To the Filipino who still value his dignity
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There are no tyrants where there are no slaves (Jose Rizal)
Which Filipino are you?
November 17, 2008
I am reminded of this phrase from the Noli Me Tangere of our hero Jose Rizal, every time I ponder on the passive submission of the Filipinos in the face of barefaced lies, abuses and many other indignities that are being heaped upon them by the Arroyo government. I can almost see Jose Rizal painfully looking down upon us right now. Sadness is an understatement of how he must be feeling witnessing that the people he gave up his life for have fallen again in misery and despair. Not anymore under a foreign despot but this time under a native born tyrant—a tyrant that is a fulfilment of one his prescient warning to the Filipinos.
The Filipinos are now modern day slaves without realizing what they have become, The absence of the Spanish conquistador, the the Castillan encomenderos, the American carpet baggers, the Japanese kempeitai and the Marcos military government, along with the presence of a supposedly legitimately elected president have lulled them into thinking that they are a free people living the life aspired for them by our heroes & forefathers like Rizal, Bonifacio & Mabini, as enshrined in the preamble of the Philippine Constitution. Let me quote it in full for the benefit of those who may not be familiar with the preamble yet.
Preamble of the Philippine Constitution
We, the sovereign Filipino, imploring the aid of the almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.
This aspiration for our people has been completely flouted by this Arroyo government. The rule of law is used so that truth is hidden, justice is sold, freedom is denied, love is concealed, equality is buried and peace is rendered elusive. The majority of the impoverished Filipino people have become slaves to hunger; those who have jobs with meager wages have become slaves to the weariness of their toil; those who have knowledge of wrongdoings have become slaves to fear. Those who have been endowed with certain capabilities have become slaves to their own ambition, so that they will do anything right or wrong just to advance their own ambition. And worse, there are those who have been blessed with certain talents that have become slaves to money, and instead of becoming a blessing to the people, they have become a curse upon them. For as St. Thomas Aquinas said, “The corruption of the Best, is the worst form of corruption”.
These types of people give rise to the tyrant that we have. These are the types of Filipinos that this tyrant would like to have, to prolong her domination of the people. They will keep the poor people hungry and ignorant. They will keep the workers at the margins of society. They will make the bureaucracy and private sector fearful of government reprisals. They will offer the young professionals fulfilment of their ambitions in exchange for their idealism. And they will offer the talented Filipinos gigantic amounts of money in exchange for their soul. Tyrants do not fear these types of people, they nurture them.
What tyrants fear the most, firstly are Filipinos, no matter what their station in life may be, who are faithful to the Christian commandment of “Love thy neighbour as you love yourself”. For true Christians can never live and call themselves Christian, if they will tolerate or even participate in such large scale thievery that is being done today against their neighbour.
Second, tyrants fear Filipinos who have educated themselves in their professional disciplines, in their constitutional liberties, in their political rights, in their basic economic fundamentals, in the nuances of the humanities and of philosophy. For these are the Filipinos who have glimpsed the light of a true humane society; these are Filipinos who can share the light with the rest of the nation that are still in
the dark either by force of circumstance or by choice, for these are the Filipinos who can inflame the hearts of the masses to aspire for much more than the scraps which the tyrants throw at them from the table of their feast.
Lastly, the tyrants fear the Filipinos who truly love their country, who will not give up their idealism even in the face of alluring seduction such as the fulfilment of their lifelong ambition. The tyrants fear Filipinos who truly love God and country who will not give up their souls in exchange for huge sums of money and the promise of power in the tyrants’ court.
Which Filipino are you?
I was once asked by a journalist if I do not regret what I did, that in spite of my sacrifice and the suffering of my family, nothing have changed in the structure of Philippine society. Those who steal and lie are still there while I remain in limbo and uncertain of my future.
I gave him an answer that went this way, “Yes, I agree that it is tragic that Arroyo remains in power along with the rest of her people. But I believe that the bigger tragedy right now is the more than eighty million Filipinos who acquiesce to be subjected to the indignity heaped upon them by a handful of people”.
