III. SOCIAL PROGRAM

Social policy should, we believe, be constructed around the principle of moral citizenship, which means equality of opportunity and equality of respect. Every individual must have the resources and opportunities necessary to be able to participate fully in society, and must have the right to be treated fairly and with dignity by other individuals and by government

But while there will have a minimum safety net for those who are excluded from the market or incapable of competing within it, providing equality of outcome for all is not the task of government. Providing equality of opportunity for all is. When acting to influence the shape of society, the balance of government actions should therefore be weighted towards enlarging opportunities than towards redistributing wealth for its own sake.

When acting in the sphere of welfare, health and education, government should, in general, be more concerned with defining the entitlements of the individual, assuring equality of access and quality of delivery and leaving the citizen to choose, rather than with providing the mechanism for delivery itself. Often an important task will be to teach people how to choose. Empowering individuals to follow their chosen destiny will always be preferable to simply providing services to the passive recipients of welfare.

Creating a society of opportunity, rather than dependency, is one way to tackle the increasing alienation of many individuals from society. Crime and violence are increasing, riots and demonstrations are exploding in our major cities, drug addiction is rocketing and police designated ‘hot-spot’ areas are spreading – yet, at the same time, the Philippines has an extremely large prison population. A fundamental rethinking of attitudes towards crime and policing is urgently needed.

9. SOCIAL REFORM AGENDA

The most serious problems besetting our country maybe attributed to the long-standing history of injustice to the under privileged. More than majority of the Filipino people continue to live in abject poverty. The Liberal Party is staunchly pro-poor. The party favors an open, pluralist, democratic society with a government that will serve the priorities and interests of the overwhelming majority of our people.

Liberals believes that there can be no meaningful democracy where the majority of the people are poor and weak. When our people remain hungry they cannot be truly free. Nor can we have economic recovery and growth without political stability – there can be no political stability without social justice. Social Justice as clarified by the Constitution means a more equitable distribution of wealth and political power. This implies serious commitment to the primacy of asset reform and progressively increasing access to resources in order to allow people to have greater control of their own lives. The current government has not made sincere initiatives at the substantial realization of the aspirations of the great majority of our people for social reform. For this reason, Liberals shall commit to deliver adequate resources for the full implementation of the goals of Social Justice.

It is in this light that the Liberal Party has formulated its Social Reform Agenda.

A. LABOR – Labor policies should reflect the kind of society we want: a free, just, and progressive society. Since we believe that Filipinos are capable of building a prosperous and vibrant economy controlled by Filipinos, for the primary benefit of the majority of the Filipinos, the Party proposes the following 5-points labor program:

• We believe that the State should ensure fair and adequate wages for employees and workers. Towards this end, the Party shall endeavor to establish an effective mechanism where the minimum wage or salaries for employees shall be periodically reviewed and accordingly adjusted recognizing the need of employers to a just return and profit from their capital vis-à-vis the requirements of their employees to cope with the minimum standards of a decent living.

• We believe that the State should afford protection to labor, especially to workingwomen and minors and those in hazardous employment. In this regard, the Party shall promote equality in employment; shall ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex or creed; and shall regulate the relations between workers and employers.

• We recognize the right to collective bargaining and association. Therefore the Party shall ensure that trade unions and labor organizations shall be free from government and industry interference. It is committed to facilitate the means of communication and dialogue between them and other sectors in society.

• We believe that the gap that separates labor from management should be reduced, if not entirely eliminated. In this vein, the Party shall encourage both sides to view each other’s as partners, rather than adversaries. The party is also committed to the establishment of a mechanism where the employees of commercial, industrial or agricultural enterprise, with a sizable labor force, shall be represented in the governing board or management of the enterprise.
• We shall institute measures to protect working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full potential in the service of the nation.

