Social Democracy Philippines

Wake up call for humanity: Q&A with climate expert on IPCC report A UNEP expert analyses the IPCC’s report on climate mitigation efforts.

SOCIAL DEMOCRACY PHILIPPINES STATEMENT REGARDING THE INVASION OF UKRAINE

Some say that this invasion was due to security concerns regarding NATO, while some say this is a move due to the Nostalgia of the USSR. We say that whether or not both of those are true, does not give an excuse to invade a Democratic and Sovereign Country. Race, NATO, or any sort of propaganda has nothing to do with this. It is simply a blatant invasion of a country that chooses Democracy rather than Authoritarianism.

To Putin: Your propaganda and 'nostalgia' do not justify your Imperialism. An attack on sovereignty is an attack on the people, and an attack on the people is an attack on Democracy.

We at Social Democracy Philippines stand with the people of Ukraine.

People, not politicians. Servants, not kings.

By Kristian Karlo G. Henry (MrseCode)

If we wish to ensure that Democracy is present in our country, we must remind ourselves that a Democracy is about the People, and not about the Politicians.

The 2022 elections are growing near, and growing closer and closer, is the amount of ads that each candidate has in their arsenal. Marcos has his many social media loyalists and conspiracy theorists, Isko Moreno has his tours and constant appeal to be ‘the champion of the masses’, Lacson has his promise of security, Leni has her volunteers, and Leody has his ideology. As Filipinos, we like to think of them as sportsmen or superstars, battling it out to take the crown, but such mindset will simply doom us when faced with the reality of what our Democracy ought to be.

Democracy is derived from demos, the greek word for ‘people’, and krata, the greek word for ‘power’, hence the term ‘People Power’. Thousands of years of political evolution has brought us to a point of which our system is reliant upon the people who vote on their leaders. But, in the Philippines, this is not the case.

We became reliant on saviors and saints, kings and messiahs. We became obsessed with the idea of one man, being capable of creating such miracles, to save us from the misery that is our country. After all, that’s what presidents should do, correct?

This is our first problem with Philippine Democracy. We became so used to the Spanish King forcing its rule towards us and subjecting our rights to do whatever he wanted. We became docile to the American Presidents who infantilized our people, to be treated as children who knew nothing on how to know what was best in our country. We became quiet in the face of Japanese oppression, as it was futile to even fight against them. Who would blame us? After all, we would rather not care about our politics and just live our same lives, hoping for the better. But right now, we do not have our rights, we can now be free to do whatever we wish under the law, we now treat each other as equal Filipinos, and we now have a voice to stand up. Yet we don’t.

Because right now, we are used to being ignorant in the face of our Democracy.

This is not just about being ‘us versus them’, or that all BBM supporters are just a bunch of trolls. This idea of a flawed Democracy encompasses all of us. We have seen countless Leni Supporters who think that every BBM supporter is somehow stupid, or that Leni is here to fix our country.

We have seen from other leftists that Ka Leody will fix our economic system for the better, and will save our workers from the clutches of all Labor Problems. The reality, however, is not as black and white as people think it is. As frustrating as this reality might sound, there are a lot of intelligent BBM supporters. As tragic as it may be, Leni will not fix everything. And as hopeful, as we want ourselves to be, Leody will never be the one true answer in solving the labor crisis that we have in our country. Leni’s role is to just ensure that corruption is lowered in our country, while Leody’s role is to give a strong foundation for our workers.

These are the things that people must know, and the sad part is, the majority of people will still vote for the miracle candidate who promises everything for Filipinos. Ignorance breeds a flawed Democracy, and a flawed Democracy breeds Populism, and when that happens, it will only push further the divide and radicalization within our people.

This celebration of the People Power Revolution should be a reminder that we, as the people, are more powerful than we think. And with great power, comes the great responsibility that we must take for our country. This is the 2022 elections everyone, we only get once every 6 years to determine what our future will be. Let’s not waste in on another Populist who promises to make drugs disappear in 6 months again.

GIRLS NOT BRIDES!

