Constructive citizenship in 2026

In this season for New Year’s resolutions, we might as well do ours with the broader interest of our troubled nation in mind. Lately, we’ve been buffeted by commentaries (my own included) about our deeply corrupted governance and politics, the fragile public health and nutrition situation, dismal education outcomes, and the failed agriculture and food system, whose greatest victims are the Filipino poor. Last week, I wrote about needed fixes for our broken country at the aggregate level, in our governance, education, and economy (“Fixing a broken Philippines,” 12/30/25). But I also ended with harnessing our families and communities to provide the essential bottom-up push for change. And this is where our own individual New Year’s resolutions would come in.

Every time I give a talk or briefing on the economy and the short- and long-term challenges it faces, I am consistently asked: “What specifically can we do to help?” Asking that question is already a first step, as the biggest hurdle to fixing our country would very well be people’s resignation that “Wala akong magagawang mag-isa” (Nothing I do can make a difference). This attitude amounts to transferring the responsibility to others, especially our leaders, expecting change to come from some messiah who will somehow emerge and lead the elusive change. Helen Keller once said, “The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.” Citizens’ power comes not from individual heroics, but from aggregation. This is perhaps the first and overarching resolution we ought to make, then: to uphold that there are things we can and should do to make a difference and help positive change happen.

Building on this, there are several concrete resolutions I would suggest that we, as common citizens, could make for 2026 and beyond:

Follow the law, down to simple rules and everyday norms of behavior. Obey rules on traffic, waste disposal, and respect for public spaces. Observe order, stay in line, and wait for your turn, whether in road traffic or in a queue. Do not take what is not yours, whether office supplies at work or official funds under your control. Refuse to pay bribes or use fixers in government offices, even if these “make things easier,” but resist and expose those officials and civil servants who deliberately make processes cumbersome to elicit such unlawful practices. Do not accept “diskarte” as normal, or even applaud it, when it’s tantamount to cheating and going around rules. The rule of law in a nation starts with personal discipline in everyone’s own daily life.

Expose and renounce falsehoods and uphold truth. In this digital age marked by wide disinformation, politely correct false postings and fake news in your circles and online group chats. Many are still unable to readily distinguish real images and videos from those generated by artificial intelligence, which proliferate exponentially every day. While not all AI-generated material is necessarily false or deceptive, too many indeed are, and those who can tell must call it out as it gets shared, often innocently, in our circles.

Support small businesses and local enterprises. Patronize small entrepreneurs and artisans, and affirm their work when they deliver good quality and workmanship. As residents of Los Baños, Laguna, we purchase household and personal needs within our town as much as possible, even as I travel to Metro Manila for my professional work, and could just as easily shop for our needs in the city. The idea is to help enliven the local economy by helping local businesses and fostering jobs in our immediate community.

Practice philanthropy in small and large ways. Do not scrimp on making even small donations to worthy causes, or tipping everyday workers in low-paying jobs like restaurant servers, supermarket baggers, beauty parlor attendants and barbers, delivery riders, garbage collectors, and more. If you have the means, sponsor a poor but promising child’s education all the way to high school and even college, and thereby help lift a poor family out of poverty for good.

Practice “bayanihan” by being part of a collective initiative. Join a community or civil society organization and be part of discussions and actions to improve the community; help the disadvantaged; monitor national and local government officials’ performance, projects and initiatives; and work aimed to promote the common good. Make use of opportunities for citizen participation in governance through local development councils, local school boards, parent-teacher associations, local business chambers, and many more.

In short, let’s resolve to practice constructive citizenship starting in 2026, and refuse to be mere members of a silent majority who dream of a truly vibrant Philippines, but rely on others to act to achieve it.

—————-

cielito.habito@gmail.com