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Civil
Society and the Dilemmas of Pursuing of Good Governance An Open Letter on the Challenge that Vice-President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the United Opposition of Political Parties
Have Given to KOMPIL II
by Nicanor Perlas |
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29
October 2000 Dear
Friends, A
little over an hour ago, KOMPIL II experienced its process of formal
birth. It was an auspicious birth. For, as it was born, KOMPIL II shook
the political mainstream. However, as it shuddered, the political
establishment, in the person of Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA)
gave a very sophisticated response to the challenge of KOMPIL II. This
response immediately challenged the future direction, viability and very
survival of KOMPIL II. Hence, one can sum up KOMPIL II with two words: Elation
and Caution. I
would now like to support this observation by going over the events that
happened today and some observations connected with these events. After
explaining why KOMPIL II’s launching event can be described as
“elation and caution,” I would like to propose some possible
responses for KOMPIL II to consider. ELATION From
the very beginning of its conception to its birth, KOMPIL II lived up to
its name. It was to be the Congress of the Filipino People. The
conventional political institutions, of course with exceptions,
generally displayed cowardice and lack of political will to pursue the
blatant and mocking display of moral degeneracy, corruption, and general
ineffectiveness of the Estrada administration (Joseph Ejercito Estrada
is President of the Philippines). Because of this lack of political
backbone and will, the people then had to take destiny into their own
hands. They convened a people’s congress, Kongresso ng Mamamayang
Pilipino, or KOMPIL II. Very
Broad Unified Challenge to the Estrada Regime This
is the first source of elation. Just like its predecessor, KOMPIL I,
that ousted Marcos and his dictatorial regime, KOMPIL II was composed of
the broadest formations and sectors of society. From the cultural sphere
of society, came the leaders of civil society with their diverse
national and regional NGO (non government organizations) networks,
academic institutions, church organizations, association of artists,
groups of media, and association of professionals and concerned parents
and individuals. From the realm of the economy, came business leaders of
both the largest corporations of the country and the owners and officers
of small and medium enterprises and cooperatives. From society’s
political life, the heads and members of a very broad range of political
formations and parties also gave support to this initiative to oust the
corrupt regime of Estrada and his die-hard apologists. All
in all, over 1500 individuals and leaders from 170 organizations and
networks, came representing almost every organized facet of Philippine
society. They were all there to express united opposition against the
abuses of the Estrada regime. The atmosphere, with its determined and
creative energies, was electrifying Moral
and Spiritual Fiber of the Nation Intact; Deep Understanding of and
Brave Commitment to End Present Crisis But
an even greater source of elation was the substance of what the leaders
and participants expressed in their talks and in workshop discussions.
They were there to collectively express their outrage and indignation
over the devastating impact that a corrupt and egotistic administration
has had on morals, the governance, and economy of Philippine society. And
they were willing to act on this discontent. They were willing to
undertake boycotts of crony corporations and movies identified with
actors and actresses desperately propping up a fallen idol. They called
for massive civil disobedience including the non-payment of taxes, a
significant amount of which was being sucked into the black hole of the
bottomless pockets Estrada and his cronies. They called for continued
demonstrations and mobilizations, culminating in a massive day of
protest, to finally oust the bankrupt administration of Estrada. The
moral and spiritual fiber of the nation is intact. This is clear and is
another reason for elation. The patient and forgiving Filipino has been
awakened from a deep slumber and has been roused to action. Philippine
Civil Society Alive and Vibrant
Another
elation is the affirmation that civil society in the Philippines is
alive and well and can still quickly mobilize a broad range of interests
against threats to the integrity of Philippine society. Among others,
Philippine civil society has laid to rest questions from its global
counterparts regarding Philippine civil society’s reputation as one of
the most vibrant civil society movements in the world. For a while,
friends from global civil society were asking us: “Where is the
reputed fire of Philippine civil society? Why is it tolerating such a
corrupt and ineffective governance?” Emergence
of Powerful Tri-Sector or Threefolding Partnerships between Civil
Society, Business, and Political Formations Another
elation connected with this development is the very powerful and
principled partnerships that civil society is starting to develop with
the two other key institutions of Philippine society: namely the
authentically concerned segments of business and political
formations/parties. If these tri-sector or threefolding partnerships are
carefully crafted, then this is THE force that will utterly transform
our political system. This tri-sector or threefolding partnership will
move us from current infantile state of trapo (traditional politician)
politics towards a lean, effective and principled governance system that
can guide Philippine society towards comprehensive sustainable
development. To steer us wisely and effectively through the turbulent
waters of globalization and our current internal paralysis, we need the
collective wisdom of society embodied in these partnerships. The
very beginning fact of this unusual partnership and the prospect for
greater realization in the near and distant future leads, for me, to my
most important elation in connection with KOMPIL II. Systemic
Analysis and Approach; Avoiding the Weakness of KOMPIL I Many
participants of KOMPIL I have pointed out their earlier mistake. They
said they were just so fed up with Marcos and his dictatorship that they
focused all their energies only on his ouster. They trusted that the
Aquino government after Marcos would do the rest, realizing their
diverse dreams and aspirations. But
history has shown us what happened. Cory tried her best and she did
restore the democratic space. But people including Cory had
underestimated the staying power of a political culture and its network
of state institutions that made it difficult to pursue any genuine
reform, especially one committed to eradicating poverty from the
landscape of Philippine society. In addition, KOMPIL I was united
AGAINST something, and also FOR something. Thus, when Marcos was gone,
it became politics as usual. KOMPIL I disintegrated into various
factions that could no longer stem the rising tide of trapo politics and
the trapo political structure that was now coming back for revenge. This
mistake was also being affirmed in many conversations and meetings
immediately prior to KOMPIL II. There
was this realization that continued surfacing in many different forms
and guises which I would like to capture as follows. One
of the most shocking developments of the present crisis is the fact that
we are faced with a crisis of governance reminiscent of the crisis that
brought about the People’s Power revolution of 1986. In just a short
span of 14 years, we are confronted with an Estrada administration that
has many similarities to the decadent features of the Marcos
dictatorship. Many would even say that the flaunting of moral depravity
and ostentatious display of sickening corruption exceeds that of the
military dictatorship of Marcos. It
is clear therefore that we are faced with a deep structural problem. And
Estrada is just a prominent example of this structural problem. Remove
Estrada today and in a few short years he will be replaced with another
clown, another trapo politician, who will ruin Philippine society as
he/she surrounds himself/herself with money, power, goons, immorality,
and corruption. We
have before us a political culture and its system of institutions that
lavish victory and gives honor to cronies, lying and scheming
bureaucrats, and other decadent denizens of the nether world of
Philippines politics. We
have something before us that basks in the glory of corruption, plunder,
and kleptocracy. We have a decadent political system that rewards a few
and allows millions, especially the poor, to suffer in permanent poverty
and human depravation. This is absolutely unacceptable and we will not
tolerate it any longer. And we intend KOMPIL II to be the beginning for
the advocacy for the necessity of a new politics. Therefore
we have reached the inescapable verdict: “President Estrada must
go!" And with him must go the abominable system of political
patronage that seethes with lust for power and greed for corruption,
flaunts immorality with an abandon that is both disgusting and knows no
bounds, and fools the poor into believing that crumbs of bread are manna
from heaven. We
will not tolerate a corrupt president like Estrada nor the corrupt
political culture and structures that routinely produces unfit trapo
politicians like Estrada. Now,
KOMPIL II, in its statement, and in the substance that flowed in the
talks and the workshops, wants to avoid this historical pitfall.
“Never again!” was the cry today. Never again! And
with this understanding and cry of KOMPIL II, plus its determination to
bring its vision about, from these, come my final source of elation and
hope. I refer to the impact of KOMPIL II on the political establishment. Shaking the
Political Establishment
According
to those who had first and second hand experience, Estrada’s group, in
recent days, tried to convene a similar formation as broad as KOMPIL II.
