Scrap Pork and Million People March - A Blog Entry as Expression of Support

Today, Araw ng mga Bayani, people from all walks of life marched to Luneta as a sign of protest against the pork barrel.  News reports recently have exposed how politicians, through their Philippine Development Assistant Fund (more commonly referred to as pork barrel), have squandered billions of pesos... money from the people, money from the same ones they swore to serve.

I am writing this blog entry for my children, so that they'll know that love truly begins at home... and the Philippines is their home.

I want them to know that I love this country.  Not only am I proud to be a Filipino, but I honestly feel that we have a beautiful country.  As a citizen, I strive hard to live clean - sa isip, sa salita, sa gawa.  Nagbabayad ako ng buwis.  Tumatawid ako sa overpass.  Hindi ako naglalagay.  Hindi ako humihingi ng lagay.  Nagtatapon ako ng basura sa tamang lalagyan. The works. But I know this isn't enough.  I need to teach my children to abhor and resist corruption.  I need them to learn that for our country to get better, its citizens should have compassion, should have dignity, should have honesty.  And if they can't get that from other people, it isn't a reason for them to join the crowd.  They should have the courage to turn against the tide.  They should have the conviction to stick to what is right, and defend it. Hindi nagiging tama ang mali dahil ginagawa ng marami.  Hindi katanggap-tanggap ang katiwalian, kahit na marami ang nakikinabang.  Corruption is corruption is corruption.  It doesn't have any other color nor meaning.  When somebody defends it, it goes without saying that they're for it.

I had a personal recollection of a scene which happened last election...
IA: Alis muna ako, 500 na daw ang bigayan sa baranggay. May pagkain saka may hatid pa ng jeep.
Danie: IA, bakit mo iboboto yung nagbabayad? E di pag nahalal 'yan, babawiin din niya sa 'yo yung binayad n'ya. Siguradong mangungurakot lang yun.
IA: Lahat naman 'yan nangungurakot, e di dun na ako sa nagbabahagi ng kinurakot. Dun ka na sa may mapapala ka di ba?
Danie: Nalalaman ba nila kung binoto mo nga sila? Pwede bang kunin mo yung bayad tapos iboto mo kung sino yung gusto mo? (this is a trick question)
IA: Kung iba ang iboboto ko, 'di hindi ko na lang dapat kinuha yung pera nila. Kaya ko nga kukunin e kasi iboboto ko.

The biggest crime for me isn't pocketing the money, it's making corruption "legal." It's making greed permeate to our society's core. Basta yumaman... kahit mandaya, kahit may mahirapan, kahit may magutom, kahit may magdusa. Someday, I hope that my children would learn the value of honest work, of dignity, of integrity... na hindi nakakabusog ang pagkaing binili sa perang pinagpaguran ng iba... na hindi nakakapagbigay ng himbing at sweet dreams ang kamang nanggaling sa nakaw... at higit sa lahat, hindi kailanman matutubos ang kaluluwang isinanla para sa kayamanan. Someday, I hope that my children would learn to love this country enough... enough to make them strive harder to live a good and honest life.