- Manila, Philippines
Francis Isaac
De La Salle University, International Studies Department, Graduate Student
This short paper briefly looks at Balangay and how it was developed as a useful application of digital technology to address a specific governance problem of Legazpi City. It also examines the challenges that Legazpiitfaces in enabling... more
This short paper briefly looks at Balangay and how it was developed as a useful application of digital technology to address a specific governance problem of Legazpi City. It also examines the challenges that Legazpiitfaces in enabling strategic collective action to promote responsive and accountable governance.
In a nutshell, Balangay is a cloud-based information system that aims to provide “prompt, reliable and understandable information” regarding various natural disasters that may threaten the Legazpi City, such as typhoons, flooding, landslides, earthquakes,and volcanic eruptions. It comes in the form of a web and mobile app that is meant to help prepare the City’s residents for any possible calamity.
In a nutshell, Balangay is a cloud-based information system that aims to provide “prompt, reliable and understandable information” regarding various natural disasters that may threaten the Legazpi City, such as typhoons, flooding, landslides, earthquakes,and volcanic eruptions. It comes in the form of a web and mobile app that is meant to help prepare the City’s residents for any possible calamity.
Research Interests:
This short think-piece looks at the history and development of social democracy in the Asian region. It argues t hat democratic socialists have made significant contributions in the struggle for national independence and... more
This short think-piece looks at the history and development of social democracy in the Asian region. It argues t hat democratic socialists have made significant contributions in the struggle for national independence and self-determination in the Asian region, but they subsequently experienced sharp reversals during the latter half of the 20th century. However, the essay also observes that while conservative and authoritarian governments have been dominant in recent decades, they have not improved the conditions of the peoples of Asia. To address Asia’s continuing social ills, the article concludes by urging the region’s social democrats to promote social protection and use it as a platform for advancing long-term and substantial political reform.
The Philippines’ longstanding campaign for agrarian reform has largely been led mainly by peasant organizations with deep links to the democracy movement. Following the transition from martial law to electoral politics in 1986, a broad... more
The Philippines’ longstanding campaign for agrarian reform has largely been led mainly by peasant organizations with deep links to the democracy movement. Following the transition from martial law to electoral politics in 1986, a broad coalition was able to secure the legislation of meaningful agrarian reform. Yet landlord power and impunity have managed to slow reform implementation. For decades, the peasant movement has struggled to push the government to implement its own laws, which involves direct conflict with landlords and their allies in government. In contrast to much of the research literature on accountability initiatives, which focuses on public goods and service provision, this study addresses the more openly contested process of implementing a redistributive reform. Specifically, this paper investigates the contestation involved in the implementation of agrarian reform through the lens of multi-level accountability politics, which asserts that citizen-led campaigns have to engage the different levels of decision-making since elite power that perpetuates corruption and exclusion is ‘vertically-integrated.’ Such analytical frame is applied in the context of rural democratization characterized by the uneveness of power between the people and the landed who usually occupy seats in government.
Research Interests:
This paper will review the implementation of the Automated Election System in the Philippines during the 2010 and 2013 elections. Specifically, it will adopt an “Electoral Risk Management” framework to identify the strengths and... more
This paper will review the implementation of the Automated Election System in the Philippines during the 2010 and 2013 elections. Specifically, it will adopt an “Electoral Risk Management” framework to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current automation of elections in the country. Moreover, it will propose the application of “Election Forensics” in addressing the controversies raised against automated elections. In particular, it will address the question: Was the 2013 automated election results predetermined or manipulated to reflect a 60-30-10 pattern? In the end, the paper will argue for a more systematic approach in assessing automated elections in the Philippines emphasizing a framework that will manage and/or mitigate the risks inherent in automated elections.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The short think-piece 'Where's the Party?" is one of the articles included in the April 2016 issue of SocDem Asia Quarterly. It begins with the observation that while President Benigno Aquino III enjoys considerably high satisfaction... more
The short think-piece 'Where's the Party?" is one of the articles included in the April 2016 issue of SocDem Asia Quarterly. It begins with the observation that while President Benigno Aquino III enjoys considerably high satisfaction ratings, the ruling party's presidential candidate Mar Roxas is lagging in the polls. The paper argues that while the Aquino administration was able to introduce significant governance reforms, it was not successful in uplifting the economic condition of most Filipinos. This is due to the failure of the country's leadership to create the needed institutions to restrain elite rapacity, ensure economic opportunities, and establish a fair and equitable property regime. One such institution is a strong and stable party system that would guarantee fair and peaceful competition for political power. The article concludes that the task of of reforming the party system is a necessary step in building a strong and more viable democracy for the Philippines.
Research Interests:
This paper was written as background notes for the Making All Voices Count (MAVC) Learning Event on Transformative Governance, held in Manila, Philippines, in February 2016. It argues that Vertical integration is an effective way of... more
This paper was written as background notes for the Making All Voices
Count (MAVC) Learning Event on Transformative Governance, held in Manila, Philippines, in February 2016. It argues that Vertical integration is an effective way of doing accountability work since it can better reveal the sources of the problem, thereby allowing more targeted civil society response.
Count (MAVC) Learning Event on Transformative Governance, held in Manila, Philippines, in February 2016. It argues that Vertical integration is an effective way of doing accountability work since it can better reveal the sources of the problem, thereby allowing more targeted civil society response.
Research Interests:
This book chapter charts the history of the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in the Philippines.
A book review of "Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years," edited by Susan Quimpo and Nathan Gilbert Quimpo.
Research Interests:
This essay is a review of Neil Postman's "Building a Bridge to the 18th Century--a book that begins by asserting that a growing number of American academics "have fallen under the devilish spell (of) postmodernism. The book further states... more
This essay is a review of Neil Postman's "Building a Bridge to the 18th Century--a book that begins by asserting that a growing number of American academics "have fallen under the devilish spell (of) postmodernism. The book further states that the dominance of postmodernism in the West marks the loss of purpose and the breakdown of "narrative" in that part of the world. The essay, however, does not fully agree with Postman's dismissive attitude towards postmodernism, since it has assisted postcolonial intellectuals in unmasking the subjective character of certain Western episteme. Nonetheless, the paper concedes that a far better future for humanity can only be secured if we redeem some of the most sublime and edifying ideas from the eighteenth century. This is particularly significant for the Philippines since the Revolution of 1896 (and the Republic that it subsequently created) was largely animated by the ideas of liberte, egalite, fraternite.