Lessons Learned in Policy Lobbying
I spent a big part of 1998-2000 to lobby for the passage of the Y2K Law and an E-Commerce Law legislation in the Philippines (and several implementing policies last year). Since then, I get invited from time to time on various fora and encountered people ranting on lack of legislation (or our existing E-Commerce Law is incomplete and even some would say obsolete).
In a lot of these events, I don't necessarily disagree. But what irks me though is that they are raising that with the insinuation that I should work on getting it updated. This is where I encourage the person or group to take action if they truly believe in what they say. Some would get discouraged by me saying that but then again, I went through it. You can't just rant and expect things to move just because you complained.
This also heavily influences my attitude, conviction, and protocol in dealing with politicians, especially legislators. I work with those where I could achieve bigger policy agendas and have support for it. Not your usual wine and dine, social travels, get sponsorship or grant money of sorts, as every centavo they spent is taxpayer's money. The responsibility is there to deliver something that will bring great benefit to target constituents and not just satisfy personal or limited group interest.
As there are a lot of things in this area that are better left unsaid or unblogged, for the love of country and due process, I decided to share lessons learned through my Cyber Legislation Journal.
In a lot of these events, I don't necessarily disagree. But what irks me though is that they are raising that with the insinuation that I should work on getting it updated. This is where I encourage the person or group to take action if they truly believe in what they say. Some would get discouraged by me saying that but then again, I went through it. You can't just rant and expect things to move just because you complained.
This also heavily influences my attitude, conviction, and protocol in dealing with politicians, especially legislators. I work with those where I could achieve bigger policy agendas and have support for it. Not your usual wine and dine, social travels, get sponsorship or grant money of sorts, as every centavo they spent is taxpayer's money. The responsibility is there to deliver something that will bring great benefit to target constituents and not just satisfy personal or limited group interest.
As there are a lot of things in this area that are better left unsaid or unblogged, for the love of country and due process, I decided to share lessons learned through my Cyber Legislation Journal.
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