You may email him at david.l.balangue@ph.ey.com .)

Be a member of the Yellow Army…Join now! T.Y.
Denz Ferrer

Please visit our Yahoo Group site (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/titacorymovement/) or Facebook site (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119772381709) and be a TCMer.

— On Sat, 29/8/09, davidlbalangue wrote:

From: davidlbalangue
Subject: [titacorymovement] Message from the Founder
To: titacorymovement@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, 29 August, 2009, 6:35 AM

Dear TCMers,

Firstly, let me apologize for not being able to communicate with you more often as probably I should. Two reasons here, one is I have a very demanding job and I have to prioritize, at this time, my work. Second is I don’t want the Movement to be centered on me or any person for that matter. Rather, I wish for the Movement to be cause-centric, focusing on the main task at hand – TCM People Power — the true empowerment of the Filipino people. I tried to make up for the infrequent communication by having long letters but a friend reminded me that most people don’t have the time and patience to read long letters, so henceforth, I will keep my messages short and to the point and not put in too many messages in a single communication.

We are now three weeks old and are approaching the 4,000 members mark, still a long way to go but a modest achievement nevertheless. I had the opportunity to read my Yahoo/TCMer mail only last night and noticed that we already have some members who are getting impatient and want to go out there and start doing something concrete. This of course is understandable. We need to appreciate however that most organizations similar to ours fall into the trap of immediately jumping into the fray even way before they are ready, and consequently fail no matter how noble and righteous their intentions were. Just look at the other movements that many of you are also members of. We need to learn from their experiences and not repeat their mistakes.

Our Movement shall be different. We will embark on concrete activities when we are ready and that is when we already have the numbers that I have talked about. The voice of our 3,700 members currently will be nothing but a whisper or whimper that will not be noticed or heard. We will end up being marginalized in such a situation. Now compare that with the voice of a million or more members which is our goal. As I have repeatedly said, I believe that a million members is the critical mass that we need for the Movement to be a credible organization and for the Movement to really make a difference.

You may of course continue to do what you believe should be done for this country, but for now, please do it in your individual capacity or thru your other organizations and not thru the Movement. We do not mind of course your keeping us informed of these activities and using TCM as a forum for exchanging views and opinions. As for the Movement at this time, let’s first nurture and strengthen our membership by focusing our energies and efforts on recruitment. And we need everyone to get involved and actively recruit.

For now, there is only one singular broad purpose of the Movement that we need to keep in mind and tell our recruits, to keep alive and make real the dreams of our beloved Tita Cory for a truly democratic government that serves, and is empowered, by the Filipino people. Our TCM People Power will be similar to the non-violent People Power 1 that put an end to the Marcos dictatorship but different in that we shall not leave the task unfinished. We shall be more structured, organized and vigilant. We shall not end up with the same corrupt and inept government that 23 years ago People Power 1 should have eradicated but actually only succeeded in replacing the personalities involved. A generation lost that made us playing catch up with our Asian neighbors and worsened the corruption and poverty in our midst. Our TCM People Power shall not rest until we have brought and are able to sustain demanding and getting justice, truth and accountability in government which shall truly serve and promote the aspirations of the people. If our Movement truly becomes the catalyst of bringing the power of government to the people where it rightfully belongs, it will not matter much who the elected president may be for his powers would be then but a loan which we the people can take back anytime if undeserved.

Mabuhay to the Yellow Army!

Sincerely,
Dave

First of all, congratulations to you for making peoples empowerment alive in Naga that gives inspiration to many .

sir, I am Edwin Chavez, Executive Director of Center for Popular Empowerment (CPE) and NGO based in Quezon City. I am also the convenor of the Task Force PAT (Participation, Accountability and Transparency) a group of CSOs here in QC that advocates for the passage of the PAT ordinance of QC. The ordinance seeks to institutionalize peoples participation through the creation of Peoples Council of Quezon City. It was introduced by Councilor Jorge Banal Jr, right after he went back from a visit in Naga. He was so inspired by the NCPC experience and made him file a similar measure before the city council in August 2008.

Currently it is being deliberated by the city council for the last 3 sessions. It is actually a “toned-down” version because it doesnt have sectoral rep, no clear budget and CSO/PS reps have no voting power. Ok na rin po muna sa amin. Mahalaga ay ma institutionalize at ma expand ang participation ng mga tao sa city governance.

Just want to ask sir sino po ang pwede namin makausap re details of the NCPC. There are some questions po kasi that we want to be answered, based on the NCPC experience. Final deliberation will be on Monday. We hope that the ordinance will be passed by the council and approved by the Mayor.

Kudos and best regards!

Respectfully yours,

Ed Chavez

Thanks
Chandrashekar
International Peace, Potitical and Social Activist
Bangalore
India