Then, I suddenly woke up! And felt sad as it dawned on me that there is still so much that has to be done to reach the fulfillment of my dream. We must have that sterling and no-nonsense political will to dismantle the many socio-economic-political structures that have prevented our country from developing her full potential. For instance, the very wealthy families who are the ones running government have been playing musical chairs perpetuating their positions in a society built by oligarchs for oligarchs, a semi-feudal society that still practices some kind of a caste system. There is a great need to work for social equity and social justice for the vast majority of Filipinos who are living in abject poverty.
Many negative factors have driven the six to seven million Filipinos to leave the country in search of a better life their our families. While abroad, thousand of overseas Filipinos suffer many humiliating experiences as "maid techs" or DH (domestic helpers) who perform the lowest occupations, while entrusting their children to the care of other people. In Europe, the world Filipina means "house-maid." These domestic workers are predominantly college graduates who are supposed to be the hope of our land, to nurture and lead the youth to become better citizens! Instead, they accept many degrading experiences in a foreign land just to feed their own families because there are no opportunities in their own country because of the lack of vision and the reign of greed of many of our leaders in the last 40 years.
But I am an optimist and believe that miracles still do happen. On the commemoration of Rizal’s martyrdom, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stunned the nation, including this writer who often does not agree with her style of leadership, by her selfless sacrifice to put the country’s interest above her own personal interest by not seeking another term in 2004. With her example and renewed moral leadership, she can now demand that "EQUALITY OF SACRIFICE." (And this must include the former aging "Lambot" President Fidel V. Ramos and all politicians who have become integral parts of our society’s problems!)
With dozens of e-mails I read from Filipinos (as well as non Filipinos who also care for the Philippines) every day from all over the world, as the owner of ProgressiveTimes@yahoogroups.com cyberspace forum that I created last summer, I can feel the genuine pulse, the innate dreams and aspirations of many Filipinos which are quite parallel to my own. In my heart, I also believe that the Overseas Filipinos have a great stake in what happens to the country. With the impending (we hope it will not be rail-roaded by short-sighted and selfish politicians in Congress) signing of the Absentee Voting Bill and the Dual Citizenship Bill into law, we Filipinos outside the Philippines can play a very important part in the solution of the many ills of the country as we have acquired a new perspective, another paradigm through our hard work, sacrifice, experience through our total immersion in another culture and another system of governance. Although the six to seven million Filipinos have been branded as "modern day" heroes, they really do not wield any power to chart their own course when they go back home. They must have a say as to how the government is run. They do not exist just to become the convenient milking cows of our government!
This writer urges the President to see to it that this year that Absentee Voting Bill and the Dual Citizen Bill are signed into law and the necessary funding mechanism is set so that the overseas Filipinos can be tapped to their fullest potential in the creation of jobs, housing, food production and social developments that she has properly declared as top priorities.
My unsolicited advice to President Arroyo is to use a slogan such as "Filipinos need not leave the Philippines to live!" This ambitious and grand vision is to force us to develop our country to become a more progressive nation within one generation. The next 10 years will be devoted to the planting of better seeds with the hope and prayer that when our the 10-year-old Filipino children become adults, they will have a better Philippines, and they do not have to become the maids of other countries or second class citizens of other nations.
With the objective of helping the Philippines to have more tourists in 2003 and beyond, I have this crazy but ambitious idea to promote thousands of overseas Filipinos (OFs) to go back to the Philippines. Through the cooperative alliances of business enterprises such as the airlines, hotels, media outlets to be coordinated by our Progressive Times in Manila, a global Miss Overseas Filipina Pageant be held every December during the holiday season. As Filipinos all over the world love these beauty contests for that fleeting moment of l5 minutes of fame evidenced by the usual thick and expensive "souvenir" program of solicited ads (as one of the criteria for winning the right to be called Queen Isabela or Miss Timbuktu Town) why not utilize and market these traditional annual rituals to develop tourism in the Philippines?
Some distinct possibilities after each pageant: Any of these beautiful candidates (especially those with brains too) will be discovered by the movie or advertising industry or even by a scion of a wealthy family, like Congressman Jules Ledesma who ended up marrying a young lass about half his age. This is one way for our upper class society "to get a prize catch" and the "commoner" woman to marry up in society, which will not happen otherwise. These kinds of marriages have happened in the past. For instance, if my memory serves me right, Margie Moran to the Floirendo family, Gemma Cruz to Araneta, Armi Kuusela to Hilario and Maria Isabel Lopez to a Japanese businessman. Other winners like Gloria Diaz or even non-winners like Joyce Jimenez were discovered from their participation in a beauty contest and became popular actresses.With beauty (sometimes even without the brains!) there are many possibilities that can change one candidate’s life after a prestigious and well-run beauty pageant.
We have 11 months before this December 2003 event! Any takers?