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The Rise of Philippine NGOs as Social Movement

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Page 1: The Rise of Philippine NGOs as Social Movement
Page 2: The Rise of Philippine NGOs as Social Movement

Report Outline

A. What is Civil Society?B. Reinterpreting Civil Society: The Context of

Philippine NGO MovementC. Historical Sketch of Philippine NGOs as Social

MovementD. Alternative Development

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The Meaning of

Civil Society

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What is Civil Society?

Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated.

London School of Economics Centre for Civil Society

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What is Civil Society?

• Civil society is the proper stage for the evolution and development of democratic processes, institutions and political structures.

• Civil society is an agent for achieving a good society.

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Cause - oriented groups or organizations

Unelected meddlers and hecklers without any real

political base

BestBest

WorstWorst

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The different institutions and units that make up civil society are:

•NGOs•POs•Registered Charities•Religious/Faith-based Institutions•Academe•Media•Business associations•Gender, political and social movements and parties•Trade Unions•Self-help groups•Advocacy groups•Basic communities where ordinary people live

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Mechanisms that Encourage Civil Society Involvement

• The 1987 Philippine Constitution raises this participation and involvement to the stature of a constitutional policy.

• The Local Government Code looks at NGOs and POs as partners of LGUs in the development and promotion of the welfare of the communities.

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Mechanisms that Encourage Civil Society Involvement

• RA 7941 mandates proportional representation of party-list representatives in Congress.

• The Initiative and Referendum Act recognizes constitutionally enshrined right of citizens to directly propose, enact or approve, or reject any act or law or part thereof passed by Congress or any local legislative body.

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Reinterpreting Civil Society: The Context of

the Philippine NGO Movement

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Concept of Civil Society

• Public Good and the Public Interests as Core Constructs

• Autonomy from the State: A Qualified Relationship of Independence

• Plurality and Diversity in Civil Society• Dynamism of Civil Society

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Dynamism of Civil Society

• Dynamism is one characteristic of CS. It is transformative because:

• It is not a natural or meta-historical reality but rather develops and changes over periods of time;• It transforms as it interacts with the state; and• Conflict and contradiction is endemic to it due

to the varying interests, the plurality and diversity.

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Concept of Civil Society

• Conflicts and Contradictions in Civil Society• Respect for Libertarian and Socialist Variants

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Socrates • Conflicts within society should be resolved

through public argument using ‘dialectic’, a form of rational dialogue to uncover truth.

• Public argument through ‘dialectic’ was imperative to ensure ‘civility’ in the polis and ‘good life’ of the people

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Plato• The ideal state was a just society in which

people dedicate themselves to the common good, practice civic virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation and justice, and perform the occupational role to which they were best suited.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Aristotle • Polis was an ‘association of associations’ that

enables citizens to share in the virtuous task of ruling and being ruled.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Thomas Hobbes• The social contract theory of Thomas Hobbes set

forth two types of relationship. One was vertical, between the Leviathan and the people; therefore, the latter submitted themselves to the former. The second system was the realm of horizontal relationship among the people. In that system, people, under the surveillance of Leviathan, were compelled to limit their natural rights in a way that would not harm the rights of others.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

John Locke• Civil society is the arena where the

inconveniences and insufficiencies of the state of nature are rectified through mutuality of contrast and consent. He recognized the existence of a social contract between the state and civil society, with the latter being preserved as the “unconstitutional” state is dissolved.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Thomas Paine• He denied any positive quality and role for the

state.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Tocqueville• Active and strong political institutions are both

necessary and desirable for freedom and equality to be achieved. While recognizing the role of the state in avoiding strife, disorder and the violation of democratic values, he suggested mechanisms for preventing monopolies of power. He spoke of Civil Society as one such mechanism beyond immediate state control.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Hegel• He regarded the state as the embodiment of

the highest form of reason, and thus it was perfectly suited to regulate human affairs. Our everyday relationships in society, he said tend to be marked by conflict and confusion. The state, as the epitome of disinterested wisdom, mediates and provides direction.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Marx• The state, he said, is very much a product of

the conflict s of social life. It exists not to mediate but to enforce the dominance of one class over the rest of society. To understand the nature of the state and the role it plays in society, we must, he argued, look into the interplay of classes at the level of social production.