Towards this end, the Party shall ensure that paid vacations, company clinics and maternity leaves, and the like, are included in the minimum benefits and privileges of the employee. It shall also strive to provide support services for labor, such as cooperatives, credit and loan associations, recreations, day care, job-training and educational-related program for workers as well as their families.
B. AGRARIAN REFORM

• We recognize the fact that the nation depends on agriculture for nourishment and that a good majority of our people depends on it for their livelihood. In this connection, the party encourages agricultural productivity in staple crop-rice, corn, beans and other legumes. It shall support the giving of necessary incentives to all those engaged in farming in order for them to produce more. It shall also promote progressive scientific farming and modernization in agriculture suited to Philippine conditions.
• We support the policy to pursue a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. Since the 10-year implementation period for CARL has shown its inadequacies, we shall endeavor to enact a new and genuine agrarian reform law fundamentally based on the land-to-the-tiller-principle.
• We shall initiate a special program of small loans to farmers and cooperatives for biological pest control, natural fertilizers, pesticides and farm implements.
• We are also committed to the formulation and implementation of an agricultural price support program for rice, corn, beans, and other legumes. It shall also initiate a program to develop rice and corn seeds adaptable to our soil and climate, natural, non-chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides and produce farm inputs using raw materials and labor.
• We shall promote the formulation of cooperatives by farmers and farm workers. Cooperatives engaged in food production and rural industry shall be given maximum incentives and encouragement.

C. URBAN LAND REFORM AND HOUSING

Providing good housing. Decent, affordable and safe housing is vital to personal happiness and family life. We will encourage home ownership, but we recognize that the housing market has been distorted and we believe that choice in housing means providing more accommodation in both public and private sectors. We recognize the role of local authorities in the strategic management of housing provision. We will:

• Increase investment for housing building, renovation and repair. To encourage the involvement of local authorities in partnership with housing association in rural areas, we will provide 100% housing association grants for development in designated areas. A new organization, the Homes for Enterprise, will be seated to assist with the economic expansion of housing. Existing repair and improvement grants will be combined and we will allow regionally valid maximums to reflect variable costs.
• Introduce housing cost relief weighted towards those most in need and available to house buyers and renters. This will replace mortgage tax relief for future home buyers, which often helps most those who need it least, and causes enormous distortions in the savings and housing markets. People holding mortgages will be protected: they will have the choice of moving to housing cost relief or continuing to receive mortgages interest tax relief.
• Strengthen the rights of tenants, in both the private and public sector, by guaranteeing greatly improved standards of repair and maintenance and giving greater protection against harassment through a Tenants’ Charter. The Charter would be upheld by a Housing Tribunal, which would enable disputes to be resolved in a less formal way than through the courts. We will encourage LGU’s to pass control over management and maintenance of rented housing to tenants, exercised through boards of housing associations.
• Take immediate action on homelessness, which is reaching crisis proportions in the cities and in many rural areas. Short-term measures include paying income support to claimants in advance and assisting with initial deposits; the extension of the duty of local authorities to provide accommodation for 11-18 year olds; and encouragement for local authorities to assist each other with housing needs, together with the provision of resources to enable them to do so. We will also encourage and expand a refuge network for women and children. Planning laws must be altered so that in certain communities the number of non-family second homes and holiday homes can be controlled.
• Adopt new environmental standard for all buildings, commercial and domestic. We will introduce a requirement for energy audits on all new buildings as a precondition for issuance of licenses, such as provisions for solar energy and other energy-saving measures. Homes, which meet the new standards, will be exempt from taxes on house purchase. We will encourage those planning new houses to take passive solar energy sourcing into account.

D. IMPROVE SOCIAL SERVICES

Liberals will invest in local services to enable communities to thrive. Our aim is to ensure that individuals of all backgrounds and means can live free of the fear of sickness, poverty and crime.

The steps we outline are necessary to create a fair, democratic and prosperous society, in which individuals are able to make their voices heard and develop their talents and skills to the full. We believe that people can realize their full potential not as isolated individuals, but as members of thriving and responsible communities. We will invest in a network of community services – health, housing, crime prevention, social security, arts and sports – to improve the quality of choices and opportunities for everyone.

