The Philippine Online Chronicles

I think these words are important on both a personal level and as campaign season begins and as we’re seeing both Aquino and Villar camps on near equal footing.  Whether lover or family man, whether President or ordinary citizen, someone once told me that it isn’t when things are going right that shows us the value of a man.  It is when things are going wrong that we will see the true test, the truth to his character.  We see whether or not he knows how to handle his love.  It is in crisis, like a drop in the survey such as what Mr. Aquino and his Yellow Army has experienced will we see whether they are up to the challenge of our time.  We will sample their true measure and if they hold true to their convictions and how they stand together amidst the dark light.

The past week, it is no secret that I have been deeply troubled with what the future holds.  I am not the only one so troubled by our raison d’être, and the many philosophical questions that have been argued to explain our being human.   Noynoy Aquino needs more fire in his belly, someone argued even as we are at war and it seem sometimes that the proud and strong Yellow Army is in retreat amidst the onslaught from the forces of Mordor and its allies.

The nightmare we’ve all found ourselves in the past nine years can’t seem to stop.

The darkness is daunting.

The night is so inviting.

People I respect found Mr. Aquino in his blogwatch interview to be wanting.   How much can we forget in so little time?

I think we have to remember what it was like just a year ago.  We were so wrapped in political deadlock that no one could envision how to unlock it.   Scandal after scandal, and not once could those things be proven.   How could allegations be proven when the very institutions of justice have been perverted?  Street protest after street protest couldn’t come up with any solution at all.   How could street protest make a difference when it was EDSA 2 unwittingly ushered in a dark age?

Our country’s problem was a Gordian knot, which simply means is an extremely difficult problem.  No one could unravel it.  And the choices of the contest for 2010 were Escudero or Villar and Charter Change by those in power.  None of which appealed much.  None of which, I thought had the right vision to get the job done.

So let us put the last nine years into its proper context.  I’m sure you’re sick of it by now, as would most people.  Cory died, and things started to change.  But that’s not why Noynoy Aquino should be president.  It started the awakening that the problem is, we’ve allowed for a society that lacks a sense of propriety or delicadeza.  Suddenly, people tried to remember what idealism was.

Where then is the answer?

Certainly, to see Noynoy Aquino as a messiah is a mistake.

Did you notice his sense of humor at the start of blogwatch interviews Senator Aquino?

“An electric chair is like this, isn’t it?”  Mr. Aquino asked in Filipino, noticing the chair he sat on.  “It is also elevated. This one doesn’t have a strap, though.” [“Pag electic chair ganito din ang porma. Elevated din. Eto wala lang strap.”]

His humor is a very human thing.

How rich is he?  Noynoy Aquino isn’t rich.  He has about 14 Million pesos according to his statement of assets and liabilities.

Let’s then take a look at Noynoy Aquino’s voting record, which is a long list of bills that do make a lot of sense.

As a congressman, Noynoy Aquino voted yes, for the Clean Air Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Home Guarantee Corporation Act, The General Banking Law, the Electronic Commerce Act, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the Rental Reform Act, the Government Procurement Reform Act, the Tobacco Regulation Act, the Judicial Compensation Act, Sin Taxes, RVAT Law, the Juvenile Justice Act, the Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty, and the Anti-RedTape Act.

As senator he voted for Cheaper Medicines Act, Personal Equity Retirement Account Act, Credit Information Act, Renewable Energy Act, as well as the Food and Drug Administration Act, the Climate Change Act, the Pre-Need Code, and The Customs Broker Act Amendments.

Those are just some of many laws, he voted on.

Few people remember this about Noynoy Aquino. Did you know that in one of the Coup attempts three of his escorts were killed and Noynoy Aquino himself got shot five times and that one of those bullets is still in him?

People talk about Noynoy Aquino and how sometimes his association with his parents is a bit overplayed.  Yes, he is the Scion and to separate him from that is a false distinction.  How can you separate him from his parents?  It was their DNA that brought him into this world.  It was their upbringing that made him a person.  It is from them he gets his character, his integrity.

That’s at the core of his being.  Noynoy Aquino has character.  He has integrity.  It means so little in a country that does not respect either.  It means so little in a country where our norms have been so perverted that to have either would be going against the tide.  It means so little in a country where the top two choices are being, not corrupt and cares for the poor.

Does it mean so little in a country that does not respect either?

Does it mean anything at all in a country where our norms have been so perverted that to have either would be going against the tide?

Does it means so little in a country where the top two choices are being, "not corrupt" and "cares for the poor"?

This is why Noynoy Aquino can lead his Yellow Army.  We need integrity to steer our country forward.  We need that sense of trust, that certainty to know. It is with that credo he binds his people with. I believe he can steer.

Even as Credo is important but what about the things he will do as president? I asked him a question on taxes.  It is a fair question given the current budget deficit. Given how crazy our government is at managing tax revenue.  What did he say?  He reiterated his stand from “A Philippines That Works.”  We get two percent better tax collection, and half of our revenue problem is fixed.

That’s 150M of the 300M (that we know off), which is the country’s budget deficit.  Just two percent better and we can improve.

Last Saturday, Noynoy Aquino talked about creating oversight for Intelligence funds to prevent abuses and to keep spending in check.  I believe this is a step in the right direction of not just a sense of propriety, but good fiscal management.

Noynoy Aquino wants to fix our judicial system to match a country with some of the best laws in the world so that our conviction rate is higher. He talked about bringing closure to all the scandals that have rocked our nation that no one could seem to finish.  He believes in true justice that balances out the need to ensure people’s rights are not violated, and at the same time guarantee the guilty go to jail.

