Advocacy Campaign Case Study

ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN CASE STUDY: THE ANTI-MINING ADVOCACY PROJECT OF THE PHILIPPINE MISEREOR PARTNERSHIP

By: Eero Brillantes, CEO, Mind Bullet Inc. (http://www.mindbullet.org/)

I. THE CONTEXT

In 2005, The Anti-Mining Advocacy Project was launched by the Philippine Misereor Partnership (PMP) . It is a large group of civil society and peoples organizations being supported by development assistance from the German’s Bishops’ Conference. It was an attempt by anti-large scale mining advocates within members of PMP to share knowledge, networks, and on the ground advocacy experiences. It was likewise recognized that national synchronized activities needed to be done and for the group to establish working links with other big campaigns and foundations like the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Foundation for Philippine Environment (FPE), National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace-Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (NASSA-CBCP), and Ecology Desk-Archdiocese of Manila. I was hired to head the advocacy team for PMP.

To me and the team, the challenge was multifaceted. The campaign comes at the heels of a resurgent and energized mining industry with the government itself doing a global marketing blitz. The Supreme Court overturned a previous decision of not allowing international mining companies to perpetuate in the country. Mining and mining applications were mushrooming all over the country.

Armed with limited budget but lots of well meaning organizations and dedicated advocates, a strategy was mapped out to put the brakes on large scale mining and bring groups to the negotiating table.

II. THE END GAME MAPPED OUT

The end game was two pronged. First was to get support from Philippine Bishops to come out with a statement critical of the unabated large scale mining in the country. Second was to leverage the support of Bishops so that the government will engage in dialogue and hopefully concrete commitments are solicited.

III. THE TRIGGER LAUNCH

To trigger the campaign, an anti-mining road show was implemented. Two compelling videos entitled Sa Ngalan ng Mina (In the Name of Mining) were produced and distributed to all campaign members and affected communities. A photo exhibit was also distributed along with the videos. Highlighting these visual presentations were the celebrated anti-mining struggles of communities in Didipio, Nueva Viscaya, Mt. Canatuan in Zamboanga Del Norte, and Rapu Rapu Island in Bicol. (The anti-mining videos and photo exhibit were done by award winning video film maker Geraldine Torres-Brillantes).

IV. ACCELERATOR ACTIVITIES

Representatives of affected communities, especially the indigenous peoples, went on a national media blitz to drum up support for the campaign.

Tactical awareness and mobilization activities at the level of affected areas in around 78 provinces were done through out the year.

Support from Metro Manila came from Catholic Schools with strong environmental protection advocacies.

The roadshow went on for about a year. By that time, community level opposition was already gaining critical mass in many areas. Through the combined efforts of PMP, ATM, like minded groups, and affected communities themselves, the stage was set to put into motion the demand for a dialogue with government.

V. IMPLEMENTING THE END GAME SCENARIO

The PMP campaign staff sought the assistance of NASSA-CBCP, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and also a member of the PMP, to spearhead the dialogue efforts.

By that time, the CBCP through a pastoral statement reiterated its call for the care for environment and for government and mining companies to become accountable for the destruction of communities with large scale mining activities.

In March 10, 2006, at the Traders Hotel in Manila, NASSA-CBCP conducted a National Mining Forum, attended by social action directors and staff representing many of the affected communities. It was also during that forum that an important side meeting was scheduled. A selected delegation of Philippine Bishops met with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Speaker Jose De Venecia, along with some cabinet secretaries. Incidentally, March 10 also marked the anniversary of the passage of the Philippine Mining Act.


The dialogue resulted in the following:

1. A review by the legislature of the Mining Act of 1995
2. Creation of the Bastes commission to review and recommend courses of action on the issue of fishkills and pollution done by Lafayette Mining in Rapu Rapu island, Bicol.
3. Direct assistance to communities affected adversely by large scale mining.


VI. ENFORCEMENT OF AGREEMENTS

As of this writing, the enforcement of the agreements are being done through the Office of the President and the NASSA-CBCP. In turn, NASSA-CBCP updates the PMP and other campaign stakeholders. While this constitutes a very important track, other campaigns and initiatives are ongoing at the international, national, and community levels. The struggles of affected communities continue.

Goverment information using mobile phones: Are we ready yet?

Text capital of the world - that has been claimed for the Philippines. In the recent age of digital technology, tech-curious Pinoys grappled over various new media gadgets such as cellular phones and the internet. Pinoys sought cellphones for personal messages, or for business. From a lowly laundrywoman to the CEO of the largest company, cellphones are found to be useful, cheap and convenient.

The Philippine government attempts to utilize the mobile phones through the E-commerce Law . M-government, as one of the components of e-government, sets the
whole world in utilizing mobile technologies to communicate government actions and concerns (Signo, et. al, 2004). Adopting this new scheme, the Philippine National Police (PNP) created the TEXT 2920 service where, mobile phones are used to report crimes and other community concerns. A paper entitled PNP TEXT 2920 SERVICE: A Communication Perspective on M-Government in the Philippine Context presented in two international conferences held in South Korea and recently, in Chennai India, analyzed how m-government, a component of e-government services, utilizes the mobile phones to inform Filipinos on government services and programs. The existing PNP Text 2920 was studied using survey methods, focused interviews with mobile phone users and Philippine National Police key informants.

