MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE

Today, as in the past, we Filipinos have been confronted with deep and
sweeping political, economic, social, and moral crises- lack of sense for the
common good; poor leadership and corruption in government; crime;
lawlessness, and insurgency; poverty and constant struggle with the economy;
deteriorating quality in education; inadequate access to health care; weakening
of the family; and poor environmental protection.

All these conditions plus apathy, indifference, and demoralization, as well as

fear, helplessness, and hopelessness, have inured us Filipinos who have
become jaded as we continue to face the daily challenges before us. Experience
has taught us that the old ways and the old solutions will not work in bailing
us out of these crises. To go down in disgust, discouragement, and defeat
seems to be the only recourse.

However, we need to look at our problems afresh and we Filipinos must fix
them, for only we can fix them, and set the course for a successful future. We
have the power to shape our future and determine the destiny of our country.
We must rid ourselves of ingrained habits, prejudices, cultural preferences,
and our traditional way of doing things. We must refresh our consciousness if
we are to rise to new levels in life.

We need to do things, believe things, and think in new ways. It is time for a
new direction to bring our dream of a better life for ourselves and for our
country into reality - a dream deeply rooted in the dream of a new Philippines,
a Bagumbayan. To all of us who share this dream, we must all courageously
face the challenges of our times.

Thus, in an act of union and cooperation, we declare:

First, that we must be RESPONSIBLE for ourselves, for our fellow Filipinos,
and for our country. We must change our attitudes, and transform ourselves to
become horizon-chasers with duty, dignity, and determination;

Second, that we can REINVENT GOVERNMENT to faithfully perform its prime

duty to serve and protect the people;

Third, that we can fortify LAW AND ORDER through self-discipline, vigilance,
and respect for the rule of law;
Fourth, that we can build a STRONG AND GROWING ECONOMY if we all work,
save, and invest in order to prosper;

Fifth, that we must prioritize EDUCATION as the key to national development

to compete and lead in the new global economy;

Sixth, that we must provide adequate access to HEALTH CARE for all our
people, especially the needy;

Seventh, that we must create JOBS for our people, so that they will not need to
seek their fortunes abroad, but rather devote their talents directly to their
country and their families;

Eighth, that we must assist our people in securing decent HOMES to live in
and LAND to work and build on, so they can be dignified and productive
citizens;

Ninth, that we must strengthen and reinforce the FAMILY as the foundation of
our nation to develop proper values and virtues in individuals and build solid
character; and

Tenth, that we must protect and preserve the ENVIRONMENT for our posterity.
We must have the Vision grounded on Values and empowered by Volunteerism
to achieve Victory. These are the ideals upon which we lay the foundation of
our movement for change. We are the instruments of a movement dedicated to
transform the Philippines into a Bagumbayan, a new Philippines.

We invite every patriotic Filipino to join us in this shared struggle. Let us

embark together on this grand mission to reclaim, rebuild, and reconsecrate
what Rizal— 111 years ago today—bid farewell to as “our Eden lost,” but which
remains our birthright and our redemption: Bagumbayan.

Where our heroes have fallen, there shall we rise, reborn.

 MAKING OUR COUNTRY A BETTER PLACE
Vision, Strategy and Program of Bagumbayan 2010

Introduction

The supreme goal and objective of our political party is to make the Philippines
a better place to live in, work in, invest in, worship in, and all those other
things that citizens seek in a free and democratic society. This is the dream we
all share as members of Bagumbayan. This is also the hope we hear from our
people as we travel and listen to them all over our archipelago.

As the first people to recover their independence after World War II in July
1946, the Philippines should have become by now a truly modern, developed
and democratic nation. Instead, we are a nation in chronic crisis and decline.

In 1957 the World Bank said that “The Philippines has achieved a position in
the Far East second only to Japan…[and] the prospects of the Philippine
economy for sustained long-term growth are good.”
Today, 53 years later, the Philippines is a laggard in Asia, overtaken by Asian
neighbors who used to look at us with envy.

