Three stars and a sun

While waiting for the Malabon Citisquare Mall to open at 12 noon, it was very peculiar that a lot of teen aged guys are wearing the three stars and a sun tshirts. They come in various designs either with a Philippine map or the text "Pilipinas kong Mahal". It is doubtful if these are Francis M original shirts. They must all be imitations. According to the FrancisM Clothing Company blog, a shirt costs P550.00. That's quite expensive for the CDE and imitations are being sold for as low as P150.00. Other than shirts, I also saw sandals with Philippine Flag design on straps. Apparently, the three stars and a sun or a Pinoy pride design has become fashionable.

In the context of an Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas campaign, this fashion trend is very timely. The public can easily appreciate the campaign without really knowing yet that the campaign is all about the CHANGE that we seek.

And another one

Here's another one, KAYA NATIN!.

From what I read, Kaya Natin espouses genuine change and ethical leadership by promoting transparency, social accountability, people empowerment and electoral reforms. We've heard of these words before. These are no longer new. Here is a list of groups who seek more of the same.

MOVEMENT FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

TEAM RP

Simbahan Lingkod Bayan

Ang Kapatiran

Center for Responsible Governance, Inc.

Transparency and Accountability Network

Coalition Against Corruption

Transparent Accountable Governance

Pagbabago@Pilipinas

One Voice

Black and White Movement

Ang Bagong Pinoy

Moral Revolt

Dilaab Movement

Citizen's Battle Against Corruption

Kilusang Balik Kaayusan

just to name a few.

But nothing will really change unless we change the way we do things.

A campaign/movement will only be effective if every sectors in our society can be part of it. It shoud not matter if you are rich or poor, Christian or Muslim, Cebuano or Ilocano, overseas or Philippine based, student or retiree, magtataho or banker, etc. The audience must not be passive but active participants in the campaign. Corruption is truly a menace in our society. But corruption is not something that we could fight head on. Wether we like it or not, corruption has become part of our system, of our culture. The "baka makalusot" and "baka makaisa" attitude are reflections of this. It is easy to point fingers at people in government. But let us look at ourselves in the mirror. One way or another, we had our own shortcomings.

For the campaign to succeed, it has to be faceless. Nobody can come out clean, not even the Church. SAbi nga ng Bible, he who has no sin cast the first stone. Take out the face and a certain degree of credibility is achieved.

By combining the two, a campaign that involves everyone and faceless, then it will capture the imagination of our people. Once this is achieved, CHANGE will not be far behind.

Here comes another one

In as much as I would like to avoid making comments on what's happening out there since I feel have stated my stand on most issues through this blog, I just can't help but react on this Inquirer article.

Again, the intentions are good and noble. There may be no personal agenda and the movers may be credible but Almonte????, anyway......

Somewhere, sometime ago, I know I have read something like this before. Advocacies such as clean elections and automation, voter education and empowerment, good governance have been battlecries for decades. Has anything changed? Nothing. And here comes another one and I doubt it very much if they will make a dent at all.

The strategy of these advocacies is very skewed. They always start with the media just as how this new group got the Inquirer headline. Well, that is a lot of free and big time space. It really gets the attention just how it did to me. But will anybody be talking about this group tomorrow? I doubt it.

When new groups are formed, it is always the media that is first targetted. Very logical since a press release is free, it gets the attention and creates awareness. But by taking that route, the advocay starts with a bang and ends with a pfffft. It is unsustainable, elitist and intangible.

There is only one free press release and that usually is the launching. That may be the only newsworthy part but the daily activities may be only good read in blogs or websites. The media will never give that daily free updates. The next option is the group to buy media space and that will cost. When money becomes an issue, disintegration begins.

It has been my observation that we are really have this penchant to form groups. At the onset, we believe we have common goals and aspirations. But through time, personal differences sets in, personal agenda gets magnifies, political colors come out and disintegration begins. Nothing gets sustained.

Elitist because ordinary Filipinos are mere observers. We are not active participants in this movement unless we are a member of a member group or know people who belong to this group. Why waste my time in the first place. Yes, the motives may be pure but I have seen this a thousand times before and nothing reall too off and what makes it different this time around. And where will my iconic magtataho come into the picture?