Guaranteeing high-quality health care. Liberals remain steadfastly committed to enable everyone to live free of the fear of illness, injury and disability, to provide healthcare free at the point of delivery and regardless of ability to pay. Our priorities are:

• A decent level of health service funding, including an annual real increase to match the cost of new technology and the growing number of children and elderly people who need health services most. We will start to rectify the under funding suffered by the Health Service workers, invest more in renovating and constructing new health service buildings.
• Health Promotion – Keeping people healthy, and treating the root cause of ill health. We will provide resources for preventive medicine, health education and occupational health, invest in screening programs for the prevention of disease, tackle the problems of drug abuse, ban tobacco promotion, promote free consultations for the indigent especially those involving for EENT test and dental checkups.
• We will increase resources for primary health care. We will restore a comprehensive dental screening service in schools. We will require all governments to take account of the impact on health of their decisions – of crucial importance in areas such as industrial investment, housing, social security and environmental protection. We will commit the necessary resources to tackle the HIV virus.
• Real choice in health care. We will introduce an effective Patient’s Charter, including right to hospital treatment within a specified time – especially the poor as well as accident victims, guarantee access to health records, and introduce a comprehensive no-fault compensation scheme.
• Better health care for women. We will ensure access to clinics providing health promotion, counseling, family planning, screening services particularly for cervical, and breast cancer, and advice on maternity and child care. We will increase the availability both of treatment by women health professionals and of home birth.
• High quality community care, available through voluntary, private and local authority services to people unable to care for themselves. We will give users control over the options for care and provide services in a way that guarantees individuals maximum independence while retaining existing community links. We will create a Community Care Commission to guarantee standards of provision. We will provide bridging finance for local authorities for the transition to the new legislative arrangements on community care.
• Investment in Health Workers, including in-service training, especially in areas of significant shortage and changing roles. We will reform medical staffing and training to replace the consultant-led hierarchy with teams of accredited specialists. We shall promote the right of health workers at all levels of the service.
• Creating a common structure of local management for hospitals and community units that will establish local planning and uniform terms and conditions of service for health workers. We will bring all trust back within the overall framework of health board management.

Ensuring a decent income for all. The tax and social security systems are long overdue for reform. Our objectives are to simplify and integrate the two systems, to mount a determined assault on poverty and dependence, and to protect our citizens from want. We will work towards an eventual creation of a new Citizen’s Income – a living wage, as mandated by the constitution which shall be payable to all irrespective of sex or status. For pensioners, the Citizen’s Income will be well above the present pension. Unpaid work will be recognized as valuable. Women caring in the home, for example, will receive an independent income from the state for the first time. The Citizen’s Income will be buttressed by a single benefit for those in need, unifying income support and family credit, with supplements for people with disabilities and for childcare support. These reforms will ensure that every citizen is guaranteed a decent minimum income, whether or not they are in employment. Our immediate priorities, which will act as steps toward the Citizen’s Income, include:

• Immediate improvement in benefits. We will increase Child Benefits for each child. We will establish a Social Fund Network, setting realistic cash limits and allowing access to soft loans and grants.
• Increase the basic pension benefits immediately. The higher pension will be paid to every pensioner, regardless of their contributory record, to end the indignity of means testing. After this, we will update the basic pension every year in line with average earnings.
• Creating a comprehensive disability income schemes. We will provide a statutory framework of protection, including employee representation on occupational pension trusts.
• Unifying income tax and employees’ insurance (SSS/GSIS) contributions so that the two taxes are collected and administered together and paid on the same income, whether from earnings, investments, capital gains or perks.
Guaranteeing equal opportunities. A forward-looking society places an equal value on the contribution of all it’s citizens – and benefits from the participation of all. Yet in today’s society many groups of individuals are systematically discriminated against by a State, which fails to recognize their right to equality of opportunities. Liberals will:

