100ARAW.com

Today, we start 100Araw.com, an online collaborative project aimed at helping empower Filipinos in our quest for a new leadership that ends 100 days from now, on May 10, 2010 when voters cast their votes.

For the next 100 days, we will try to illuminate, elucidate, illustrate, take shots of the panorama, document, the coming elections, which is dubbed as the expression of the Filipino people’s democratic will. This project will feature the views and commentary of Filipinos from across various disciplines and fields, each one raising a “sun” of his/her own to help shatter the darkness that envelops the land and the minds of not a few.

We will share our collective hopes, yes. But we won’t think twice in challenging our own beliefs. For instance, others may question the electoral process itself which, from their point of view, remain a bulwark of the status quo. Can this single date be truly our date with destiny?

Not everything would be political, in the traditional sense. We will try to refrain from making the elections a mere horserace of candidates jockeying for position. There would be photo essays and videos of the goings on that we rarely see and sometimes refuse to see. We would hear voices of those who have long been marginalized from the process and may still remain in the shadows soon after the elections. They who have the biggest stake at social change should be given the widest latitude and most open space to share their aspirations – because the most intelligent, most powerful and most privileged (wealth and information-wise) may not know the truth after all.

We hope to provide as many voices a room to share their views. What do folks specializing travel and tourism think about the elections? For those in IT, is the automated elections a disaster waiting to happen? Or can it be saved? The views of the once young, they who have seen better days, are important too. The journalists also have much to offer beyond that allowed in their coverage. For the activists, what’s there to expect from the elections? Of course, there’s the young ones, the new voters who are full of hope – we want to hear from them and their versions of a bright, new Philippines they desire.

For while it is true that platforms and track record are important, an area our friends elsewhere have been working on, it is essential to hear ourselves speak out, to know the pulse, the needs, the wants, the dreams of individuals that make up sectors, that make up communities, that make up our country. It is about time we speak out, hear others (especially those least heard) and make it the centerpiece in judging the relevance, necessity, usefulness, practicality and authenticity of the plans offered by those who seek to lead us.

All in all, our objective is actually simple: Through this group effort, we will try our best to provide you a daily dose of reminders, news and views, coverage of important events, debate, funnies and interesting trivia, and everything else that we think could empower you, our readers, in making an informed choice on May 10, 2010. Allow us to learn from you too in what we hope would be spirited and passionate discussions in the comments sections. We welcome contributions and story tips too!

So for these 100 days, join us in 100Araw.com as we carry on the quest for change. Let our countdown begin.

For the team,
Tonyo Cruz