Press Release
June 28, 2010

KIKO PANGILINAN PUSHES FOR GREATER PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
IN 15TH CONGRESS

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan today proposes some institutional changes that will bring the 15th Congress closer to the people and more open to citizen engagement and cooperation..

"The May 2010 national campaign showed us what's possible when there is citizen engagement and public sector-private sector partnerships, aided by the latest and the most appropriate technologies. This is something we should aspire for beyond the electoral season, as our new way of doing things, our new default mode."

Pangilinan, who was campaign manager of the Liberal Party senate slate, heavily used new media and digital technology during the campaign, and is himself active in social media. He cites concrete examples for making institutions more transparent and more constituent-focused.

"We can begin live-streaming Senate sessions and hearings, for one, and provide round-the-clock coverage the way C-SPAN does. We can introduce social media such as Facebook and twitter, and the call center model to more government agencies and institutions to allow our citizens to better reach their public officials and gain access to public services."

Pangilinan will also draw from his own experiences in partnering with various sectors for his advocacies.

"The key element in good governance is ensuring the strongest public sector-private sector partnerships in various sectors. Gawad Kalinga is one such example. Local governments provide the land, GK volunteers provide the labor requirements and funding comes from both the private sector and the national government. We also have the Filipino Chinese Chamber School-Building Program wherein government outsources the building of schools, with classrooms built at half the price. We need to replicate such partnerships in local communities nationwide to effect genuine change for our people."

"We will make concrete changes to make our countrymen feel that we're serious about reform. The 15th Congress must be the springboard from which we will achieve developed nation status in 15 years. We will fight for key pieces of legislation in infrastructure modernization, justice system modernization, modernizing our tourism and agriculture industries, resolving armed conflict. We have only until 2015 to fulfill our commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals, and we will be a key pillar in making this happen."

"If we all started imagining our government a little differently and started taking our work as citizens and public officials a little more seriously, there is much that we can do. But it has to star somewhere--and it should start with us in the 15th Congress."

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