2025 Electoral Agenda

Personality-based popularity politics is the name of the game during elections in the Philippines. When voting, most Filipinos consider the faces, names, charisma, and the persona behind the candidates, rather than their political agendas or platforms, the political parties they represent, and their track records. This is not new. In a deeply entrenched patronage system in the Philippines, what drives voters to choose particular candidates is the material benefits they receive in exchange for their votes. This patron-client relationship prevails where personal gains for both politicians and their clans, as well as their constituencies, are the primary consideration. Not the nation’s long-term goals.

Filipino voters generally go to the polls to choose WHO will govern them, but not necessarily WHAT the program of action is or HOW they will be governed. Election campaigns continue to be one big show of entertainment, featuring the presence of invited movie stars, bands, singers, sports luminaries, and Vloggers. The upcoming 2025 midterm elections are crucial, exacerbated by the current local political tensions between two warring family dynasties, which are preoccupied with the outcome of the forthcoming 2028 presidential elections.

However, this pernicious political and election tradition will not deter well-meaning organizations, including civil society groups, from presenting their electoral agendas that they believe candidates for the mid-term national elections should support. For the Tabang Bikol Movement, stakeholders believe that the agenda should focus on change, rights, and people-centered development to address poverty reduction, disaster resilience, and social justice. In gist, the TBM Electoral Agenda promotes:

Human Rights. Respect of human rights of everyone, according to the concept and practice of human rights within the Philippines as defined by Article III of the Philippine Constitution, and the United Nations’ International Bill of Human Rights, to which the Philippines is a signatory, to ensure that Filipinos can live peacefully and with dignity, safe from the abuse of any individuals or institutions, including the state. Bicol is generally a backward agricultural and service-oriented country where the people should have access and enjoy the right to free education, health, inclusivity, gender justice, decent housing and livelihood, a balanced environment, fast disaster response, government transparency and accountability, including the need for an efficient freedom of information policy, not be discriminated against, do business with ease, safety and security, representation in government and the institutionalization of effective people’s council in LGUs.

Education. Access to quality and free education to address the current learning crisis and prioritize education to ensure favorable conditions for all stakeholders. Education plays a vital role in determining the nation’s future. Upgrading teachers’ pay and significantly increasing the country’s budget allocation for the poor to have improved access to quality education that is responsive and contributes to, and promotes, national industrialization, agricultural production, social entrepreneurship, self-reliance, independence, and sovereignty, as well as science, eco-friendly technology, the arts, and culture.

Health. The Universal Health Care System should have more teeth and ensure greater access for all, safeguarding against the depletion of PhilHealth funds, especially for the poor, with a focus on developing a National Health Service for the Philippines that will provide 100% free healthcare to all citizens. Food and nutrition should be integrated, and more support should be provided for developing alternative medicine and indigenous traditions that promote overall health.

Environment. TBM supports the People’s Environmental Agenda, promoting ecological integrity, climate justice, and sustainable governance, includes preserving ecological integrity and biodiversity; natural resource and land use management; sustainable agriculture and fisheries; waste management and pollution prevention; climate justice; mining and extractives; energy transformation and democracy; pro-people and pro-ecology sustainable development; upholding Indigenous peoples’ rights and protecting ancestral domains, building disaster-resilient communities; and integrating sustainable development and Laudato Si’ in education.

Poverty Reduction. Decent housing, jobs, wages, and access to land are indicators of poverty alleviation. Every family should not be allowed to live under conditions of hazards, insecurity, and unsafety. The push for the passage of the Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) Bill is compelling. Jobs for every barangay should be a program. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on poverty, zero hunger, jobs, clean water, and social inequalities are relevant and should have doable, concrete programs in the community.

Disaster Resilience. The measurable targets under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change emphasize selecting candidates who are well-informed about disaster risk reduction management, a critical aspect of sustainable development. Disaster risk management and climate change should be at the forefront of the electoral agenda, next to poverty, in Bicol. The TBM 15 points address climate change and disaster resilience.

Transparency and Accountability. The most effective deterrent to corruption is transparency and accountability, along with the establishment of mechanisms that counter personalistic politics and management practices that should be complied with without fear or favor. Justice should be dispensed quickly and with specific deadlines to beat. Inefficiency and corruption are mortal sins that should be meted with just penalty.

Representation and Governance. Selecting candidates and government leaders who represent the legitimate needs and interests of the poor and marginalized sectors. A responsive and well-represented government, families, and communities feel safe and secure. The party list system is a crucial mechanism for ensuring representation, particularly for the poor and underrepresented sectors, against the dominance of elite political machineries and dynastic politics. At every LGU, the Local Government Code provides for a people’s council, and mechanisms should be instituted to guard against patronage politics and ensure a level playing field.