My brother's hope

For this week’s column, I invited a guest (except that he does not know that he has been invited). What I actually did was to cut and paste a posting (with a few edits) he made on his blog (http://mbautistamd.blogspot.com) last May 11. My older brother (emphasis on older), Martin, is a gastroenterologist in the United States. When asked what his field of specialization is, he would say that he likes to poke his hands in a person’s “behind.”

A graduate of the UP College of Medicine, he, together with his first (and last) girlfriend, Sylvia Tan (who was a classmate and is, in turn, a pulmonologist) moved to the United States in the early ’90s to seek further medical training. After slaving away in Brooklyn, New York for several years, they founded a small hospital in rustic Guymon, Oklahoma where the main hangout is a Walmart. There, they were raising four daughters until this year — when they were blessed with another beautiful daughter — Angela! But just one day after Angela was born, Martin took the long flight back to Manila to start his quest for a Senate seat. In this regard, Sylvia is the real heroine not only for holding the fort but for allowing her husband to pursue his dream.

I asked Martin why he was doing this — why he was risking his peaceful, comfortable life in the US to enter the rough and unpredictable world of Philippine politics? He replied that in his practice, he has seen enough of his patients dying of pancreatic cancer who, during their last days, would air their regrets about not having given back enough to their communities. His running, quixotic as it may seem, was his way of trying to help bring back decency and honor in Philippine politics. Entitled “Maraming Salamat”, his blog read:

The voting of the May 2010 Philippine election is over. I have returned to Guymon, Oklahoma where I have spent much of the last 20 years of my life. I left in winter — in my heart, many more seasons ago — to join the campaign of Noynoy Aquino to transform the future of our country.

It has been an intense, bruising, bewildering 120 days, marked by hours of confusion, stress, frustration, and also by special moments of excitement, passion, kinship, hope and inexplicable joy.

I did not lack energy or enthusiasm. I immersed myself completely in the campaign, fully involved in town meetings, debates, media engagements. I spoke, attacked, parried, promoted and persuaded.

What did I accomplish?

Looking back now, in the placid Oklahoma spring, I have a simple answer: I helped.

True to my code as a physician and my values as a Filipino, I answered the call of Noynoy Aquino as he reached out, and Filipinos at home and abroad responded, and now we have a new President Aquino. This was not an exercise in nostalgia. It was a collective expression of hope.

Hope shared by millions that government corruption would be mitigated if not eradicated, as indeed it will be; that new men and women in office would try harder, as indeed they will; that the burden of Filipino families would be lighter, and life, somehow, would be better, as indeed it will.

It is why I am happy and gratified, without a Senate seat, but with the knowledge that I have been of help, if only in a small personal way, to President Noynoy, and in the final analysis, to the Filipino people whom he will serve honestly and well.

A few words of sincere gratitude to all the men and women of goodwill (many more than I had expected) who gave the campaign material and moral support. On my own and in behalf of the Aquino-Roxas campaign, let me say, thank you. Maraming, maraming salamat. All of us can say together, with one voice, in this proud moment of history: I helped.

Yet the struggle is not over. The work is not done. Actually it has only just begun and will continue with every passing day. More than ever, President Noynoy will continue to need us, each one of us (“Kayo ang Aking Lakas”). Let us be unselfish in our assistance, unstinting in our cooperation and unwavering in our dedication to help him recover and restore the hope of a nation which seems to have been irretrievably lost.

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This week’s four centavos is given to the international NGO 350.org which is committed to fighting climate change by raising awareness regarding the dangers of CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. Leading climatologists claim that the earth can only safely handle 350 parts per million (ppm) of CO₂. And right now, we have already reached 390 ppm and growing by 2 ppm a year. Melting ice caps and widespread droughts are happening in various parts of the world. Closer to home, we experienced the torrential rains of Ondoy and Pepeng last September which caused unprecedented flooding in the metropolis. Right now, we are suffering the scorching heat. And the forecast is that we should again expect heavier rain during the incoming wet season. Indeed, global warming is a scourge that needs to be combated. If you want to learn more about its effects, you may log on to www.350.org, www.greeenpeace.org, and www.wwf.org

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“Can you walk on water? You have done no better than a straw.

Can you soar on air? You have done no better than a fly.

Conquer your heart, then you may become somebody.” — Ansari of Herat

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