The study showed low information and awareness among mobile phone users (40%). Almost 60% of the respondents said that they are hesitant to use the PNP Text 2920. Further on, according to the study, "there are elements that should be studied to make PNP TEXT 2920 efficiently and effectively utilized. These elements include the institutional capacity of the PNP in mgovernment and the public impact on the program. Technological requirements should be satisfied first so as the smooth implementation of the program. The PNP’s drive for implementation should also be strengthened. A tri-media campaign is also deemed necessary for a massive information
campaign of the program" (Signo, et. al, 2004).

Conclusion:
Government attempts in using e-government - or using new media technologies for information dissemination, policy making, strategic implementation and any government concern can be effective and efficient means in building relationships with the citizenry. Cellphones are the best media to start building relationships. However, related issues such as broadband deals and cybered were subjected to corruption issues. The high amount of budget for government infrastructure is indeed questionable. The Philippine NAtional Police's implementation of their text service is one example of how unready government infrastructure in implementing these devices. The failure to satisfy technology requirements and the failure for a massive information dissemination were examples of how poor government is in implementing their communication strategies. Thus, it is our role, as communication advocates, to continue producing scientific data and recommending strategies on institutions like the government can apply and maximize their projects and programs. And ultimately, eliminate corruption.

Reference: Buenaventura V., de la Rosa M., Domingo, E., Signo C, Valera I. (2005). PNP Text 2920: A Communication Perspective on M-government in the Philippine Context. A paper presented in the CPRsouth, Chennai India, 15 December 2007.

'New media shaking up public relations industry'

This is a very interesting article on blogs as direct to consumer communications. Turns out the Philippines is one of five Asia Pacific countries where blogging is a national phenomenon.

Saturday, September 15, 2007By Brian Asmus, Special to The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Len Apcar, chief editor of the New York Times, once intoned that, "Newspapers, in the traditional sense are dead. PR people have an opportunity to create content that will be delivered to consumers and embraced by the media." The South China Morning Post, in an editorial, chimed in that, "Blogs and sites like Wikipedia have become the thinking man's graffiti."
Tectonic shifts in how news is reported are forcing corporations and their public relations strategists to adapt. Central to this new focus is the role of advocacy, said Andrew Pirie, president Asia-Pacific, Weber Shandwick at an AmCham Marking and Distribution Committee breakfast held yesterday at Shangrila's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei.
According to Pirie, 90 percent of consumers regard word of mouth as the best source of ideas and information about products and services. Today, 26 percent of Google search results on the world's 20 largest brands are coming from consumer-generated sources with 45 percent of consumers engaging in some form of advocacy activities and 54 percent saying they have more power to influence a company's success or failure as well as having a greater say in what is sold.
Advocates, pointed out Pirie to the gathering of corporate executives, are knowledgeable, connected and passionate, giving them colossal power to convince others. This spread of information is more than just word-of-mouth awareness; these advocates are making recommendations about everything from brands to issues. This is underlined by the fact that 63 percent of consumers are deciding more quickly to buy products and services, and to support or reject issues, causes and companies because of the influence of advocates.
This has impelled major changes in how public relations is conducted. In the 1980s, said Pirie, the industry was mostly about announcements, presentations and collateral; then moving into opinion, strategy and awareness in the 1990s before attaining new forms of influence in the first decade of this century, namely, engagement, experience and participation.
Corporations are spending great effort on determining how to best engage advocates to share their experiences, (hopefully positive) and get them to participate in the company's effort to get its message heard. Some of the reasons for the new power held by advocates, said Pirie, are the fact that fewer consumers trust established institutions such as government, corporations and traditional media channels. "They have put greater trust," he stressed, "in their peers and nongovernmental organizations."
Digitization of society has also led to networking among consumers with shared interests. "Ordinary citizens," he said, "have a powerful voice." This means that information and ideas can spread faster and farther than ever before.
To underscore just how networked people are these days, Pirie cited a number of figures on global Internet usage. Today, there are 1 billion global users online with 37 percent of these in the Asia-Pacific. In Asia, the top three countries for reading blogs are China, Korea and Malaysia with the top five for running a blog being China, Korea, the Philippines, Japan and Malaysia.
Pirie further observed that, in 2006, China had more than 160 million Internet users, 51 million regular users of bulletin boards and 35 million regular blog users. There are, he continued, as many as 100 companies trying to imitate Myspace with another 200 mimicking Youtube. "Sohu.com.cn, Mop.com, Wangyou.com and Baidu.com," he noted, "are all popular social networking sites with millions of Chinese users every day."
Anyone doubting the strength of these consumer sites can examine the spate of recent incidences in China, where well-known foreign companies have been forced to react to negative campaigns involving their corporations and products.
Blog -- and other advocacy -- activity sees consumers taking the lead in generating media. Internet search ability means that consumers can instantly connect with anyone who has an opinion. Distrust of corporate marketing means that consumers are demanding open, honest interaction and dialogue. "Brands must be seen to be human, honest and willing to engage directly with audiences," Pirie said.
The marketing model must, therefore, change. Rather than filtering news through the media, companies must now involve consumers in the journalistic process to fuel electronic word-of-mouth evangelism. Rather than control the dialogue, concluded Pirie, corporations and their public relations strategies must now settle for merely setting the terms of the debate, while enlisting multiple voices and utilizing an integrated approach.