A Life in the Theater

In these months nearing the elections and days following the recent typhoons, the terms “politics” and “governance” have moved beyond the vocabulary of politicians and the news media and into the lexicon of ordinary Filipinos. For most people, however, “politics” remains to be understood as the work done by politicians and “governance” as the functioning of government, exclusively. It is likely these perceptions that account for much of the blame being placed solely on the shoulders of government for the apparent breakdown of governance mechanisms in the case of recent disasters. The private sector and civil society are being hailed deservedly as heroes, though this perspective reveals the still-prevalent thinking that only government is responsible for governance. Yet governance transcends the state and includes civil society organisations and the private sector, because all three are involved in most activities, and politics is rightfully the concern of every citizen. “Governance,” a