A group of Filipino musicians officially launched on Wednesday, July 7, the Musicians for Democracy (MD), an organization that aims to advocate for “honest and dedicated” candidates for the upcoming 2022 elections.
Made up of volunteer singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists, MD aims to use music as a platform to “support patriotic and progressive candidates in [the upcoming] May 2022 national and local elections based on a platform of good governance and human rights”.
Rom Dongeto, a member of the Filipino band Buklod and the executive director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development, serves as the project manager of the organization.
In a Zoom meeting, Dongeto said that many musicians suffered financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On the onset of the pandemic, all establishments, gigs, and other sources of income of musicians vanished. Nawala, biglang nagsara, [at] na-cancel. Nagulat tayong lahat no, posible palang mangyari ito sa ating panahon. Nawalan tayo ng hanapbuhay, hirap na hirap tayong lahat na mga musikero. The music industry continues to suffer sa pandemya at hindi pa natin nakikita ang end ng tunnel nito,” Dongeto said.
(On the onset of the pandemic, all establishments, gigs, and other sources of income of musicians vanished. They all closed and got cancelled. We were all surprised, we never would’ve thought that this would happen now. We lost our livelihood and faced difficulties. The music industry continues to suffer because of the pandemic and we still don’t see the end of this tunnel.)
The singer and composer said the health crisis continues to worsen because of government corruption and inefficiencies. Because of these, Dongeto and several other musicians formed MD in hopes of making a change in the upcoming elections.
“Naniniwala po kami na kailangan natin na magkaroon ng mga lider na competent enough to solve our problems, particular ‘yung problema ng ekonomiya, to steer the economy and the country towards sustainable development and grow into it enough social protection, including social protection ng sector talagang tinamaan ng COVID-19,” Dongeto said.
(We believe that we need to have leaders who are competent enough to solve our problems, particularly the problem of the economy, to steer the economy and the country towards sustainable development and grow into it enough social protection, including social protection for sectors that were affected by COVID-19.)
“Gusto natin ng honest at dedicated na mga public servants upang masolve itong corruption. Kung hindi man masawata talaga, mabawasan nang todo todo para ‘yung mga pondo ng gobyerno ay talagang nagagamit sa serbisyo ng ating mamamayan,” he added.
(We want honest and dedicated public servants to solve corruption or at the very least, mitigate it in order for the government funds to be utilized in service for our countrymen.)
Using their talent and passion for music, MD plans to create content, music products, and events that will help candidates deliver their messages better.
“Our main strategy as a group [is to] produce music products. [T]hese would be songs, probably jingles, and aside from writing songs, we can do audio and video recordings of these songs that can be used by the rightful candidates,” Cynthia “Chat” Aban, a musician and volunteer at MD, explained.
“This group can also help in organizing events, like for example, concerts in all its forms, whether they’re acoustic or full band or probably virtual, and hopefully maging (become) in-person concerts depending on the needs of the candidates who we feel we have to support,” she added.
Dongeto also said that they are planning to hold a Playing for Change movement, wherein they will make a song that will be spread in countries such as Canada, Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong. The song will show the collective aspirations of musicians for a government that prioritizes the people’s interests.
They will also produce a collaborative album of songs from different regions that will reflect current social issues that need to be addressed.
In order for these music products to become available, MD is asking songwriters, session musicians, vocalists or singers, as well as persons with technical skills who are all willing to volunteer for the organization’s cause.
MD clarified that they will not charge any monetary amount for the membership, as it is purely voluntary. It is open to all kinds of musicians, whether they produce pop music, specialize in hip hop, or have a passion for jazz.
The upcoming elections will be held on May 9, 2022. – Rappler.com
John Patrick Magno Ranara is a Rappler intern
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