Good Filipinos: The path to improvement

Last June 10^th, the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) held an event entitled “Good Filipinos”, at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig City. In attendance were the upper echelons of the Philippine government, such as congressmen and generals, as well as luminaries within the private sector dedicated to the improvement of their country. The presenters who spoke said it best when they extolled the importance of entrenched, institutionalized change and improvement in this time of transition for the Philippine government. The main event of the evening was the awarding of the different sectors of the government who have “walked the PGS path.”

What is the PGS?

The PGS, or Performance Governance System, is a program which was designed to create a standardized means of improving governance as a whole. Its implementation within an organization is meant to create a more effective, transparent, and accountable system of governance. The sectors that have reached the pinnacle of this program are those that have instilled “institutionalized” change, the kind that transcends the turnover of leadership. The benefactors of the ISA and the PGS program honor the achievement of this level of adherence to the PGS—to date, several sectors of the Philippine government have achieved this honor, including but not limited to the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Army, the Board of Investments, the City of Balanga, and the City of Dipolog.

Reaching out to the youth

Aside from seeking to improve different sectors within the Philippine civil service, the ISA also aims to do more when it comes to reaching out to the youth. They hope to foster a sense of responsibility in the younger generation, with the goal of involving the youth in the betterment of the government they stand to inherit. The event was a testament to this initiative.

Present at the event were youth poets and musicians who performed for the crowd, as well as fellow artists from DLSU who made portraits for the supporters of the cause championed by the ISA. They expressed interest in holding events where they could continue to promote the idea of good governance with the Filipino youth, in the hopes of instilling a sense of responsibility and accountability on both sides of politics. After all, the weaknesses of one end might undermine the strength of the other.

Good Filipinos

“Good Governance begins with Good Filipinos” was the driving motif for the entire event. The ISA recognizes that improvement within a democratic system cannot be on the bureaucratic side alone, and that an involved citizenry is the hallmark of a successful government. In a democracy, it is the responsibility of the people to not only be involved in the governance of their state, but to be held accountable for its successes and failures—uniting this citizenry under the proper cause is the primary objective of the ISA. They believe that it is this sense of cooperation and unity that will catalyze change, where constant political conflict has only fostered stagnation.

This is especially relevant now, when the government is in this state of reformatting. The current incarnation of leadership in the Philippines was only made possible by the Filipino people themselves, and for better or worse, the Filipino people are accountable. Hopefully, the ISA’s work to create institutionalized and structuralized improvement within the bureaucratic machine will see the Philippines transcend the entrenched stagnation that has plagued it for so long. The group longs for the day that more Filipinos, young and old, step up and involve themselves to move the Philippines along the path to improvement.