"Death to the 'Trapo' System" (Part Two of Three Parts)

Why 'Trapo' Politician Runs: "Because I can Win!"

. If the majority of students in the Philippines attend schooling and their parents break their backs in hard work just to send them through such schooling," it's because a college diploma has been generally viewed as a ticket to getting employed. More recently, the college diploma got to be acquired after years of simply getting passing marks at the end of every scchoolyear, without the students necessarily having learned anything, and has degenerated to becoming a different sort of ticket to employment; it has become a raffle ticket to employment.

. There is a disconcerting parallel between students in the schooling system (passed off as a real "education system") and candidates for election to public office. Why so so many candidates run? Because they believe they can win -- by fair means or foul -- because they can win! Okay, let's review the implications of that.

. A certain movie actor got sick and was hospitalized for weeks. When he got well, he couned the number of visitors in his hospital room's guests log book and concluded: "With this number of people who cared enough to visit me in the hospital, i could run for a national position in government and win. Sure enough, he decided to run for senator, and as he had accurately predicted, he won and was even reelected. Clearly a success story? No, actually, it wasn't the complete story. He had no preparation for the important position he ran for. No one cared to ask him why he wanted to shift from movie-making to law-making. No one cared to expect him to file any bills, let alone high-quality bills that would address the problems of the nationwide constituency, and, having won as predicted, no one took him to task for non-performance. They even rewarded his bloodline in a very similar way-- validating a prediction that his son would also win, win again, do not much else.

. So here we have a big bunch of applicants for public service positions without any convincingly articulated motivations for the aspiration, without having to articulate plans, without having to actually perform to deserve their pay and perquisites, and just maintain their winnability. And the voters, although ever-complaining about the low quality (generous term) of government performance, apply the same sole criterion for giving them the vote: they are highly predicted to win. And the criterion a lot of voters view as an indicator for political maturity has been the ability to predict and side with sure "winners."

. They'd laugh at you, with full arrogance based on their supposed political savvy: "Him??? why did your candidate decide to run? No way can he win! He is clean, sincere, even skillfull, but without money and the support of the super-rich, he cannot win! So, why would anyone decide to waste their votes on him?" How about "because he is the best-motivated and the best-prepared for the post"? It doesn't matter at all to a large number, perhaps even the mojority of voters.

. Irresponsible voters and ever-complaining citizens are not supposed to be the same majority within in the same constituency base. But, defying all logic of common sense, they are. And while pursuing narrow small-group interests by demanding special favors and special treatment from the winers, the voters are largely the ones spoiling and corrupting the politicians they would treat as kings (precisely because of the favors) instead of remembering that the second word in the term "public service" indicate that they ought to be servants of the people as defined by our Constitution.

. "Constitution? Who cares about the Constitution? Whatever it mandates or prohibits, I can win, can't I? And after I get hold of power, jurisprudence will be in my favor."

. Is there still hope? Let's be encouraged by this ongoing process of our people gradually learning about the essence of democracy beyond the formalities of going through the motions of a real election process. There should be hope based on the people's determination to start holding elections beyond their usual entertainment and recreational value.

. Taking the long view on this matter should allow us to win and appreciate incremental progress in the prevalent thinking. More and more people should be thinking and talking about qualifications and platforms. In a few more decades, these matter can really begin to matter in planning and decision-making during election periods. Still further on in our history, deserving the people's mature political support would be the main premise of winnability.

ding reyes of zambales
02-27-2010

(in a few weeks i will be uploading in my website some significant sections of my book last published in 2004, titled Odyssey of the Filipino Voter: Exciting Adventures; Little Progress. An announcement and a link will be placed in a posting in this blogsite. )

After Risa's character and track record...

