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Many government officials often fail to remember the very essence of being elected to public office. And this is not some random hackneyed statement instigated by the obvious misconducts of the majority of them. It’s all over the news (or olds?), how cannot that be obvious? Rather, my grounds for this claim is in fact a more subtle issue yet very physically visible but is commonly overlooked. Thank goodness, I’m radical!

Reasonably radical.

Acquiring a seat in the government gives one a special privilege to serve the people and the nation. And this privilege is like a gift you owe to people who have entrusted their welfare to your care. This gift consists of an honorable title prefixed to your name, subordinates, monetary resources, and most of all, the power to utilize this gift in the service of the people who believe in you. All of that in just one package.

Public service is simply sincerely doing your responsibilities as a public servant so why make a big deal out of it by displaying your name on every public facility you’ve put up? To me, it’s like a slap in the face. An insult. It’s as if you’re reminding us that we, the people who have placed you in power, owe these structures to you. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? You’ve been elected to public office. Therefore, isn’t it already given that you do public service?

I mean for once, get real! Never mind the righteousness crap above. No one in his right mind would ever want your name in ridiculously BOLD letters and not-so-appealing-to-the-eyes colors as decorations in his surroundings. Unless your name spells beauty and peace, then by all means, have the walls of our house inside and out.

(By the way, I’m pretty sure the inscription of your name also consumes a portion of the allotted budget.)

I would always find myself shaking my head in disillusionment whenever I see the sooo-overused phrase “Through the efforts of this BIG NAME et al.” on the roofs of waiting sheds. Well, guess what? You don’t need to make an effort. If you’re a true public servant and you mean your public service with all your genuine intentions, it should just come out naturally.

Instead of plastering your names on the roofs of covered courts, park benches, bridges, and other public facilities, why don’t we hire our local talents, in painting and other related craft, to exhibit their artistic abilities and decorate these structures? And have them sign their own masterpieces afterwards, that would be fantastic! It’s an opportunity for them to showcase their works. Who knows, they might even do the job for free.

And that’s just one of the many options of how we can continuously make our communities a better place to live in. Let others contribute. Don’t take on the entire workload. Make room for others to have their own unique share.

So come on, there’s no need for you to remind us (shamelessly) of your noble deeds. We, the people who voted for you are not stupid to not know who made all these projects possible. Heck, we voted for you. How could we ever be more stupid?

We don’t need big names. We need big dreams.

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Anyway, the time I wrote this (it’s dated May 2007 to be exact) was the year of the traditional reshuffling of parish priests in the Archdiocese of San Fernando here in Pampanga province. And from what I’ve heard during the period of study, all the parishes were asked to submit a summary of the qualities of their dream priest.

Personally, I think doing such was rather useless. For one thing, most of these priests are old already and there’s no way you can change their pastoral methods. Second, the available choices are simply limited. That’s why I said I wasn’t quite sure how I was made to write this but I did it anyway.

So without further ado, meet my ideal parish priest:

For a large and diverse parish such as Dolores, having a spiritual leader who can serve as an encouragement to the people to become an active and willful members of the Christian community and at the same time maintain our unparalleled faith in God is very essential. Without trying so hard, he must be able to promote this faith through his own vigorous participation and contagious fervor. The people would want to have a visible leader with zeal and diligence. This way, it will be easier to attract and stir up the interest of the laity.

Presence. He must possess the “aura” that gives off a unique impression of himself.

Active. He must be committed in fulfilling his ministerial duties, as well as show his involvement in most (if not all) occasions, festivities, council meetings, etc.

Respect. He should be able to command respect from the people and recognize them as persons as well in return.

Inspiration. He should be able to set a good example and motivate the laity, especially the youth, to take part in Church activities.

Sociable. He should be able to exhibit an approachable image.

Humor. He must have a good sense of humor, just enough to take away the monotony of the mood.

Parent. He must see to it that his children grow to become good Christian citizens.

Responsible. He must have a clear sense of duty.

