German Parliamentary Group Meets with Philippine Civil Society

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation hosted a dialogue between civil society and the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Group of the German Parliament on 6 February 2008 at the FNF office in Makati City. Academicians, environmentalists, representatives from human rights groups, economic and social development initiatives, cooperatives and trade unions were present to provide the German delegation with a clearer picture of the role of civil society in Philippine democracy.

National Institute for Policy Studies President Mario Taguiwalo started the discussion by giving an overview. He spoke of civil society’s growth, its politicization during the Marcos era, its continued vibrancy and the challenges ahead.

Discussions then followed on civil society’s task in strengthening local governments, working for peace and development in Mindanao and stopping extrajudicial killings.

Mike Luz, president of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, summarized the evening by explaining the weakness of government institutions. He said that their failure to provide basic services has forced civil society to fill in the gaps. By doing so, it has inadvertently contributed to the immaturity of government institutions. The challenge therefore, is for civil society to work to hold government accountable, while at the same time not relinquishing their supplementary responsibilities to their local communities.

“We had a very fruitful discussion,” opined Siegfried Herzog, FNF resident representative. “The German delegation was impressed by the open and frank dialogue which they felt was indicative of the democratic and political culture of the country. As the purpose of this event was to strengthen the political dialogue between the Philippines and Germany, the forum was an important contribution.”

The seven visiting Members of Parliament (three Social Democrats, three Christian Democrats and one Free Democrat) were in the region for an in-depth look at Asian democracies. The Philippines was the last stop of their visit.