Noong Enero 6, ang Anti-Child Marriage Law na isinulong ni Senator Risa Hontiveros ng Akbayan Party ay opisyal nang naging batas. Layunin nitong maproteksyunan ang mga kabataang nabibiktima ng child marriage at magpataw ng parusa sa mga lalabag dito.





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Mag-volunteer sa Akbayan Partylist youth campaign ngayong 2022: tinyurl.com/Volunteer4Akbayan

Populism: How it destroys our Democracy

These are just some of the words that you usually hear from typical candidates in the elections. And these are the things that Filipinos, like us, are tired of hearing. Mostly because they’re unoriginal, or that they’re the same promise that will probably be broken again when the time comes for them to be elected. But from a Social Democratic perspective, those sentiments are what perpetuate the sad state of political ignorance that our country is facing. And that political state is what we call Populism. A system where the radical notion of ‘us versus them’ is always the norm. And the narrative, that a messiah candidate is the answer to everything.

This idea is now a growing trend over our political spheres. And one of the most prominent examples to look at is the Populism of Donald Trump in the U.S. His slogan of ‘Making America Great Again’ was one of the driving factors of his campaign. He established himself as the one savior of America, and the answer to all its problems. This is, of course, utterly wrong. As their problems are too complex to be fixed by 1 man, and the systems required would need to take more than 1 presidential term. Also knowing in mind that the president isn’t the one in charge of writing the laws of that country.

Populists use the uneducated, who don’t have at least a basic knowledge of our constitution, to act like saviors for this country. And when that happens, we elect leaders who are simply unfit, while we vote based on our idealized emotional beliefs of a person.

Populism isn’t a new concept. Even at the time of Ancient Greece, Socrates once critiqued Democracy with leaders who misled the public. At first, it was about Demagoguery, but the problem is, Populism is now our modern form of Demagoguery. Socrates once said that if the people are uneducated, then it will be easy for demagogues to abuse this to get to their power. And when that happens, it gives way for societal collapse. Hence why Socrates critiqued that system in the first place.

One of the most important reasons as to why we must be wary of Populism is that it by its nature is anti-democratic. It seeks to exploit the uneducated public and uses it to put the responsibility on the rulers, so that the people are the ones who depend on them, and not the other way around. Democracy can only work if the people are in power. And if the people are uneducated and are ignorant or disinterested in politics, then our Democracy becomes fragile and weak, making way for the power to shift to the politicians. And when that happens, it breeds authoritarianism, where our rights are not cared for, and our liberties are abused.

The only solution for this is simple. If a Democracy fails when the population is uneducated, then that means we should educate ourselves. Strive for civil political debates and discussions, research about your political beliefs, research about your political candidates, who to vote for, and take the time to talk about them with your peers. Do not be afraid to talk about politics. As a person living in a Democracy, it is your job to discuss about the employees you should hire, to test and see if they are truly qualified. Only this will we move out of this mess, and only this will we move forward, as a Democracy.

Tune in tomorrow, October 9, 2021, at 8:00 pm GMT+8. We will host a Livestream titled SDPH Manifesto Talks: Labor Policies here on our page discussing our Labor Policies in our manifesto.

This will be the first episode of a series of Livestreams that we plan to host titled SDPH Manifesto Talks. Tune in next week for the next episode.






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On the 49th anniversary of Proclamation No. 1081 by Ferdinand Marcos, placing the Philippines under Martial Law, join Social Democracy Philippines as we will host a Livestream, titled "Martial Law: A Retrospect" discussing the implications of Martial Law on democracy, economy, politics, and the modern era.

We will be hosting the Livestream here on our page at 5:00 pm GMT+8 on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.

DEMOCRACY NOW - SDPH urges COMELEC to extend voter registration.

The 2022 elections will be the deciding fate of what our country will head towards. Will it be the rise of Populism and the slow death of Democracy propagated by the Duterte Administration, or the shift towards a better road towards more freedom, justice, and solidarity among Filipinos and economic recovery, and better worker's rights for our countrymen.

Democracy came from the word demos, meaning people, and Kratia, meaning power. And if a Democracy doesn't have its people participating in it, then we will never have power, and we will fall, as Socrates would say, to the hands of Demagogues.