We are citizens who want to take back politics from the hands of politicians who have betrayed the people trust. We aim to make politics sacred again. We will work to ensure the victory of national and local candidates in Philippine elections that have been identified by the people through processes that develop active citizenship and accountable leadership among them.

We are development workers and community organizers, many of whom have dedicated the past 15 years to working for people empowerment and social change, and other concerned citizens who realize that for the marginalized to be freed from poverty, they must have access to power, and to have access to power, they themselves must change politics. Patronage and transactional politics have been the barriers to genuine poverty reduction and people empowerment.  Most civil society organizations in the past have hesitated to get involved in politics because it has been seen to be dominated by greedy and self-serving individuals who are corrupt and plunder the country with impunity because they are in power.  We believe it is time for this to change.

The Change Politics Movement (CPM) aims to organize a critical mass of people who are dedicated to catalyzing active citizenship. The Movement aims to develop the core values of active citizenship and accountable leadership among Filipinos, especially the marginalized, so that they can understand the meaning and embrace the practice of self-determination and people empowerment.

The Movement will also mobilize the people in time for next year’s national elections, so that the polls will be free from the malpractices and pitfalls of traditional politics that paralyze national freedom and development.  CPM also aims to enable ordinary Filipinos (non-politicians) to collectively and critically identify leaders who respect, practice and promote Change Politics, and to support the candidacy of these leaders in the 2010 elections.

As a platform for active citizenship, the Movement will work to ensure that accountable and pro-reform leaders will sit in office at both the national and local levels. The long-term objective of the Movement is to ensure that transformative politics will be the norm and the dominant culture by the year 2022.