The saddest part of being a Filipino lies in the fact that we expect change every time there is an election. But change has not happened in more than half a century. It has not because there are three ingredients in order that a people achieve for themselves the purpose of nationhood, which means, politically speaking, that people, children and the elderly, women and the vulnerable, the poor and the poorest of the poor, do attain for themselves a standard of living worthy of their dignity as moral persons.

The first necessary ingredient is for people to have real choices in life. Politically speaking, in our immature democracy, people vote for those who are influential—either because of their money or because of their popularity. The reason for this is, they have no real choice, to begin with. A hungry stomach dictates the mind to grab the nearest available bread. Sad to say, the traditional politician, with bread in hand, stands in the doorway of this hungry man.

The second requirement is that as one nation, we should be able to assert our sovereignty. This is our life and so it is for us to determine our destiny. Structural Adjustment Programs which came as a result of the Washington Consensus did more harm than good to countries that adopted them. Globalization is good, but it must not in any way mean that as a people we are to sacrifice our blood and history.

The third requirement is moral leadership. If corruption is a problem, then you cannot expect a leader who is tainted with or susceptible to corruption to clean this country. How does one know when a leader is such? By intuition. He who lives a simple life is least likely to use his office for self-aggrandizement. If indeed one is to be serious against corruption, then one must be a role model so that the young generation who will take over this country will have somebody to emulate. It may not be possible at this time to punish all corrupt politicians, but I am sure they are not immortal. As a young man, I am more concerned with the future.

The Jesuits tell us that our real mission in life is to save souls. A corrupt politician will not be able to do that because he can’t even save his own soul. But what does that really mean? It means that people should be able to provide others the opportunities for a life well lived and never take advantage of them. When one is in power, one can naturally control others. But that is not necessarily the case. One can use that power so that others may not able to use others. On the day Sen. Benigno Aquino III made his decision, we, Filipinos finally had our date with destiny as a nation.

—CHRISTOPHER RYAN MABOLOC,
ryanmaboloc75@yahoo.com