RISA'S LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM AS A SENATOR OF THE PEOPLE.
As i have been waging my personal campaign from where i have been based in my father's obscure hometown in zambales for the Filipino people to have Ms. Risa Hontiveros in the Senate, i have been posting blogs about her character as a person and as an activist-politician and statesperson (and i have chosen the description "blessed heroine," with full explanation, and three adjectives "wise, heroic, and workaholic" for the people's interests, i have also posted a long blog that carried her output in two terms as Akbayan party-list representative in the House, where just reading the titles and descriptions items got me so tired i could not imagine somebody actually formulating them for submission in proper form and far-reaching intended consequences.
Very recently, i was asked about platform, risa's legislative platform. so, courtesy of her official website (www.risahontiveros.com), here it is in summary form, the way she preferred it to be expressed, i.e., in bilingual language:

Change cannot be delivered by one person alone. To reverse the damage created by GMA to our democracy, a change in government is not enough. Our political institutions – from the Senate and Congress to our local governments – must live up to their mandate and put the interest of the people above everything else. Change must also be reclaimed by citizens, and must not be left in the hands of politicians alone.

Change is won, and it doesn’t happen overnight. In two terms as AKBAYAN Representative, Rep. Risa Hontiveros has witnessed how the struggle of ordinary Filipinos can transform politics and make it relevant, responsive and meaningful. With the help of active citizens, I was able to work on the enactment of major legislative reforms such as the CARP Extension with Reform (CARPER) and the Cheaper Medicines Act. I have worked with farmers who walked from Mindanao to Manila just so their appeals for justice would be heard, and I had the honor of joining senior citizens in the fight for cheaper medicines. Despite insurmountable odds, the real engine of change are the people.

Rep. Hontiveros intends to bring the same rigor and passion for change to the Senate to achieve the following:

Isang Senadong kontra-corruption at kontra-katiwalian

Without justice we cannot move forward. Corruption can only be corrected by a common resolve to hold accountable those who have committed abuses, and Rep. Hontiveros intends to use the Senate’s oversight powers to make sure that we ferret out the truth behind unresolved controversies involving GMA, her family, and her cronies. Sisiguruhin nya na masisingil natin ang mga tiwali sa gobyerno, lalo na ang mga matataas na opisyal na umaabuso ng kapangyarihan.

Para sa Kalinga at Kalusugan ng Pamilyang Pilipino

Our healthcare system is in shambles. Out-of-pocket expenses for hospitalization have deepened poverty, and have made healthcare more inaccessible for many Filipinos. We have devolved healthcare to local governments that have neither the money nor the capacity to provide basic health programs.

The passage of the Cheaper Medicines Bill is a significant gain towards healthcare for all, but it is not enough. Rep. Hontiveros' cornerstone agenda for health is the immediate expansion of PhilHealth thru universal coverage and a significant increase in the services that public insurance provides. Itutulak nya ang libreng pagpapa-ospital sa pamamagitan ng pagpapalawak pa ng coverage ng Philhealth.

Para sa kapakanan ng kababaihan

One of the ironic legacies of the GMA administration is the exclusion of Filipino women, and her lack of resolve to uphold women’s rights. The new government should embrace equality of all, regardless of sex and gender, especially in the areas of welfare and human rights.

Rep. Hontiveros will continue the fight for the passage of the reproductive health bill, a measure that gives women, families and young Filipinos the right information on family planning and reproductive health that could help them make an informed choice.

As a single mother, Rep. Hontiveros knows the challenges of raising children on your own. She will push for a bill that would expand the benefits for single-parents. Furthermore, she will push for a program that would provide for free testing, vaccination, and treatment of cancers that are prevalent among women.

Para sa mga Maliliit at Walang Kapangyarihan

Her six years in Congress as party-list representative taught her that politics can be transformative, and that it can truly be an instrument of reform. By closely working with marginalized groups – with farmers, workers, women, young Filipinos, LGBTs – she was able to champion a legislative agenda that remains meaningful and progressive. She intends to continue with that path, give voice to voiceless, and bring the same fervor and passion to the Senate.

Last Updated (Wednesday, 17 February 2010 09:23)

Please forward this link to as many of your friends as possible, as soon as possible (we only have about 80 days before the elections!): http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/02/after-risas-character-and-track-record.html

thanks so much!

ding reyes of zambales

02-27-2010

A 28-year-old 'Synergism Success Story'

The struggle against martial rule was a
Synergism Success Story.