• Fight discrimination. Reinforce existing protection in the courts against discrimination on the ground of sex, race, age, disability, religion or sexual orientation. We will strengthen the Commission on Human Rights to assist individuals to take legal action in cases of discrimination of other breaches of the rights guaranteed in the Convention.
• Guarantee the right of all women. We will guarantee equal pay for work of equal values; require public authorities and private contractors holding public contracts to be equal opportunity employers and improve childcare support and facilities.
• Extend the opportunities of young people. We will entrench young people’s right of representation in bodies affecting their lives and well being such as college governing bodies. We will place a statutory obligation on local authorities to provide a comprehensive youth development programs in partnership with the private sector, and we will invest in leisure and recreation facilities, and encourage different summer work programs. Young people will have the right to confidential medical advice and treatment.
• Make old age a time of opportunity. We will introduce a flexible period for retirement for men and women. We will increase choice for elderly and retired people by encouraging openings in voluntary and part-time work, and widening the availability of education, sports activities, the arts and recreational facilities.
• Protect the right of indigenous people and other communities. We will reinforce legislation to ensure equal opportunities for all, in housing, employment, education and training. We shall protect the communities’ to ancestral domain and to preservation of their cultural identity. We will place a positive value on a pluralist, diverse and multicultural society.

• Work with people with disabilities and their organizations to draw up a character of rights for people with disabilities. We will enact a Disabled Persons Act, giving priority to the development of advocacy schemes.

10. CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Liberal Party envisions a country that is fully developed in all dimensions – a country that is developed not only economically and politically but socially and culturally as well. The party’s socio-cultural agenda endeavors to build a nation of United Filipinos who posses a sense of cultural loyalty and political dedication to the nation, share a common national goal or destiny; and are proud of their distinct Filipino identity.

• We believe that a collective Filipino identity can only be developed by instilling national pride. To this end, the Party is committed to the enhancement and development of a progressive and nationalistic leadership among the people, constantly reminding them of their historical role in the pursuit of freedom and democracy against colonizers and dictatorships.

• We believe in the Philippine society that is liberated, secured and developed, with faith and confidence in itself, justifiably proud of what it is, of what it is has accomplished, and strong enough to face all manner of adversity.

• We believe in the establishment of a moral and ethical society, whose citizens are strong in spiritual, moral and ethical values and imbued with the highest of ethical standards.

• We believe in a liberal and tolerant society where Filipinos, regardless of sex or creed, are free to practice and promote their customs, cultures and religious beliefs and continue to feel that they belong to one nation.

• We believe in a caring culture and society, a social system in which society’s interest will come before personal or selfish interest. We envision a society that ensures the security of the person built around a strong and resilient family system, tempered by the rights of the individual and the concern of the community.

11. EDUCATION

Filipino citizens are our greatest assets. Liberals will invest in people to enable every individual to fulfill, and, in so doing, build the nation’s economic and social strength. We aim to create a first-class education system for all. Not just by funding, but also through reforms which increase choice and opportunity for each citizen.

Liberals start from the belief that every individual whatever their age, sex, background or ability, possesses a unique potential and a valuable contribution to offer society. Our target is excellence for all. This requires more relevant courses, higher standards and improvement provision. Excellence also has a cost. We will guarantee that Liberals will increase investment in education by PhP200 million in the countrysides within the first year. Our priorities for investment are preschool education, education and training for 16-20 year olds, vocational training in technology and adult education.

