DEMOCRACY IN PRACTICE
Zaldy Alfiler (standing in red shirt), Secretary General of STOP Exploitation explains the bases of the groups' demand for P128/kilo of dried Virginia tobacco leaves during the March 27 dialogue with the National Tobacco Administration. Alfiler said that besides the P26.00 increase for daily basic needs, the cost of production for every hectare in the region increased by an average of P2,600 in the past two years. Democracy is not something that popped out of thin air. The concept and practice of democracy evolved and continues to progress through social processes. While the development of the concept comes naturally with the advancement of human society, the contents and benefits of democracy are not readily available. The people can only claim the space for participation, criticism, and dissent it provides through organized assertion and ardent struggle. The March 27 dialogue between the tobacco farmers led by Solidarity of Peasants Against Exploitation (Stop Exploitatio