Over this half-century, from one administration to another, great opportunities

have come and gone. We have faltered because our government did not rise to
its basic reason for being: to assure peace and security throughout the land, to
provide opportunity for all, to lead in growing the economy, and to spread the
benefits across all sectors of society.

Instead of peace, our country has been torn apart by rebellion, secession and
disorder. Instead of our poor attaining a better life, we have only seen the rich
get richer. Instead of sustainable development, we have witnessed boom and
bust, growth and recession. Instead of providing for all, we have become less
capable of providing for the health, education and welfare of our people as our
numbers have increased to 94 million.

Strategy for Change: Effective Government

We submit that our national decline is due, not to any deficiency of talent of
our people, or a damaged culture, or a lack of democracy. We have faltered
because of the lack of effective government in our country.

Every problem that torments us today is rooted in poor governance.

From the perennial complaint about graft and corruption, to the nightmare in
Maguindanao and the rise of private armies, to the huge fiscal deficit and the
failure to collect the proper taxes, to the
perpetual weakness of the economy, to the decline of our education and public
health systems, to our failure to compete in the world – all these are due to
weak and ineffective government.

The way forward therefore, first and foremost, is the installation of Effective
Government in our country. On this rests our vision and strategy for the
transformation of the Philippines into a modern and progressive nation.

Simply stated, Effective Government means a government that can get things
done, meet its targets and objectives, and realize the vision of progress and
welfare for the nation. It means a government that can enable our people and
our country to compete in the world – economically, politically, socially and
culturally.

Five Strategic Objectives

Our strategy for change includes five key pillars:

• Establishing Peace and Security – We will uphold the authority of the

Philippine Government in all provinces and regions of the country by
establishing peace and order, bringing an end to the communist
insurgency and Muslim secessionist rebellion, dismantling all private
armies, and keeping the peace in all communities through effective local
law enforcement.

• Rooting Out Graft and Corruption – We will stop graft and corruption
in all levels of the government bureaucracy by making the President lead
by example, installing full transparency and accountability in
government operations, strengthening the independence of the
Ombudsman, and overhauling government agencies long noted for graft.

• Mobilizing Government for National Modernization – We will

transform the bureaucracy and the public service into a productive,
efficient and forward-looking organization by adopting best practices in
government operations, improving government finances through the
collection of proper taxes, providing clear roles, guidelines and
procedures for each government department and employee, and
establishing meritocracy as the basis for advancement in the public
service.
 • Managing the Economy for Growth and Global Competition – We will
raise the Philippine economy to a new level of growth and global
competitiveness by investing in the modernization of national
infrastructure, releasing the energies of the private sector, simplifying
and streamlining the rules and procedures for doing business, raising
domestic and foreign investments in the economy, and raising
productivity in agriculture, industry and services.

• Developing our Human Resources – Recognizing that our people as our

most important national resource, we pledge to provide for quality basic
education to every Filipino child, modernize our education system from
elementary to tertiary level, relieve once and for all the classroom
shortage, modernize our public health system and provide health
insurance for every citizen.

Establishing Peace and Security

We will establish peace and security throughout the archipelago by

implementing the following measures:

• Enforcing the authority of the State in every community, every province

and every region in the country.
• Bringing an end to the Communist insurgency and the Muslim
secessionist rebellion through the process of peaceful negotiation if
possible, or by force of arms if necessary.
• Disarming and disbanding of all private armies in the country.
• Improving law enforcement through the reorganization of the Philippine
National Police and the greater participation of local government units
and local communities in keeping the peace within their jurisdiction.
• Waging a vigorous campaign against organized crime, the drug trade and
illegal gambling.

Rooting Out Graft and Corruption

We assign high priority to rooting out graft and corruption because it is a major
obstacle to national progress and modernization. The spread of graft from
revenue agencies to virtually all government agencies is pervasive. Local
governments have likewise gotten into the action in a big way. To root our this
menace, we pledge to implement the following measures:

• Make the position of Ombudsman a nationally elected position.

