"Ako ang simula"

For several weeks now ABS-CBN has been intensifying its “Ako ang simula” campaign. The thrust is evidently to mobilize young voters into potent groups that would lead a nationwide movement for a clean and honest election. With its extensive media machinery, the network is trying to teach the youth to use the ballot as an instrument for a meaningful social change thereby paving the way for the rise of committed and sincere leadership in the local and national scene, including that at the top power center.

To say the least, this campaign is a very laudable one, an urgently needed move. With elections only a few months away, it is very important that there be a concerted effort to remind the electorate to play their role in that exercise and play it well for the good of the country.

Play it well indeed, for the truth is, the average Filipino has not been playing his role at the polls as he should. As a result, individuals whose idea of public service is anchored on greed and self-enhancement get elected while those who are sincerely committed to serve get sidelined. Because of this, social progress is stymied and the poor proliferate.

And when you have plenty of poor people you also get plenty of problems – corruption, criminality, unemployment, insurgency and many others, including vote-buying. It’s a kind of cycle - people sell their votes because they are poor, they are poor because they sell their votes.

In the Philippine setting, this cycle has been going on for decades. And look, where the country is now, economically, socially and politically.

Time was when this country was looked up to as the bastion of democracy in Asia. It had a stable government and a vibrant economy. And its educational system was the envy in this part of the world. Time was when Filipino leadership was known for its competence and probity, when integrity was a badge and service an obsession. But that time has long gone with the storm winds. Now there’s a wasteland in the landscape of good leadership. Sure, there are pretenders, and plenty of them. But the reality is that once power is gained most of them would morph into the same brand of patronage leadership. Political skirmishes would dominate the scene. Accusations of corruption would surface and horse-trading become as usual the order of the day.

As usual too, the country goes on in its snail-paced development even as demand for more jobs and expanded social services rises. Budget deficit would still hound our financial situation while productivity would be hamstrung by lack of funds. This may be a dire prediction but it is most likely to happen.

Look at how the current Congress is eating out a huge chunk of the national fund. For pork barrel alone both Houses spent no less than 21.4 billion pesos last year. And this year it has taken steps to bloat this amount by, hold your breath, 65 billion pesos supposedly for more infra projects but actually for more money windfalls for their own personal use. As for Malacañang, its spending spree costing millions of dollars was evident in the President’s frequent sorties to foreign countries along with scores of “kuyog baboys”.

Pagbabago – surely, there’s an acute need for this, and of course, it should start in the heart. It’s in the Filipino himself where reform should start. Social structure is vital but more vital is the culture structure, that composite of habits, attitudes and traits that characterize the average Filipino.

Once this change takes place, corrupt leaders would be a thing of the past. For then no one would sell his votes no matter how much is offered. Trapos would have to eat their dirty bills. They would lose their relevance, no one would listen to them, and only the best and most credible citizen would get the mandate.

Certainly, this is easier said than done. The big question is, how can this change of heart be effected? Tv footages of people swearing “Ako ang simula”, may look convincing. But when push comes to a shove would that work?

When one has a job and things are ok, it’s easy to swear allegiance to honesty on election day. But when one and family can barely afford three meals a day, can he say no to doleouts? Sadly, there are tens of millions of these, they who don’t have a modicum of material comfort and therefore cannot exercise the practice of virtue.

“Ako ang simula”. How wonderful it is if many Filipinos can make themselves the start of credible and honest-to-goodness elections!

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