SS5: Society and Culture with Family Planning

SOCIAL CHANGE AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Choose a liberal organization that has held social movements inside the country within the last

ten years and for the past 70 years. Identify their main goals, outcomes, and impact in the

government and society.

The Nacionalista Party

According to Wikipedia.com, the Nacionalista Party is the oldest political party in

the Philippines today and was responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the

20th century since its founding in 1907. The original Nacionalista Party that was founded on

August 21, 1901 in Calle Gunao,Quiapo, Manila was forgotten. The party began as the country's

vehicle for independence, through the building of a modern nation-state, and through the advocacy

of efficient self-rule, dominating the Philippine Assembly (19071916), the Philippine Legislature

(19161935) and the pre-war years of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (19351941). During

the Japanese Occupation political parties were replaced by the KALIBAPI. By the second half of

the century the party was one of the main political contenders for leadership in the country, in

competition with the Liberals and the Progressives, during the decades between the devastation of

World War II and the violent suppression of partisan politics of the Marcos dictatorship.

I think goal number one might be for the PARTY to strive for an identity that will

resonate in the current environment of political game-playing and strife. Maybe it is time to act as

a party instead of a bunch of independent celebrities.

Step one: elevate the Party. Step two put the Party behind the chosen candidates.

Lets go with an example, one that is hot at the moment: the draft Senate Mamasapano report

crafted by Senators Poe and Escudero. A total of 20 senators signed the draft, half of them

indicating that they had reservations and amendments they would like to see incorporated in the

final version to be done in May.

What if NP were to take a stand on the Poe report. Make it sharp and principled. The stand

might be as follows:
The current draft is too much an exercise in blame and unfortunately divides the nation. NP is a

party for progress and unity, not division and blame. We believe the document should focus on

lessons and legislation. The nation has justice and Ombudsman systems to deal with failings

under the law, and we should let them work. The PNP and AFP are professional organizations.

They can handle disciplinary actions within their ranks. We need not lay senatorial oversight

onto that.

It is not appropriate for the Senate to cast judgment on the BBL, for that was not a purpose of

the hearings, nor is it appropriate to lecture President Aquino on responsibility when he has

already accepted it. We should learn, heal, and move on.

Given that as a PARTY position, then any NP presidential aspirant has an appropriate starting

platform upon which to run, a platform that:

Places the well-being of the nation first. If there are criticisms emerging from

Mamasapano, they should be translated into lessons that point to healing and strength, not

division and weakness.

In political terms, the position aligns the party against Senator Poe, who appears to be

using the document to pursue narrow political aims.

The power of platform

If the Mamasapano Report does not work as a vehicle to build a party presence, what other

vehicles are there?

The BBL is difficult because people are confused about the matter.

Corruption is bland and boring and everyone is saying it.

Poverty is also nebulous and bland unless there is a sparkler of a way to go about it that

rings loud and clear. I have no idea what that would be.

China might work as a rallying cry, but that would work against the calm and caution,

law-based approach now the nations official stance. Also, I sense that people arent that

worked up about it, so it is hard to develop a striking message.

 Down with Binay is a harsh attack position might work. Santiago, Cayetano and

Trillanes have all been critical of Binay. This would position the party squarely against both

Poe (who has been loudly silent) and Binay, and would show more aggression than we are

likely to see from Roxas.

If the goal is to project a party discipline, a party on the move, a party interested in the well-

being of the Philippines, then perhaps a two-step approach can be employed: (1) an immediate

contrary position on the Poe Mamasapano report to position against Poes political slant, and

(2) a longer term down with Binay attack position that would also be critical of Poe for her

silence.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacionalista_Party

http://www.nacionalistaparty.com/index.php/about-us

http://politics.com.ph/partido_list/nacionalista-party/

Analyze the relevance of social movements in the Philippines.

A social movement is a collective action taken by a group of people to tackle social

problems. Of course, the nature and character of different social movements are quite diverse.

While social movements of the past were exemplified by labor movements and socialist

movements, the goals and values of present-day social movements are highly varied and include

such issues as the environment, anti-war and peace, women's rights, minority rights, grass-roots

movements focusing on local or regional issues, and consumer rights. The methods utilized are

also varied, ranging from demonstrations, meetings, petitions, media campaigns, boycotts, to

violent actions. With the increasing globalization, the number of transnational social movements

reaching across national borders is also growing.

One of the biggest factor of a social movement is the unity between the people in a country.

When social movement occurs like, the people power revolution 1 and 2 or rallies, it can show that

we can be united because of the same opinions. As the population in one country is increasing, we
can see that, it very hard to control or rule a country or the people in this country. Every one of us

has the different opinions and beliefs, which makes some of the issues in our country hard to settle.

But through social movement, the people in a society can easily voice out their opinions and wants.

The theory of social movements has been developed primarily based on the experiences in

developed countries. Social movements, however, are not irrelevant to developing countries. In

the developing world, historically, social movements occurred as a form of protest against colonial

rule and imperial invasion. In recent years, social movements have arisen around the world in the

form of democratization movements protesting military or single-party rule, or movements based

on religious values, for example, so-called "Islamic fundamentalism" . In addition, regarding basic

necessities such as housing, land, water, and health care, social movements have emerged, either

demanding political measures or solving the issues themselves through organizing.

Here are some of the disadvantage and advatage of social movements:

Advantages:

1. Enlarges your base of support, networks and connections; gives strength in numbers: you can

achieve more together than you can alone.

2. Provides safety for advocacy efforts and protection for members who may not be able to take

action alone, particularly when operating in a hostile or difficult environment.

3. Helps develop new leadership skills amongst members.

4. Assists in individual and organizational networking.

5. Facilitates exchange of information, skills, experience, materials, opportunities for

collaboration etc.

6. Brings together a diverse range of people and organizations. Diversity can strengthen a

campaign by broadening perspective and understanding of the issue. It can also assist

outreach by appealing to a wider population base with differing priorities and interests.

7. Provides peer support, encouragement, motivation and professional recognition.

 Disadvantages:

1. Can lack clear objectives, or be difficult to agree common objectives.

2. May be dominated by one powerful organization. Power is not always distributed equally

among members; larger or richer organizations can have more say in decisions.

3. Shared decision-making can be slow and may paralyze progress.

4. Can often be constrained by a lack of resources.

5. It can harm everyone's advocacy by damaging members' credibility.

Sources:

http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Research/Topics/Pol/Social_movements/index.html

http://worldanimal.net/our-programs/strategic-advocacy-course-new/module-4/networking-and-

alliances/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-working-in-coalitions

Submitted By:

De Leon, Jeannie Fe S.

Regenio, Mark Philip L.