Begging, Requesting, Demanding, Negotiating: Moving Towards Urban Poor Partnerships in Governance

This paper examines four Philippine cases of how once powerless urban poor groups have metamorphosed from a begging or requesting mode in dealing with officials and elites, to a demand mode that highlights poor people negotiating confidently with powerful figures as equals. On the government side, initial responses reinforcing the dole-out welfare recipient mode have shifted in favor of more consultative, even collaborative ventures with multiple partners. The evidence of this change of mentality and political will have emerged in the revitalization and creation of bureaucratic and political structures and procedures supportive of poor people’s perspectives and people-government partnerships.