Influence. He should be able to persuade those who lack spiritual guidance to come back to Church and renew their lives.

Enthusiasm. He must have the passion in his vocation.

Smart. He must be smart enough to know or notice what the parish is lacking and provide or suggest solutions to these deficiencies.

Temperament. He must possess a Christ-like nature and character.

Too ideal? Not too impossible though. It’s just what we need.

Before, a cell phone is simply used as a mobile phone. It can only do calls. For leaving short messages, we use pagers or beepers. Then text messaging service was introduced in mobile phones. So that eradicated the pager industry. Then came the FM radio, music player, camera, internet browsing, and so on.

But if you think about it, did the consumers actually ask for these features to be included in the package? When you watch a commercial of a new model (the camera phone for instance), it will tell you that it’s got camera and all, that you can take pictures anytime, anywhere (as long as it’s not underwater). But it will never tell you that you need a camera anytime, anywhere. Therefore, the consumer will think “Oh, I want this phone with a camera so I can take pictures anytime, anywhere.” Then later on, this I want mentality becomes an I need mentality. Most likely, he will never buy a camera-free phone again in the future because he thinks that he now needs the camera.

So to me, it seems that the phone manufacturers are the ones dictating that “you need this, you need that” in your phone. They introduce new features and make you believe that you need or will need them. And once a new feature has been integrated, many more are sure to follow. For example, infrared and the Bluetooth technology would not be introduced if you didn’t have to take pictures, listen to music, play games, etc. Yes, they make life easier when it comes to transferring files. But have you ever thought that they just made everything (especially inside the phone) more complicated?

And this phenomenon does not only apply to the cell phone industry. Just to clarify, I have nothing against cell phone manufacturers. I, myself, own a good-looking phone with all the above features. I simply want to share my opinion from my own observations. So what’s yours?

Mark 6:35-44

35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, five, and two fishes.

39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

Now let’s be more realistic (this is not blasphemy):

In the early days (even up until now), nobody would dare go on a journey or to any place without bringing some food and drink (unless, of course, you’re fasting for forty days). Though packed lunch is somewhat obsolete nowadays, you’d still be bringing some extra cash so you could buy food, right? The point is, you’ll never let yourself go hungry.

Now the problem with those people in Jesus’ time (even up until now, too) was that they were selfish. They wanted to keep their own food to themselves alone.

Alas! There was this boy who stepped forward to offer what he’s got. And from this simple act of giving, everyone followed suit and was able to partake in this feast brought about by sharing.

Still looking for the miracle?

It was simply the people changing their selfish attitude.

I admit that Archbishop Oscar Cruz was not entirely out of line when he gave his opinion on the issue. In fact, I was terribly disturbed for a moment upon reading his views. While the majority of Kapampangans are devoted Christians — from head to toe, skin to soul — one cannot ignore the fact that some of them would have qualms (and become so insanely hypercritical) about this development which could lead to (God forbid) some discord among the people of Pampanga province.

Should the province arrive at such scenario, it’s going to be really bad news. The mere thought of it upsets me because I know it’s not a remote possibility. But, hey, aren’t we talking of the Catholic Church here, which I believe is the only institution that has lasted for more than a thousand years?
Enough said.

Anyway, I don’t think God will allow this to happen. Some may say Fr. Eddie Panlilio is no different from the ambitious celebrities aspiring to become legislators. But for me, his candidacy is far more tolerable than Lito Lapid’s ludicrous attempt to dethrone Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati City.

What if under Father Panlilio’s governance, Pampanga does recover from its present pitiable image, which shames us Cabalens? But don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales run for president. I’m merely implying that Father Panlilio could serve as an example for our national officials and wake them up into doing their jobs to bring our country out of its present predicament.

