KAAKBAY

KAAKBAY

Kilusan sa Kapangyarihan at Karapatan ng Bayan
KAAKBAY Rally in front of the Manila Post Office in the 1980s
Formation	March 1983 (1983-03)
Founder	José W. Diokno
Founded at	55 3rd Street, New Manila, Quezon City
Type	Advocacy group
Purpose	parliament-of-the-streets
Headquarters	Manila
Location	Philippines
Methods	Pressure politics
Chairman	José W. Diokno
Key people	Randy David Carmen Diokno Ed Garcia Nini Quezon-Avanceña JBL Reyes
Affiliations	centrist

Kilusan sa Kapangyarihan at Karapatan ng Bayan, (lit. 'Movement for People's Sovereignty and Democracy') better known as KAAKBAY (lit. 'joining arms') was a Filipino umbrella group that was first created to introduce a novel political concept called the parliament-of-the-streets, which was a form of Filipino advocacy of pressure politics that peacefully pushed for the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos leading up to the EDSA Revolution. It was conceived by senator and lawyer Jose W. Diokno in 1983.

Etymology and purpose

As was common in the alphabet soup culture in the Philippines, Diokno conceived of the name KAAKBAY to symbolize unity due to the vast growing number of opposition groups that lacked a common method or identity. He wanted to create an umbrella group to welcome different protestors against the abuses of the dictatorship. The name KAAKBAY stands for the "Movement for People's Sovereignty and Democracy." Diokno conceived of the idea of pressure politics to invoke mass protests as a key to force change in the government structure instead of relying on traditional politics, due to the lack of sound methods available in the Marcos dictatorship. The goal was also to limit the chances of violent protests as he believed it had a better chance of creating greater change in the country.

History

KAAKBAY was formed in Manila in March 1983. The umbrella group or coalition focused on distributing pamphlets and information to disseminate the concept of pressure politics into the Philippine political arena. To that end, the group attracted many academics and young students who protested in the freedom parks and public spaces. One of the known publications include "Twenty-Four Questions about Filipino Nationalism" in 1984. Most of its publications were in its newspaper called "The Plaridel Papers," which was published since October 1983 and was named after the revolutionary Pláridel. The coalition welcomed many women into its leadership as a sign of its progressive call to welcome different groups. The board composed of three women members, University of the Philippines (UP) professor Karina David, feminist Zenaida "Nini" Quezon-Avanceña, and future cabinet Secretary Carmen "Mita" Pardo de Tavera. As the group grew nationwide, rallies were held in Quezon City and Davao City. A few months later, former Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated. The group later called on other groups to create the much larger mass coalition to completely unite all forces against Marcos, which was called the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All movement in August 1983. After the People Power Revolution on February 25, 1987, Pres. Corazon Aquino sought to appoint leaders who took part as street parliamentarians during the Marcos dictatorship. In 1987, Pres. Aquino appointed KAAKBAY members de Tavera and David.

Notable members

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

• Karina Constantino David, professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, wife of Randy David and mother of ABS-CBN reporter Kara David;
• Randy David, professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman;
• Mita Pardo de Tavera, doctor, granddaughter of Prime Minister Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, and secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Executive Secretary of Pres. Corazon Aquino;
• Carmen Diokno, activist and wife of Jose W. Diokno;
• Jose W. Diokno, founder, former senator, and is considered as the father of human rights in the Philippines;
• Ed Garcia, political science professor and activist;
• Nini Quezon-Avanceña, founder of the Concerned Women of the Philippines (CWP), human rights activist, and daughter of former President Manuel Quezon;
• J.B.L. Reyes, former Supreme Court Associate Justice;