The wind of change
In a paper entitled Our Appointment With Destiny which I presented before the Gift of Life Foundation and Operation: Bayanihan in Chicago on May 16, 2009, I stated, “the destiny of a nation is in the hands of its people, the dreamers and visionaries who love their country with pride and nobility.”
I obviously forgot the greater hand that could pre-empt all the political plans and machinations of man and have the final influence on the destiny of a nation and its people.
Such an amazing spiritual force is amidst us today, following the resurgence of people power in the days and weeks after Cory’s death.
As the pundits, politicians, and our people ponder and wonder what would happen to the overcrowded arena of more than half a dozen presidential aspirants, the enlightening providential wind of September 1st blew away the thick smoke of confusion, rattled some conscience, cleared the playing field, and provided the Filipinos the first glimpse of hope that the change we have all been dreaming for might come sooner than we thought only a few months ago. Everything seems to be coming into place, properly, naturally, and effortlessly, to the joy of our people and advocates for good governance.
Mar Roxas giving way to Noynoy Aquino is a smart political move. To be remembered, not as a divisive and selfish presidential candidate, but as a statesman who thought of the country’s interest before his own, Mar has earned the respect of his peers and the admiration of the Filipinos. True to their words as Kaya Natin! Good governance leaders, Pampanga priest turned Governor Eddie Panlilio and Isabela governor Grace Padaca also abandoned the presidential race and threw their support for Noynoy, all in the name of unity against the perpetrators of graft and corruption in our government.
Detractors and political enemies of Noynoy will describe him as too inexperienced to be president. His successive terms as a congressman and now as a senator, they will say, are not enough. But look at what “extensive experiences” have given our country: Marcos, Ramos, Estrada and, worst, Arroyo, and the notoriety and shame of being ridiculed as the most corrupt government in Asia, if not in the world.
With the massive graft and corruption in our government and about a third of our fellow Filipinos languishing in the gutter of poverty, the very first qualities we must seek for in a presidential candidate are honesty, transparency, accountability, and moral ascendancy. For the culture of corruption that is pervasive in the Philippines, we need a candidate who has never been corrupt, who is openly against corruption, and one who is incorruptible. Is there anyone among the presidential aspirants, besides Noynoy Aquino, Pampanga Governor Panlilio, and Isabela Governor Padaca who can honestly claim to have those 4 qualities?
As a physician, when confronted with a patient with cancer, I consult a cancer specialist. Never mind if he does not know much about diabetes or arthritis, or heart disease, etc. As long as he has the moral fiber, training, competence of a cancer specialist, albeit limited in the other fields of medicine, he is the one most qualified to treat the cancer. He can always surround himself with specialists in the various subspecialty fields in medicine to help save the patient.
The same principle applies in choosing the best candidate for president of the Philippine at this most crucial juncture in our history, since the nation is plagued by the cancer of corruption, which devastates, not only our economy and prosperity, but our dignity, social justice, honor, and pride as a people and as a nation.
We must elect a president who in unquestionably honest, free of any stain of corruption, one whose morals could never be questioned. When Noynoy Aquino is elected president, he can select the best and the brightest minds among the Filipinos for the various branches and areas of government, from his cabinet, all the way down to the other political appointees, just like what the “inexperienced” Barack Obama did in the United States.
As a moral leader, Noynoy will inspire all the other elective officials in all branches of government to be similarly honest and accountable. As a just and ethical leader, he can, without hypocrisy, demand and exact from everyone total respect for our laws and harshly deal with any official who breaches public trust, and show the world that in the Philippines no one is above the law.
I hasten to state that Noynoy Aquino is the man for this season, the only leader, at this point and time, who can wake up the sleeping Filipino Giant and truly inspire people power and transform the Philippines into a nation with integrity, dignity, prosperity, peace, social justice for all, honor, and pride. He is, after all, genetically endowed with Ninoy and Cory’s moral ascendancy, besides true love of country and compassion for the poor. The Aquino legacy will be Noynoy’s guiding light, his parents’ dream his mandate, and we, the people, his pillars, in achieving the “impossible” dream of his parents for the Philippines.
With a character beyond reproach, Noynoy is one person I can bet my life on, who could not be corrupt even if he tried. This is the very reason why good governance movements, like Kaya Natin!, Kilos Na!, the Filipino United Network (USA), an umbrella advocacy group overseas, are endorsing and supporting Noynoy Aquino for president.
The wind of change is upon our nation. Let us all be patriots and think of our country first, adjust our sail, rearrange our priorities and prejudices, and, guided by the Divine Providence, follow the bright beacon of light to reach our star and make our appointment with destiny, as a greater people and a greater nation. Let us not miss this providential opportunity.
How we vote in the 2010 national elections will show the whole world if we had learned our lessons from our past mistakes and are now wise and smart, or, if we, Filipinos at home and abroad, are genuinely and hopelessly dumb and stupid, even for our own good.