April 11, 2004

The Philippine STAR, Opinion Page

Easter Reflection

By Babe Romualdez

Many of us took our Easter break by going around the country to enjoy it.  Some went abroad to escape the heat and the pollution.  Others opted to stay in Metro Manila to enjoy the only time that the City has relative peace and quiet.  But I'm certain that somewhere along the line, most of us had the chance to reflect on ourselves and our relationship with the GUY up there.  Today being Easter Sunday, which marks the resurrection of our Lord, one must reflect, more than ever, on where we want this country to go.

This probably applies to those of us who have some love left for this country.  For whatever they say about Joseph Estrada, he made one profound statement during his interview with Max Soliven that I remembered very clearly.  He said many Filipinos have strong faith, they pray a lot, and they love God.  Many Filipinos also love their families and spend a lot of time with them, but there are also many who have who have forgotten how to love their country.  I thought that statement was rather profound coming from Erap. The thing is, it is probably true. That is why come election day, we really have to choose the right kind of leadership that will make a difference in the lives of Filipinos, especially to those of us who are marginalized. 

I'm not going to argue on who is competent, who is incompetent; who is better, who is not; who is a strong candidate, who is weak, etc.  I think that in the past couple of weeks we have already seen what kind of leadership there is to choose from.  What is important for everyone now is to support a candidate whom they really believe in.  They should stick to that candidate and influence as many people as they can whether that candidate has a good chance of winning or not.  Even if others will say that it is a wasted vote, what matters is that they believe in that candidate.  I think most of us will feel better, if at the end of the day, we cast a vote for someone whom we believe will lead this country out of the wilderness and to resurrect this country.

We have reached a tipping point when the next president will have to make many fundamental reforms to change the way we live.  The question is: Who among the candidates has what it takes to accomplish this?  The third and final phase of political combat resumes tomorrow.  There isn't much time left to decide.  After 60 days of campaigning, we are close to making up our minds.  Instead of being negative, why not just look at the good points of the limited choices we nave.

Looking at the leading candidates, GMA has to be judged on what she has done so far in the past three years as President.  Everyone knows her to be disciplined, hardworking, and determined.  This is now obvious in the way she is conducting her campaign.  She definitely has superior resources and superior organization that reaches the provinces, towns, and barangays.  There are many who are surprised at how she has closed in on FPJ in the surveys.  Her platform is very clear.  She intends to support a fundamental change in our Constitution and in our form of government. She has made a commitment and many are depending on her to stick to her word.  This systemic change is imperative because this present 50-year old democratic system has failed us. 

The only thing going for FPJ is that he is extremely popular with the D and E classes and they believe in his sincerity.  We don't really know what his platform of government is because he has not talked about it.  What is essential is that he represents the voice of the majority of people.  The silver lining in this cloud is that this could very well be a wake up call for all of us.  The system failed because it has increased the numbers of the poor and it has drastically decreased the middle class.  From a high of 4 percent 50 years ago, the A-B classes are down to 1 percent today.  From a high of 40 percent for the same period, the C class is now down to 9 percent.  The D and E classes have increased by 60 percent in 50 years!

Bro. Eddie Villanueva has made a lot of progress since he announced his candidacy.  Many have joined him because of their belief in his mission.  Listening to his interview last Friday, I found him to be articulate with a clear mission. He believes that this country needs a strong morally upright leader.  A lot of followers from women's groups to Protestant groups have closed ranks with him.  And whatever they say about Bro. Eddie Villanueva, he is definitely a revelation.

Panfilo Lacson is a candidate who has attracted many young, middle-class families.  They see in him a man that has the guts and the strong leadership that this country badly needs.  One may be surprised to find out that there are many "closet" Ping supporters around.  He has a very well-prepared platform.  The most significant of which is his stand on population growth.  He believes that a strong population management program is the best long-term solution to the country's problems.  The big bulk of the Filipino-Chinese community support him as well and swear by him.  They strongly believe in his ability to enforce peace and order.

Raul Roco is admired for his intellectual qualities and his very good education program, which is another important long-term solution in alleviating poverty.  His supposed biggest advantage is that Philippine demographics favor him.  Two-thirds of the electorate is below 45.  Forty-eight percent of Filipinos now live in urban areas.  Five of the top 10 vote-rich provinces are also the most urbanized.  Despite all of these, it looks like an uphill climb for Raul. 

What is really important after May 10 is that the losers must be prepared to accept and support the winner.  It doesn't seem likely that we will have a president who will win with a big majority, especially with Lacson and FPJ not joining forces and certainly not GMA and Roco.  Which reminds me of the 1992 victory of FVR.  Right after he won, he reached out to the six other contenders and got them to concede and support him except for Miriam Defensor-Santiago who flatly refused and fought him for 12 years until they kissed and made up recently at the birthday of GMA.  It was FVR's peacemaking efforts that eventually unified and prepared the country to ride a wave of investments and prosperity during the mid-90s.

Today we are once again divided and hopefully, whoever wins will be able to reach out to the losers and get their support.  In the state we are in today, vindictiveness should have no place here.  If we continue to be divided, we will definitely fall because time is not on our side.  What is worse is that we can very well lose this country.  Which reminds me of my days in New York City at Forest Hills High School where I had a classmate from Armenia who had lost his country.  He told me something I will never forget, "You will never know how much you love your country until you lose it."  That is definitely something to reflect on.

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