Kabayanihan as National Ethic

So far, so good.



Smartmatic did a fine job, answering every doubt and quieting the rising tensions in the political atmosphere. Questions on the integrity of the recent polls are slowly being settled. The PCOS machines, Smartmatic says, are un-tamperable. Thus, results from the polls, are un-challenged. The Brazilians are asking us to move forward. And move decisively forward, we must.

As of presstime, Aquino leads the presidential polls by a mile over Villar, Estrada and Gibo. If the National Canvassing tallies with the preliminary un-official Comelec results showing 5-6 million voters favoring Aquino more than former president Joseph Estrada, then, presumably, we now have a new president.


Every one of us knows how crucial and how important this year is for us. We need political stability. Most of our neighbours are quietly working, earning money and improving their economies. The potentials are there, we just have to harness it. We have plentiful of resources, enough to propel our economy to the next level. And fortunately, we have the best minds in the region, some insidious, not ingenuous, unfortunately.


Yet, there is still time for us to purge the minds of some of these people and make them "attune" to the "national ethic".


With the right and proper "attitude", we can surely surpass our neighbours. This is very important. For the past decades, we have failed to institute a national ethic, a "Spirit", if you will, that guides every one's actions. China has its Confucian ethics, Japan its "bushido" codes. Americans have their "dreams" while Singaporeans have their "discipline". Us, we have "talangka mentality" replacing our once proud ethic of "ka-bayani-han".


Aquino, a scion of two patriots, should lead the charge and marshall all the forces of the State to re-instill this ethic into each and every Filipino's mind.


We must recognize that our country is in a state of a man-made disaster. The centuries-old maladies have corrupted and nearly destroyed the system. We are on the verge of destruction.


The solution rests not on the shoulders of the Executive but on the collective will of a people sick and tired of these problems.

Aquino must transform the highly bloated bureaucracy into an empowering organization, laying the predicate for motivation, enabling people and harnessing positive energy from the negative.

An empowered organization means an organism that shares power with all stakeholders.


The national goal, therefore, is clear---improve our quality of life. How then will we do that? By harnessing the collective will and turn it into a potent force strong enough for change.


This force, I am referring to, is our Consciousness. This consciousness should be defined and refined so that it will be acceptable to every one of us.


Every Filipino should recognize that nation-building is a shared responsibility. Every one has a stake in how things are to be run. Every one has his own oar, to be used in rowing our national boat to wherever direction we want it.

Aquino's role in this empowering organization is provide the direction based on his understanding of the prevailing consciousness. If the direction he wants necessitates the eradication of corruption in the first years, then, so be it. These stages should actually be explained to the people so that every one feels responsible for its success.

Gone are the times when governments are assessed based on its promises. Now, is the time when we assess government based on how it motivated and led the people towards concrete goals and promises.