',
45 Philtpplne Daily lnquirer,9 october I997'
46 Lee.
47 Zldcita,
. 4E Ooronila.
49 Doronila.
50 Cristobal.
5l Nso-Ateneo surubY.
52 Alfonso Yuchengco, cited in Lee.
53 Yolanda Fuertes, 'Perspectives on Democracy and Cltlzenshlp as Reflected ln Selected Televlslon
Programs".
54 Crlstobal.
55 March and Olsen, p. 52.
56 NSO-Ateneo survey.
57 REp. Eduardo Ermlta, quoted ln Tordesillas.
58 March and Olsen, pp, 56-57.
59 Lee.
60 March and Olsen, p. 51.
6l Przeworski, pp. 34-35.
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