Sound bites from politicians confuse and too many factions are making equally indecipherable noises. Well, I have a formula for clarity that has served me well. When I’m confused about the "big issues," I simply ask what it means to me. And I pare it down to its most basic form. It took less than a second to see them: two boys who expand my heart and soul in unimaginable ways. Everything I think and do is brushed and colored by my intention to raise my sons properly; to raise them to become men of integrity; men who will fight to live in truth and who can navigate the material world with the consciousness and will of socially engaged spiritual human beings.
That picture was all I needed to see–clearly–where I stand on the issues. I look at the current leadership and see that there is no integrity. There is no allegiance to truth. The needs of the nation and its people are no longer on the list. It is a leadership that has divided the nation. These are not negotiable. You cannot lead without a living commitment to truth and integrity. You cannot lead if you do not know what it means to serve.
The "trapos" can talk and rally all they want but all one needs to do now is observe–and not just with our intellect–but with all our other senses as well. Body language says a lot. The eyes say a lot. The way a person speaks–words he craftily uses or omits. The way a person lives. Inadmissible in court, maybe. But there. And we all see it. If you are innocent and stand completely in the light, you would tackle issues with confidence and meet everything head-on. You wouldn’t have waited so long to come out, even if it was just to apologize for "a lapse in judgment." You wouldn’t be so busy creating shadows around yourself. Filipinos are angry but silent because they see the magnitude of the deception and evil but they feel the system will fail them again. What’s the point?
I have been postponing writing because I am in the process of continuing discernment, too, but I think it’s important now that we all come out with our convictions and not let apathy rule. It is good to go inward but we cannot wallow inside ourselves forever. We have to take the fruits of our innermost strivings and bring it right back into our communities. We have to behave in a way that effects change, no matter how that may be: in active prayer, by enlightening others through conversation, by making truth and integrity the order of the day.
People use "what’s the alternative?" as an excuse not to move or show conviction. I think that is a grave disservice to the nation and our children. I cannot choose a morally flawed leadership just because an alternative hasn’t presented itself. Not acting is choosing lying, cheating and stealing over fear of the unknown. I’m not crazy about the unknown but right now, it’s looking awfully good to me. We cannot wait for the perfect scenario to present itself. We have to create that alternative. Silence and fence-sitting are not going to do it. This is why I have become a staunch friend of PAG-ASA (People’s Assembly for Genuine Alternatives to Social Apathy). It is a group–a third voice at last–that is non-partisan, non-aligned, formed by artists, priests, nuns, and other concerned citizens from the cultural sphere who truly want lasting and deep change now. Here is the Pag-Asa call:
First, we call on all the forces of good in our country to come together and join us in giving birth to a new democracy, to a better country. Our call recognizes the existence of Filipinos who have struggled with their own imperfections and have emerged strong in conscience and integrity. Organized good is a source of great hope for our future.
Second, we call for peaceful means to change our government, prevent corrupt politicians from entering the vacancy, and radically reform our democratic institutions. We therefore reject any form of military or military-citizen juntas and violent seizures of the state.
Third, we call on all those directly involved with politics, no matter what their alternatives are, to pursue deep structural transformation in our political governance and democratic institutions. We will encourage, from the outside, all political forces that will authentically create meaningful structural change for the common good. We will resist any attempt to continue government-as-usual.
PAG-ASA does not have a specific preference as to which political alternative will emerge to replace the GMA government. PAG-ASA recognizes the advantages and disadvantages inherent in the various constitutional alternatives to GMA (succession, snap elections, and transitional caretaker or revolutionary government) that are being proposed. Within this context, PAG-ASA sees that the various alternatives have varying possibilities of realizing people’s desire for a deep and meaningful change in our system of governance. Therefore, instead of preferring one option over another, PAG-ASA sees it more important to specify and advocate the conditions under which the different political alternatives will be truly beneficial to the country.
Among others, these various alternatives should have these characteristics:
• Create authentic and profound systemic, structural change.
• Promote direct participation and democracy, especially of the disadvantaged sectors of society.
• Neutralize, minimize or totally remove the influence of trapos from political life.
• Redress the serious imbalance of power in society.
• Build institutions instead of personalities.
• Ensure that those who are advocating deep structural change are moral, upright, and credible. And that they have a good track record of performance and truly value participatory approaches to policy formulation and implementation.
Fourth, following our own proposed principles, we will support any call from any political formation for a constitutional convention as long as this approach to charter change is not in the control of traditional politicians and will encourage true participation by authentic representatives and the Pilipino people at-large.
We oppose meaningless exercises such as charter change by means of a Constitutional Assembly such as that being proposed by former president Fidel V. Ramos and current House Speaker Jose De Venecia and being used by GMA to divert attention away from her scandalous behavior and government. We see such efforts as mere diversions from the current attempts to remove GMA from office. Worse, we see such an effort as a not-so-hidden way to permanently install GMA in power as well as further consolidate the interests of traditional politicians who have brought us to our current grave crisis in democracy.