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Antonio Gramsci• Gramsci located civil society in the political

superstructure. He underlined the crucial role of civil society as the contributor of the cultural and ideological capital required for the survival of the hegemony of capitalism. Rather than posing it as a problem, as in earlier Marxist conceptions, Gramsci viewed civil society as the site for problem-solving.

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Organic Intellectuals

• Critical press • Independent POs• Social Movements• Development NGOs

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Organic Intellectuals

• Vision– Society free from oppression

• Mission– Empower people

• Objective– Absorb the state into civil society

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Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse

Jurgen Habermas• To be able to protect men and women from

the subjection of the “economy” and of the bureaucracy, he proposed a return to lifeworld conception of Civil Society – autonomy from the drive for power and profit so as to avoid succumbing to economic and political power.

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Reconsidering Civil Society: Our Present Context

• Civil Society as an Organized Citizenry• Civil Society’s Power to Bargain, Negotiate and

Influence Power• Civil Society Framework: Not “Either-Society-

or-State”

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Reconsidering Civil Society: Our Present Context

• Civil Society is not Devoid of Politics• NGOs as Part of Civil Society• Civil Society as “Community”

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Sectoral Interests and the Public Sphere

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Reconsidering Civil Society: Our Present Context

• Civil Society’s Sublation with the State– Sublation - to negate or eliminate but preserve as

a partial element in a synthesis

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State – Civil Society Relations

The State Civil Society Culture of governance Aims for stability Concerned with

retention or concentration of poor

Focus on nation Growth Immediacy

Culture of resistance Works for change Concerned with

acquisition or distribution of power

Focus on communities Development Sustainability

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State – Civil Society Relations

Civil Society’s Perception of the State

State’s Perception of Civil Society

Questions sincerity or motive of the state, thus reluctant to participate in state processes

Inefficient, incompetent Does not treat civil society

groups as equals

Confrontational, impatient, has appreciation for government venues and processes

Knee-jerk reaction to government actions and initiatives

Uneasy over civil society’s emergence as counter -power

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Indigenization and Internationalization of Civil Society

• Indigenization of Civil Society• Internationalization of Civil Society

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Some Implications for NGO Action

• Flexible and Non-fixated Action• Not An “Either-Society-or-State” Approach• Need for a Re-articulation of the State• A New Paradigm of Social Movement• Rediscover the Constituency of Civil Society• Strengthening the Internationalization and

Indigenization of Civil Society

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The Rise of Philippine NGOs as Social Movement

A Historical Sketch

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Objectives

• Preliminary sketch of the evolution of NGOs• Study NGOs in their collective form• Derive learning/s and stimulate further study

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The Years Before 1965: A Brief Pre-History

• American Colonial Period to Post-WWII: Relief, Rehabilitation and Welfare

• The Emergence of Private Foundations: Family, Corporate and Research

• The Roots of Cooperativism in the Philippines• From Welfare to Community Development:

Anti-Communist – Inspired Social Reform

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1965- 1972: The Deepening Social Crisis and the Rise of New Social Movements

• The Catholic Church: From Social Action to Total Human Liberation

• Agrarian Reform Lobby: Reemergence of the Peasantry

• Community Organizing: PECCO and the Emergence of the Urban Poor Sector

• Business Response to Social Crisis• Growth of Cooperativism

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1972-1978: Coping with Repression, Carving a Niche

• Resumption of NGO Activity1. Experiments in popular organizing amidst

repression2. Continuing church involvement3. “Secular” NGOs established4. Exploration and innovation

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1972-1978: Coping with Repression, Carving a Niche

• Initial Electoral Struggles• Politicalization and Ideologicalization of

Development Work • The Beginnings of National Networking: The

Examples of AF and NATCCO

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1978-1983: Expansion and Innovation

