LSD-1 Guide to 'Tangkilikan'

A Guide to ‘Tangkilikan’

By Tony Cruzada Kasikap

Co-Founder and Tangkilikan Coordinator,
Katipunang DakiLahi

Overall Coordinator, Sanib-Sikap Initiatives

Board of Trustees member, SanibLakas Foundation

THERE is no single official guide for living the practice of “Tangkilikan,” no authority figure to give the proverbial last word on it, for this principle has been a cultural property collectively owned by the people of the Phil­ippines who have practiced it with the bayanihan as a way of life. It is part of our cherished national patrimony.

Still, with the Katipunang Da­ki­La­hi adopting “Pamban­sang Tangkilikan” as one of twin imperatives for national synergy-building along with “Pambansang Talas­tasan,” we have had to come out with clarifications on what exactly we mean with the term.

With DakiLahi member-organiza­tions, especially the Na­­tional Economic Protec­tionism As­sociation (NEPA) and the Ad­vocates for Coope­rative Edu­cation on Synergism (ACES) pushing for its active practice, “Pambansang Tang­kilikan” will surely be grow­ing as a con­cept, growing in the crucibles of challenging ap­plications for current econo­mic efforts of the people.

This article gives some of the key concepts and elements in­volved, such as Filipino en­ter­prise, associative econo­mics, and the enterprises-and-livelihood web. It also clarifies vision, mission and goals.

Vision and Purpose

A people with a strong sense of shared history and destiny, striving to become a peace-building member of the family of nations, responding to the uni­versal call for a just and hu­mane world; pushing for a paradigm of global har­mony, and making its spi­ritual presence felt in every other na­tion, as a people faith­ful to the Earth Charter in building global solidarity for the vic­tory of justice.

Rather than an economy ruled over by a narrow elite, fo­reign investors and foreign import­ers, we ought to have a na­tio­nalist economy that is in the hands of the millions of the common tao, an economy that protects Filipino en­terprise, utilizes Fili­pino ingenuity, de­ve­lops Filipino in­dus­tries.

This will be an economy that is not dependent on foreign invest­ments or loans but on talent, labor and savings of the mil­lions of people, savings conso­lidated for strategic investment.

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…an economy that protects Filipino enterprise, utilizes Filipino ingenuity,

develops Filipino industries…

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All .the.elements.of. this Eko­nomya ng Taongbayan are al­ready present in the hun­dreds of pilot programs that have been designed, develop­ed and tried out by the numerous peo­ple’s organizations (POs) and non-government organizations (NGOs), small and medium enterpris­es,. coopera­tives and socially-res­pon­sible media, reli­­gious and acade­mic entities. All that is need­ed to integrate the best and most equity-building of strategies and pro­grams into a coher­ent sys­tem to be adopted by com­munities.

The integration process will be guided by the new prin­ciples of Associative Econo­mics and the long-hid­den po­tential of the coopera­tive sys­tem. This will be a national economy built upon a synergy of thriving local economies.

Exodus from Poverty

The millions of poor who comprise a large percentage of the population will be moving out from the bondage of pov­erty into freedom from want, adding to the overall strength­ening of the market, the econo­my and the nation. This envi­sioned exodus calls for the em­ergence of leadership from among the ranks of the pres­ently poor and unemployed, the ones who need jobs and want to have jobs.

Social secu­rity benefits must come with stable em­ploy­ment, and in­creased sav­ings rate should enable the poor to invest in productive ventures, increase their pur­chasing power to be able to afford decent housing on a calibrated, progressive pay­ment scheme.

With millions of poor fa­milies participating in the jobs and savings programs, they will become part of the con­sumer community that will sus­tain and create more pro­ductive activities.

As they move upward on the economic lad­der, via the scaffold of sup­port mecha­nisms, they will move into the mainstream of the economy as regular co-contributors.

Mission and Goals

The national invigoration of the economy will be ac­complished through the thou­sand units of synergistic ac­tion at commu­nity level, or­chestrated through a complex of institu­tional linkages.

Inte­gration, consoli­dation and syn­ergy building will be nation­wide through con­verg­ences cre­ating concentric cir­cles of energy at all levels from the Ba­rangay, Munici­pality, Prov­ince, and Region. All of these will be grounded on local em­pow­erment, giv­ing “Primacy to Primaries,” that is, to com­mun­ity-based eco­nomic units that are formed by households in a neighborhood.

The Local Drive

.............To consolidate the initiative and energy provided by indi­- genous, organic leaders, entre­- preneurs and economists who in­still faith in self and in the community, faith in the Fili­pino’s capacity to reform and triumph.

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…as they move up, via the scaffold of sup­port mecha­nisms, they will enter the mainstream of the economy as regular co-contributors .

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Leaders who will generate hope that we can break the cycle of failure brought upon us by un­inspired lead­ership and policies, and finally build the nation we can be and want to be.

Lakas ng loob and bayani­han spirit will propel the needed action. Intensive mobi­l­i­zation will be easier if cen­tered on ensuring stable em­ployment and adequate in­come since these will enable fam­ilies to meet their basic needs, pro­vide a wider range of op­tions and satisfy other aspirations.

Local Solutions

To raise the level of pro­ductivity of every household and participation in commun­ity planning and decision mak­ing and the overall empower­ment process. Installing local me­chanisms for savings and in­vestment that enable jobs to be multiplied and local re­sources optimally utilized, based on best practices from nume­rous pilot projects. Busi­ness groups will be alerted to their pro­ductivity potential and possible net worth.

On the basis of poten­tial productivity, savings will be invested in groups and ven­tures that show dedication and promise, and products that are of high qua­lity and market­ability. Capaci­ty building, es­pecially man­agement, will be giv­en priority to ensure that the planned ven­tures succeed.

Local Synergies

Local Synergies will be created “to coordi­nate the di­verse elements that must come into interplay at the community level. .

...........Attention will have to be paid to the synch­ronization of the cultural, natural and eco­nomic capi­tal; to ev­er-widen­ing circles of collaboration, in­volvement and partici­pation in diverse forms.

Programs on jobs and sav­ings will be linked with social security, family planning, health care, housing, utilities and environmental concerns.

Fi­nally, pre­paring the next gen­eration will be an essential part of the in­tegration process.”

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