Defiance against a tyrant is obedience to God!
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…….. and this handful few continues to frustrate the poor and the dispossessed.
I Love My Country and I am really disgusted with the way the Filipinos have discarded their love for their country. Nationalism has been dropped in exchange for monetary rewards. Politicians of today are looking after themselves, not for the welfare of the people they are supposed to represent.
You are correct Jun, most politicians of today can and will, without batting an eyelash,
Bareface Lie to you. Notorious for these are those in Congress, LGU’s, and yes,
unfortunately the Military as well has been tainted.
Most Filipinos nowadays, would ask, “What if we change the corrupt and callous government? A new one would takeover and do the same thing.”
My answer to them is : We can overhaul our government. Rid society of the corrupt practices that has been instilled upon us, by Eradicating (read: exterminating) the people who have done our country wrong.
I remember in one of Jun’s statements, that we should cut off the branches and roots of all those who have tainted themselves, in order for them not to be able to return and rear its ugly head upon us again. Because if they do return, they could and would be more viscious. or something to this effect…
We failed our heroes, from Jose Rizal to Ninoy, because we were too complacent, and forgot to do our respective tasks, that is to guard democarcy that our heroes have shed
their blood for.
I apologize to our heroes for failing them. They were the ones who made the ultimate sacrifices by letting their blood flow, in order for us to enjoy the freedom and harmony
that they so dream for us. We failed them and we continue to fail them. If we stand idly by and do nothing about our situation, we really are a miserable lot. Generations have passed and we are still trying to find the way of life that we should be having and enjoying.
Chances were given to us, and yet we did not capitalize and sustain the momentum of achieving a respectable society to be enjoyed by every Filipino.
Why is that? Why is it that we are unable to sustain and preserve what our heroes have provided for us?
Filipinos are known to be brave. Well are we? From what I could see, we are on the
contrary. Most of us are afraid to make those sacrifices. In other words, we are a bunch of cowards. Simply because we allow oursleves to be trampled upon by tyrants, disguised
as our government. The governemnt is there supposedly to uplift our livelihood, our
spirits, our nationalism. Instead what this government has given us are Misery, Divided
People, Corruption as the accepted norm of bureaacracy, Heavily indebted national offer,
among many unscrupulous things.
We have a government that is so callous and have perfected the art of corruption, that they shove their callousness into each of our faces, yes, including those of our children. Why do we allow them to do that to us? Isn’t that a sign of cowardice? For crying out loud, we must wake up from this nightmare and regain our self respect. And please remeber, once we have regained this, we should keep it for good by being vigilant to what is our government is providing for us.
Our Educational system has gobe kaputz, so have our economy, buoyed up most of the time by the exhaust valve provided by the OFW’s remittance. And the government is taking credit for this. When in fact, we, the ordinary people, ourselves are the ones who should be taking credit for this. For without us, our government would been long bankrupt. Yes, a long time, without the exhaust valve provided by OFW’s, we would have been FORECLOSED!
Now, I ask the others… which one are you?
Love My Country and I am really disgusted with the way the Filipinos have discarded their love for their country. Nationalism has been dropped in exchange for monetary rewards. Politicians of today are looking after themselves, not for the welfare of the people they are supposed to represent.
You are correct Jun, most politicians of today can and will, without batting an eyelash,
Bareface Lie to you. Notorious for these are those in Congress, LGU’s, and yes,
unfortunately the Military as well has been tainted.
Most Filipinos nowadays, would ask, “What if we change the corrupt and callous government? A new one would takeover and do the same thing.”
My answer to them is : We can overhaul our government. Rid society of the corrupt practices that has been instilled upon us, by Eradicating (read: exterminating) the people who have done our country wrong.
I remember in one of Jun’s statements, that we should cut off the branches and roots of all those who have tainted themselves, in order for them not to be able to return and rear its ugly head upon us again. Because if they do return, they could and would be more viscious. or something to this effect…
We failed our heroes, from Jose Rizal to Ninoy, because we were too complacent, and forgot to do our respective tasks, that is to guard democarcy that our heroes have shed
their blood for.
