The Philippine Online Chronicles

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I think these words are important, both on a personal level and for others, as campaign season happens 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 we see the value of a person.  It is when things are going wrong that he will be tested, and we'll be able to see his true character.  We'll see whether or not he knows how to handle his love. It is in a crisis such as a drop in the surveys, such as what Mr. Aquino and his Yellow Army has experienced, that we will see whether they are up to the challenge of our time. We will get their true measure and know if they hold true to their convictions and will witness how they stand together against the darkness.

It is no secret that I am deeply troubled by 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.

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 untangle it.   Scandal after scandal, and not one of them could be proven. How could they be when the very institutions of justice have been perverted?  Street protest after street protest yielded nothing.   How could street protest make a difference when it was EDSA 2 that unwittingly ushered in a dark age?

Our country’s problem was a Gordian knot that no one could unravel.  And the choices for 2010 were either Escudero or Villar or Charter Change spearheaded by the administration, 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 merely awakened us to the idea that 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 with 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 electric 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 that rich. He has about P14 Million 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, the RVAT Law, the Juvenile Justice Act, the Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty, and the Anti-Red Tape Act.

As senator he voted for the Cheaper Medicines Act, Personal Equity Retirement Account Act, Credit Information Act, and 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 the 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 "caring 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?

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 that he binds his people. I believe he can steer.

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 and 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 P150 million of the P300 million budget deficit (that we know of). 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 not only for propriety's sake, but also for 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 that 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.

On education

“Education is key,” Ivy wrote in her article about meeting Senator Aquino.

Noynoy Aquino, Mar Roxas and the entire Liberal Party published this statement on what they believe we must focus to improve basic education:

• We cannot defeat poverty with a short education cycle.

• We must set pride aside and learn from the rest of the world.

• They believe that the nation has the funds to make this a reality.

• In a 12-year cycle, they contend that 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.

• And we must not 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 alternative 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 be 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 tried and true policies; the same tired and crude politics?

A lot of Filipinos are bound to leave. A lot of my friends have.  They’ve left to find peace for themselves, to find happiness, to raise children and families in countries where they will thrive without limits.

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. ... Megalomania is to Noynoy as sweet is to brick. These properties do not compute.”

How quickly we forget what a year ago was.

I agree with Sparks in this sentiment, however: “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.”

The bottom line is this:

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

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

Peter Wallace of the Wallace Business Forum wrote “Uncertain Times,” which echoes and validates my first Filipino Voices article,  “On What Gross National Product Measures.”

He said, “The Economy is a failing economy under Arroyo the economist.”

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 doesn't muster up the necessary strength, if it allows the likes of Villar to win, why are we here again?

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 a 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 call for every Filipino. Steel yourself.

A very dear friend 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.  Much like the Yellow Army she is iffy, tired, exhausted, distraught, disgusted, and disillusioned.  But this is the 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, even bigger than Noynoy Aquino himself.

The first step is to be heard with our ballot.  The second step comes after Election Day because our commitment does not end in the polling booth.

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.”

 

Photos by creativoices.net and Noemi Lardizabal-Dado. Some Rights Reserved.