National Heroes Day – Will you be a Philippine hero today? #millionpeoplemarch Today as Filipinos take to the streets - in the Philippines and around the world - we are taking a stand, one that I believe would make Andres Bonifacio and the other heroes proud! Sabi ni PNoy, “kayo ang boss ko”, he is correct, the Philippines is a democracy and the people are today saying loud and clear “kami ang boss mo!” We are not just calling for an end to the Pork Barrel but an end to corruption, for transparent government, accountability and true love of country over love of money. In the past few days, many have mused about what flood defences, poverty alleviation measures or transport system we would have if money had not been lost to corruption. If you are a taxpayer - even just through VAT – it looks like your money was stolen. It is now up to all of us who love the Philippines to decide where we go from here but please can I quote Einstein: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. Or, as the Church would say, the sin of omission is as bad as the sin of commission. With respect my suggestion is to look at the way elections are held in the Philippines, too much money is needed to run for positions - and spent to win - so many politicians borrow against the money they know they can make if they win, this does not serve the people or the nation. If we want our politicians to be accountable, we should set up a system where money/celebrity are not such a big part of the election process but values and policies are. The heroic stand for change has only just begun. Many heroes died for the Philippines to have independence and democracy, today in taking to the streets we are not facing death (even I a foreigner who loves the nation dares to write freely). Will we allow the heroes blood spilt for our freedom to have been sacrificed in vain? Democracy is the people - us - voting for those leaders we want but one problem is too many of us assume that via our vote we give power away to the leaders we elect and we have no other responsibility; that is fundamentally wrong! Democracy means we must also hold our representatives accountable and today that is what we are doing but it is only a start. This may be a long struggle and one that does not finish with the abolition of PDAF, the people have woken to their power. Filipinos should say, kami ang Bosses nila – all politicians need to be aware that bamboo is rattling with the wind of change. Today the Philippines shows the maturity of its democracy, let no nation or politician try to make a fool of the Filipino. I love the Philippines - we love the Philippines – let us continue to walk hand-in-hand for the greatness of this nation. My prayer is that we will be vigilant, caring for the needs of the poorest, respecting God and each other as we stand for the greatness of the Philippines for in the end #lovewins “What kind of love is more pure and more majestic, like the love for your native country, what kind of love? There’s nothing more, nothing.” - Andres Bonifacio (Not sure how accurate this is but I still like it).
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 18:55:53 +0000