I apologize to our heroes for failing them. They were the ones who made the ultimate sacrifices by letting their blood flow, in order for us to enjoy the freedom and harmony
that they so dream for us. We failed them and we continue to fail them. If we stand idly by and do nothing about our situation, we really are a miserable lot. Generations have passed and we are still trying to find the way of life that we should be having and enjoying.
Chances were given to us, and yet we did not capitalize and sustain the momentum of achieving a respectable society to be enjoyed by every Filipino.
Why is that? Why is it that we are unable to sustain and preserve what our heroes have provided for us?
Filipinos are known to be brave. Well are we? From what I could see, we are on the
contrary. Most of us are afraid to make those sacrifices. In other words, we are a bunch of cowards. Simply because we allow oursleves to be trampled upon by tyrants, disguised
as our government. The governemnt is there supposedly to uplift our livelihood, our
spirits, our nationalism. Instead what this government has given us are Misery, Divided
People, Corruption as the accepted norm of bureaacracy, Heavily indebted national offer,
among many unscrupulous things.
We have a government that is so callous and have perfected the art of corruption, that they shove their callousness into each of our faces, yes, including those of our children. Why do we allow them to do that to us? Isn’t that a sign of cowardice? For crying out loud, we must wake up from this nightmare and regain our self respect. And please remeber, once we have regained this, we should keep it for good by being vigilant to what is our government is providing for us.
Our Educational system has gobe kaputz, so have our economy, buoyed up most of the time by the exhaust valve provided by the OFW’s remittance. And the government is taking credit for this. When in fact, we, the ordinary people, ourselves are the ones who should be taking credit for this. For without us, our government would been long bankrupt. Yes, a long time, without the exhaust valve provided by OFW’s, we would have been FORECLOSED!
Now, I ask the others… which one are you?
Spoken true. This generation has chosen to sell their souls. Congressman Jose de Venecia - an insider to this, knows this very well and has stated “Everybody is for sale”.
Spoken true.
Where truth finds no audience, darkness triumphs. The stalwarts of truth have spoken too late. Now they find themselves becoming increasingly irrelevant and obscure. They have esconced themselves far too long in their ivory towers to notice that - many of their lieges have fallen to this mire called “compromise”.
The age old debate is beginning to manifest itself in favor of one side - that of “the end justifies the means.”
If selling your soul means your family gets fed, you are well loved, respected, have a big airconditioned house and drives a bmw - then so be it. Let me sell my soul. It is a choice many has chosen. It is a choice made long before Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The apathy that is now prominent and uncaring is fraught with disillusionment. Why should I be righteous when the unrighteous reeks of worldly aggrandizements. Why should I fight for truth when the smallest of the small manages to be unprincipled himself.
Big and small. Rich and poor. We are all guilty of selling our souls. Our youth of today is more intent on worldly and carnal pleasures rather than fighting a battle that has already been lost.
The Day of Defeat for good is nearing - what this country needs is an uplifting of the collective soul - just like what happened in America. Just like what Barack Obama has said, “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
The whole world knew the answer. America is the land where possibilities happen.
We knew that too, long before Barack Obama became President - otherwise hordes upon hordes of our skilled would not have gone there.
We now look upon our country with disdain. We do not want to sing the national anthem. We no longer want to be good citizens. We have ceased to be Filipinos and have become hypocritical scavengers in this gargantuan dumpsite. We all scrounge to find the smallest of profit - we exploit the smallest of loopholes - we lie to escape persecution - for being poor is the greatest persecution now.
The greatest persecution used to be “being morally insufficient” now it is “being financially insufficient.”
Morality has become merely as a leverage. It has been used as a tool and not as a creed.
For now the Creed is Greed.
blog hopping lang po. nice to see you blogging again. kitakits sa dec 12!
