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Part 2 of a three-component function on stories of resistance in Davao Town
DAVAO City, Philippines — The glass walls of development worker and aspiring congresswoman Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana’s office in Davao City are filled with scribbles: Of communities they have to nevertheless go to, worries they have to have to explore, and concerns to bring to the miting de avance. On the other facet of the wall is a map of Davao Town, in which they chart their way through their communities.
Sporting her signature single prolonged braid swept to the side of her encounter and carrying a slew of rainbow-colored masks, cuffs and flags, Maglana explained to Philstar.com that when she submitted her Certification of Candidacy final October that, of system, she needs to acquire.
“Someone asked, and said, ‘what is this, are we just seeking? Are we just creating a level?’”
But as a neophyte prospect, Maglana is specific: “I want to win now. I assume there is a incredibly distinctive window of chance supplied by the May perhaps 2022 elections that is unique from other elections.”
She did not expound but other people have stated that the coming elections arrive with the highest stakes: The globe is grappling with the pandemic, the Philippines has a trail of blood all about from the administration’s drug war, and a dictator’s son is on the rise to the highest seat of the land.
Maglana is a person of the a few opponents of incumbent Rep. Paolo “Polong” Duterte (Davao Town), whose spouse and children features of a era-old hold on the southern town. But she explained her operating is not her right likely versus the president’s son.
“It just so happened that we are both of those working [for the post]. By the way, there are two other individuals vying for the spot… It just happened that we ae managing at the exact same time and we are asking for assistance of voters,” she stated.
No to ‘Duterte playbook’
As the working day bleeds into early night, a couple of of Maglana’s volunteers at their headquarters continue to be to pack campaign components for their future sorties. It was a Tuesday, just five times considering the fact that the get started of campaign period for regional elections and their work stretched out just before them.
Maglana is not blind to the actuality that she is up in opposition to somebody with an founded equipment. More than that, she is attempting to woo voters who, for a generation, “only know 1 dominant household name in conditions of political leadership.”
Of study course, name remember will not do the job for her, Maglana admitted.
“We can’t copy the playbook of traditional politicians. Simply because if we will duplicate in terms of equipment and income, no 1 can defeat them: They wrote that playbook they perfected it,” she claimed.

With minimal resources compared to other events, Mags’ crew is compose largely of volunteers prepared to assistance her in her campaign.
Immediately after doing work for many years as a development worker, Maglana reported she’ll marketing campaign the way she has assisted communities for many years: By discussions.
“I talked about likely close to, listening, observing, and introducing myself. It is section of it,” she stated.
In her website profile, Maglana reported she has 30 many years of expertise of capability creating, complex aid and immediate help to nearby governments and communities under her belt.
By way of this, she has worked with just about every segment of culture: from countrywide officers, worldwide partners and communities exactly where she has honed her craft in sustainable enhancement and tough peace.
She shared that in her several times of campaigning, she acquired that there are communities in the urban center that have by no means had an chance to fulfill their representative — a write-up held by the president’s son considering the fact that 2019.
“It is significant that they know their leaders and we’re banking on that and we’re hoping that, appear May possibly, that regardless of the quite authentic equipment of the Dutertes and the reality of assets that they have and that other candidates don’t… I imagine that folks can make their decisions,” she added.
Profitable the seat and the discourse
Maglana is a daughter of migrants who came to Mindanao in the 1950s. Possessing spent her daily life in Davao Town, she claimed in her site she came to see how the IPs and the Moros represent a major aspect of the town, though she acknowledged how numerous other persons with distinct strengths have arrive to settle to the southern town.
It is why she selected rainbow as her political color — not just since she is a happy lesbian — but for the reason that she thinks everybody in Davao has a contribution to the city: “Not just the politically aggressive, even economically progressive making a variance in the economy… the environmentally progressive, the technologically progressive.”
“The only way Davao can grow and be far better than wherever it is — now do you coast, stay in which you are or do you purpose greater? Different colors, different capacities and a single vivid truth that we are all aspiring for,” Maglana included.
And for the inhabitants of Davao whom she has robust religion in, Maglana said she thinks they ought to have better options, and this incorporates owning the solution to elect a lady agent, which would be a to start with in the 85 decades that the city’s 1st District has existed.
Her easy pitch: Authentic recovery from the pandemic, excellent high-quality of existence for the individuals of the 1st District, inexperienced solutions to the environmental challenges, grassroots-oriented strategy for peace and human rights, and governance that is democratic.
And the progress employee is resolute in fighting for a chance to characterize her individuals. “The most effective metric of success is winning the elections, but there are other metrics,” she explained.
For the neophyte applicant, just rousing the voters — 41% of whom did not trouble casting their vote in the 2019 midterm elections — to take a political possibility would be a earn.
“I’d like to improve that. I’d like to get the individuals of the district invested in the long run of the district and they will clearly show that by voting. So, to me, when the percentage of voting, in phrases of genuine votes this May perhaps, that is an additional metric of achievement,” she continued.
But a lot more than that, Maglana would like to elevate the degree of discourse: Teach them what a legislative consultant can do and what a person from the executive branch can do — and make it problem dependent.

Sons of President Rodrigo Duterte Paolo and Baste are the forerunners for regional positions in Davao town.
Absolutely nothing mistaken with activism
Maglana is informed she is using on a Herculean endeavor of heading against a 35-yr-outdated norm and political schooling is just a tiny aspect of it.
In Mindanao, the place red-tagging is rampant, Maglana wants to remind persons of their political rights and that voting is just portion of those. “Reminding them that politics is not poor. That being an activist is not lousy,” she additional.
The improvement worker said she has lengthy been tagged for remaining an activist, but she treats it not as an “challenge” but a badge of honor.
“It only indicates you dig deeper in examining troubles, you have foundation, you have info proof, you are not fearful to stand up and speak. It does not indicate you are often in rallies. Element of getting an activist is connecting and helping other teams and persons,” she explained.
“So, if these requirements of remaining an activist, I really do not see nearly anything erroneous with remaining an activist and that wants to be stated and that wants to be ascertained because, otherwise, our political motion gets to be way too slim and we’ll conclude up with a long term where by — I might hate to think — wherever we don’t go at all,” Maglana extra. — Images and films by Philstar.com/EC Toledo
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