FAQ-Primer on The Silent (!) Movement 1. WHAT IS THE SILENT MOVEMENT? It is a non-partisan, non-violent movement for good government. It is composed of aroused citizens who in the past have suffered in silence but now are banding together to make their views known so we may have a better and more effective government. It is the sovereign majority speaking out to their elective officials and government servants expressing their collective desire for reform. 2. WHO STARTED, AND WHO NOW SUPPORT, THE MOVEMENT? The movement was started by a group of young professionals and dedicated citizens who are frustrated at the incompetence and dishonesty of government officials, are troubled by the current economic and political conditions of the country, and alarmed by the lack of direction, mismanagement, simple decency and honesty that is bringing the nation to the brink of chaos and disaster. It is supported by a broad band of men and women representing a cross section of the nation, the urban and rural populace, businessmen, government and religious workers, the youth, and Filipino workers abroad. It has won the sympathy of the responsible members of media. 3. WHO CONSTITUTE THE CORE GROUP OF THE MOVEMENT? The basic working group is composed of ordinary citizens who have no political ambitions, and whose only desire is to have better government. There are no famous political or business personalities identified with the original sponsors of the movement, although everyone is welcome to join the movement. There are no wealthy tycoons who finance the movement, and it will have to depend on its supporters for its financial requirements. 4. WHAT IS NOVEL AND UNIQUE ABOUT THE MOVEMENTS LEADERSHIP? The unique quality of the movements leadership is that they seek nothing for themselves. They have no vested interests or businesses they want to protect. They seek no favors for themselves. They do not want to be elected to any political post, nor be appointed to any public office. They are just simple, dedicated individuals who believe in what they are doing, and are firm in their resolve. To avoid undue pressure, most of the sponsors of the movement have chosen to remain nameless and unidentified at this stage, but they will come out in the open when the right time arrives. 5. WHO IS THE OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN FOR THE MOVEMENT? The official spokesman for the movement is Ramon P. Binamira, a retired business and government executive, who has had considerable experience in government and business. Assisting Binamira are other spokesmen for various subject-matter areas. In each locality, the local movements will designate its own spokesman to reflect the local view. 6. WHO IS BINAMIRA AND WHAT IS HIS BACKGROUND? Binamira served Presidents Magsaysay and Garcia as the Presidential Assistant on Community Development ˇV the precursor of the Department of Local Government. He is the author of the Barrio Charter, that brought government to the barrios. He was the original organizer of the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) in 1951; and also led the opposition to Muro-Ami fishing that destroyed our corals and enslaved our children. He promoted backyard gardening through the Green Revolution program, and during the Aquino regime, recovered for the government tourism properties in the hands of Marcos cronies as General Manager of the Philippine Tourism Authority. He is a recipient of the Presidential Award of Merit for Exemplary Service in government. 7. WHO WILL SPONSOR THE MOVEMENT IN EACH LOCALITY? In each locality, the movement will be sponsored by a local convenors group to be chosen from among the leading citizens in each place. It is planned that such local group will be a counterpart of the national sponsors, composed of dedicated persons who adhere to the principles of the movement, and who do not seek any political office or any reward for themselves. The movement invites members of local political and social groups to join, but appeals to their leaders to preserve the non-partisan and non-violent nature of the movement by refraining from taking an active role in the local organization, and give their support to local civic leaders who will direct the local activities of the movement. 8. WHAT DOES THE MOVEMENT STAND FOR? The movement promotes good government. It supports the Rule of Law. It does not believe in using violence to achieve its ends. It is a peaceful venue to achieve reform and good governance. It is neither for or against individual politicians, but invites them and their followers to join the movement, if they subscribe to its cause. It seeks the help of God and Divine Providence to guide it in using reason and common sense in achieving its goals for the common good. It stands for honesty, decency, and morality. The movement seeks to build, and not destroy. 9. WHAT IS THE SYMBOL USED BY THE MOVEMENT? It is a slanted exclamation point, white in color against a black background. The black background denotes the present gloomy state of our country, and its dark future. The exclamation point denotes an aroused citizenry who are expressing their will as the sovereign people. It denotes their frustration at the lack of direction, mismanagement and the erosion of basic Filipino moral values of honesty, simple decency and fairness. The slanted position of the exclamation point denotes the unstable and alarming economic and political condition of the country, the decay of our political institutions, and the urgent need for the citizens to actively move to lift it and avoid its fall. 10. WHAT ELSE IS CONVEYED BY THE MOVEMENTS SYMBOL? It is a call for Filipinos to participate actively and assert their sovereign right to speak out and act together for the good of the country. It is a symbol against the blatant display of favoritism, cronyism, and despotism It is a symbol against weak governance, lack of direction, incompetence and the use of public office for private gain. It is a symbol of dissatisfaction at the antics of an expensive and subservient Congress. It is a symbol to make the people realize that it is competence, integrity, honesty and morality that should guide their choice of public official, and not money ore mere popularity. It is a symbol of disgust at the increasing number of thinly-veiled schemes of cronies and relatives designed to reap huge profits using government connections at the cost of our suffering people and the countryˇ¦s reputation. It is a symbol for Filipinos to act as one nation, and not waste lives and resources in a senseless fight against each other on the basis of religious beliefs or empty causes. It is a symbol of belief in God and Divine Providence, and in the basic tents of common sense, reason, fairness and decency. 