Good to have ‘personal’ president in P-Noy

What’s wrong with President Aquino telling his people that he takes the battle against corruption very personal to him?

It requires a person of passion, dedication, sincerity, probity and inner strength to approach any task at a highly personal level. How in the world can anyone excel in whatever worthy endeavor he gets himself into unless he puts his life and soul totally into it? And how many failures have been made, crimes committed, wars waged, miseries wrought, and lives gone to waste—all in the name of out-of-touch “objective rulership”?

I cannot imagine being treated and operated on by health workers and doctors without any “personal touch” coming from them. Even hirelings and real-life “officers” or “public servants” of Dirty Harry-type would always say before shooting their targets: “Walang personalan, trabaho lang.” (Nothing personal, just a matter of duty.) Hitler was not a person, he was a demon. And he thought he was duty-bound to massacre 2 million Jews.

Until when can we lay eyes on things as they are? Only trapo-mindsets will not find anything worthwhile in P-Noy’s imperfect second State of the Nation Address (Sona). But for me, this is the best part of that speech:

“Some of my critics say that I am taking this campaign against corruption personally. It’s true: doing what’s right is personal for me, to make people who did wrong pay, whoever they are. And it is not only me who should take this personally, everyone should take this personally, since every Filipino is a victim.”

Until we change in the way we appropriate our mental and natural resources as a people in handling the persisting problems that have beset our country for so long, nothing will change. It’s time for a “political” paradigm shift for us Filipinos! That is if we truly want a change that can spell national transformation!

—RENI M. VALENZUELA,
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