A Good Read for All Pilipinos

To the trapo individuals, ugly cynics, radical optimists and hope-weavers for a change..to all pilipinos, a good read below by Antonio Meloto.

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The Challenge of a Hundred Days: Believing that
Filipinos can end Poverty and Corruption in the Philippines . .

By Antonio Meloto

Is it possible for Filipinos
within my lifetime - I just turned sixty - to unite and raise a great
President who can make us believe that ours can be a strong nation?

I believe we can.

That leader can be
President-elect Benigno C. Aquino III. The historic moment can be now.

Hopefully, we don't squander this chance. Time is running out
on my generation and I don't want my children to inherit a country that
they cannot be proud of, that will not guarantee them safety and
opportunity for a dignified
life.

The first 100 days after June 30 is not just for
the new
President to prove to us that he can lead but, more
importantly, for all of us to prove to ourselves that we love this
country enough to set aside our differences and interests to help him
succeed and finally show the world that we are not too selfish and
self-serving ... and downright stupid ... in the practice of our faith
and freedom.

The first 100 days is our test if we can do
things differently
given this new window of opportunity. We not only
need a good leader but we have to prove to ourselves that we are
deserving of a good one.

The new President has feet of
clay who has yet to end his
nicotine addiction and he will most
likely fail us if we do not give
him the strength he needs to
overcome his weaknesses. He needs us as we
need him to be strong as a people. Let's try our best not to fail one
another.

Now that elections are over it is time to come
out and express solidarity with our chosen leader for the good of all by
being what we demand him to be.

I deliberately hid from
sight in the last election to remain
non-partisan and respect the
choices of friends with their
multi-colored political loyalties.
While I prayed for good leaders I personally knew to win, I kept my
silence... and peace, and waited for winners to be proclaimed, eager to
get back to work with those who want to work with us.

I
saw no candidate as adversary or enemy. l engage those who respect our
terms of engagement. Anyone who is a friend of the poor is a friend.
Anyone who loves my country is family. I regret the defeat of good
leaders I know, but look
forward to working with the victors that I have yet to know.

Leadership after all is not about winning elections or staying in power
but about going beyond self-interest and rising above rivalries for a
higher cause, even working with political opponents - call it balimbing
or whatever name you like - for the common good.

To build
a strong nation, we must learn to engage everyone,
bridge gaps that
divide and leverage limited resources by encouraging those who have to
give more to those who have less.

While we must engage
every politician without judgment and
without compromise, our cause
of nation-building must transcend politics. Politics is for politicians,
nation-building is for everyone - from the highest leader of the land
to the weakest squatter in the poorest slum. It is for ordinary citizens
like me to help
provide connectivity to the un-reached, build trust among the wary and
give hope to those in despair.

In the first 100 days, let
us be a people of faith.

First, it is good to start by
having faith in our leader. We
must accept him wholeheartedly as the
President for all Filipinos, including those who did not vote for him.

Given the circumstances of his miraculous ascendancy to power,
reluctant in the beginning yet resolute with an overwhelming mandate in
the end, we must accept that it is his divine destiny to lead us. If he
is God-sent then we must treasure the gift and provide him all the
support and encouragement to build a just and prosperous nation.

Let us not trivialize the opportunity to start right with our
petty
politics nor be influenced by ugly cynics
who do not see anything good in this country or in this life. Let us be
radical optimists and hope-weavers for a change, to give our new leader
and our country a chance.

It is imperative for those who
worked hard for his victory to
remain noble and true by not
expecting any favors in return for their efforts. Great leaders are
often pulled down by followers who demand their share of power. Great
chances to do great good are spoiled when nobility is exchanged for the
spoils of victory. On the other hand, if asked by their leader to do a
crucial task, they must also be humble enough to accept.

From our new President, let us demand nothing but faith in
himself
that he can be faithful to his covenant to govern with
integrity,
courage and justice.

From every Filipino, let us also
demand nothing less than
faith
in ourselves that we can transform an entire nation - slum
after slum, barrio after barrio - by transforming ourselves first. Let
us not simply depend on the awesome power of the President and blame
everything on him if he fails to deliver. Rather, let us harness the
awesome power of the people, united and committed to do good, to help
the President deliver.

Concretely, what can we do?

Start by believing that every Filipino can help, even the
poorest
among them.

Like the poor in Payatas who did not sell
their votes but even
contributed their meager resources to his
campaign or carried his yellow ribbon in their tricycle without getting
paid. We must see the poor as a blessing, not a burden ... as assets,
not liabilities.

The poor are starting to see him as
hope.
This was their
statement in the last election when they chose
Noynoy. We must therefore help him champion the rising Filipino poor
for their hope not to be dashed again. Help him help them out of extreme
poverty and give them middle-class aspirations. That will motivate them
to work and send their children to school. The rejected stones can be
the foundation of a strong nation. A true leader is one who will make
this happen.

To usher in a season of hope, we can do many
things in the next 100 days.

* Give unproductive land to
the squatters.
* Build a home for the homeless.
* Start a
business.
* Join a medical mission.
* Plant a tree.

* Send a poor child to school.

The list of good things
to do is endless.
The list of things to
complain about is also endless. Better to
walk the talk than preach and bitch.

To start a period of
grace for corruption to end, we can also do many honest things in the
100 days.

* Do not cheat the spouse.
* Do not give
or accept a bribe.
* Do not rob the poor of just wages.
*
Do not pad the expense account.
* Do not cheat in exams.

Again, it is a long list but it always begins with me.

I
cannot demand honesty from our government leaders if I cannot be honest
myself.

As for me and my household, we will offer the
100 days in simple and sincere service to our poor countrymen. We will
pursue our drive to
build sustainable and empowered communities in every barangay in the
country. The Gawad Kalinga People Power Over Poverty campaign we
launched
in 2004 with Tita Cory will be a great legacy for the son to continue
6 years later. Continuity is key to development which does not happen
overnight.

Many social initiatives that bloomed during
the term of the
mother may finally bear fruit and be ripe for harvest
during the term of the son. But they must be willing to work with one
another to make things work for the good of an entire nation.

This is key to the first 100 days. It must send the signal to
everyone,
starting at the top all the way to the ground, that the
interest of
the country is first.

To have impact, it must be
supported by those who placed him in the highest office of the
land. Imagine the power of the 14 million Filipinos who voted for
Noynoy to lead in being good citizens - obeying traffic rules, avoid
polluting our waterways, staying away from drugs or simply not pissing
in public.

We must be first in showing discipline and
character in defining our own 100 days.

An important
statement needs to be made. The Yellow Power is not just about waging a
political campaign to win an election. It is about winning the campaign
to build a nation.

This is also true for Filipinos abroad
who gave Noynoy a big
vote of confidence. They must have enough
confidence in him to match this with action. They can visit, volunteer,
remit, donate or invest or whatever they can do for the country's
benefit. Most importantly, they must herald the advent of hope for a
beloved Motherland and the emergence
of the Global Filipino who will no longer allow himself to be defined
by poverty and corruption.

I'm writing this piece at 4 am
in Washington DC on the third leg of an eight city tour to rally
Filipinos in America through GKUSA to build our Filipino Dream in this
new springtime of hope with our People Power President.

Pardon the musings of a senior citizen who is tired of waiting
for
the right leader to come. This time I cannot afford to fail. I owe it
to my six grandchildren and those who are still to come to give my all
to make my new President the right one, for them and every Filipino to
have a future full of grace in this cherished Pearl of the East.

Before I sleep let me end this with a prayer.

Dear God,
bless us with a leader who will be bold, able and true and
grant all of us the wisdom to honor the gift of being Filipino. Amen.