Every day, I meet people who complain about pangigikil (extortion) by employees who process the licenses or business permits, kotong (bribery) demanded by traffic enforcers for minor traffic offenses, etc., etc., etc. When I suggest that they report these corrupt practices to the authorities, their responses are all the same: I am only an ordinary person -- no one will pay attention to me.

In conflict-affected areas, where local government officials treat their communities like fiefdoms, ordinary citizens suffer far worse. But the response to such indignities, trials and tribulations is the same: I am only an ordinary person -- no one will pay attention to me. They add: I may be killed.

In many villages in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, time has stood still. They still don’t have potable water and depend on rainwater, after over a century of Philippine independence. They also don’t have electricity.

In the Islamic City of Marawi, heaps of garbage is a distinctive feature of the city, thus the moniker “Marumi City”. Why don’t the Moros demand public service? You got it -- I am only an ordinary citizen. I may get killed.

The situation is getting worse, in Muslim Mindanao.

Since independence, the national government has not really invested in the delivery of public services to the areas of the minorities and far-flung communities. It has not invested in the development of a nation of all Filipino peoples, with different ethnicities. It has not invested in development of the concept of citizenship.

Muslims of the South -- who have began to see themselves as the Bangsamoro (Moro Nation) -- see themselves as outsiders, a minority looked down on by the majority. Thus, a Moro accepts the lack of services or corruption or criminality not just because he or she is merely a powerless ordinary citizen but also because he or she is a second-class citizen.

And yet a democracy purports to give voice to the ordinary citizens, through their votes, so that they can participate in decisions that impact on their lives. How can we citizens do this, when we believe that there is nothing we can do to change the situation?

Thank goodness that civil society organizations (CSOs) have picked up the cudgels, over the last 50 years or so, to promote the concept of citizenship -- our rights and our responsibilities.

How can citizens rule if the marginalized (and they are the majority) feel that they cannot possibly change anything?

Since we are now in the early stage of election fever, CSOs such as the National Movement for Free Elections and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections are promoting the importance of citizen participation through the choice of effective and accountable leaders, advocating clean and honest elections, ensuring the electoral process itself is efficient and credible, monitoring elections among others.

Galing Pook is another civil society organization that has invested time and effort to strengthen citizen’s role in governance, while promoting.

Galing Pook held a governance fair last weekend -- “Mamamayan, Mamamayani”. My translation: citizens rule! Dr. Eddie Dorotan, the executive director of Galing Pook, brought together civil society, peoples organizations, and local governments to exchange their point of views and showcase their initiatives.

I particularly appreciated Galing Pook’s Town Hall Meeting, held on Sunday morning with Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” B. Abad and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” J. Soliman. During the breakout session, citizens discussed the following questions: What has improved in my sector/community the past five years? What else should be improved/addressed by government? And, most important, how can I contribute to sustaining the gains and helping make improvements?

In the breakout group that I joined, a nongovernment organization worker from Wao, Lanao del Sur pleaded to all: don’t forget ARMM! We are also Filipino. (By the way, she was Catholic. Wao has a large Christian population. )

An articulate young lady, beneficiary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, said that the CCT should not only be continued but be expanded by the next administration. She and many like her would never have made it to college if not for CCT.

(I did note, however, that critics of government were missing from the gathering. All who participated were beneficiaries or partners of government in public service. Thus, the overwhelming call was for the continuation of the Aquino Administration programs. Doc Eddie, perhaps another gathering is called for -- reach out to the critics and unserved?)

The governance fair succeeded in giving citizens hope. Citizens will not gain power overnight but at least gatherings like Mamamayan, Mamamayani allow us to derive strength from each other, learn about initiatives that work in different communities and perhaps replicate in our own.

In particular, the young participants were inspired by the stories and experiences of ordinary citizens who had gone beyond their comfort zone and dared to make a change in their lives. After all, my seatmate said, we have no choice. We have to make our government pay attention otherwise our lives will always be miserable. She was from Mindanao.

How I wish that the Ramon Magsaysay awardees had a chance to speak at the fair!

Five outstanding Asians were chosen to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award this year -- Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa of the Philippines, Kommaly Chantavong of Laos, Sanjiv Chaturvedi and Anshu Gupta of India, and last but not least, Kyaw Thu of Myanmar.

What do the five have in common? Passionate and strong willed, they have persevered to attain their advocacy even if their governments were not supportive or, worse, adversarial.

Ligaya, a daughter of a prominent Marikina family, chose to marry a young noble from Sulu. Embracing her new life and immersing the culture of her husband she also fell in love with the culture of the Tausug and the Sama. She says it was only then that she felt oneness with the Southeast Asia.

The Tausug and Sama culture, very evident in the dance pangalay which she performs and teaches, unite us with Asia. Ligaya said, “On a bigger scale, we look back to our traditions because that’s what unites us. So we have to think of real symbols of our identity, rooted in our own culture”.

Kommaly founded Mulberry Farms, starting at the age of 14 to organize women weavers to work together. She has succeeded in organizing women weavers into cooperatives, getting better prices for their silk and empowering themselves. She is responsible for reviving the dying art of Laotian silk weaving, which she says is part of her life and heritage which must be preserved if Laotian culture is to live on.

Sanjiv Chaturvedi, the young Indian whistleblower who won the Emergent Leadership Award, has exposed corruption wherever he had been assigned -- from the department of forestry to the health sector. Harassed and beleaguered, he persevered, gaining support from like-minded individuals. He has succeeded in exposing graft and penalizing the corrupt. But he continues to be harassed by the powerful. Sanjiv says, “I want to raise awareness on how to shed the corruption, how to resist the evil forces, because as the resistance grows against these forces, only then can these changes be brought.”

He calls on the young to persist: “Being young means you have lots of energy and your mind is pure. I think only the young persons can bring enough pressure on the establishment to reform them. “

Anshu founded Goonj, a nonprofit network that collects and recycles old clothes. The “gently used” clothes are given away and the scraps are recycled into blankets, mattresses, and even sanitary napkins. (I remembered my mom telling me that in her youth, their sanitary napkins were scraps of cloth sewn together.) According to Anshu, cloth is a visceral reminder of poverty. If you are dressed in rags, the “gatekeepers” will not let you in. Anshu believes that governments should reach out to make the people stakeholders. If they don’t then citizens should claim that right.

Kyaw Thu, a popular film star and director, was touched by the misery and indignity heaped on the poor in Myanmar, and started an organization to provide funeral services for the poor. In his society, touching the body of the dead unrelated to you (particularly if the dead is poor) is taboo.

Initially shunned by his friends and peers, Kyaw Thu persevered. He now provides medical services to the poor as well as vocational and technical education. Why does he spend more time with his advocacy than the movie industry? “The people’s tears are your tears. The people’s happiness is your happiness,” he said.

Can an ordinary citizen make an impact? Let me borrow Sanjiv’s words: “If you think you are tiny, think of the atom. It may be tiny but when its power is unleashed, watch out.”

Amina Rasul is a democracy, peace and human rights advocate, and president of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy. Surveil is her column in BusinessWorld.