i-site’s 2007 Election Files

ANG Kapatiran, or the Alliance for the Common Good, is a national political party founded on the ideology of the common good based on 10 ethical principles:

• Belief in God
• Respect for life and human dignity
• Strengthening of the family
• Community participation
• Basic rights and responsibilities
• Preferential option for the poor and the vulnerable
• Dignity of work and rights of workers
• Care for nature as God’s creation
• Peace and active nonviolence
• Solidarity and commitment to the common good

CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
http://www.angkapatiran.org/

CAMPAIGN PLATFORM

Political Platform

Spiritual Dimension

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

Moral Dimension

Build a nation of character and promote the integral development and total well-being of all Filipinos through character-building; values formation based on such universal principles as sanctity of human life and dignity of the human person, call to family, community and participation, common good, rights and responsibilities, preferential option for the poor, dignity of work and rights of workers, solidarity, and care for God’s creation; consistent ethic of life, good citizenship, and basic political education.

Dismantle the social structures that glorify sex and pornography, dishonesty, vice, materialism and hedonism, and replace them with structures of virtue, peace, responsibility and achievement.

Abolish all forms of gambling whether run by the government or the private sector.

Abolish the death penalty.

End the use of torture to extract confession.

End violence in school fraternities and other institutions, as well as in sports whose main aim is to inflict physical harm or violence on the opponent.

Actively promote responsible parenthood and natural family planning.

Reorient mass media towards fostering values that contribute to the formation of national commitment that is maka-Diyos, maka-bayan, at maka-tao.

Social Dimension

Multi-Dimensional Approach to Peace and Order

Promote the culture of life, peace and active nonviolence and progressive disarmament as a precondition to a consistent ethic of life.

Declare as contrary to public policy, public morals, public interest, good customs, and the common good, the glorification of gun, the culture of death and violence in the movies, television, video gram, radio, print media, billboards, posters, pro-gun stickers, and gun exhibits and sale thereof in public places.

Make it a criminal offense for anyone, but police officers or soldiers, a licensed private security guard in uniform and on duty, to carry firearms or any other deadly weapons in public places. This legislation will in no way impair the privilege of a responsible sportsman or gun owner to keep a licensed gun at home or in the gun club.

Increase the penalty for illegal possession of firearms or violation of any firearms law to reclusion temporal (12 to 20 years without parole or pardon). Permanent disqualification from public office shall also be imposed if the violator is a public official.

The windows of motor vehicles should be of such transparency that it does not obscure the view of the interior of the motor vehicle. This requirement makes sense in light of the ruling of the Supreme Court that the vehicle should not be searched nor its occupants subjected to bodily search.

Ban the exhibit and/or sale of firearms and bullets in public malls and other public places. With prior permit and payment of rental fee, however, such exhibits and sale of firearms may be made in military or police camps.

Ban the manufacture, importation or sale of toy guns, air guns or replicas of guns.

Ban the exportation of firearms.

Ban the importation of guns except high-powered guns for use by the police and the military.

Legalize and place under tight government control the local production and sale of firearms for use by the police and military as well as the civilians for sports and home protection. Manufacture and sale of fire-arms without authorization of the government shall be punishable with the same penalty for illegal possession of firearms as provided in No. 13 above.

In addition to the present requirements for permit to possess, the applicant must show to the authorities that he/she has a gun safety deposit box at home approved by the government.

Mandate the periodic public inventory, decommissioning and melting down of all confiscated guns for conversion into useful instruments.

Under a general amnesty, an individual may voluntarily surrender an unlicensed firearm with no questions asked and without incurring any criminal or civil liability. As an incentive, the government or the private sector may give financial reward to those who take advantage of the amnesty. No other form of amnesty shall be allowed.

The same penalty for illegal possession of firearms shall be imposed on anyone found guilty of “planting evidence” to incriminate others.

Actively promote a “drug-free” Philippines by formulating and implementing a no-nonsense national strategy to eliminate the manufacture, distribution, trafficking, transshipment, sale and use of all illegal drugs.

Good Governance
Abolish the “pork barrel” system in any form and regardless of its name.

Accord the highest priority to projects and programs for the underprivileged, the indigenous peoples, the elderly, the prisoners, the disabled, the veterans and the youth; and support non-government organizations or communities whose projects directly benefit the poor.

Make representation before the Supreme Court to bring about the speedy administration of justice.

Ensuring transparency and public accountability in government activities and transactions; reinforcing vigilance against graft and corruption, abuse of authority, and waste in all three branches of the government and at all levels of bureaucracy; ensuring that public officials must live their means and shun profligacy.

Enforce by administrative/criminal action failure by public officials to liquidate their cash advances within a reasonable period of time as may be prescribed by law or regulation.

Undertake a thorough review of the systems and procedures and guidelines on the procurement in all government institutions aimed at forestalling the commission of graft and corruption.

Promote a safe, clean, healthy and wholesome environment, particularly zero waste management; promote stewardship as a way of life; and promote the development of parks throughout the country.

Economic Development
Ensure rapid and sustained economic growth for sustainable poverty reduction and better quality of life for all by:

• reviewing and rationalizing all outstanding public debts and limit future government barrowings within growth level of our exports, OFW remittances or GDP.

• raising private and public savings rates to increase total investment rate;

• enhancing investments in human resource development, especially by strengthening education in the sciences, mathematics, engineering and English;

• streamlining government bureaucracy to reduce personnel expenditures (besides reducing corruption);

• drastically improving tax administration and revenue generation;

• doing away with laws, rules and regulations that give government personnel, like the BIR, the discretion to allow or disallow certain deductions or exemptions, etc.;

• prioritizing agricultural development and attaining a high degree of self-sufficiency by encouraging productivity through the introduction of new technologies and support infrastructure;

• creating micro-finance and other credit facilities for small enterprises by harnessing OFW remittances and other exports more for economic development;

• encouraging livelihood, formation of cooperatives and other small enterprises development programs to alleviate poverty in the grassroot level;

• implementing the Agrarian Reform Program;

• promoting industrialization by encouraging the expansion of useful industries, including telecommunications and information technology, to more effectively harness our God-given resources for the economic well-being of the people;

• attaining a stable balance of trade by encouraging the development of new export products and improving existing ones.

Political Culture
End the practice of appointing former military officer to the position of Secretary of National Defense based on the principle of civilian supremacy over the military.

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall have a fixed term of three (3) years regardless of the statutory age of retirement.

Active military and police personnel shall not be assigned as aides and security officers.

Disallow elected and appointed public officials from writing regular columns, acting in movies and television shows, acting as commentators or anchorpersons on radio and television, and appearing on TV and radio commercials and print advertisements and billboards.

End the unwholesome practice of setting up billboards or similar media in public places naming the public official responsible for the project.

Apply to everyone the Constitutional ban against relatives of incumbent government officials up to the third degree from seeking public office simultaneously or succeeding the former, and to make it unlawful for any member of the Senate or the House of Representatives to run for another office without first resigning from his/her position six months before the elections.

To promote national and local candidates (servant leaders) who are morally upright and competent and who subscribe to the founding principles and platform of the Party.

In addition to the Constitutional requirements to run for public office, candidates for President, Vice-President, Senators and Congressmen must possess a college or university degree.

Submit to the Filipino people proposed amendments to the Philippine Constitution consistent with the principles, values and objectives of the Party.