Not Personalities, But Character and Platform

 

By Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

 

A CALL FOR SERVANT-LEADERS willing to run for national and local public office has been launched by Ang Kapatiran.

Ang Kapatiran is a national political party accredited by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on May 8, 2004, two days before the last national elections. “I see it as God’s protection,” says Ang Kapatiran founding President Nandy Pacheco, who is known for his tireless campaign for a gun-less society. “We are able to start clean, free from any moral blemish, and not affected by the controversies of the last election.”

What exactly is a “servant leader”? Pacheco likens a servant leader with Christ, who washed the feet of His disciples. Pacheco explains, “To lead, one has to serve.” He echoes the teaching of Christ, “He who is first must be last.”

“This servant-leadership is quite unlike the behavior of many of our politicians today,” Pacheco continues. “There is so much wanton greed, so much lording over one’s followers, so much vanity, arrogance, deception, and hypocrisy. Moral principles are set aside in pursuit of power. Corruption and unethical practices abound.”

What makes Ang Kapatiran a different kind of political party?

“In Ang Kapatiran, principles and platform come first before personalities,” Pacheco states. “This is not so with traditional political parties, which promote personalities, patronage, and pay-off. The people have grown accustomed to focusing on celebrity politics or the politics of personality resulting in the wholesale failure of the people to express their collective aspirations, what they want to become, the kind of society they want to have, and how to move from the present condition to the condition they want to reach.”

Pacheco continues, “With common good as its ideology, Ang Kapatiran is founded on ‘rock’ made up of universal principles such as the dignity of human life, solidarity, preferential option for the poor, rights of workers, dignity of labor, peace, active nonviolence, and progressive disarmament. Ang Kapatiran plays the role of catalyst and broker for the people’s aspirations. The Filipino should be a stakeholder in the party and not a mere onlooker.

“Ang Kapatiran promotes the politics of virtue, duty, good citizenship, transparency, and public accountability. Our party believes that the cultivation of virtue makes individuals happy, wise, competent, and courageous. The result is a good person, responsible citizen, and trusted leader. Without a virtuous people, society cannot function well. Without a virtuous society, individuals cannot realize their own or the common good.”

“Ang Kapatiran is the antidote to trapo-ism,” adds Pacheco.

For those unfamiliar with Philippine politics, the coined term trapo-ism has a double meaning: trapo is a nickname for traditional politics, but at the same time trapo is a Filipino word that means dirty rags, a phrase that connotes all the negative aspects of traditional Philippine politics.

At the core of the tenets of Ang Kapatiran is the belief in non-violent change. “We want to change the politics of guns, goons, and gold. Non-violent change also means elections, whether snap or regular. A snap or special election may happen. No one is certain what’ll happen,” Pacheco says, referring to the current volatile situation in the Philippines.

The vision of Ang Kapatiran is a Philippine society where everyone can live life in its fullness; its mission is to build a nation of character. In Ang Kapatiran, the moral, intellectual, and physical fitness of the candidates and a platform with clear and specific policy objectives go together. “One without the other is useless,” states Pacheco.

The party is now actively recruiting members from which servant leaders will emerge. Individuals interested in joining the party and running for public office may log on to www.kpkcommongood.blogspot.com to know more about the party. Party membership is a condition precedent to becoming a candidate. A candidate must be a registered member of Ang Kapatiran, have all the qualifications required by the Constitution and the laws, believe in and live by the founding principles of the party, accept and pledge to implement the platform in its totality, accept the notion of servant-leader, be morally, physically and technically fit to serve, have a university or a college degree, have not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, and observe the party’s code of conduct, rules, and regulations.

Interested potential candidates for national office (for the positions of President, Vice President, and Senator) are requested to submit their bio-data together with a recent photograph to the Qualification Committee of Ang Kapatiran at the following address: 377 Columbia Street, Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila. For inquiries, call or fax 6352796, or e-mail alliance_commongood@yahoo.com.

Those applying must indicate on the cover letter of their application the region they are from and the office(s) they are interested in ranked according to preference.

Ang Kapatiran invites all Filipinos of goodwill to become its members and make a difference. Pacheco states, “There is no socio-political transformation until the people themselves say what kind of society they want and how to pass from their present condition to the condition they want to reach.”

Pacheco appeals to every patriotic Filipino, “We can’t rebuild this nation without you.”

 

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo is a freelance writer, author, and book editor. She is a charter member of Ang Kapatiran. Email her at rubycalo@yahoo.com