“For Freedom and Social Justice” Successfully Launched!

The Exhibition entitled “For Freedom and Social Justice” was successfully launched by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Manila on 23 May 2009, at the Discovery Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Invited guests were able to view the 32 panels which chronicle the history of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany, from its inception in mid-19th century, until the formulation of its most recent programme in Hamburg in 2007. The launch was even made special with the presence of two distinguished guests who gave their reflections on the realities and potentials of membership-based and program–based political parties both in Germany and the Philippines. An open discussion followed, which was moderated by renowned columnist and TV host Manuel Quezon III.

Mr. Wolf Preuss, a member of the SPD who is formerly linked with the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, drew his reflections mainly from what he called the “140 years of a very stormy” history of the SPD. He stated that the programs of the SPD, changing as they were, have always served as compass and anchor for the social democratic movement and its party. The programmatic development of SPD is a continuous adaptation, democratically formulated and brought about to reflect “the needs and necessities of the society under the guiding principles of justice, freedom and solidarity.” Mr. Preuss also mentioned the challenge that SPD is confronting with the recent emergence of new parties such as the Green Party and the New “Linke” (Left), the importance of party membership, the indispensability of maintaining democratic process in choosing party delegates, as well as the transparency and regularity of generation of funds. The successes and even the less successful experiences of the SPD could be worth examining, he said, and while the party’s history does not intend to serve as a model to be applied to different societies like the Philippines, it carries some useful elements which could be utilized in “strengthening” the country’s civil society.

The reflection of Randy David, an Executive Committee member of the Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party and a professor from the University of the Philippines, was more introspective. “Politics has been our biggest failure as a nation,” he stated, as the Filipino people’s quest for the elusive political change has involved a number of experimentations with regime changes. He called everyone’s attention to the underlying culture of the country’s seemingly modern political institutions, the reliance on patronage networks, which has impinged on not only the system of governance but also on the everyday lives of Filipinos. This is one “enemy within us,” Prof. David said, that needs to be frontally dealt with by Filipinos in order to initiate structural change which would go beyond the overthrow of government, people power protests, and botched coups. But he was also very much optimistic of the times, as more and more Filipinos acquire new (i.e. what he calls “modernist”) values which fuel the drive to replace the old bankrupt system. The challenge then for political parties is to articulate the desire for substantial change, to instill democratic party discipline among its ranks, to wrest control from the ruling families, to go beyond the fleeting moments when politicos get elected by accidentally tapping the core meanings in the Filipino culture which at the offset may lead “to the activation of possibilities” — such as the Mama Mary devotion, the imagery of the Church of the Poor, or the mythical Panday — and most importantly, to reflect the collective interests of the society. “We need to formulate relevant political programs for our times, most importantly, establish strong political parties to serve as vessels of freedom and social justice. This is a long and arduous struggle, and success is not guaranteed, nor is it accomplished overnight. But we have not choice but to preserve. This to me is the powerful lesson of this exhibit,” he stated.

FES plans to bring the exhibit to various schools and universities around the country. The first leg of the exhibit will be held from June 15 to 20 at the De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila.