A non-profit coalition released a video showing how Filipino citizens contribute or help to improve the Philippines as a reminder for them to register to vote.
This video was also a direct response to the remarks of President Rodrigo Duterte and his supporters against vocal critics of the administration.
The coalition or consortium called Participate PH posted the three-minute video clip titled “Ang Ambag Natin” on June 21.
“Lagi nating naririnig ang tanong na ‘Anong ambag mo?’ Ano nga ba ang sagot dito?” read the post.
In the video clip, Duterte’s remark against his critics, which he aired in a previous national address, was cited.
“What have you done for the country except to talk and criticize and talk?” the president asked.
Screenshots of the different comments from administration supporters telling critics about their contributions or “ambag” to the country were also shown.
In response to these, the video explained that all Filipinos have a great impact on society in three ways:
- Paying taxes that finance the government’s projects and services, including the COVID-19 vaccines
- Voicing or speaking out concerns and complaints to some questionable policies and their implementation
- Voting in local and national elections
As of writing, the video has earned over one million views on facebook. It has also been shared more than 61,000 times and earned over 47,000 reactions.
In the comments section, Filipinos lauded the people behind it and hoped that others would be enlightened by it.
“More of this po! Very informative and optimistic ng dating!” one user said.
“So dapat pala mamayan ang magtanong sa mga pulitiko,” another user wrote.
In a separate post on June 23, the coalition also shared the same content through a series of infographics.
The video clip was the second episode Participate PH’s video series called “Ano ang Ambag Mo?” wherein the episodes involved basic information about the Philippine government and Filipinos’ role in it.
It has three episodes so far. The other two are titled “Episode 1: Ang Kapangyarihan ng…” and “Episode 3: Ang Pananagutan ng Gobyerno.”
Participate PH is a consortium that comprises the following organizations:
- Ateneo School of Government
- La Salle Institute of Governance
- National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections
- IDEALS Inc.
- CODE-NGO
In its profile, Participate PH was described as a “non-partisan, pro-democracy coalition dedicated to engage and empower the political participation of the Filipino people.”
After Duterte lashed out against critics and asked them of their contributions in April last year, Filipinos similarly countered him and pointed out their different contributions to their fellow countrymen.
These include paid taxes, fundraising drives to vulnerable sectors severely affected by the pandemic and bayanihan activities to fill in the gaps of the government’s own pandemic efforts.
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