Contribution
The future and well being of the Philippines lie on the hands of its very own people
It is sad to think about the condition of the Philippines my mother land. The poor getting poorer and the rich becoming richer.Poverty is everywhere that is far different than what media is showing the world. Crimes are rampant that if you are not used to this kind of life you would think of getting out of there as soon as possible. It also seems that the whole system is a big clump of mess. It is also funny to think that many Filipinos have time in their hands to protest for many unknown reasons. With all these chaos happening, many ask is there hope for the Philippines? My answer would be yes.
You may wonder why my answer is yes, it is so because I believe that there is no impossible thing in this world that cannot be fixed, unless it's totally dead. In the case of the Philippines, the big answer lies in every individual. Every individual has the right to change the course of the country. Voting is a powerful tool, like any other tools if used in the right way can create newer and better outcome. But if used inappropriately, negative results can be expected. In this case, each Filipino who voted should ask themselves, have I done the right thing last election?. Did I sell my precious vote? If the answer is yes, these Filipinos have no right at all to complain. Election in the country thus had become a business. Many unqualified candidates who are for pure profit would jump in the contest and will do all their best to win. They will use the 3 Gs to be able to secure a position where their investment will have a multiple folds return, thanks for those stupid Filipinos who sold their votes. It is apparent that gone are the days that to become a politician or law maker in the Philippines you need to have degree in law or other related courses. At present all you need is a fat wallet to initially fund your campaign. It does not matter if you know anything about the law or the position you wanted to represent for. Money has become the biggest attraction to these positions. With this reason I don't see any reason for these activist and stupid Filipinos to cry about how poor they had become and why they get poor service from these corrupt officials because they are the very persons who placed them in these positions through their irresponsible voting.
Also, I am not fond of watching all these activists marching down the street and causing problems. Their battle cry is like a worn out theme which originated from the pre Marcos era. Is there nothing new that they can use? I was once an activist myself in U.P. But the marches that I join are limited to the ones that I think really has causes like marches against tuition hikes and other local problems. I do not join marches against the U.S. and the government because first of all it's baseless and stupid I guess. I am not a hypocrite which in this case the government is the one that pays for my tuition. I don't bite the hand that feeds me. I may sound confusing but what I am trying to say is that people who join these activities should think first if the cause of the movement is really worth it and can be addressed immediately. I think it's stupid to shout against an enemy miles and miles away and doesn't care at all. And besides it's a fact that these marches are just used as excuse by many to be away from jobs or get some extra cash. I can still remember many of my school mates join the rally against the U.S government and halfway of the march most of them dispersed and went inside McDonalds. Wow! they don't want US capitalism but they also consume US products. Funny to think some of them don't even know what is written in the placards they are holding and most of them are thick faced to admit they are there because they are paid 20-50 pesos. Another example is the State of the nation address by the president; it seems that every time this event occurs it's like a holiday for rallyists. Sona is one activity that is slowly becoming a well known international event in the Philippines, in addition to traditional holidays and festivities we have, no wonder many foreign activists even joined in. Of course who would think it's a serious thing when you're surrounded by loud music, stage plays confetti's and many more “fun” stuff and activities. I think these rallies can be compared to the running of the bulls in Spain, and other mass festivities found in other countries.
Poverty is one thing that makes Philippines famous nowadays. The most common claim is that the government does not provide enough for the poor people. First of all these people are the ones who brought their miserable conditions to themselves. First they went to the big city hoping that they can find money in the streets there. Well sorry for you, the reality is that city life is not for everybody. Second they already know that they cannot even feed themselves, why still create more babies that produce more miserable people when they grow up. If I am the president I will challenge these people crowding the city to go back to their provinces and try to make their lives better there. And also they should stop claiming that the government owes them. First of all are they paying tax that can support the government? Well in the case of the Philippines it just goes to the bulging pockets of corrupt politicians, but that's another topic. As far as my studies had taught me, a good ideal government survives on the taxes paid by its people. And in this type of government the people who pay taxes have all the rights to be supported by the government. In simpler ideas lets put it this way, you harvest what you planted and in the case of the miserable Filipinos who sold their votes, they get what they deserve. I used to feel sorry about these people, but I learned my lesson that only the person can change his life. If I did not learn my lesson and did not apply these in my own personal life, I too maybe had joined these masses of miserable Filipinos. So there goes my reason why I don't pity them anymore.
It is given the Philippine government is considered one of the most corrupt in the whole world, but still there is hope. If all Filipinos unite and initiate the changes amongst themselves first, the power of change will possibly invade the conscience of the corrupt officials. We did it once, when we toppled the Marcos Regime so this is one reason I do not believe Filipinos cannot do it. We are in a modern age now where we all have access to other governments via technology. All we need is learn from these governments and apply the positive things to our own. Filipinos are well known for being good copycats, so why don't we use this towards the good of the whole country. Also, many Filipinos had been to other countries where they experienced how to become a disciplined and responsible citizen. How come they do not share these experiences when they go home?
I am challenging you brothers and sisters to start the changes for good of ourselves and our country, and be authentic in doing it. Our generations have more intelligence now, I challenge all of you to unite and initiate the changes our whole country needs. If we can easily learn how to operate ipods and computers and other gadgets, we can do this too when it comes to our society. Let's all save the Philippines from further misery.