I told myself this while I was listening to the first State of the Nation Address of our President last Monday. With the declarations made about government owned and controlled corporations and the way by which the trustees were paid…I could not help but sigh about all these things being un-ravelled.
What the President were saying were old tunes to all of us. I sometimes wonder if corruption is just going to be our standard way of operating here in the country. It has become so rampant that we hardly get shocked anymore. We allow so many things and events to go without pursuing the real truth.
I could recall in recent history (just a few years) some of the things that we did not finish to the end. Fertilizer scam, Velarde envelope, ZTE NBN Broadband scandal, Hello Garci recorded calls, Sen Lacson who escaped the country, Meralco overpricing and overcharging its customers… the list could go on and on.
It seems as if we – the poor Filipino masses are left to fend off for ourselves. Whether it be the skyrocketing prices in the market of the basic commodities, rising cost of power utilities, education, food, toll fess… we are basically on our own.
Looking at the TV coverage of the SONA where Batasang Pambansa was filled with more than 200 of our congressmen… I was praying that each one would grow a conscience and a heart to really serve the people.
This country needs our help esp when some of the more blatant crimes were committed by those in power with the Maguindanao massacre as the shining example of greed and abuse.
This country needs help because we have seen so many of our politicians do their dastardly deeds and then after a few years, come back into the limelight as if they had done no wrong. Whereas the ramifications of what they did and stole from the country are still felt by every Juan dela Cruz.
What PNOY said in the SONA were nothing new – that is why so many sectors were feeling cut-off because their advocacies were not 
mentioned.
But listening beyond the words of the President could give us a clue as to what is happening in our country.
What PNOY is giving the country is what GMA had the opportunity to do when she was installed in 2001.
And this is TO GIVE THIS COUNTRY HOPE.
And it looked like PNOY means business. And so should we.
Sure, it would be impossible for this country to change overnight. But the mere hope that we can change – is a strong force that could grow in every Filipino heart here and abroad.
This means – we can.
That we can hope and dream that we can change.
When PNOY did not use the “wang-wang”… I was one of those who thought that he should start tackling bigger issues than those installed on top of the vehicles. But the President proved himself right. Every mile begins with a simple step. Every big miracles of change begin with a very small, doable measure of change like Wang-wang. It communicated a very powerful message. That even on the highways, the politicians and the powers that be.. need to realize the plight of the many.
I had often wondered if our politicians were aware of the terrible traffic jams everywhere… how could they empathize when they themselves are so free from the traffic jams and could weave their way in and out because of their police escorts and those wang-wangs.
Because of what PNOY started… after the SONA.. i drove through Commonwealth avenue right next to 3 beautiful SUVs…one of them carried a plate that said “LOI” ( wife of ex-pres Estrada and also a senator herself).
After the SONA, there were some news footage of the Ex-president GMA leaving the country for Hongkong. The heat was going to be too much for her inside Batasang Pambansa. I felt really bad for the district she is representing. Because on SONA day, the person that they voted to represent their district was intentionally absent on the first day of work… because it is “her right” to skip SONA day.
But sorry Madam ex-president… please do not forget that the country has the right to account for all the things that are missing in the country’s coffers.
Would PNOY be able to deliver all the promises?
We should be mature enough to realize that he wont be able to do them by himself. The growth of the country, the betterment of the nation in terms of its youth, communities, infrastructure etc are not dependent on him alone but on all of us. The change for the good does not hinge on one man alone – but it is an excellent start.
People feel that they could approach PNOY or “sumbong ko sila kay Pnoy” is an indication that the President is someone that everyone looks up to as a champion of their rights. That in itself is something that needs to be brought back to our leaders. Champion of our rights rather than plunderers of our rights.
How would you help PNOY make this a better country for all of us?
How can we work together? What can you do? How can you help? I am very much tempted to quote a powerful statement by the late President Kennedy “ask not what the country can do for you.. but what you can do for the country…”. I was hoping PNOY would say something to that sort. Ask us. Tell us how we can help.
Better yet… let us think how we can help this country.
How we can help its poor, uneducated, the hungry, the orphans, the sick, OFWs, youths.
How can we work together as parents, students, educators, pastors, civic leaders?
There are many ways. Big and small.
But I would like to propose a small but a significant one.
Let us start growing a conscience for one.
(Pictures taken from Benigno Noynoy Aquino public Facebook page)