Para kay Jun Lozada……
Sa gitna ng NBN-ZTE deal na kontrobersya
Akala ng taumbayan ay wala nang pag-asa
Ngunit dahil sa isang Jun Lozada
Sila’y nagkaroon ng pag-asa
Sa pagbubunyag ng kanyang mga nalalaman
Lumakas ang panawagan sa paghahanap sa katotohanan
Sa mga katiwaliang kaganapan
Sa ating pamahalaan
Nakuha ni “Probinsyanong Intsik” ang simpatya mula sa madla
Mula ng siya’y unang magpakita
Marami ang sumoporta sa kanya
Katumabas ng pagdami ng pagbatikos sa maling pamamahala sa ating bansa
Ako’y nagpapasalamat
Dahil sa katotohanang kanyang iniaangat
Marami ang naging mulat
At nakaunawa na ang katotohanan pa rin ang siyang aangat!
Cory Aquino apologises to Erap!
Check it out and our cutting edge comments here:
http://www.filipinovoices.com/double-dead
Jun Lozada Blogs: The blog of the ZTE Witness who bravely faced Gloliars gang but was soon forgotten by Pinoys with short memories.
One of EQ’s Top Ten Pinoy Blogs of 2008
EQ :
Thanks for the reminder. Yes, unfortunately Filipinos do have short memories.
Jun Lozada is one person with which the corrupt practices could have been stopped, had the Filipino people decided to say” ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”. However, as you have rightly said, the Filipinos do have the knack for short memories. To the Filipinos, the ZTE/NBN expose’ was something like a telenovela. It was high in ratings at its peak when Jun Lozada Testified and kept the public in the know as to how corruption is being brewed in the halls of government powers, and how the people associated with those in power can sell anything to the government at RIDICULOUSLY corrupt riddled deal, something that the Filipinos can do without.
As JUN LOZADA has said :
“THE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT PROCESS IS DYSFUNCTIONAL” The system of procurement is not based on what the Filipinos Need, but what these individuals have to sell. The suppliers (likes of Abalos and Mike Arroyo) dictate what the Philippines require and what price, even to thge tune of turning down a kickback of PHP3,000,000,000.00 BILLION, because what they want for KICKBACK is PHP6,000,000,000.00 BILLION!!!!
I am a Filipino and have been disappointed with how the people collectively have remained APATHETIC to the corrupt practices of this government. And this corruption is only from the ZTE/NBN deal. What more for other projects, BOLA-nte FERTILIZER SCAM, EURO GENERALS, C-130 CRASH (due perhaps to NOT ENOUGH FUEL) and tampered fuel gauge indicator. These are merely some of the corruption that ARROYO has allowed and have partaken. There are countless others.
We should unite and DRIVE this Arroyo out of leadership (which she merely robbed from FPJ_just as what has been heard from Hello Garci).
Darn!!! When can we put into place a proper government!!!! We must and should always be VIGILANT!!
We must not only incarcerate this SOB’s in our midst, we must make them apy for the crimes they have committed, and they should apy dearly for it, in order for future leaders to be reminded that people have given them notice once and for all.
Like” You Dupe Us With Your Corrupt Practices, We Make You Pay For It…”
Firing Squad should be their pinishment! if not Firing Squad, allow the Filipinos to Stone Them…!!!! Dammit!
Happy New Year to each and everyone!
I sure hope the fireworks has awken the Filipinos from deep slumber, and regain the LOST DIGNITY that they seemed to have lost_Knowingly or unwitingly.
To stress a point of how callous this Arroyo Family and their cabinet members, the recent scuffle at Valley Golf and Country Club involving the family of DAR Secetary Pangandaman and their bodyguards against the Family of Delfin De La Paz (Delfin is 56 years old, Bambee_yes a girl, and Bino a 14-Year old boy). I could NOT fathom the idea of this Pangandaman family BULLYING the hapless and helpless and yes, obviously, less powerful family of Delfin de la Paz. The Pangandamans have insinuated that Delfin and his family started the brawl. This reasoning is beyond logic! I am a father myself, boy and girl. I would never pick or start a fight with goons, if my family is with me and I know that I am at a disadvantaged. What I would do is get out of harm’s way and plan to make the fight even handed. STUPID PANGANDAMAN family have the temerity to blame the obviously outnumbered and dusadvantaged De La Paz family!