. In 1972, the people distrusted their own neighbors and workmates, feared the curfew, and avoided the Metrocom car...

. Through 14 long years, led and inspired by a growing number of heroes and martyrs, they gradually overcame their fears and their separation from one another. By the early 80s, the people's individual and collective empowerment process was gaining momentum.
Synergism was working... and growing!

. By 1986, they were locking-arms with total strangers, and confronting tanks, to grab the soldiers from the tyrant's control.
.
SYNERGISM has worked for our people since the time of the Bayanihan and the Katipunan. We can continue building it up and fully harnessing its potentials within families and friendships, within organizations and partnerships everywhere, for our success, upliftment and prosperity.

This is a sense-of-history reminder from KAMALAYSAYAN, a founding member-organization of Pamayanang SanibLakas ng Pilipinas (first issued SanibLakas in February 1998)

====================================================================

EDSA, 1986: A 14-year "Balik-Bayanihan" Affair

THE FOURTEEN-YEAR build-up that led to the people's victory at EDSA was a grand "Balik-Bayanihan" effort against all odds, against all demonstrated threats from the tyranical machine.

. It was the victory of conscious oneness of the majority, a victory of active stakeholdership versus safe and idle spectatorship. Conscious oneness and active stakeholdership are both imperative traits for each real kabayani in Bayanihan.

. 'Twas not a mere four-day affair; 'twasn't even a mere three-year sudden gush of pagpapakatao at pakikipagkapwa-tao after the murder of one Senator Aquino.

. Considering no less than four military forces involved in a severely delicate stalemate configuration (AFP-rebel; AFP-loyalist; NPA; and US military), it wasn't even a perfectly-peaceful affair.

. "Balik-Bayanihan" has to be deeply ingrained in the psyche and kalooban of the majority of citizens and communities, if we are to have real, lasting change for the empowerment and betterment of our nation. We cannot afford to remain a fence-sitting milyun-milyúng mirón, ever complaining about social wrongs and ever offering all sorts of excuses for personal non-action.

ding reyes
of subic, zambales
02-25-10

see also: http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/02/28-year-old-synergism-success-story.html

LET'S ALL ACTIVELY CAMPAIGN for Rep. Risa!

Mga Kapatid,

Since about the middle of last year i have been exercising my prerogative, as an individual citizen, to campaign for Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros to become a new Senator for the sake of our beloved Inang Bayan to have a better Senate by the middle of this year. Rep. Risa has more than proven herself as an exemplary statesperson, not a mere politician, and as a blessed heroine of the people, a wise, heroic and workaholic one for the Filipino people's interests.

I have had direct personal familiarity with many instances and specifics about these attributes she has firmly and consistently carried with passion, grace and sincere humility. and i have felt that it is but a validation of my love for our country that i contribute my own time effort to draw the people to gift themselves with a precious gem of an outstandingly active legislator of their own in what is supposed to be their own legislature. Risa would surely make a difference in the Philippine Senate for the people, by raising the quality of that body.

And on some of these specifics of her being very much qualified to represent very well the nationwide and national constituency, i have posted messages in my blogsite (readdingz.blogspot.com) showing why i have my strong conviction on her qualifications.

Part of my eforts for this has been to upload some webpages, blog postings and Facebook shout-outs. Please check the blogs and webpages out by clicking at the links i give below.

ABOUT HER PLATFORM:
http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/02/after-risas-character-and-track-record.html.

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2009/08/trust-me-trusting-risa.html

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-type-of-politician-statesman-who-is.html

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2009/09/rh-bill-is-not-anti-life.html

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-i-say-rep-risa-is-blessed-heroine.html

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2009/11/gift-of-effort-for-our-country.html

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2009/12/yearend-musings-change-candidates.html

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/01/gayahin-ang-bayani-wag-magningas-kugon.html

http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/02/rep-risas-workaholic-in-house.html

http://lambat-liwanag.8m.net/05-Vision-phil-Politics.htm

http://lambat-liwanag.8m.net/08-genderbal-politics-governance.htm

http://lambat-liwanag.8m.net/08-homophobia-Gender-Sensitivity.htm

http://naturewatch.8m.net/#ta-nood

I have had the confidence that a good number of the open-minded people who know me, (and have had some measure of trust in my sense of responsibility in opinion-making and opinion-leadership), or maybe even a simple majority of them, would consider seriously the contents of these uploads when deciding which senatorial candidates to support (up to 12 slots), and even share this message with their own friends and relatives, especially those among the latter who'd possibly do likewise.