Gawad Kalinga has been very successful simply because their advocacy is very tangible, houses. From nothing you see someting. You can see it and touch it. That is very tangible and that gets a lot of support. But good governance, electoral reforms, votere education are very intangibles. Thay can be assessed through numbers and statistics which may be difficult for most of us to grasp.

For a movement or advocacy to really make a dent, it has to be sustainable, it can capture the imagination and it has to be very tangible. Lose one element and all the CHANGE that we all seek will not happen.

Sa Aking Pagkawala

May halos 8 buwan din akong nawala sa blog na ito. Hindi dahil tinabangan o tinalikuran ko na ang advocacing ito, Wala na lang siguro akong bagong masasabi pa. Pakiramdam ko, nasabi ko na ang lahat ng gusto kong sabihin sa blog na ito. Pagnagkataon, magiging paulit ulit ang mga sasabihin ko dito. Kailangan ko nang itaas ang antas ng adhikain. Walang mangyayari sa pa blog blog. Ang internet ay isa lamang instrumento para sa pagbabago. Hindi nito mababago ang Pilipinas. Nasa labas ng cyberspace ang laban.

Upang maisulong ang laban sa totoong mundo, kakailanganin dito ang pondo. Kailangang maglabas ng pera. Ika nga, put your money where your mouth is. Sa puntong ito, wala kahit isang kaluluwa ang lubusang maniniwala sa kakayahan ng kampanyang ito na baguhin ang Pilipinas, ang Pilipino. Tanging ako lamang ang sadyang nakakaunawa kung saan ito patungo. Sa kadahilanang ito, imposibleng makakalap ng pondo upang maisulong ang kampanya. Sa sarili kong bulsa magmumula ang lahat. At iyon ang dahilang kung bakit nanahimik ang blog na ito. Tag hirap ako.

Kahit ngayon taghirap pa rin ako pero mas maayos na ang kalagayan ko kumpara nitong mga nakaraang buwan. Kahit papaano siguro itong daratng na bagong taon, may masisimulan na ako. Siguro makakapag paimprenta ako ng kahit ilang piraso muna ng ikap sticker. Pag maging mas maayos ang kalagayan kong pinansyal, mas mapapapalaganap ko pa siguro ang kamalayang ikap. Sa kamalayang ikap, doon magsisimula ang lahat.

The Sticker

Above is where everything will start.

Dear Manny,

Congratulations!

Today, you made us proud once again. You defied the odds. You were the underdog. But you prevailed. You have just given us Filipinos around the globe an early Christmas gift.

As we celebrate and await for your return, sycophants will be having a field day.

Manny, you are young, admired, adored and filthy rich while our country is old, a basket case and dirt poor. You inspire us. You make us proud. You are the only Filipino who can truly unite us as a people.

Unfortumately you are surrounded by sycophants. There will always be people who will ride on your fame and glory. The "friends" that you keep is what bothers us, most Filipinos. We can always respect who you choose to be your friends but you can be bigger than what you are now if you heed our clamor.

Manny, you are our Obama. This is not an insinuation that you run for president. Far from it. You are our Obama because you have captured our imagination just how Obama captured the imagination of the American people. You have in your hands the power to inspire CHANGE.

CHANGE is what we need. Only a Manny Pacquiao, at this point in our history, can catalyze the process of CHANGE.

Manny, your love for our country is beyond reproach. You always say that your fights are for the glory of the Filipino people. And we thank you for that. Your patriotism is pure, just as pure as your faith in GOD. That patriotism is your catalyst to inspire CHANGE. But you may need to distance yourself from the most hated kind of Filipinos, the trapos.

Play your cards well and you may be destined for greater glory. You have become an icon. Don't let the bootlickers take advantage of your iconic image. Instead, make it a tool to inspire us to CHANGE, to unite us towards CHANGE. Lift us up out of poverty not with your winnings but by inculcating patriotism which is hardly existent. You need not become a politician to do that. You need to distance yourself from politicians to do that.

The Filipino people needs you, Manny. Not just the temporary respite from our woes everytime you defeat your opponent but for the greater glory that we seek for our race as a people.

Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas!
Pinoy