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.

Ka-Bayani-han as State Ideology and the operational meaning of EDSA

Noynoy Aquino's new administration promises to be a true catalyst for change in our country. This administration, I really hope, would measure up to the high expectations set by the Filipino People. Aquino should just stay and remain focus at the task at hand and avoid any distractions.

For the past decades, no post-Marcos regime has ever successfully retained the public's approbavation mainly for just one (1) reason---it fails to unite the Filipino People behind it. Cory Aquino had that chance, but because of numerous attempts against it, it lost focus and strayed at the task at hand.

The Ramos administration did nothing to unify and concentrated on improving the economy. Its successor, the short-lived Estrada administration, tried to implement a mass-oriented or masa-centric regime, only to fail, and fail miserably.

The Arroyo regime, meanwhile, toyed with the idea of a "strong Republic." What happened was entirely the opposite.

I dare say that Aquino should implement a state-wide information campaign that focuses on one thing---unification of the Nation.

Aquino must operationalize the Ideals of EDSA. What is really the operational meaning of the first EDSA revolt?

Historically, there are two (2) interpretations of the meaning of EDSA, the first one is it is the one thing resorted to by counter-elites whenever they want to pressure government to accede on some hair-brained idea or proposal they have. Meaning, when a crisis crops up, the usual battlecry of those aggrieved is simply "go to EDSA."

The interpretation of EDSA should go beyond its traditional concept as a "last resort prior to armed struggle."

The second interpretation of EDSA is its a coup d'etat of the elite, a means to perpetuate power within the confines of the differing elite groups dominating Philippine society. This is why, each and every time, people hear of "EDSA", the usual voices demanding it came from the elite ranks. Look at each and every EDSA photo, and you'll always see the usual faces of aristocrats and technocrats cum activists there.

This new administration should re-define the morphology of the concept and push for the institution of the operational meaning of EDSA.

EDSA should be interpreted in its purest form---EMPOWERMENT OF THE PEOPLE. How do you empower the people?

BY ACTIVELY ENGAGING THEM IN THE AFFAIRS OF GOVERNMENT. How do you do that?

BY implementing a STATE ideology which centers on people's empowerment. Engagement should focus more on making people realize that they have (1) a responsibility to be part of Nation-building and (2) that each and every one is a KA-BAYANI, a co-patriot.

Ka-Bayani-han should be re-defined as what it truly is---collective-wide cooperation. The graphical representation or image of a few Filipinos carrying a nipa hut in its shoulders should be interpreted in a new light. The nipa hut should be used as an image symbolising the Nation, and the people carrying it on their shoulders should actually be interpreted as the entire Filipino People being the true and responsible builders of the Nation.

As a state ideology, Kabayani-han should emphasize that every Filipino citizen is responsible for the fate and direction of the country. That every one is a catalyst, just waiting to be tapped.

Likewise, every Filipino should be called "Ka-Bayani" meaningful of the concept of shared responsibility or shared Nationalism.

Aquino should adopt this as a continuation of his struggle. It is very apt for him considering that he is the prime example of being a Ka-Bayani. One, he is a scion of a great family of heroes (his parents are this Nation's martyrs) and two, he ran under the platform of "people power".