This episode is the epitome of how POWER is dispensed with by the people that surrounds Gloria Arroyo. Apparently thye have the knack of doing their dirty deeds in Golf Courses, like Ben Abalos and Mike Arroy sa Wack-Wack.
I am Praying and Hoping that the Filipinos would finally try to regain their lost / robbed DIGNITY! Wake up mga kapatid! Puro tayo sulat at dakdak, samantala sina Gloria at ang mga kawatan ay puro aksyon! Punyemas! Kailan pa tayo papalag sa katawalian ng mga MANDARAMBONG AT ABUSERONG Alagad ni Gloria at si Gloria mismo!!!!!!????
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I believe mangilan-ngilan na nga lang talaga ang mga taong may prinsipyo’t dignidad dito sa bansa. God help us all.
Snow:
Unfortunately, your assessment is correct. I join you in asking for God’s intervention to finally cleanse our country and rid her once and for all of the corrupt prcatices and trampling of basic rights. Really…God Help Us All.
Sigh.
Its easy to forget and say that Filipino souls are for sale. But don’t forget, that as slaves or not, people will fight for their basic needs. Will you really fault someone for being a slave if it gives them food on their table?
A strong middle class is really what’s needed–the problem is that we can’t base a country on the backs of the impoverished, taking into account centuries of history dating as far back as the Roman Empire. The elites have taken advantage, and sometimes its easy to see that people who fight for everyday survival and have no choice to sell their souls, as you guys so eloquently put it, are just doing what they can to survive.
“Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.”
No one can get off just praying to God to cleanse the Philippines. We need something drastic, because we have exhausted all other options. A poor populus is easy to sway–and its hard to think about what can be done to enrich lives–but what we need is a revolution.
Mabuhay Jun Lozada!!!
Asan k na Lozada? Bigla ka ata nawala? Tinamad ka na? Ningas Kugon? La lang!
“Sapagkat baligtad na ang mundo. Namumuno na ang mga pusakal, at hinuhuli na ang nagsasabi ng Katotohanan!” The EQualizer
Daig pa sa diktador ang isa diyan na nakatira sa tabi ng Ilog Pasig. Lahat ng mga tumitira sa kaniya, pinapahuli, pinapapatay! Ganito ba talaga sa isang demokratikong bansa gaya ng Pilipinas? Buti na lang walang mga nanghuhuli ng mga blogger dissidents sa bansa, di tulad ng China. Pero baka dumating din ang araw na baka maging mga bloggers ipahuli na rin. Well, sino naman ang mapipikon sa sinabi niyo, eh totoo naman ang iyong mga sinasabi. And thus, meron talagang masasaktan, at sila iyon. This government is trying to silence all those who hate them. Gusto nilang tumagal sa puwesto, at hindi lang iyon, sinusulong pa nila ang Chacha para sa kanilang sariling kapakanan! Meron din silang araw. Hindi forever sila nandon sa kanilang puwesto. God gave them the chance to be on that post, and they must NOT abuse that. Dahil meron, at meron ding papalit sa kanila.
God Bless You.
People, let us show our support kay Lozada ngayon na kahit anong oras mula ngayon puwede na siyang arestuhin, lalo na pirmado na ang warrant of arrest laban sa kaniya. Let’s mobilize, protest, people power — everything to show our support to him and as a protest against this corrupt government. THE TRUTH SHALL APPEAR, AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE!
At the end of the day still they will face GOD for there wrong doings. They can manipulate all the justice system here in the Philippines but they can’t excuse the justice system up above with GOD….