But it was a resounding failure. Now it is resorting to dirty
tactics and psychological warfare, complaining that KOMPIL II funds come
from gambling sources! What
desperation! KOMPIL II has struck fear at the very heart of the Estrada
empire. The
leaders of the different political parties in united opposition against
Estrada were all at KOMPIL II. They have realized that the voice of the
people, the Congress of the People, has spoken. And they do not want to
be left out. They also realize that the challenge is not merely the
change of one president for another. They realize that what is at stake
is the very future, the very viability, of the traditional political
system of governance. One
of their leaders said it eloquently. There is concern in the Congress
that it will be overtaken by events. The Congress of the Philippines is
in danger of becoming irrelevant. It is becoming irrelevant an
institution of remedy [because people are finding their remedies in mass
mobilizations and in initiatives like KOMPIL II.] We cannot hope to go
back to business as usual. For we face a deeper problem than just
replacing Estrada. We have the rare opportunity, a second chance [since
after the Edsa Revolution] to reform our country. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO’S
COUNTER CHALLENGE TO KOMPIL II
The
period of elation had reached a climax. It was clear that the
traditional political establishment was on the defensive. But this
climax and the defensiveness was not going to last for long. For the
last speech was given by Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) in
response to the intentions and proposed actions of KOMPIL II. And in
this speech, it was clear that KOMPIL II had met its match. For in
effect, GMA gave a counter-challenge to KOMPIL II. This challenge is
both potentially promising and potentially fatal. The
response of KOMPIL II will determine whether it will be the beginning of
a new chapter in the political life of the Philippines or whether it
will mean the early demise of KOMPIL II and the reincarnation of
traditional politics in an even more virulent and formidable form. We
clearly have to put our minds together to achieve the results we want. I
am going to give a brief summary of GMA’s talk taken from notes that I
had personally taken. I want to give those who heard GMA an opportunity
to reflect on what she said. The summary will also provide crucial
information for KOMPIL II and friends who had already left when GMA gave
her response to the results of KOMPIL II’s deliberations. Finally, it
will also provide the basis for the words of caution and the proposed
strategy that follow. Summary
of GMA’s Response to KOMPIL II
When
her turn to speak came, GMA walked to the stage with self-assurance. Her
manner of speaking was measured and forceful. She was calm, assured, and
confident in her talk. She was very articulate in the delivery of her
message. Estrada pales in comparison. She spoke as one who had the
mantle of the Presidency of the Philippines in her shoulder. As
her response unfolded, I understood why. She had found a potent way to
respond to the challenge that KOMPIL II had raised against Estrada and
to the whole structure of trapo politics and culture. This is what she
said. She
started her talk thanking the leaders of civil society. She said she was
happy that “you have welcomed me here this afternoon”. In KOMPIL I,
she was a presenter on the dismal state of the Philippine economy. In
KOMPIL II, she is speaking as the head of the United Opposition which
Senator Raul Roco’s party had just joined recently. She
said that she was recently in a Luzon City where she met in dialogue
with the leaders of people’s organizations and party list leaders,
representing a total of two million voters. Out of this experience, she
believes that only the combined force of civil society and a united
political opposition can truly reform Philippine society. She
then recognized KOMPIL II as having the broadest representation of civil
society leaders. And she affirmed the right of KOMPIL II to mobilize.
After KOMPIL I, the new freedom Constitution of 1987 affirmed the
sovereign power of the people. She would therefore like to see the
empowerment of the people, as provided for in the Constitution,
completed in her administration. She mentioned especially the
empowerment of the poor. She wanted to give a “voice to those who have
no voice” and “hope to those who have no hope”. She
then referred to a principle that her father, the former President of
the Philippines, Diosdado Macapagal, had constantly advised her. Her
father said that one of the most important qualities of a president is
the integrity and capacity for self-denial. She affirmed this principle
and said that it would be a mark of her administration. It
is under this principle, as well, that she intended to help the poor and
the marginalized find their voices together with the leaders of civil
society. She said that she agreed with the approach of KOMPIL II which
she understood to be advocating a structural approach to poverty. And,
in attaining this goal, she stressed that she wanted to institutionalize
the process of dialogue between her government, civil society, and the
poor. Just
as the economic playing field was made level, so will she level the
political playing field. By doing this, she hopes to create a world
class political system. She did not spell out what this would entail.
