What are the prospects and limits of my power as a Citizen?
By: Luis Emmanuel G. Fleta
Sometimes I think that us regular citizens are just mere sheep being led into place by government sheepdogs, and we’re not allowed to go astray or deviate.
While this analogy could go either way and that discipline and control is usually a good thing, it doesn’t mean that citizens should not have a voice and limited stake in issues that really matter.
As we all know, the 2019 South East Asian Games is ongoing (as of this writing). And this is one of the moments I realized just how much power citizens hold as a collective. Collectively, our combined opinions and the overall public sentiment can put so much pressure to the organizers and officials which eventually resulted to better output with regards to our hosting of the SEA Games.
However, that’s collectively. Individually? It’s a different story.
One of the best ways to have a hand in public decision-making is to have enough credibility. Sadly, credibility is oftentimes synonymous with wealth or more specifically, influence bought by money. In these times, government infrastructure projects and contracts get easily handed out to powerful and well-connected people. Ordinary people like those affected by Right-of-Way Acquisitions and Informal Settler Families - these are the people whose voices should be heard.
As an ordinary citizen, I wish that this same credibility and influence be attained by the likes of the masses. And maybe collectively, this potential power can be realized.