Placing Education at the Heart of the Community

a. Create an active learning community. There is a continuing and developing role for the community education service. Local authorities will be given a statutory duty to provide, in partnership with the voluntary sector, a range of educational and learning opportunities within communities.

b. Freedom of choice in education must be a basic right of education. Such freedom of choice must be exercised with in the constraints of physical accommodation and the need to maintain acceptable pupil/teacher ratios. Parents also have a right to educate their children in independent schools and that right will be respected. On the other hand, the financial needs of state school must take priority over helping with fees with fees for those wishing to enter the private school system. Where a demand exists for such alternative approaches to education, such schools will be encouraged to enter into service-contract arrangements with the local governments, through the school boards and public funds could be made available.

c. Local authorities and parents in partnership. Liberals believe that the day-to day running of our school needs a period of stability. School Boards should therefore continue. While the future School Boards should be reviewed, any changes will only be made after the fullest consultation with all concerned. The priority area of reform would be to give an effective voice to parents and teachers in the determination of policy at the basic education levels.

B. Aiming High by Raising Standards

Our aim is to simply to give the Filipinos a world-class education system, in which high quality is key. We will:

a. We shall ensure that education, along with other social services, shall in real terms receive the top budgetary allocation in accordance with our development goals.

b. Create the framework for high standards by clarifying the mandates of the Department of Education and the Commission of Higher Education, defining their responsibilities, and ensuring accountability for oversight of all education and training.

c. Improve inspections. We will commission on a regular basis a fully independent Inspectorate of Education and Training, properly staffed and funded, to report on the entire range of public and private provision for education from preschool education to universities. Local school superintendents will be answerable to the Inspectorate, which will also have a new role as Education Ombudsman. We will carry out a School Building Audit alongside a regular a local school inspection, to assess the physical state of school and equipment.

d. Support teachers. We will improve teachers’ salary levels and promotion structures to maintain quality. We will improve training for new teachers and develop in-service training.

Educating the Individual

Liberals will ensure that every individual can receive high-quality education and training throughout their life from preschool to retirement. But the current system places too little emphasis on the vocational achievements. We will:

• Guarantee preschool education from the age of four. This must become a statutory provision. Local authorities will be given a statutory duty to provide in partnership with the voluntary sector, a range of provision through day nurseries, playground, family, centers, nursery schools and preschool education provision for all parents of 4-5 years olds who want it, in the form they choose.

• The present policy of free education to all students in public elementary and secondary school must be maintained. Gifted students from poor family shall be assisted by the state to enable them to undertake and finish their studies.

• Introduce a diversity of education provision. Liberals want to see balance in the curriculum between the academic and practical, the vocational and purely cultural. Secondary school must aim for as many as possible of their pupils to become fluent in at least one additional language. They will do this in partnership with their feeder primary schools where children will be introduced to the appropriate second language at an early age. We shall promote literacy in language of high technology in order for the future generation to compete globally in next century. We will encourage individual school to develop their own particular ethos, whether in relation to dress or discipline, development of particular strength in science and technology, arts, regional or foreign languages, or sports, and thus widen parent and pupil choice.

• Assure higher quality skills training. We believe that everyone should remain in at least part time education or training until they are 20. We will legislate so that those who enter work at 16 will have a minimum of one day education or training each week on approved courses leading to recognized qualifications.

• Reduce class sizes. We will aim to reduce maximum class sizes so that no registration class in the country need have more than 30 students. In this way, the progress of each individual is adequately monitored and their different needs met.

• Improve special educational needs provision. The integration of special needs children into mainstream schools has important benefits for all the pupils involved. We will require schools to prepare for every child with special needs who is not currently covered, an indicative statement to identify needs, set targets and report progress. There is however a continuing need for special schools and for specialist units where children spend some time within the unit and some within the mainstream school.

• Promote education for life. We do not see education as something that happens just at school or college. Every citizen should be entitled to a period of retraining or education at a time of their choices during their adult lives, based on distance learning costs. We will increase the number of access courses for mature students and invest in retraining for those in mid-career. We will fund crash courses in main areas of skills deficiency and aim in particular to help the long-term unemployment.