However, coming closely with her previous statement, she gave the
impression that, among others, leveling the playing field of politics
means institutionalizing this process of dialogue between government,
civil society, and the poor. At
this juncture, she then directly confronted the fact that “I have
earned your mistrust”, something that should instead be blamed on a
flawed political system. She said that she was a spiritual and religious
person and that she is not connected with any form of gambling. And
charges against her regarding her connections with gambling are nothing
but “black propaganda”. She urged all to reform this kind of
political system otherwise decent citizens would not go and serve in
politics. She
went on and clarified that she was also speaking before KOMPIL II in
another capacity. This is in her capacity as the duly elected
Vice-President of the Philippines. Some
people have asked her to resign. Her response to them was to invoke the
mandate of the electorate which gave her the largest margin in history
in any election for the position of Vice-President. And,
it is at this point, that GMA then gave her most pointed challenge to
KOMPIL II. GMA
said she is reaching out “to you, the leaders of civil society” to
be involved in the process of developing an agenda for the new
government, an agenda for the first 100 days as President of the
Philippines. She promised to usher in a “new politics” where all
sectors of society will be involved. She characterized her forthcoming
presidency as one that would be a process that would be
“people-driven”. To
implement this, she mentioned that she, together with the United
Opposition, had formed a number of task forces to craft her agenda of
governance. There were task forces for national security, the economy
and regional development, social reform and poverty reduction,
sustainable development, international relations, and peace and
development in Mindanao. [This got a very loud applause.} She
reiterated that she wanted to craft this plan by reaching out to civil
society [a term she used quite often] so that an integrated plan can
arise. She emphasized especially the importance of civil society
involvement in crafting her social reform and poverty reduction agenda. She
then invited the representatives of KOMPIL II to meet with her on
Thursday, November 2, 2000, to have a dialogue regarding the joint and
collaborative effort to craft her agenda for governance. Then
GMA focused attention on dealing with the problem of the Estrada
presidency, especially the lack of confidence in and the crisis of the
Philippine economy. Then she called on Estrada to resign immediately.
[Again, participants responded with a very loud applause.] She
then concluded her talk with this image. She and her colleagues in
politics have formed a united political opposition to the Estrada
government. She said that this united political opposition wants to
“act in solidarity” with civil society in non-violent protests in
order to hasten the ouster of Estrada. She urged all opposition to
Estrada to unite and remove him from office. For there can be “no more
fence sitters here.” For, together, we need to protect the future and
the progress of the Filipino people. Response of
KOMPIL II Participants to GMA Challenge
After
her talk, most of KOMPIL II participants gave a standing ovation. In
general, the participants of KOMPIL II were receptive to what GMA was
saying and applauded her at the various parts of her talk. For
my part, I was in the minority that remained seated. Thoughts and
insights were racing in my mind. I personally had to process what I had
heard. I had to resolve within myself what to take of GMA’s response.
I also realized that it would be difficult to do this by my own. I had
to share my experience with the broader KOMPIL II formation and see what
kind of response KOMPIL II, as a whole would give, to the clear
challenge which I saw before me and also for KOMPIL II. CAUTION
One
can only characterize GMA’s talk as brilliant and disarming. She went
straight to the heart of many concerns and issues. She did not fudge.
She addressed the challenge of trust and credibility. She addressed the
issue of the perception that she was somehow involved with gambling. She
addressed the gut feel that the whole political system needed reform.
And she placed KOMPIL II prominently as central to this major process of
overhauling the traditional trapo culture and approach to politics. I
see the need for KOMPIL II to have an equally sophisticated and balanced
response to the challenge of GMA and the United Opposition. The
following are my concerns. First
there is a potential for a repeat of the experience of the KOMPIL I
experience referred to above. The relatively radical intentions of the
forthcoming GMA administration may lull KOMPIL II into a kind of fatal
complacency of trusting it all to the new political leadership. Second,
KOMPIL II is barely two weeks old. It has a diverse and very varied
constituency. The strongest element of unity is RIO, the resignation,
impeachment or ouster of Estrada and the new to transform the decadent
structures of the old politics. However, it is not clear what KOMPIL II
actually wants. As the saying goes: “The devil is in the details.”
Concretely, what does KOMPIL II really want? Third,
it is unclear how KOMPIL II is going to maintain the momentum of its
organization after the removal of Estrada from office which is very
likely in the next few weeks. Who will represent KOMPIL II in the
meetings with the forthcoming GMA administration? How will these
representatives feed back the results of these meetings and maintain
broad-based support for and inputs into these meetings? What is KOMPIL
II’s vision of development that underlies any analysis of initiative
that will come from government and from its own ranks? It is understood
that, for reasons of tactical unity, this question was not addressed in
the creation and birthing of KOMPIL II. Fourth,
will there be activities of KOMPIL II beyond the negotiations with the
GMA presidency? Does KOMPIL II understand that its existence is
autonomous and not predicated on whether it is recognized by government
or not? Will it be able to preserve itself as an independent forum of
the people, whose very independence and strength are the sources of its
impact on the political establishment?