11. THE PRESIDENT HAS CLAIMED THAT THE MOVEMENT HAS FAILED BECAUSE ONLY A FEW PARTICIPATED IN THE NOISE BARRAGE, DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW? The movement resides in the hearts and minds of our people, and its success or failure depends on whether they care enough about their country to join and support what it stands for. The supporters of the movement decided to tone down the noise barrage and avoid a confrontation. It does not have the resources and facilities of the government and a servile religious organization who use public funds, prayer and God to politically support an incompetent President. Instead, the movement will concentrate in marshalling its forces by expanding its support base to include the entire country and Filipinos abroad. 12. THE PRESIDENTS FOLLOWERS CLAIM THAT THE MOVEMENT IS DESTABILIZING THE COUNTRY AND INCITING THE PEOPLE TO REBELLION. ALREADY ONE OF ITS SUPPORTERS IS FACING CHARGE FOR INCITING TO REBELLION. PLEASE COMMENT. These are moves of a desperate crowd who use threats and government power to try and stem the rising tide of the peopleˇ¦s wrath. Instead of directly addressing the issues raised by the movement, the administration is doing a wrecking job on those who merely vocalize these issues. The king shoots the messenger, and ignores the message. The movement has publicly announced that it is for good government, respects the rule of law, and intends to achieve its ends not by violent but only through peaceful means. The movement only conveys the will of the sovereign people, from where government authority emanates. Its activities do not destabilize the nation. On the contrary, it provides a channel where people can vent their frustrations and complaints, and pass on their proposals for reform It is an accurate monitor which reflects to our leaders what our people want, so they can react accordingly. It is a healthy outlet which will contribute to stability and good government. To stifle these legitimate demands is to gather the anger of the people, and store it until they will no longer be able to take it, and it explodes. It is ignoring the legitimate demands of our people that will destabilize the country. 13. WHAT HAS BEEN THE OPINION OF LEGAL AUTHORITIES ON THE CHARGE THAT THE MOVEMENT COULD INCITE SEDITION? We hereby quote the public statement of Francisco L. Chavez, the former Secretary of Justice of the Aquino administration, who attended the initial meeting: I dropped by the Club Filipino to find out what the (!) movement was all about. After listening to the speeches of the spokespersons and reading the materials distributed by the (!) Movement, I was convinced that this group is simply sending a wake-up call to the President to put a stop to (as they have had enough of) cronyism and corruption in, and the indecision, incompetence and incomprehension of, the Estrada administration. Clearly, the group is not seeking the fall of the Estrada administration but is in fact urging it to save itself. 14. WHAT WHOULD SUPPORTERS OF THE MOVEMENT DO IN RESPONSE TO THE GOVERNMENTS EFFORTS TO STIFLE ITS ACTIVITIES? The movement at this stage appeals to all its supporters to publicly display their sympathy by posting the symbol of the movement in front of their homes, their business establishments, their cars and buses, and in public places such as transport terminals, comfort rooms, public plazas, and road signs. It asks that its symbol be duplicated and printed by all who want to move it forward and the symbol be posted all over, where the President and his minions can see the widespread support that it has engendered. 15. HOW DO YOU ASSESS THE EFFECTIVITY OF THE MOVEMENT, SO FAR? The support for the movement, both locally and abroad has been overwhelming. Media has given it the greatest support and sympathy. Recent developments have only underscored the fact that the movement is led by ordinary people who have no resources to throw against the massive power and money of the government, or the business cronies of the President who have enriched themselves at the cost of the people. One significant development is that all the leaders of the major political groups and former candidates have unreservedly given their support for its objectives. So have cause-oriented groups, and labor unions and jeepney organization. It is a fact that the President is reacting positively to the demands of the movement. He had influenced Lucio Tan to sell his shares at PAL and the PNB. He has speedily the stupid recommendation for a carless Saturday. The President is now being seen to go around the country. The movement is encouraged by these recent actions of the President. And this only underlies the importance of having the movement grow in strength so that the President may pay it more attention, for the sake of good government. 16. WHAT IS THE NEXT ACTIVITY OF THE MOVEMENT? The movement calls upon all sympathizers to display the slanting exclamation point symbol in front of their homes, their stores, their cars, in public plazas, comfort rooms, terminals, buses and boats so everyone will observe how widespread it has become. This will be a more accurate indicator of the numbers who support the movement. The movement calls for contributors to print more stickers. Then, it will establish sticker centers where the movements symbols will be available. The stickers will be distributed with a request for a donation to enable the movement to print more stickers. The movement will also establish counterpart convenors groups and announce citizens assemblies in major cities of the major regions in the country. When ready, we shall post the appropriate announcements for these activities, and indicated the dates and times when they shall be held. 17. HOW CAN WE REACH THE MOVEMENT? The movement has a web site at the following address: www.geocites.com/xpoint_2000 Starting April 15, the movement will open the following web site primarily for Filipinos who reside or are employed abroad: www.silentprotest.org You can send E-Mail to the following address: exclamation_point@hotmail.com # # # # # # # rpb 9 Apr 00
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