(recent addition) After blogging about the personal character and 6-year track record of Rep. Risa Hontiveros, i have recently posted myblog on RISA'S PLATFORM. Pls. check out this link: http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/02/after-risas-character-and-track-record.html.

Thankful cheers to all!

ding reyes of subic, zambales
(prof. ed aurelio c. reyes
of international academy of mgmt and eco - makati,
and formerly of asian social institute - manila)

please read MY BLOGS at http://readdingz.blogspot.com/ & view my books in the on-line catalog, http://bookmakers-phils.8m.net/.
See also http://kamayanforum.8m.net/; and http://sanibdasal.8m.net/; and http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/02/wanna-start-knowing-me-little-better.html

Sunshine is Sunsmile

sun just woke me up by shinin' sharply
upon my eyes, greeted me...
"good morning!
i see that you have turned your head
to face my smile once again!
last dusk you turned away
to rest those very same eyes...
with my bright smile i just stayed right here.
i didn't really leave you,
but you chose to turn away
from me for some time..."

ding reyes of zambales
02-20-10

Love Listens...

LOVE LISTENS. I was told not to mention the overly-obvious. But this needs to be said, because many of us forget to act along the overly-obvious, and we do miss out on the many opportunities to express supreme love.

. For one who really really loves, the loved one’s heart and mind are very important, often even many times more important than one’s own because effort has to be exerted to make sure that the loved one is fully and deeply understood.

. The schools have taught us the parts of the ear, but they forgot to teach us how to listen, especially to words we feel are opposed to our own perceptions, feelings and preferences. Both St. Francis of Assisi and Stephen Covey remind us that we ought to try real hard to understand before trying hard to be understood.

. But how good are we really at listening? What happens when we fail to listen fully? How important is this in our lives and in our relationships?

. Very. Ask anyone who has suffered the loved-one's silent treatment. you'd crave for feedback, for responses, that never come. You'd drave to listen and hear but only silence presents itself.

. Mishandling of this matter, of the mutual need to enjoy open and honest communications, has led to the early demise of what had earlier started as very sweet romantic relationships, sweet enough to be attacked by swarms of ants…

Wanna start knowing me a little better?

. Just in case you’re interested to start getting to know me a little better soon, please catch a glimpse of my blogs posted in and http://readdingz.blogspot.com/ and http://balani-bagumbayan.blogspot.com/.

. An on-line catalog of my two dozen or so books may be viewed on http://bookmakers-phils.8m.net/. In my facebook account, please check out the few causes i am campaigning for. Each of these sites and projects is a work-in-progress, and some of their pages have glitches. Please bear with me; i’m doing my best despite my limitations. Send me feedback on anything.

. Before I end this, allow me please to smile at you through my recent blog posting, http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2009/12/bring-in-new-year-with-happy-smiles.html. I hope you would also share with me what you think about it.

my interests: part-whole dynamics; living and pondering my life; pondering Life; touching lives with fellow-humans.

Ding Reyes, of Subic, Zambales
(prof. ed aurelio c. reyes, IAME-makati)
dingreyes@yahoo.com

(From the 15 listed in our on-line library of empowering paradigm shifts, http://lambat-liwanag.8m.net , please tell me your choice of empowering paradigm shift(s) you’d be most interested in to help develop and pursue.)

See also http://readdingz.blogspot.com/2010/01/attempt-to-summarize-my-basic-beliefs.html to get familiar with my basic belief and guide to behavior.

Rep. Risa's Workaholic Performance in the House

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