Pagbabago@Pilipinas - GOTCHA by Jarius Bondoc

Play a word-association game with any Filipino. Flash the term "government", the first definition that’ll come to mind is "corrupt, inept."

All, but all, Filipinos are fed up with government. Low clerks to high officials rob them through institutionalized extortion, then rob them again by drawing salaries from taxes for work undone. Everyday they experience graft in the form of grease money demanded for license renewal, concocted traffic violation or contract award. Everyday, too, they see incompetence in heaps of uncollected garbage, abandoned public works, drunk executives.

The disease has spread so wide even people outside government are afflicted. They condone it with such lines as follow the leader, just look the other way, hate graft but invite grafters to grace office or home parties.

All know the cure is in changing the system. Some are daunted, saying it will take generations, so what the heck. Most are resolute, aware that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. And so they organize, discuss, map out plans for a brighter future for all.

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You’re not alone. One such group is Pagbabago@Pilipinas, composed of businessmen, professionals, educators, artists, environmentalists, media practitioners, street activists, churchmen and dedicated public servants – all below 50 and full of energy. It recently commissioned radio-TV ads for moral renewal and good governance, and issued this statement for being:

"Philippine society is in deep crisis precipitated by structural defects in its political culture and governance system. Change in political leadership will be futile without changing the culture of traditional politics and transforming its expression in the present political system.

"In response to this crisis, a group of individuals started meeting about and acting on the urgent strategic issues facing Philippine society. They decided to launch Pagbabago@Pilipinas as a cultural, nonpartisan forum of ideas, values, principles and action. It seeks to uphold these core values and principles irrespective of what political party or administration is in power. It seeks to undertake a nationwide discussion and reflection on culture, and how it can be transformed and mobilized to create a Philippines relevant to the global and national realities of the 21st century.

"Pagbabago@Pilipinas is a forum of individuals from various fields of civil society, business and government/political formations concerned with the renewal of Philippine society. It defines its identity by its willingness to internalize for itself and for its institutions the core values and principles it upholds. It wants to stimulate the necessary change in culture and institutions by example.

"Individuals in the forum are leaders in their respective institutions or area of work. However, they do not represent their institutions or fields of work. They are active in the forum in their own individual capacities.

"Pagbabago@Pilipinas is not just a place to discuss values and principles. It is also a forum to stimulate action on the basis of these values and principles. It wants to realize its vision for tomorrow through the actions it does today. It realizes that there will be no future without addressing, out of these values and principles, the crisis Philippine society faces today.

"The past is not destiny. It is a point of departure for the future. To shape the future, we must wake up to the true nature of our social situation and our humanity. Awakened, we can create a new world and a new Philippines. Matauhan na tayo!"

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That’s the bright spot about the present political-economic crisis. It offers a rare opportunity for Filipinos of diverse beliefs and sectors to come together for a common goal of reform.

There will be the usual resisters to change – those who live in blissful ignorance; those who have billions of pesos, most likely in stolen wealth, at stake; the hopelessly contrarian.

But Filipinos who see the need for change have already begun it – by making their voices heard in rallies, by repulsing graft and ineptitude wherever they are, by rousing courage and energy for patriotic duty. What chance do the resisters stand?

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INTERACTION. Luciano Adan, NYC: Butz Aquino says all Filipinos are sinful like Erap; therefore, all must repent (Gotcha, 9 Dec. 2000). Who is he to judge national moral character?

Joey Catama, edsamail.com: I’ve always thought that Butz is not in the class of his brother, Ninoy. Look what power and money can do.

Dr. Leila Barona, yahoo.com: It doesn’t necessarily follow, what Estelito Mendoza said, that when millions of Filipinos wrote "Erap" for President, they meant him to stay for six years. What’s the point of constitutional provisions for resignation or impeachment then?

Toto Lopez, abs-cbn.com: Let’s amend the Charter on qualifications for President. To stop vote-buying, reduce the number of, then subsidize, political parties. Subject officials to performance ratings, like we have here at ABS-CBN.

Corinna Serrano, home.com: So what if Nene Pimentel bravely fought martial law? So did Rene Saguisag, and I can’t say they’ve lived up to people’s expectations (Gotcha, 6 Dec. 2000).

Joey Legarda, Makati: All Titoy Pardo is doing are face-saving measures for the administration. The budget deficit is ballooning like it did last year.

Jojo Almin, Evolium Japan: Mike Velarde may be right in following his will and not pressure from the Church, but he might end up the loser by sticking it out with a person whose wealth comes from mysterious means.

Laila Lois H. Dira, Dumaguete: A full investigation must be made on Coastal Road Corp., so the people may know (Gotcha, 4 Dec. 2000). And what ever happened to your expose on the PPA-Batangas anomaly?

What did you think, Laila, that their fellow-crooks would act on it?

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YOUR COMPUTER. Still another new worm has invaded the Net. Called "wscript kakworm," it propagates itself through Microsoft Outlook and eats e-mail messages, even in Netscape Navigator. Phew! Microsoft has a patch to close the security loophole. But delete the wscript.exe in your hard drives; you don’t really need it anyway.

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