If we really want change

Filipinos live on drama. I am not just talking about our love for soap opera, teleserye and kalyeserye that make sure we are glued to our seats at specific times of the day. I am also referring to how we perceive reality as a people. We live for the drama.

Our current situation is very much similar to “Game of Thrones.” Corruption, poverty, political dynasties and cunning alliances are everywhere. Apparently, much like the previous regimes, the current administration is perceived as unable to fulfill the promises it made when it started out in 2010. Typhoon “Yolanda,” the Fallen SAF 44, traffic in the metro, “tanim/laglag bala”—these are but some of the heartbreaks that beset us, so that social media practically burst with so much opinions. And as in our beloved soap opera, we have a need to paint someone or something as a kontrabida.

Then, from somewhere, our bida (hero) will arise. We have a roster of bida from which to choose. We have the likes of Roxas, Binay, Poe, Santiago and Duterte vying for the iron throne, with their promises of deliverance from the plagues afflicting this country, each promising what will be a brighter future if they end up on the throne.

This is not a problem per se. In fact, I am quite happy that finally, our people are showing as much enthusiasm in the choosing of their leaders as they do in show biz happenings. What I am afraid of is how we have so quickly thrown support behind our preferred candidates without even looking at ourselves. It seems to me that as in the past, we put too much premium on what one person can do for a country of 100 million (and counting).

The problems that we face cannot be solved by just one man or woman alone.

The truth is, if we are to move forward as a nation, there must be collective action from all strata, all sectors, of society toward a culture of discipline, integrity, hard work and excellence. There is no one-person solution because the ills that we face have been and are being made by millions of people living together in an archipelago of 7,100 islands, with geographical and cultural barriers that invariably cause misunderstandings in the long run.

After more than 10 presidents after our first trapo president Emilio Aguinaldo, one dictatorship, Edsa and eight elections, we are still stuck in a quagmire of mediocrity. What most of us do not realize is that for every election in the past, there is an “appointed one” who we deem capable of saving the entire nation. But this only leads to heartbreak because with this mindset, the end result will always be the same: disappointment.

When we cast our votes, we are choosing someone who will take charge in determining our direction as a nation. But this does not release us from performing our more important duty as citizens of this country. We are misled by our belief that the roles we play in society are of less importance. Nothing is farther from the truth. We can still be something without these messianic leaders, but our leaders will be nothing without us, citizenry, the taumbayan, the bida ng tunay na buhay.

In all truth, no matter who we vote for, the Philippines will not magically transform into a developed country with poverty, crime, or natural or manmade disasters rendered things of the past. All these candidates cannot make this nation great on their own. The future of this nation depends on each of us that make up this whole. It is we, you and I, who can do something for this nation. It starts with thinking collectively for the sake of the future generation. It begins when we think of others as much as of ourselves.

It starts when teens stop chasing after short-term thrills and concentrate on honing their skills so they can be productive instead of merely reproductive. It starts when young parents plan their family so that they can provide for their children’s basic needs—and yes, this includes quality education. It starts when businessmen do their utmost to understand the financial woes of their employees and let these guide their decisions. It begins when employees understand the obstacles that their employers hurdled to get their business growing and, hence, perform excellently in their work. It begins when pedestrians learn to walk or cross in the proper lanes. It begins when drivers observe traffic rules.

The list of what we, the citizenry, can do to help build the nation is just waiting to be done.

Our government has failed to deliver on its promises in the past. But that is how crucial is the cooperation between our leaders and the people. An honest leader cannot make the necessary changes if the people remain resistant to positive change, to personal and collective discipline, and to authority.

My hope then is this: that whoever wins in the 2016 elections, we will set aside our biases and prejudices and learn how to cooperate, for once.

And to the presidential candidate who wins, I only plead that he or she be one who has enough political will to change the system that has weighed down on our progress for so long.

The best equation for this better Philippines is simple: competent and honest servant-leaders plus cooperative and hardworking people. It is difficult to come by because the price to pay is to deny our own instinct to go for the easy way. But I would like to think that we are not gifted with this much resourcefulness for nothing. It is only a matter of will as a people, if we really want positive change to occur.

Whether change is coming or not, we must first ask if we are capable of being the real-life bida in the grandest soap opera in which we’ll ever star: our country’s future, no less— “Ang Kinabukasan ng Pilipinas.”

Faye Sinoy Travilla, 23, from South Cotabato, is a graduate of the University of the Philippines Manila who “balances medicine, politics, photography and advocacy work.”