Fifth, we call on Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her Cabinet, including Noli de Castro, and the Comelec to make the ultimate sacrifice and resign. They are the greatest external obstacles on the way of creating a truly dynamic, vibrant, and living democracy. We tell them: "You have all lost your moral credibility and legitimacy to remain in office. Listen to the call of most Pilipinos who want you out by whatever means. Spare the country from further damage and resign for the good of the nation." We support all peaceful means to remove GMA from office.
PAG-ASA recognizes that the resignations, however unlikely especially in the case of GMA, will create a vacuum of power that can easily be exploited by other decadent and self-serving political forces. We do not want this. This is the reason we have specified the various ways in which an orderly and peaceful approach can come about to fill this vacuum.
Sixth, we call on all Filipinos, especially those who have not made up their minds in terms of how to respond to the GMA scandal: "Reflect on the quality and authenticity of our democracy. Do you honestly believe that truth, justice and good will come from our compromised and decadent democratic institutions? Will the Constitution, laws and institutions guarantee a better Philippines when many of these have been held hostage by manipulative and greedy political, economic, and cultural powers?
And, seventh, we anchor all our calls above with one central call. We call on all to undertake the profound and painful process of inner change. No structures will change and give good results unless the people running these structures have also changed for the better. This is the only way the address the fundamental problem of the moral, spiritual and cultural decadence that underlies the severe crisis on political leadership and democracy that we have.
As part of this overall process, we call on all to confess to our collective guilt and do all we can to transform ourselves so that we will have the inner authenticity to change the "structures of sin" that surround us. The quality of our hearts and minds will determine the quality of our democratic and other institutions. In this process, we call on all Filipinos to enter deeply into sacred space, either through silence, meditation, or prayer, and call on the Divine to help us all find our highest and most authentic inner voice as individuals and as a nation. (The full Pag-Asa Statement and other relevant information may be read at www.truthforce.info.)
Like most people, I approached this group with caution. Not another group. Not another this and that. But the meetings I’ve attended are valuable experiences on how individuals from various interests come together and strive to put the nation’s needs before their own. It’s not a group that is spared conflict and disagreement. Like any other initiative, it is fraught with the usual dissonance. But what is significant is that everyone is united in putting the country and its needs before their own. What is significant is everyone agrees that a spiritual/cultural revolution is at hand and it cannot be ignored. In the end, through an engaged and conscious process, we always come to a place of peace and agreement. To me, this is the microcosm of what our future can look like. It can be done.
Since I started supporting this group and attending meetings, I have heard all kinds of comments–all belying various degrees of apathy. On the one hand, I can understand where it’s coming from but on the other, I find I am losing my patience. I cannot help but wonder how mothers who constantly struggle to raise morally upright children can deem themselves separate from what is going on in the country. I have a feeling that the too-silent middle class is just shutting their eyes tight, hoping it all goes away, without them having to do anything anymore. That simply won’t happen.
In a conversation with Nicanor Perlas, co-convenor of Pag-Asa and winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2003, I expressed my frustration in people around me. I told him how I keep sending out texts about Pag-Asa activities and, in reply, I get half-hearted pats on the back or texts about social activities that have nothing to do with the glaring needs of our present society. His answer was simple. "If people don’t move, we will get the democracy we deserve."
Our children deserve the best. If you’re wondering what the alternatives are, go out there and get educated. Be active. It’s not enough to be concerned. Ask. Log on to www.truthforce.info where the editorials are sober, enlightening and truthful. Do what it takes to finally get you across the border and into creative action. Pag-Asa has a list of activities you can participate in. Call us. (Telefax 438-7963 / 0926-621-0316. Or call Pag-asa answering service at: 687-7481 or 687-7482)
Apathy is part of the energy that has so damaged this country. Bishop Rosales recently asked, "Is GMA the only corrupt President?" He brought up the Marcos administration and how we seem to have forgotten all the crimes of his leadership and all those that have followed since. He is right and we are all responsible. But using that as rationalization to support a blatantly corrupt government by default is not acceptable. It is precisely the kind of thinking that supports and propagates corruption. That, to me, illustrates a very deep and disturbing sentiment; the kind that has led to our present paralysis–the true state of the nation. It pained me to read this, especially after the CBCP said they would not ask the president to resign but are there to guide the people. I have to say that statements like that don’t cut it. It simply proves that all institutions need cleansing and change. It also strengthened my resolve to be part of that change. I will not stand for cheating, lying and stealing in any form. It is that simple.
The longer we warm that fence with our apathetic bottoms, the longer we tell the crooks and liars of the world that it is all right to cheat, steal and lie. Nothing changes. You can rule the land. You can fly in and out of the country and enjoy rounds of golf while in false exile. Hell, you can do anything. In our silence, we are condoning the very ills we struggle against. Silence and apathy are creating the space for the kind of leadership that will spawn bigger and bigger evils.
What is the alternative? The first one begins with you. If we all agree that we will no longer–today and EVER MORE–accept a leadership that is not grounded in truth, integrity and sacred service, we can finally create the country worthy of our children. Yes, we can create that force. Yes, authentic power of the people can create the alternative everyone is waiting for. But we have to move, and fast.
Is GMA the only corrupt President? No, she isn’t. But it is every Filipino’s task to make sure she’s the last. There is hope. Lots of it. And it begins with you.