Monday, August 26, 2013

I made a stand.

I joined the Million People March today.  It was more than the pork barrel that enraged me - the lack of transparency, rent seeking behavior, apathy, and injustice. 

For more than ten years, I worked with the government. And I tell you, most of the government employees I know are committed and honest. Whatever idealism I had when I graduated from college is still the same until the time I resigned from government service five years ago, because I worked with people who stay in the office until 2 in the morning just to get things done, and report for work just the same at 8am, without expecting and receiving any overtime pay.  Supposed to be an 8-5 job, but turned out, the boss can always make you stay until everything gets done, like there is no tomorrow.  But, I cannot also deny the fact that there are irregularities.  

I have seen and experienced how hard it is to lobby funding for training and education.  And you cannot also imagine the time spent for research and planning just to come up with a proposal, only to  be denied and rejected, because it is not part of the priority project. And what was the priority?  

It pains me to see people who are stripped off of their retirement pay because they have to answer and suffer for the fault of others. When in fact, they have worked hard for a good name for years, only to be held accountable for something they did not do because of technicalities. 

It also pains me to see someone go to jail, just because he killed a person in exchange for money just so he can provide for his family, while the mastermind go free.  I cannot understand until now how human rights works, because I experienced first hand how they can protect the rights of the killer more than the family of the victim, and how the latter's family cannot be represented by any lawyer for fear of getting involved.

I am also saddened how the youth can be used to add up to the population of protesters, not knowing what they are really fighting for, but are encouraged to be around because of the promise of extra points. 

Now that I am in the academe, I do not teach my students to hate the government.  But I want to influence them to do the right thing so there will be change, no matter how small it may be. 

And instead of speaking death, it's high time that we start speaking life for the country. 

I am still very hopeful that there is a future for the Philippines, and God's promises will come to pass.  The best is yet to come. 

  

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