Just an analogy shared by another priest: Jesus took off his godly robes and was willing to suffer to save His people. Father Panlilio is simply making a similar sacrifice. But one doesn’t need to be a priest to make a hero out of himself. If only we are all willing to take off our own magnificent robes, then perhaps, the world will be a much better place.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/letterstotheeditor/view/20070413-60121/Shedding_our_own_magnificent_robes

It started out with the big questions for myself. And the biggest of them all is what drives me to work on the things I want to achieve. Perhaps, another way to say it is what inspires me to get to my goals. This might sound a little weird but I honestly think it is my dreams themselves that motivates me. Unlike for some who say that they get their inspiration from a loved one or someone they look up to. For me, it is the life I’ve always imagined if I ever fulfill these big dreams of mine that enthuses me and instigates my will to really work hard for them. After all, my personal motto in life goes like this: When I want something, it takes time but I usually get it. But don’t get me wrong. I have my loved ones and people I look up to. It’s just that I don’t feel like going all sparkly-eyed whenever I think of them as my driving force. Maybe this is the reason why I always found it difficult, if not insensible, to answer the question “who inspires me” when I was a kid.

Next was the moment of thanksgiving. Just a few weeks ago, after the communion rites during a Sunday Mass, a realization struck me. I found myself thanking God even for the littlest of the trivial things I’ve received. For example, drawing Anime-ish characters is one of my hobbies. And whenever I finish a sketch, at the end of the day, I always thank Him for making me create such a wonderful drawing. Or sometimes I have an essay to finish. And when I’m done, I thank him for giving me the intellectual capacity to formulate all those ideas I’ve written down. And probably the most superficial of all is when I finally find an mp3 that is on my most-wanted list. I know it may sound ridiculous but I really thank Him for allowing me to find the song. It was almost spontaneous everytime. Besides, it actually felt good to have someone whom I could express my gratitude to.

Speaking of gratitude, I express my daily thanks to God through a night prayer, which I have memorized in my childhood. When I was young, six or seven years old I think, I found this little prayer book at home that contained all the Catholic prayers, the rosary and mysteries, the Ten Commandments, Stations of the Cross, etc. I even remember being amused when I saw the date it was given to my uncle. If I’m not mistaken, it’s dated March 1963. Apparently, it was a graduation gift from his music teacher, who also became my teacher, by the way. Anyway, it also contained a morning and a night prayer and being the little child that I once was, I decided to keep the prayer book for myself. From then on, I started to say those two prayers at the beginning and end of the day until I’ve memorized both of them.

Then a time came when I eventually got sick of mouthing the same prayer over and over again everyday. Even add to that the fatigue I would get from school and other activities as I grew older. And then that feeling of exhaustion I would always carry upon arriving in the dormitory after a hectic day that the only thing I want to do at that very moment was to simply go straight to bed and nothing else, it completely changed my routine. And so I stopped the daily prayers. It took a while, a year or two I think, before I finally got myself to return to that old habit of praying before I sleep. By the way, this did not happen only once. But what I have really perceived from that experience is that my life, no matter how frenzied it is, seems to be always under control—my control—from the moment that I would resume my praying habit. And during the period when I would forget to thank God, I feel empty. It was like living just for the sake of existing. Believe it or not, I could really tell the difference. God’s presence is indeed full of wonders. And I’ve learned that if I let Him be present in me, I would also be wonderful.

When asked about the one thing I truly pray for, my answer is contentment. But not the kind that one gets upon attaining his goals. If that was the case, then I would stop dreaming. So when I say I want contentment, I mean I want to live my life with no regrets. I’ve made mistakes in the past and I know I could have done better in some instances. But I try not to regret them and as much as possible, I try not to think of them anymore. Instead, I treat them as requirements in molding the person I am now, that they are necessary in their own unique way. Because to be honest, I love the way I am now so I don’t think there’s anything to regret. That’s contentment for me. I’m satisfied with whatever I’ve done in the past, whether good or bad. As for the things I’ve failed to do, that’s what I’m working on at present.

