CONCEPT OF

VOLUNTEERING
DPA 309
The Meaning of Giving and Volunteering
• Giving and volunteering as acts done to help or assist others who are
in need (tulong)
• Not just common acts of neighborliness but also acts of self- sacrifice
and heroism
• Such acts are valued not just for themselves but also for what they
had to say about the actor’s humanitarian impulses- caring for the
welfare of others (pakikipagkapwa)
• Good intention defines behavior as truly altruistic; absolutely no form
of compulsion involved (kusang loob)
Importance of Giving
• Giving (both of time and financial is important for the following
reasons
• 1. Many NPOs rely on giving for at least some of the resources to
enable them to operate; many NPOs would have no capacity to exist if
they could not raise donations from donors
• 2. Giving sustains many individuals directly; beggars and other poor
people depend on dole-outs for their daily sustenance
• 3. Need to satisfy an inner compulsion to be charitable- this appears
to transcend cultures, religions and other social constructs; does not
only satisfy a personal need but also contributes to human character
Filipinos’ Sense of Altruism
• 1. Traditional and indigenous values – given in form of the terms that
local people associate with the idea of giving and volunteering, i.e.,
bayanihan, pagtutulungan, paghinakit,etc. Some of these refer to the
exchange of mutually beneficial activities (labor exchange)
• 2. Religion- encourages good works much of which is altruistic by
definition-help your neighbor, give alms to the poor, be charitable,etc
Volunteering and the Political Dimension
• The flowering of voluntary organizations (after the downfall of dictatorship) was
the result rather than the cause of the change in government; this was an
acknowledgement of the perceived role played by organizations in the downfall
of dictatorship and as a tool for consolidating the democracy that had been
restored; this led to the institutionalization of the role of independent people’s
organization in the future governance of the country
• Do voluntary organizations not specifically organized for political purposes
become vehicles for political change?
• Civil society response would be “yes” – private voluntary association to
neighborhood committees to interest groups to philanthropic enterprises, are
seen as essential ingredients to democratization and the health of established
democracies