The Philippine Political and Socioeconomic Landscape
One was the 2016 Presidential Elections that took place in May 2016 where Filipinos voted for a new president, vice president, and 12 senators. This is significant because it brought about major changes to the political and socioeconomic landscape of the country. The new leadership’s directions and stance, particularly on the war on drugs and human rights, caused a major strain on the relationship with government, particularly the socioeconomic sector. The Voice Linking and Learning team had to practice caution in inviting government leaders to Voice events and in the messaging of Voice Philippines as a whole. On May 13, 2019, the Philippine general (mid-term) election was held for 12 seats in the Senate, all seats in the House of Representatives, governors and provincial councils in the provinces, and mayors and city/municipal councils in the cities and municipalities. Some Voice grantees affiliated with political entities became busy with advocacy campaign work. Some chose to lay low while awaiting
Politics, from national to local governments, took a drastic turn, seemingly for the worst, that in the Luzon Communities of Stakeholders Learning Event held on March 23, 2021, most of the grantees’ stories held strong messages against the current government that the facilitator had to curate these to ensure safety and security of the participants. Even more difficult, some of the Voice projects were being perceived as anti-government, which makes it challenging to engage some grantees’ and RHGs in linking and learning activities that involve other stakeholders. The situation was not helped with the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Law in July 2020, which further added to the extremely adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The law’s passing alarmed the Voice grantees on the possible security issues not just for the organizations but also for the communities they serve. The law was a critical discussion among the Voice PH community, with some grantees being red-tagged. The members of one of the grantee organizations, for instance, were detained by police while rallying on the streets.
election results. And given the way politics in the Philippines works,
some organizations avoided engaging with the current
leaders prior to the elections fearing the negative effects on engagement when a new leader takes over.
13
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease