New Year, New Hopes, New Philippines?

As we bid farewell to a very eventful 2008 in our country's history, let us recall some of the major events that rocked our country for the good and bad last year. In the first quarter, we were all witness to the saga of the corruption-plagued NBN-ZTE Deal wherein according to star witness Jun Lozada more than US$ 200 Million (approximately 6 Billion pesos) was to be pocketed by former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Benjamin Abalos and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. In a country wherein more than 50 million people have to live with less than P 200 pesos a day, you have two families sharing 6 billion pesos at the expense of our hard earned taxpayer's money. Since then our government has been plagued by one scandal after another such as the return of the 1 Billion Peso Fertilizer Scam, the glaring irregularities in the much delayed Northrail project and the international humiliation that we got for the Euro Generals controversy in Russia.

Yet, there are also some good news, it was in 2008 wherein we had Filipinos who made us proud abroad such as teenage singing sensation Charice Pempengco who was discovered through You Tube and has since guested in shows by Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. Of course, we continue to be awes by the continuing exploits of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao who demolished David Diaz and Oscar Dela Hoya this year to prove to the rest of the world that he is indeed the best pound for pound boxer today.

Amidst these good and bad stories the past year, a question that begs to be answered is, has the life of the ordinary Filipino become better or worse the past year? A few weeks ago, the Social Weather Station (SWS) released the results of a survey wherein almost 25% of Filipinos have experienced involuntary hunger in the latter part of 2008 which goes to show that life hasn't gotten better for many Filipino families. With the recession happening in the United States of America, Japan and other 1st world countries, we can expect that our economy will also take a hit.

In a newspaper article I recently read, Taiwan has already begun cutting its labor force thus, many Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have been sent back to the Philippines and are now unemployed. Economists have predicted that the recession will last up to at least another year and thus, we can expect that with the global slowdown many more OFWs will be retrenched and sent back to our country.

Yet, at the backdrop of all of these problems facing ordinary Filipinos like you and me, we continue to be led by leaders who not only turn a blind eye to the needs of our people but continue to suck our government resources dry for their own selfish interests. Despite this apparently bleak outlook of our country's future, there are still glimmers of hope especially since the Filipino people has always been known to be resilient in times of tragedy. We have seen the Filipino spirit of Bayanihan whenever there are natural calamities that affect the lives of our fellow Filipino brothers and sisters. This same spirit needs to be cultivated in all of us now if we want to aspire for a New Philippines and a new set of better leaders for our country. We have seen it happen in Pampanga in the 2007 elections when despite having very little resources and no political experience, Among Ed Panlilio won against the incumbent Governor Mark Lapid and the wife of the alleged jueteng lord, Lilia Pineda. According to Gov. Panlilio, he won because of the support of ordinary Kapampangans who wanted to see good governance work in their province. In Isabela, the polio-stricken Gov. Grace Padaca won not only once but twice despite having meager resources compared to the well-financed political machinery of her opponents.

Like Panlilio, Padaca attributes this to the support of the youth and ordinary people who wanted to see positive change in her province. In 2009, we will all be preparing for the 2010 National Elections wherein we will hopefully be able to elect a new set of leaders who will not only be effective but more importantly, morally-upright and ethical. For the Filipino youth, what is at stake are not just positions in government but our future. Let us remember that whoever we choose in 2010 as President will be our leader until 2016 or even beyond thus it is imperative that we take a hold of our future by being active participants in selecting the right leaders for our country. In these times of crisis, the challenge for us is to leave behind our old ways of being apathetic and indifferent to politics in our country. If we want a new Philippines and if we want a better future for all of us then we have to become New Filipinos as well. As a New Generation of Filipinos let us not leave the politics to the traditional politicians that have laid waste to our country but let us begin by ensuring that we are able to elect leaders who will put our nation's interests above their own.

For the first time in so many Philippine elections, the youth will comprise majority of the voters thus, young Filipinos like you and me can actually make a major difference in choosing who will become our next President in 2010. Change in our country will only happen if the Change begins with you and me. Do you want to be part of that Change in 2009 or will you just sit down and watch as millions of Filipinos continue to suffer at the hands our inept and corrupt leaders? The choice is yours in 2009, the dream of a New Philippines is in our hands.

If you want to help make change happen in 2009, join Kaya Natin! A National Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership by sending an email to kayanatin@yahoo.com or by calling us at (02) 426-5657.

Kaya Natin! leaders back Bolante probe

'Kaya Natin!' leaders back Bolante probe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Page A8
November 18,2008
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=172826

LIPA CITY, BATANGAS—Leaders of Kaya Natin! (Yes we can!), a movement for good governance, have expressed hopes that the Senate inquiry into the P728-million fertilizer scam will lead to the criminal prosecution of its perpetrators.

"I'm happy that the Senate investigation on the fertilizer scam has pushed through after several years of waiting but I believe that the probe shouldn't end with the hearings but with the proper filing of charges against those that will be found guilty," said Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City.Robredo was responding to a question asked by a student leader in one of Friday's open forums of Kaya Natin's Caravan of Good Governance held on De La Salle University campuses in Dasmariñas, Cavite, and Batangas.Kaya Natin! was initially convened by the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government.

It is headed by such multiawarded local executives as Robredo, Governors Grace Padaca of Isabela, Ed Panlilio of Pampanga and Teddy Baguilat Jr. of Ifugao and Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija.Robredo said he feared that the ongoing Senate hearings would end up like the previous inquiries, such as the NBN-ZTE deal where no one had so far been held accountable.

Lorenzo, whose province is a major rice producer, lamented that the fertilizer scam had shown how insensitive many government officials were to the plight of our farmers."This controversy is very close to my heart since while I regularly see that our farmers continue to subsist on very meager resources, one of the most important resource in their livelihood which is fertilizers is being used as a money-making venture by a few," she said.Lorenzo echoed Robredo's sentiment that the fertilizer scam investigation shouldn't simply be for show but it should be able to hold the guilty parties accountable.

Padaca reiterated the need for Filipinos to elect effective and ethical leaders in the 2010 elections and for young people to be involved actively in safeguarding the sanctity vote by volunteering to serve in poll watchdog groups."We cannot afford to elect government leaders that will just serve the selfish interests of a few and turn a blind eye to the plight of the millions of Filipinos who continue to live in poverty," Padaca said.

For more information about Kaya Natin, you can send an email to kayanatin@yahoo.com or contact us at (02) 426-5657.

Local Execs: Senate Probe should lead to Proper Accountability

Local Execs: Senate Probe should lead to Proper Accountability

Lipa City, Batangas - "I'm happy that the Senate investigation on the fertilizer scam has pushed thru after several years of waiting but I believe that the probe shouldn't end with the hearings but with the proper filing of charges to those that will be found guilty during the course of the investigation." This was the answer of multi-awarded Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City to a question asked by a university student leader about the on-going fertilizer scam hearings in one of the open forums at Kaya Natin's Caravan of Good Governance held last Friday at the De La Salle University campuses in Dasmarinas, Cavite and Batangas. Kaya Natin! is a national movement for good governance initially convened by the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government and is led by local government leaders such as Robredo, Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela, Gov. Eddie Panlilio of Pampanga, Gov. Teddy Baguilat, Jr. of Ifugao and Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. Robredo further added that he fears that the on-going Senate hearings may just go the route of the previous Senate hearings such as the NBN-ZTE deal wherein there has been no government official who has been held accountable for these anomalous dealings. For her part, Gov. Padaca reiterated the need for Filipinos to be able to elect effective and ethical servant leaders in the upcoming 2010 National Elections and at the same time, for young people to actively be involved in safeguarding the sanctity of the election process by volunteering for election watch groups such as NAMFREL and PPCRV. "We cannot afford to elect government leaders that will just serve the selfish interests of a few and turn a blind eye to the plight of the millions of Filipinos who continue to live in poverty" added Gov. Padaca. Mayor Lorenzo, who comes from Nueva Ecija, considered to be the rice capital of the country, lamented that the fertilizer scam has shown how insensitive many government officials are to the plight of our farmers. According to Mayor Lorenzo, "This controversy is very close to my heart since while I regularly see that our farmers continue to subsist on very meager resources, one of the most important resource in their livelihood which is fertilizers is being used as a money-making venture by a few." Mayor Lorenzo echoed Mayor Robredo's sentiment that the fertilizer scam investigations shouldn't simply be for show but it should be able to hold the guilty parties accountable for their actions.

Wanted: Good People with Courage to Run in 2010

I was quite frustrated as I spent my whole day at home recuperating from a dental surgery and listening to the testimony of former Undersecretary Jocjoc Bolante who is tagged as the main person behind the 1-Billion Peso Fertilizer Scam that happened in at the height of the 2004 National Elections. Looking at Bolante and how he continue to lie to his teeth about his innocence and the President’s innocence in this scam makes me all the more determined that we should really make sure that we choose the right person to become our President in 2010. In the past years, we have seen how powerful a President is as s/he has the power to appoint people to positions that can easily disburse millions and even billions of pesos in a wink of an eye. Imagine if the money went to the right people and was put into good use then I’m sure we wouldn’t anymore find ourselves at the brink of a food security crisis. Thus, as much as I believe that election watch groups such as the PPCRV and NAMFREL are very important in our elections, it is also important that we find good, effective and ethical leaders who will consider to run for public office. It is sad that we are often left to choose between the lesser evil in our country given the fact that good people opt not to run because they do not have enough financial resources mainly because they are not corrupt. I think its time now that we find people who will have the courage to run in 2010 because even if we continue to educate our voters especially our underprivileged brothers and sisters if we do not give them good people to choose from then our efforts will just amount to nothing.

We do not have to look far to see that people want to see change in our country, Pampanga, Isabela and Naga City are good examples of how people have matured to choose the right leaders to lead them to a better quality of life.