How would it balance this healthy sense of autonomy and
independence with moments when it is clearly possible to form tactical
and even strategic alliances with government and business? Civil
society has had its experiences with critical engagement with the Aquino,
Ramos, and Estrada administration. We are all aware of what the lessons
are and we need to take them to heart when we find an approach to
respond to the strong call from GMA to help her in the process of
transforming the Philippine political landscape. I refer to the lessons
of strengthening civil society in itself, maintaining civil society as
an independent and necessary reality vis-à-vis business and government,
capacity building connected with critical engagement, clarifying the
processes of decision making and representation, and so on. Fifth,
how will KOMPIL II deal with the issue of trust? There is significant concern within KOMPIL II’s own ranks
regarding the various allegations connected with GMA herself and those
connected around her. How will KOMPIL II deal with this? How will they
deal with this especially when GMA herself has categorically denied them
and has reached out to KOMPIL II for trust and acceptance? How will it
balance this significant approach by GMA with the equally valid concern
of ensuring that GMA and her United Opposition truly are what they claim
to be and that she is not under the hold of hidden interests? If indeed
GMA is true to what she says, then mistrusting her would mean the loss
of a significant opportunity. If one the other hand, the United
Opposition do not really mean what they say and KOMPIL II believes them,
then that would mean the premature death of KOMPIL II. These
concerns are not criticisms of KOMPIL II which I support wholeheartedly.
These concerns are meant to encourage us to face the challenge before us
in a very clear and systematic manner. We heard the cry today of,
“Never Again!” How will we move from this cry to its actual
realization? PROPOSED
ACTIONS BY KOMPIL II
In
the proposed response, I will not pretend to answer all the above
questions or solve the concerns that are within KOMPIL II and which I am
voicing in this open letter. Rather I am proposing possible directions
by which these concerns can be addressed. Ultimately, these suggestions
are just that – suggestions that can be accepted or rejected. 1.
Strengthen KOMPIL II as a broad-based movement. There
are a number of elements connected with this. For
the widest participation, develop an Internet-based information system
for informing and responding to internal and external developments
connected with KOMPIL II. Complement this information system with
conferences and small group meetings to help flesh out the vision,
goals, policies, strategies, tactics, and activities of KOMPIL II.
Clarify the decision-making processes within KOMPIL II. Having clarified
these, continue to broaden to reach of KOMPIL II. 2.
Establish, at this time, only a tactical relationship with the
forthcoming GMA administration, and subject this relationship to
critical scrutiny. In
the face of what was offered, and the manner with which it was offered,
it would be a knee-jerk reaction to immediately reject GMA’s offer as
suspicious or non-workable. It has to be dealt in a sensitive way that
does not result in unnecessary alienation both from the side of KOMPIL
II and the side of the political individualities and institutions that
support GMA. There
are also a number of elements connected with this approach. One of the
most important is the trust-building work between GMA’s United
Opposition and KOMPIL II. In pursuing this task, KOMPIL II should, in a
non-confrontational way, and without prejudging, ask GMA to respond to
certain allegations regarding her integrity and the sincerity of those
around her. In so doing, it should be very clear that KOMPIL II is not
saying that these allegations are necessarily true but that need to be
addressed in a convincing way if relationships between GMA’s United
Opposition and KOMPIL II are to become fruitful. It can be conveyed to
GMA that this is a necessary part of the process that civil society has
to undertake to respond to concerns within and outside its ranks. The
tactical relationship should also address the framework of development
that GMA and her group intend to foster. Many in KOMPIL II are concerned
that GMA was the champion of the ratification by the Philippine Senate
of the WTO treaty. It needs to be clarified whether GMA still buys into
the neo-liberal framework of development that is now heavily criticized
and slowing being abandoned by the leaders of the G-77 group of nations,
global civil society, and significant elements of the economic
establishment in industrialized countries. Poverty reduction efforts
would be rendered basically non-effective if neo-liberal economic or
Washington consensus prescriptions continue to be reverently followed by
the economic pundits of government. For it is this very approach, which
is insensitive to distribution and institutional issues that are
creating massive poverty in the Philippine and other parts of the world. It
is especially here that the first approach, maintaining the strength of
KOMPIL II, especially arriving at a common framework for development,
comes in. Past experience has shown that; even with good intentions,
government will understand concepts and ideas differently from civil
society. We have already seen this in the differing approaches to what
appear as consensus points, for example, poverty eradication and
sustainable development. Another
dimension of this critical tactical relationship is providing support
for agreed upon initiatives in terms of timelines, responsible agencies
and institutions and resources. Otherwise, the whole effort will just be
a waste of time. 3.
