In the course of developing this concept in September 2009, Peter Koeppinger, the incoming Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) country representative contributed immensely. A member of the CDU himself, the leading Christian Democratic Party in Germany and our partners since the early 1960s, we both understood the necessity of forming a real political party.
Thus, the creation of the Centrist Democratic Movement (CDM) –composed of young professionals who must first understand the uses, misuses, abuses and even non-use of political power.
We applied for and were granted accreditation by the Philippine Commission on Election (COMELEC) in September of 2012 as a full-pledged National Political Party – The Centrist Democratic Party. Ang Partido ng Tunay na Demokrasya.
Our accreditation was very much delayed and we didn’t have much time to prepare for the 2013 elections. We fielded only 59 candidates for the 18,053 positions nationwide. We manage to win 12seats.
The Philippines and Cambodia
Cambodia and the Philippines have good relations for over 50 years. “Strong and excellent ties” as described by Cambodian Ambassador to the Philippines, Noe Wong. As a people, we have a common dream – the good of our country. There is no greater way to do it than improve our basic structures of governance reinforcing the core principle of respect for human dignity. Justice is made manifest by means of promoting and protecting human rights, and we are one in that desire.
The guiding principles of centrist democracy can best be implemented through the concepts of a representative democracy based on strong, program-oriented political parties, a decentralized state structure with regional autonomy and local self-government, a “Social Market Economy” with a well-functioning open market, protected by a strong state, a social security system in place and environmental protection and sustainability.
CDP in Contrast with Other Philippine Political Parties
What make CDP unique from other Political Parties are four (4) distinct characteristics:
1. A Clear ideological orientation that defines its objectives and concepts of governance;
2. A Clear and strict membership recruitment, with members paying their dues, undergoing Basic Orientation Seminars (BOS) and constant political education;
3. A strict adherence to internal democratic procedures; and well-defined rights and obligations for members and the different layers of leaders coming from the ground up; and
4. On-going year round activities with its active members intermingling with their communities through congressional districts even in between elections and campaign periods.
Cambodia too lives in a time when it must seize the moment so that it may sow the seeds for a society where people’s dignity is respected, the rule of law is upheld, and market forces are competitive. It must open itself to political party building in order to truly give voice to the vast majority of its population. The Philippines as a country is under pressure in terms of making development pro-poor. I have no doubt that political technocracy can make that advance forward. So must Cambodia.
We have made decent progress these last few years. We’ve had setbacks but we know how to learn from our failures. We also had successes. And the latter are what propel us to gain strength for the coming political engagements. We take guidance from the wise words of Sun Tzu:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
The late Exec Director, Rey Teves of Technical Assistance Center for the Development of the Rural & Urban Poor (TACDRUP).