Anyway, enough of my reaction. As I scanned through the photos in Malvar Shrine, it made me realize a number of things. One is that comparing the present-day situation of our country with the Philippines in the nineteenth century, it would certainly be very bad on our part had the Spaniards invaded us today. With the most recent technology to amuse us, there would not be a Bonifacio, Malvar, Aguinaldo, or Gregorio del Pilar, who would go to the trouble of taking the initiative and rise up against the Spaniards. I think the people of today would rather enjoy themselves than fight for freedom, which is the most wonderful thing to enjoy.

But maybe, invasion is very obsolete nowadays. Since I’ve already mentioned the present-day situation of our country, how are we really at this moment? I’ve always wanted to bring this up. History and Social Science teachers always say that the youth is the hope of the nation. And every time they point this out, the emphasis seems to indicate that we are destined to bring hope to the country. I’m not complaining about putting the burden on our shoulders but there are certain questions that I would like to ask, which I already did. “Was this quote really meant for us? Did Dr. Jose Rizal particularly address this famous saying to our generation?” The seniors love to say this to the youth and yet they, themselves — having nothing to be proud of — can’t even display the pride of having been the “hopes” of the nation. They were once the youth themselves, belonging to their own generation. Why don’t they show us their accomplishments first, if there are any, and then tell us that we must have our own achievements as well?

The answer to my question was given by one of my professors (JPRIZAL). He said, truly, there were a lot of generations that had already gone by and each of them underwent the stage of being part of the youth. And whatever is the achievement of this youth is the success of their generation. But it appears that all these earlier generations were a failure, which is why the “hope” is just being passed down from one generation to the next. The catastrophe is always reflected on the present state of the nation.

Take the 70’s and 80’s for instance, the period of martial law. Many intellectual, respectable, moral, and decent people died just because they possessed good and noble intentions for the country. That is why we are missing three conscientious generations who could have claimed the rightful positions in the Congress or even in the Executive Department right at this moment.

But what do we have in our government these days? Corrupt officials, putrid as rotten tomatoes in greed. As I’ve mentioned, they were once the youth themselves. And even if that was a long time ago, I don’t think they ever brought hope to the country. And for those who are aspiring to become the next president in the very near future, don’t even think about it. You better think first a thousand times and ponder on something productive (for real!), or don’t even think about it at all. Why? Because morally speaking, you have no right. Have shame, for cryin’ out loud!

I am not a hero but I write this now, taking the initiative, like the brave men who fought for liberty a century ago, in making the call to the Filipino youth of today. Aren’t you tired of hearing news (even if there is really nothing new about it) on corruption and all those huge amounts of money that should have been put to good use? They always say that poverty is the cause of the problems in our society. (Dahil daw sa kahirapan…) But did you ever think it could be the effect? Don’t you feel the need for change — for contentment? Won’t you feel proud if we show these lame officials what we can do and make them realize that they are just making a fool of themselves? Acquiring those positions is a big mistake and they should be ashamed of it. It makes me wonder, though. The Philippines is very blessed with crises — economically, politically, and socially. Yet, a lot of big people struggle to get hold of power as the president. Aren’t they scared of the burden of responsibilities that comes along with the title of presidency? What more if the nation is in disorder? …Or maybe, they do have some malicious schemes of their own.

I have faith in our youth today, to which I belong. I believe we are different and I suppose we were made to be. We are ingenious, inventive, quick-witted, and practical. We are competent and we seek for effectiveness. We are restless when we’ve got nothing to do. We must have something to lay our hands on to keep us always busy. That is why we tend to be more productive. We think critically, logically, and rationally. We understand more than our elders can imagine. We are reasonable, always fighting for the right. Our generation is a bit childish (in a sensible way) but the intellect of a child is one of the purest things in the world. We do not have the mind of a grafter and corruption is not in our vocabulary. I’ve known a lot of people who are gifted with potentials of being the future leaders of our nation, and most of them have been my friends and companions for the past few years. For sure, there are a lot of others out there who possess these qualifications.

If the government is not capable of granting the things we primarily need, we can always take part and search for solutions to attain them ourselves. I’m not showing off — I’m just proud, knowing that we can rebuild this nation. Now is our time. Don’t let our generation be another failure.