Looking for new heroes - A VOICE FROM AMERICA by Ernie D. Delfin

It is the worst of times and the best of times. The Philippines welcomed the New Year with five big bangs heard all over the world. Those surreptitiously placed bombs by an unknown group caused unnecessary deaths to unknowing victims who have become the sacrificial lambs in the cleansing of our national curse.

The impeachment trial of Erap Estrada is probably the number one reason why the economy and the peso continue to plummet. The year 2001 promises to be a most challenging moment in Philippine history.

While these serious events are unfolding, we Filipino expatriates in the United States and other countries are praying that more courageous leaders, such as those previously unknown professional women like Emma Lim, Clarissa Ocampo and company, should come forward to inspire others. Like a sea of turtles, people must stick their necks from time to time in order to move forward. History is replete with priceless stories about countless heroes who stood up, put their lives on the line for their country’s future.

At this junction of Philippine history, our nation is desperately seeking for heroes and leaders. Who will they be? It will be exciting to know who will appear on the horizon to lead a revolution, to upset the status quo. Like the arrival of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago, I believe that the true leader or leaders will not be coming from the elitist oligarchy or the church (not the likes of Malacañang ministers or El Shaddai’s Mike Velarde) or trapos but from the lower echelons of Philippine society. Ordinary but decent and courageous unknown people, like Emma Lim and Clarissa Ocampo, will be sent and inspired by Somebody Up There, to reveal the truth despite the danger. Once people see this kind of civil courage, the critical mass of thinking Filipinos (that includes the rich and poor, young and old, educated or uneducated) will follow them. Then, with newfound truth, our people will be set free. With freedom, a clearer vision for a better tomorrow will appear like a beautiful sunrise to bring sunshine unto our darkened land.

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In the meantime, what can we Filipinos everywhere do to contribute for a better Philippines? As a starting point, everybody must believe that there is hope for the Philippines, but hope without action and sacrifice is meaningless. Cynicism and distrust for one another must be subdued by allowing everybody a chance to contribute in helping one person, one barangay, one municipality to improve one step at a time.

We Filipino expatriates also get offended when fellow Pinoys say that if we truly love the Philippines, then we must go home and join the battles in the streets and suffer the consequences of patriotism! I think that is quite shortsighted and totally preposterous. Everybody has a role to play. We are all interdependent; when one suffers, we all feel the pain. Why are we in America in the first place? The number one reason is just four words: Fifty-six pesos to one!

Like the members of an orchestra, everybody has a specific task to do in nation building. Some of us should be in the streets protesting anomalies in the government, as some of us run a business and employ other people while others train other people to be self-sufficient and become productive citizens. Like the parts of the human body, each of us has a role to play.

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In his book Unexpected News, Robert McAffee Brown wrote many profound observations and analyses about the plight of Third World countries with biblical parallels to the stories in the Old and New Testaments. In Exodus, the author claims that God saw the suffering of the poor, felt their pain and eventually took their side. In the book of Exodus, God calls the people to join in the struggle. Stated that way, the claim seems reasonable: No one has a right to wait for God to do the work. God empowers the oppressed to work for their liberation, and that means overthrowing the oppressors.

In another book, Doing Faithjustice, the author Fred Kammer, S.J., a Jesuit priest and lawyer, says that leaders must not forget that they get their power from the people. The poor, on the other hand, must empower themselves even in their powerlessness.

The world is watching. And God sees the oppressed, feels the pain and since time immemorial has sided with the oppressed.

Since I started this column last November 1999, I have received hundreds of e-mails from readers all over the world. I have been inspired by a fellow STAR columnist Art Borjal and his work in his Good Samaritan Foundation, which regularly extends help to those really in need. So I founded a non-profit organization where good Samaritans in the US can also channel their time, talent or treasure to help the Philippines in their own small way.

So, on Aug. 31, 2000, Katipunan-USA was formally organized by this columnist and his daughter, Donna Karen. Its noble vision is to inspire, motivate, teach and assist other people how to fish (rather than giving them fish) to become self-sufficient in their lives. Katipunan-USA hopes to help facilitate the transfer of our time, talent, treasure, technology, or tourism dollars back to the Philippines. Our mission statement is simple: to contribute in some practical way to make the Philippines a better place. Visit http://www/katipunan-USA.org. or http://katipunan-USA.org or e-mail to donna@katipunan-usa.org.

Like Art Borjal, I would like to take some space to thank a few good Samaritans: Drs. Ann Connor and Konstantine Vlachonossios for helping Rosario "Nene" Lansangan have a successful heart surgery – free of charge.

Other organizations like our Rotary Club of Cerritos, Samahang Hagonoy and ROAD-USA also volunteered in one way or another. Nene is now recuperating at the home of her host family, Paddy and Doree Padilla, in Carson, California. Nene just had a new lease on life .