In a political cauldron such as Masbate, where open dissent can be dangerous, the popular social networking site Facebook has become a venue to demand reforms.
In fact, the Facebook group named “Masbate Election 2013 … Your Voice!” has earned 8,303 subscribers as of Oct. 24 since it was created one month before, serving not only as a voice for people with ties to Masbate but also as a mirror of the current political situation in the island-province.
The administrator of the social networking account says persons who want to join the group must answer three questions:
• What should be done in order for [Masbate] to progress?
• What projects should be implemented or continued?
• What should be done to ensure orderly and fair elections?
“This will be the biggest Facebook group in Masbate! Let our voices be heard for our future. Only clean and friendly discussion [is encouraged]. As much as possible don’t drop names or criticize persons in positions,” says the administrator.
Some subscribers deride the account as politicking, saying it is too early to talk about the 2013 elections. But most of the posts and comments long for political reforms.
The southernmost province of Bicol, Masbate has perennially been on the Commission on Elections’ list of election hot spots in the country due to its long history of political violence.
“Please let it be. For the sake of the future generation, please vote for those who deserve to be elected, not only those who have the money and the guns. Don’t be carried away by fear. And if you would be the one elected, please help Masbate, which is yet to progress,” says one subscriber.
Masbate remains among the 20 poorest provinces in the Philippines with nearly half of the the population living below the poverty line, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB). On a positive note, however, the agency says the current poverty incidence rate of 42 percent is actually a sharp improvement from 65 percent in 2000.
Driven away by fear
“I am saddened every time I go home for Christmas and fiesta. Nothing seems to have changed 11 years after I graduated from [college]. Sad to say, we have been left out by smaller towns,” says another subscriber.
The subscriber’s lament seems to echo the statement of Aroroy Mayor Enrico Capinig in September.
“Political violence has not only scared off investors, it also drives away residents of the province, who instead of working here have looked for greener pastures (elsewhere). The combined effects of insufficient investment and localized brain drain have resulted in poverty of Masbate,” Capinig has said.
Amid the desperate statements of many posts in the account, some still choose to be optimistic although even the Philippine National Police (PNP) deems the situation as volatile.
“Let’s all be positive that there is hope for our province … It begins with our personal disposition and mindset … Think about it, if every [Masbate resident] would start to think and act positively, change is possible! Let us not rely on the politicians/public servants to do all the change we wish to see! As what has been said, we should be the change we want to see,” says one subscriber.
“Amid all our complaints against the current political system in Masbate, why don’t we start the change by not being an additional burden to the government? If only everyone, including those in power, would think this way, there are easy solutions for the problems of Masbate,” adds another.
Challenge to leaders
For some, the only solution to the woes of Masbate is political will and good leadership.
“Don’t say that there’s no progress in our place. There is. But this progress does not trickle down to the people. I call it chaotic progress. People have no discipline. Politicians have no political will to enforce laws because they are scared of losing votes. There’s only two things that should be addressed to beyond the stagnation our province is mired in—poverty and politics. There’s too much of this in our province,” says a subscriber.
Gov. Rizalina Seachon Lanete says the provincial government is addressing the concerns of its residents.
“We have started projects which although small have long-lasting positive effects. These include feeding program, medical mission, and concreting of roads,” she says.
The provincial government has its own Facebook account.
Anyone who is not a minor can create and administer a page in Facebook, the social networking site founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin in 2004.
As of July 2011, it has at least 750 million active users around the world.