By Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva
Introduction
1. The Philippines is one of the most endowed nations in the world in terms of a) natural resources, b) skillful, versatile people, c) heroic past and glorious future.
2. Unless we unite and work as a team, it will be difficult to achieve the country’s glorious future: “destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.”
We are a most blessed nation: “naturally endowed”
3. The Philippines is one of the top producers of gold, copper, nickel. Singapore and Japan both import these critical mineral resources.
4. We produce a variety of energy sources including hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, natural gas, etc.
5. We are bigger in land area than Singapore, one of the wealthiest nations; almost as big as Malaysia and Thailand, new powerhouses in Asia.
6. We are one of the most populous countries in both Asia and the world. This means that with the proper use of our natural resources, we have one of the biggest markets in the world to sustain our domestic demand and economic growth.
7. If we are so richfully endowed, there is no reason why we should not be a progressive nation…
We have one of the most talented people in the world: the Pinoy phenomenon
8. Pinoys are known to be a most fractious, disunited people; Pinoys are synonymous to crabs: we have this interesting propensity to pull each other down. But throw the Pinoys in the water and they will swim. Send them out to Asia and they can speak the languages of the Japanese, Koreans, Malaysians, etc. Send them out to the Middle East and they can adapt to the ways of the desert. Send them to North America and in no time at all, they speak more American than the Gringos themselves. And they can work as a team, winning the admiration of people all over the world.
the Pinoys are one of the most talented people in the world. You ask them to learn how to operate a big machine, a small gadget and they can do it without even reading the manual. Who are one of the most respected bankers in the world? Accountants? Treasurers? Physicians? Nurses? Physical therapists? Teachers? Nannies? Tutors? No one but the Filipinos themselves who will brave wars and pandemics just to get employed and you can expect their loyalties will endure. And who will ever forget Leah Salonga? Monique Wilson? Cecil Licad? Freddie Aguilar? Gary Valenciano? Paeng Nepomoceno? Manny Pacquiao? The Filipinos have become global citizens. Indeed, Filipinos mustered the courage to lose sight of their native shore and that is one of the reasons why they were able to discover new oceans to master!
10. The Pinoys are also known for their hard work. They have internalized that unless one tries to do something beyond what he knows and grasps, he will never grow. Efren “Bata” Reyes did not only master the billiard balls. He also made them fly. Eugene Torre did not just excel in the Philippines; he was Asia’s first chess grandmaster. Charise Pimfengco did not just awe Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, she awed the whole world with her powerful voice that reached to the heavens!
The Pinoys have inherited a heroic past and face a glorious future
11. Yes, the Pinoys were born of struggles and much heroism. We will recall that the Philippines was the first independent republic in Asia. We gained independence from Spain close to the turn of the previous century. We were in fact ahead by half a century of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia’s emancipation from foreign colonialism. For we produced the Trece Martires and the GomBurZa; Rizal and Bonifacio; the propagandist del Pilar and the two del Pilar generals; Mabini and Aguinaldo. We possessed both the genius of our mind and the courage of our arms. These led to our national deliverance. Peace was bought with the sweat and blood of our heroes.
12. Our heroism and fighting spirit did not cease during the American and Japanese periods. We fought in the battlefields, we fought in the hills and we fought in the wilderness. While we struggle for freedom, we continued to sharpen the boldness of our pens and brush. The masterpieces of the novel, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo were produced; the Decalogue of Mabini inspired a whole generation of freedom fighters; La Spoliarium and the Virgin Christians of Rome won top prizes in European painting competitions. There is no limit to a talented spirit, indeed. The Pinoys are a talented people; there should be no limit to the imagination and capacity to us as a people. We should have a very glorious people with a glorious future.
13. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be happening.
14. The Philippine economy, while being resilient during this crisis, remains partially tapped. We can grow faster but we are not. The state of the country’s income distribution needs to be more equitably addressed. Our politics is one of politics of money and guns. Our culture seems to have deteriorated to the extent that someone characterized it as damaged. In short, we do seem to be always in the threshold of greatness—there are some of us who have demonstrated such a capacity to be great—but we are not quite inside such a threshold. What needs to be done?
What indeed needs to be done?
15. Ladies and gentlemen, friends and fellow Filipinos, let me offer you a roadmap to a glorious future.
16. This roadmap consists of 7 points,
7 points to the future.
17. First, we need to emancipate our minds and our spirit. We need to teach our young men and women our heroic past and our good fortune as a nation so much endowed with rich natural resources and talented people. We need to realize we have what it takes to be great.
18. Second, we need to empower our people. Let’s allow them the freedom to choose their leaders without the threat of reprisal and revenge. Our people should have the access to power, justice, medical care, jobs. Unless they feel they are a part of the body politic, they will never buy in. Dedicated desks shall be established to receive public complaints and act on them.
19. Third, we need to educate our people—educate them more in sciences and technology, engineering and the arts. We need to overhaul the curriculum, clean up the run of the mill schools and universities. We need to provide basic nutrition and feeding program so we teach our kids with full stomach.
20. Fourth, we need to energize our economy—good economic public policy: progressive taxation and trade policies. We shall develop our agriculture and industries. We shall integrate our road system with our airports and seaports and the railways. We shall relocate the millions of illegal occupants from the cities to the countrysides close to new areas of development and in turn, these vacated prime lots shall be developed with both domestic and foreign private partners. We shall aim to develop a very robust economy which will allow us to bring back our overseas workers so they will harness their skills for national development.
21. Fifth, we need to elevate the standard and quality of life of our people. With a robust economy and consciously civic society, public funds shall be made available to improve the delivery of public services: public hospitals shall be modernized to provide both basic and tertiary medical care. There will be complete zoning and environmental care. We will light up our streets, our highways and expressways. We will reclaim our esteros, we will clean up the Pasig River and establish walkways and board walks. Public parks shall once again be for the people.
22. Sixth, we need to eradicate bad governance. Let us not forget that sin is a reproach to any nation. Bad governance is the worst tribute one public servant can leave behind. We shall therefore establish dedicated courts so we can immediately deal with stolen wealth, tax evasion and avoidance. We shall have attrition principle in many public agencies: there will be great adjustment in public compensation but once an offender is caught embezzling public funds, there will be equally great penalty. Justice shall be dispensed for all.
And seventh, we shall establish peace in the land. We will talk softly, but we will carry a big stick. We will reach out to our Muslim brothers and left-leaning brothers to offer them peace in the non-negotiable framework of one Republic of the Philippines. We will modernize and strengthen our air force, navy and the army as well as the national police. With the National Government leading by example in righteous and moral governance, we shall win the respect of the league of nations and reclaim what we lost in the last thirty years.
Believe in the Filipinos and their future!
24. In pursuing this roadmap, we shall be guided by the timeless principle that we shall be whatever we are at any point: if we are the anvil, we shall bear the burden. If we are the hammer, we shall strike.
25. We will never quit. For a man is not finished when he is defeated. We were defeated six years ago, but we shall be finished only when we decide to quit now.
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