“Buwenas si Jun Lozada,nasa Pilipinas siya,kung nasa Saudi siya,naputulan na siya ng dila!”IGGY ARROYO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGe810KX64g
WTF is happening in the country? Those who are telling the truth is jailed TOGETHER WITH COMMON ROBBERS, MURDERERS, ETC while those who are in the subject of controversy ARE THOSE WHO CAN EVEN GO TO LAS VEGAS TO WATCH PACQUIAO BOUT? Let’s kick out that moled brat from the house beside Pasig River.
This country is one of the most corrupt in the world, and I am wishing a massive overhaul of those who are sitted on their posts. THEY MUST ALL BE REPLACED WITH A NON-CORRUPT ONES. Hope all politicians here in RP would be replaced by someone like the biblical Daniel.
Dearest Peoples of the World,
Greetings to you all! I wrote this letter - and will write other letters in the future - in order to share with you the TRUE Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We have not encountered the truth because of the forces of darkness. Understand this: we are in a spiritual battle. It is time we join the force of good, instead of accepting, tolerating and even joining the forces of darkness.
We will start joining the force for good by knowing and understanding the TRUTH about God. The truth is that there is only one God, and He was manifested in three forms: God the Father, Son of God and the Holy Spirit. This is the Apostolic doctrine. The Trinity doctrine - which claims that those three are separate Gods - is a false doctrine.
In order to help explain the Apostolic doctrine, we must remember that God is omnipotent, which means He has the power to change His form. Because of His love for mankind and His desire to save us from our sins, He came in the form of a man and offered Himself as sacrifice for our sins, that whoever believes and serves Him according to His will should not perish in hell, but have everlasting life in heaven.
Because of the Trinity doctrine, many have violated the first commandment: (Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29). And the one true God has been punishing us for our wickedness. We must repent and ask forgiveness from our God. I invite you all to get a copy of the Authorized King James Version (KJV) of the Holy Bible, which is the true and pure version of the Bible. This version (KJV) was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit. All other versions are tampered by the translator’s personal views, which make those other versions inferior.
If you’ve read the story of Moses, the Israelites, and their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, you will notice that God punished the Israelites for making images and worshipping them. This practice is a violation of the second commandment, also known as idolatry: (Exodus 20:4-6). You will see that God was filled with wrath and almost destroyed the Israelites for committing this grave sin.
Today, we are still committing idolatry in our society. We have made man-made images and worshipped them. Just look at the different fiestas we celebrate in memory of this so-called “saints”. Look at the many statues in the different churches. This is a clear violation of the will of our God. We must stop this and turn to the one true God. And that God is none other than Jesus Christ. These are the Bible verses that will reveal that Jesus is God: (Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; John 1:1,14; John 1:10; John 14:6-11; 1 Timothy 3:16).
Dearest peoples of the world, accept the Lord’s invitation to salvation today. Be a part of the true church of the Living God, JESUS Miracle Crusade International Ministry! For the sake of your salvation, listen to the TRUE Gospel preached by our Dearly Beloved and Honorable Evangelist, Wilde E. Almeda, the end-time prophet of our loving God. For more information, visit our website: http://www.jmcim.org. My friends, seek the truth and the truth shall set you free. Praise the Lord!! Alleluia!!
Mike,
Who really caused the Great Flood? Noah. He had to cut so many trees to build the Ark, thereby denuding the mountains. Hehehe. A wrath-filled God is an oxymoron. There is no place for anger in pure love, which He/She/It is. We reap is what we sow, in time.
Gloria and Jun will bear the consequences of their acts. And so shall we. And it is not because He is angered or pleased. It is just one of His impersonal and unchanging laws at work. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Or something to this effect.
All laws have been distilled into one: there is no free lunch. We all have to work for what we want. From the sweat of our brows… We want dignity, peace and prosperity? We must start with ourselves. If we like what Jun is doing, we must support him. Our collective inaction will have dire consequences. There simply is no place for hangers-on.
However, we must be very careful lest we do another Noah. He talked only to his God.
Cheers.