• Declog the Sandiganbayan in the prosecution of corruption cases.
 • Eliminate presidential pardon for government officials found guilty of
graft.
• Establish full transparency in executive projects, and include cabinet
officials under judicial and congressional oversight.
• Punish all those who offer bribes and corrupt members of the
bureaucracy.

Reinventing Government for National Modernization

Recognizing that the role of government has become more central and vital
than ever in the new global economy, and considering how weak and ineffective
our government has been for many decades, we assign top priority to the
transformation of the government bureaucracy into an engine for national
modernization and development. The key to achieving this are the following
measures:

• Undertake from day one a full performance audit of the entire

government bureaucracy in order to determine what agencies must be
retained, strengthened, or eliminated because of obsolescence.
• Create clear roles and goals for each department to perform and meet in
the modernization effort.
• Establish meritocracy as the rule for advancement in the civil service.
• Raise the standards for entry in the civil service.
• Adopt best practices in government management and operations.
• Eliminate wasteful spending in every agency of government.

Managing the Economy for Growth and Global Competition

Government’s role in the economy is central and vital to national success. The
economy cannot be delegated merely to the private sector. Government must
lead the way. To meet this objective the following programs will be
implemented:

• Energy Sufficiency and Efficiency -- The current power crisis and the
continued volatility of oil prices highlight the need for a long-term and
focused energy program to achieve both energy sufficiency and efficiency.
We will adopt a comprehensive energy program that should include 1)
overhauling and strengthening the Department of Energy, 2) setting clear
targets for expansion of power generation capacity, 3) setting targets for
the replacement of oil imports with alternative clean energy sources, and
4) setting standards for energy conservation and efficient energy
utilization.
 • Food Security and Agricultural Development -- Food security and
sufficiency is the primordial challenge facing the country every year as a
result of typhoons and droughts. We believe Government must commit
assign top priority to agricultural modernization. We have the human
resources, the technical knowhow, and the land and marine resources to
exploit.

• Tourism Development and Jobs Creation -- Tourism is an export

industry and it’s a tremendous jobs creator. And we have the natural
beauty of our archipelago, the colorful culture and the people that can
make tourism a long-lasting growth industry in our country. With the
passage of the Tourism Development Act, attention must now focus on
making it come to life through the right implementing rules and
regulations, and effective reorganization of the Tourism machinery, and
effective management. We set as a minimum the target 5 million tourist
arrivals and one million new tourism jobs by 2013.

• Infrastructure Modernization and Jobs Creation -- Infrastructure

modernization is a must for national development and for Philippine
competitiveness in the global economy. This is a challenge that the
nation cannot shirk because of lack of resources or whatever. The public
investment must be made in the modernization of the nation’s highways,
transport systems, ports, airports, and communications. What
government cannot provide in terms of capital, the private sector will be
encouraged to supply. And whatever domestic investments cannot raise,
foreign investments must fill the gap. We set the achievement of $20
billion direct foreign investments in three years.

Developing our Human Resources

Our people are our country’s greatest resource. And this has proven been many
times over by our OFWs, our managers, our engineers, our artists and cultural
workers. We believe therefore the education and health of our people must be
of the highest priority to Government.

To meet our goals in education, we will implement the following measures:

• Undertake a comprehensive review of educational priorities and

reorganize the Department of Education

• Add two years to basic education

• Meet the classroom shortage and reduce the average number of students
to 50 per class within three years
 • Increase the salaries of teachers to a minimum of P40,000 per month to
attract top graduates to teaching.

• Provide sturdy, electronic book reader to public school students to lower

costs for books and give them IT knowhow.

To meet our goals in public health, we will implement the following:

• Extend free public health services to cover all citizens, especially in the
rural areas.

• Increase the salaries of doctors and nurses in order to keep more of them
in the country.

• Establish compulsory healthcare savings account for all Filipinos.

• Establish more Botika ng Barangay outlets nationwide.

• Promote responsible parenthood.