Senator Aquino kept repeating that he will guarantee Mrs. Arroyo’s rights saying that it does no one any good to deny Gloria Arroyo her constitutionally given rights, should she be charged.  To do otherwise would only perpetuate revenge.

Then there is the question education.

“Education is key,” Ivy wrote as part of what she took from meeting Senator Aquino.

On this track, Noynoy Aquino, Mar Roxas and the entire Liberal Party published this statement that say they believe that we must focus and improve basic education:

They believe that we cannot defeat poverty with a short education cycle.

They believe we must set pride aside and learn from the rest of the world.

They believe that we have the funds to make this a reality.

They believe that with a 12-year cycle, our people should have enough basic education to prepare them for work.

They believe that eighteen year olds are better prepared for work than sixteen year olds.

They don’t stop at just believing.

Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas published 10 ways to fix Philippine Basic Education:

1. 12-Year basic education cycle
2. Universal pre-schooling for all
3. Madaris education (Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education)
4. Technical vocational education as an alterantive stream in senior high school
5. “Every Child a Reader” by Grade 1
6. Science and Math proficiency
7. Assistance to private schools
8. Medium of instruction rationalized
9. Quality textbooks

10.  Covenant with local governments to build more schools

I lament that even as we speak about issues that are pressing, in the real fight it will about who gets the most advertising.  The Real fight wouldn’t be about issues, but who gets to cozy up to the poorest of our poor.

It gives me pause, seeing how Manny Villar could become the next President of the Philippines.  Even if you discount the possibility that Mr. Villar is the President’s man, his policies, his method and his modus operandi are GMA-like. Are you prepared for another six years of the same tired and true policies; the same tired and crude politics?

It seemed that bombs have been falling from the sky and our days, are just like what London experienced during the Battle of Britain.  The night of terror can’t seem to end.

A lot of Filipinos are bound to leave. A lot of my friends have.  They’ve left to find peace for themselves.  They’ve left to find happiness.  They’ve left to raise children and families in a country far better to grow children in.  It is a better world they go to.>

This why I disagree with Sparks in her Noynoy and Great Expectations narrating her experience last Saturday with the senator.

Sparks wrote: “Noynoy does not have the gravitas of men and women who command loyalty by simply being. He has not the charm of his father nor a revolution brewing in his favor as his mother. All he has are his shoulders frail. Here is a man who had indeed chosen to pick up the biggest rock in sight and to willingly strike it on his head. And he does it not for naked quest for power. Megalomania is to Noynoy as sweet is to brick. These properties do not compute.”

“She sat unmoved,” by his answer to her question.

How quickly we forget what a year ago was.  But I suppose they also serve those who stand and wait. Don’t they?

This is what I agree with what Sparks wrote: “In running for the highest office in the land at a time of great crisis, perhaps Noynoy only wishes to honor the memory of his mother and father, and in doing so resurrect in all of us what was was great and proud in the Filipino.“

Nine and a half years of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be enough.

Nine and a half years of GMA-like policies should be enough.

That said, Peter Wallace wrote, “uncertain times,” and it rings true and validates my first Filipino Voices article.  “on what gross national product measures.”  This is what he had to say: “The Economy is a failing economy under Arroyo the economist.”

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Got xkcd love. lol on.

Got Parisian love. Search on.

Got love for country. Fight on.

This is what I hope the Yellow Army learned.

I wrote earlier that it isn’t when things are going wrong that we find out how good a person is, but during bad days. If the Yellow Army isn’t up to muster, if it allows the likes of Villar to win, why are we here again?

“We shall neither flag nor fail.  We shall defend our land though many old and famous would have fallen. We shall fight with growing confidence, we must defend our island; we shall fight on the beaches, on our landing grounds.  We shall fight on the streets.  We shall fight with growing confidence with our automated election.   We shall never surrender.”

In spite what you say about the man.  In spite of being unmoved or uninspired by him, the fact is: Noynoy Aquino is the best chance to bring back a little bit of sanity into our national lives.  He has this golden opportunity to bind our nation’s wounds.  We have a golden opportunity to help build a nation.  We have the opportunity to take to not to the streets in protest but to march with our ballots.  If we find Mr. Aquino to be wanting, if we do not lift a finger to help him now, or when he becomes president, where then is our love for country?

Where then is our courage to stand up and be counted?

In “Profiles in Courage,” JFK wrote:

“For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”

At a crisis point, our nation needs new direction from Arroyo’s failed regime.

I believe it is time for courage.  It is a call to the Yellow Army.  It is a clarion call for every Filipino.

Steel yourself.

A very dear friend, she and I used to watch war movies together.  Oh, she was the one who got me addicted to them.  She admired the characters’ love of country.  Many days, she would dream and say, I want that for our country too.

Mr. Aquino and Mr. Roxas are not her first choice.  To her and to others like her, to the Yellow Army, iffy, tired, exhausted, distraught, disgusted, and disillusioned.  This is that golden opportunity to not just dream but be part of the process to make our country great.  This is bigger than you or I.  This is bigger than any Filipino.  This is bigger than Mar Roxas.  This is bigger than Noynoy Aquino himself.  Take that shot and give it your all. It is our chance to right wrongs, and the first step is to march with our ballot.  The second step comes after Election Day because our commitment does not end with our ballot.

And should we fail?  Do you really want another six years of the same tired and failed policy?

What’s at stake on May 10, 2010 is the opportunity to take a step forward and dream and choose to be better than who we are.  Ask not what Noynoy Aquino can do for you.  Ask, what you can do for your country.

This is “why Noynoy Aquino.”