Concerted citizen action can make a difference in applying 'People Power' to governance. But so can individual behaviour. In other words, when Philippine President Benigno Aquino III used his inaugural address to emphasise that he takes his marching orders from the people—“Kayo ang boss ko” (you are my boss)—the occasion was also an opportunity for each citizen to dedicate himself to the public interest.
The worst thing that can happen, after the euphoria of the 2010 elections dies down, is for ordinary citizens to go back to their old routines, and wait for the new administration to deliver on its promises. We all need to face the harsh truth: some of our old routines were partly responsible for, or at least helped make possible, the excesses of the Arroyo administration. Corruption, for example, is a transaction: there is a corruptor and a corruptee. If we take the new administration at its word, then the next time an official asks for a commission, or a lowly clerk opens his desk drawer for an applicant to drop bribe money in, we should refuse—and report the matter to the appropriate authority. To strike a deal on the commission or to pay the bribe, and then to continue to hope that somehow the overall situation will improve under the new administration, is self-defeating behaviour.
In other words, if our own hired help (from the President on down) commit themselves to higher standards and better conduct, we can do no less.
Thus, when President Aquino finds himself sometimes stuck in Metro Manila traffic, because he wants to stick to his no wang-wang (no siren) policy, we should also review our own behaviour while on the road. Do we still get off the jeepney anywhere we please, and not at the designated stop? Do we still encourage the taxi driver to cut corners and over-speed when we are running late? Do we still jump the line for the bus or the FX? These seem like small matters, trivial even, but they add up. And they force us to live by the standards we seek to impose on our public officials.
There are weightier matters too: paying the right taxes (if we are professionals such as doctors and lawyers, or businessmen big and small); not taking advantage of the senior citizens’ discount if we are below 60; reporting first-hand encounters with corruption, especially involving the different kinds of pork barrel; refusing to use a padrino (godfather) in a government unit to get something done; insisting on a receipt for every taxable transaction; declining the use of police escorts in feasts and funerals; and so on.
It is difficult enough to earn a living, without having to worry about the common good. We realise that; sometimes we only have enough patience and good will to get through the working day without snapping. But the work of reforming society cannot be the responsibility of public officials alone. And the cost of acting without regard for possible consequences on others is high and frequently paid; consider the gridlock that happens, all too often, when cars and vehicles crowd an intersection without a working traffic light.
Last May, the people overwhelmingly voted for change. Contrary to what some parachute commentators have said, this “change” was quite specifically understood by millions of voters: It meant no more corruption, no more Arroyo-like officiousness, no more misuse of government resources, no more placing of self-interest above the national interest. But for real change to take place, it isn’t enough for the right people to be put in charge, with the right policies in place (though that is a necessary condition). The citizens themselves have to get involved.
A big part of that involvement must be concerted: the work of keeping government honest, so to speak, must be coursed in part through old and new non-government organisations, institutionalised transparency and accountability standards, feedback mechanisms in traditional media and on online social media, etc. But much of the work necessarily takes place on the personal level: We must act “honest” too.
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