• Along with the development of vocational and technical skills and the strengthening of the science and mathematics departments in all schools and colleges, students shall be encouraged to seek and know the truth, broaden their intellectual outlook, increase their social awareness and their sense of responsibility to the community, and deepen their commitment to the ideals and values of a free, independent and just society.

D. Open the doors to Higher Education

Our country’s higher education system still provides excellent standards of education, but it does so for too few people. Liberals aim to increase participation and increase flexibility in studying for degrees. Not all students want to follow traditional four-year courses. We will:

• In crease participation in higher education. We will broaden the degree system and make it more flexible by establishing a system based on transferable credits, qualification after two, three or four years, and summer schools. Government policy is cutting standards by increasing numbers without adequate funding. We will maintain standard in traditional higher education and add more opportunities for learning from home. We will widen access by extending franchising, open and distance-learning. We will restore student entitlement to benefit and extend student financial support to include part-time students.

• In public vocational schools and in State colleges and universities, free education shall be given to students with the requisite talents and aptitudes. State scholarships covering not only tuition fees but expenses for books, board and lodging, transportation, and other incidental items, shall be awarded to students with sufficient means but endowed with exceptional talents, as determined by means of competitive examinations.

• Increase the number of students in higher education to three million by the year 2005. As well as more young people, we will particularly encourage the participation of women, people from minority ethic and poorer backgrounds, and people with disabilities to have access to higher education.

• Increase flexibility courses. We will introduce a credit-based system, enabling students to achieve a diploma after the equivalent of three years, with the option of a further one or two years study leading to a degree. We will make financial assistance available for part-time study.

• Fund students properly. As our plans for the reform of tax and benefit are implemented we will establish a Student Income Entitlement to which all students, both full and part-time, will be eligible.

• Guarantee quality. The Commission for Higher Education shall ensure that as number rise, quality does not suffer. We will establish a proper career structure for research fellows and set up a Pay Review Body for academic staff to halt the brain drain.

• Invest in research. We will immediately increase the science and technology budget, and raise it steadily thereafter. We will also establish new research Councils for all relevant disciplines.

12. Law and Order

Protecting the Community. Over the past ten years recorded crimes has risen faster than at any times in our history. Meanwhile, prison condition has deteriorated and the public has lost confidence in the criminal justice system. Liberals will reverse this trend by:

• Creating safe and secure communities. We will give local authorities the powers to develop comprehensive community crime prevention programs, improve services to victims and encourage Neighborhood Watch and Safety City Programs. We will pay special attention to the underlying social problems in high-crime areas, particularly to prevent young people drifting into crime.

• Putting more police officers on the beat. We will re-deploy police resources in order to increase police presence in local communities and establish local neighborhood officer support systems. We will decentralize budgetary control to police subdivisions. We will encourage recruitment campaigns and training for promotion to increase the number of women officers in the police force and encourage appropriate promotion to the higher ranks. Multicultural tolerance, gender-sensitivity, and human rights training will be incorporated in their basic course and shall form basis of promotions.

• Reforming the criminal justice system. We will extend legal aid, ensuring that justice is more widely available. We will encourage “restorative justice”, in which mediation between victims and offenders provides reparations for those who suffer form crime.

• Radically reforming conditions inside prisons, reducing overcrowding, improving prison officers’ morale and punishing offenders where possible within the community. We will extend the rights and responsibilities of prisoners; and create the post of Prison Ombudsman.

• Introduce a system of efficient and effective crime and drug abuse prevention, and of criminal justice, including reform and rehabilitation of criminal offenders.

Our Pledge
Because we believe in stable government supported by a majority of the Filipino people, we shall not only campaign wholeheartedly for your votes in the coming election, but we also make a pledge for the period after the election. Our aim will be the creation of stable government for our country and more a democratic basis for the future governments. Liberals will neither support nor participate in a government that turns its back on reform. Any minority government that tries to play games with the constitution in order to cling to power, promoting instability and avoiding the moral challenge and responsibility of democracy, will have to contend with us.

That is our pledge.