Ensure the continued effectiveness of KOMPIL II as truly the Congress of
the People. This
is important so that traditional powers in government and business
continue to view it as one of the most important forum for advancing
Philippine society as a whole. Among
others, this means that we should avoid over-reliance on government
alone to do the job. We should also gear up to increase the
effectiveness of our own work in our own spheres of social life. The
political establishment has listened to KOMPIL II because it has become
an important forum for the remedy of gross institutional failures,
especially of our political system. We
need to maintain and sharpen KOMPIL II to enable it to continue acting
effectively as the voice and conscience of the Filipino people. This
means that KOMPIL II needs to continue running after graft, corruption,
waste, lack of transparency, unaccountability, aimlessness, and
ineffectiveness in government. KOMPIL II’s time, talent, resources, and energies should be
focused not only in critical engagement with the government, but, in
ensuring an overhaul of the governance structure itself and the pursuit
of a comprehensive form of sustainable development that also effectively
addresses the economic, cultural, social, ecological, human, and
spiritual aspects of development. 4.
Advocate a tri-sector or threefolding approach to solving the urgent
problems of Philippine society. One
of the most effective social innovations in recent times to achieve the
goal of effective governance is to promote a tri-sector or threefolding
approach to address burning issues. This social innovation has found
practical application in the Philippines as well as in many countries of
the world. Tens of millions of dollars are now moving in this direction.
This
approach is premised on the understanding that there are three spheres
in society that have differing autonomous objectives but which need to
be harmonized to bring about a healthy society. These three realms of
society are the economic, the political, and the cultural. The most
effective approaches to development take the needs of these three realms
into consideration, together with the needs of human beings and our
ecological systems, and harmonizes them together into an integrated
approach. In
this approach, business, broadly understood as including stockholders,
management, and employees, naturally concerns itself with the inner
logic of the economic system. When it is not corrupt, government
articulates, ideally, the broad interests of the political life of a
country. And civil society, including NGOs, church groups, artists and
cultural workers, academe, media (when not captured by purely business
interests) and others, articulate the cultural concerns and interests of
society. Culture here is understood here in its broadest sense to mean
the beliefs and values that constitute the opinion and behavior of
society as a whole. The moral outrage against Estrada and his inept
system of governance is a powerful example of the power of civil society
for change. Thus
when an authentic tri-sector or threefolding approach to governance is
used, it means that it is essential to have civil society, government,
and business representation at the table. Only when the broadest
formations of these three sectors of society are present can there be a
comprehensive articulation of the real needs of society at large. GMA
mentioned in her response to KOMPIL II that she wanted to
institutionalize the participatory approach to good governance. Of
necessity, this would mean the presence of the all the sectors in
society that come from culture, the economy, and political life. It
is important to note that this approach is already embodied in PA21 or
Philippine Agenda 21. PA21 has the rare distinction in Philippine policy
history as having its key ideas supported by the Aquino, Ramos, and
Estrada administration. It has also widespread support within civil
society and business. There are many valuable ideas and approaches that
can be further mainstreamed in activities critically engaging
government. CONCLUDING
THOUGHTS
In
conclusion, I want to briefly re-state the major thesis of this Open
Letter. There is much to be excited about and happy regarding recent
developments at KOMPIL II. But
these very strengths of KOMPIL II has attracted a response from the
political establishment that can be considered as either a blessing or a
curse. How KOMPIL II responds to this challenge will determine whether
KOMPIL II will mark a turning point in the history of the Philippines or
whether it will also mean the early death of KOMPIL II. The
challenge before us is so serious that I felt the need to elaborate it
in some detail. I realize that we are all short on time and this open
letter has been quite long. But I thought it would be a disservice to
the very essence of civil society if I did not elaborate my concerns in
a way where you, as a reader, can freely engage it or reject it, in
parts or as a whole. Thank
you for your time and I look forward to continuing our common struggle. In
Solidarity, Nicanor
Perlas |
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