Exchange to Change May 2017 20170524 EtC mei 2017-web | Page 6

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INTERVIEW
How much of an activist
are YOU?
From ’Pussy hat’ Power to Dumpster diving
Mary Ann Manahan | The Philippines
E2C: Could you provide some
background with regards to the
reasons and origin of the activism
you take/took part in? I was
politicized back in my university
days in late 99/early 2000. Massive
corruption and plunder beleaguered
the administration of then President
Joseph Ejercito Estrada and there
was a proposal to increase student
tuition and fees. As a sociology
student, I have always had a
passion for social justice, poverty
and inequality issues in Philippine
society and globally. But also on a
make a career
agitate
personal level: I come from a small
coffee farming family and I witnessed
how structures and institutions do
not provide equal opportunities
for everyone. The combination of
that political conjuncture and my
personal background sparked my
interest to become an activist. I was
part of the progressive and radical
youth movement that campaigned to
remove then President Estrada from
political power.
E2C: Which were the main method(s)
that you used to spread the
volunteer
grassroot
letter writing
civil disobedience
direct lobbying
demonstrate
consumer boycot
E xchange to change M ay 2017
litigation
message? Why? I am part of different
social (e.g. agrarian and women)
movements and we employ different
strategies and tactics to communicate
our messages. The appropriateness
of the ‘method’ will depend on the
campaign/programmatic objectives,
target audience, and political
opportunities and constraints of a
campaign, and whether there are
political and democratic spaces
available. For example, I have been
involved in a campaign to demand
accountability and pressure the
government to uphold and protect
the rights of small farmers and
peasants to their lands and productive
resources. We used a combination of
strategies: mainstream media/social
media, mass demonstration, creative
forms, alliance building/networking,
research and documentation, political
education and community organizing.
E2C: What were the positive
and negative consequences of
your activism? Did it make any
difference? Positive and negative
consequences largely depend on
the context and situation. In my
experience, one clear consequence of