My Bagong Pilipinas

Let me begin by saying, “I can dream, can’t I?”

Because if one does not dream, there will be no new Philippines, only a worse one.

Which brings me back to the ongoing and alleged People’s Initiative. I am saying alleged, just like many are saying and even more emphatically as fake, but maybe for a different reason. A people’s initiative is collective in nature; it uses the term “people’s”, not a congressman’s initiative, not even a president’s initiative. And because it is called so, any attempt to change the Constitution via a People’s Initiative is funny. In fact, it is grotesque.

Why would it be grotesque? Grotesque means “strange and unpleasant, especially in a silly or slightly frightening way.” The claim of a People’s Initiative is strange. I brought out results of a 2023 survey by Pulse Asia which include the following:

44% of Filipinos know LITTLE of the Constitution, 34% said they knew NOTHING of the Constitution, and that is a total of 78% of the population. How, then, can a people initiate technical changes about a Constitution they know little or nothing about? That is why it is strange, a sophisticated collective attempt to change provisions in the Constitution that they do not even talk about.

I can believe that a people’s initiative to protest and demand changes in the selling price of rice which today is 50-60 pesos per kilo instead of what they thought was promised to them – 20 pesos per kilo. Most Filipinos understand about rice, how to cook and eat it. But millions cry about buying at prices they cannot afford. If they initiate a government change to bring down the price of rice, that would be simply natural. But they cannot even gather a collective action to demand that to happen.  

What else do people understand well? I think electricity, cooking gas and fuel, and transportation costs would be causing deep stress on tens of millions of Filipinos. But they cannot even think of starting a collective action to bring down the prices of essential products and services. Yet, they can think of mounting a people’s initiative when there even no specifics on how to allow foreigners to buy land or totally own businesses where our national security is connected.

Not only strange but unpleasant. From time to time, our national security and interests can be compromised by disruptive global dynamics. Take China for instance. There was a time when China was an enemy, then became a friend, and now a friend turning to be an enemy and wanting the seas that are part of our territory and our identity. Strange that a people mostly ignorant of the Constitution would collectively move to change it, and unpleasant that their ignorance would define how our territory and strategic services can be cut up and put up for sale.

Silly, isn’t it? And slightly frightening, too. Silly because those who cannot understand the Constitution would initiate a move to change specific provisions beyond their ken, and frightening because the People’s Initiative has unseen puppeteers and manipulating people, nation, and future.

There, the pillars of grotesque have been pointed out and explained – strange, unpleasant, silly, and slightly frightening.

So, what is my dream of a New Philippines, a New Filipino?

Simple. Apply the Code of Conduct that governs all public employees and officials, or Republic Act 6713.

The evils that haunt the Philippines and have damaged us beyond imagination is the wanton violation of the very code of conduct that all public servants and officials are supposed to strictly comply with. Do Filipinos even know the most important thing about the Constitution that protects them and empowers them to be great citizens?

R.A. 6713 states:

“Public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people and shall discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence, and loyalty, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives, and uphold public interest over personal interest.”

Do we want a Bagong Pilipinas, a Bagong Pilipino? Easy.

Teach R.A. 6713 to all Filipinos, beginning with day care centers, elementary, high school, and college students. Make all public officials and employees recite the Code of Conduct every morning when work begins. Then, design a monitoring and measuring system to verify if our public officials and employees are complying, then penalize and terminate those who violate the provisions of the code.

Once public officials and employees, elected and appointed, begin to apply the Code of Conduct in the performance of their duties, the citizens whom they are mandated to serve will quickly follow their good examples and be law-abiding Filipinos. That is transformation beyond belief at the moment, when corruption is the first definition of government, and poverty is the enduring curse that it inflicts on the people. Shame, too.

Who does not want a new Philippines, a new Filipino? We all dream, don’t we? We all want a peaceful and friendly community, a daily life without liars and thieves, and our children growing up with good opportunities to have a better life that we had. Who does not want a Philippines that is less known for poverty, corruption, even presidents accused of plundering and killing? With Filipinos working in almost all countries in the world, who would not want to be proud of their country?

The transformation from poor to productive, from corrupt to honest, from ignorance to learned, from disinformation to truth is what I dream of, the new Filipino, the new Philippines. Because if we do not do that, selling our land and security to foreigners will not solve our problems. We will only lose our home, our motherland, become orphans and squatters in what God gifted to us.