• Expansion and Innovation• International Solidarity and Support Pours In• Cooperatives: Second Wave and Growing

Dependence• Networking Catches On• Continuing State Intervention and Harassment

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1983-1986: NGO Support to the Surging Mass Movement

• Participation in the Surging Mass Movement• Participation in Socioeconomic Work• Strategic Partnerships with Foreign Partners:

The PDAP and PACAP examples• NGO Participation in the 1986 Snap Elections

and EDSA Revolt

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1986-1992: Ebbs and Flows of a Painful Transition

• Recognition of Key Players• Proliferation of NGOs• Developments and Breakthroughs in the NGO

Terrain

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Developments and Breakthroughs in the NGO Terrain

1. Basic unity in the NGO movement: upscaling through networking and coalition building

2. Lobbying and advocacy for policy reform and social legislation

3. Professionalization of NGOs4. Sustainable development as the new

development paradigm5. Stress on localization and regionalization

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Areas of Continuing NGO Discussion

1. Economic developments and issues: funding, ODA and sustainability

2. NGO-PO dynamics3. Participation in the electoral arena4. GO-NGO collaboration and confrontations

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5 Major Electoral Related Areas Where NGOs Could Participate

1.Advocacy for electoral reforms2.Raising electoral consciousness among the

people3.Advancement of the people’s platform of

agenda in the elections4.Direct participation through the fielding of or

campaigning for chosen candidates5.Post-election activities such as monitoring and

feedback giving

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Other Developments

1. Philippine NGOs in the international arena2. Third wave of cooperative growth3. Resurgence of relief and rehabilitation

work 4. Continuation of inter-NGO tensions

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1992 to the Present: Maturation and Renewal

• Sociopolitical Context: Shifting Realities and Complex Developments

• NGOs and Civil Society• Continuing Development as a Political Player

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Trends Within the NGO Sector

1. Greater openness and capacity for mainstreaming

2. Advocacy shifts1. From the national to the local2. From the national to the international3. From the legislative to the executive branch of

government 4. From the more principled to the more

pragmatic

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Trends Within the NGO Sector

3. Continuation/upscaling of previous involvements: “growth areas”

4. Rethinking of social organizing strategies5. Continuing internal professionalization 6. More academe-NGO cross-pollination

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1992 to the Present: Maturation and Renewal

Continuities and Shifts in Development Funding

Greater Awareness for the Cultural Aspects of Development Work

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RX: A Development Alternative

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A Worsening Global Crisis

• Crisis of Poverty• Crisis of Environment• Crisis of Social Conflict

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Economic Growth – Today’s Panacea

• The experts said that the answer is to accelerate economic growth. By accelerating economic growth we will be able to:

– Drag up the poor above the poverty line– Generate the resources to deal with the

environmental crisis– Increase military expenditure in order to

enforce order

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Growth Centered vs. People Centered Development

• Growth Centered development model measures human progress by increases in material consumption. This model measures progress by increases in output.

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Debt-Financed Development: A Contradiction in Terms

• What is international assistance? It’s a transfer of foreign exchange. What can you do with foreign exchange? You can buy something abroad with it.

• Now what is development? Real development is developing your capacities to use your own resources to meet your own needs.

• The fact of accepting foreign assistance ultimately implies accepting more dependence on foreign producers.

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Focusing on People

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BusinessBusiness

GovernmentGovernment International Agencies

International Agencies

World Bank/IMF

World Bank/IMF

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Strategies of Development – Oriented NGOs: Four Generations• First Generation: Relief and Welfare • Second Generation: Community Self-Help• Third Generation: Institutional Change• Fourth Generation: Development as a

People’s Movement

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Strategies of Development – Oriented NGOs: Four Generations

Generation Problem Strategy1st Problem of poverty is defined as

shortageRelief and Welfare

2nd Local poverty results from the lack of local inertia.

Community Self-help

3rd Improper institutional framework and policies

Institutional Change

4th Inadequate mobilizing vision People’s Movement

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Having seen all this, you can choose to look the other way but you can never say again: “I did not know.”

William Wilberforce