Choice to Choose: Election 2016 insight

Awarded by the Junior Chamber International an Outstanding Young Woman for Leadership and the Chairperson on Committee on Education, Culture and Arts and Development, here is an inspiring message delivered by Ms. Samira Gutoc-Tomawis to DACS member-school NSTP students, Region XI, at the e-CHAMP launching last November 2015.

I travelled 6 hours to join you here in this very important occasion. Saan po ako galing? sa Marawi City.

Forty years na po since EDSA next year 2016, 1986 po ipinanganak ang revolution ng EDSA, kung saan bawat garantiya ng individual babae at lalake ay kinilala sa isang freedom constitution, the flowering of civil society and the EDSA march in EDSA inspired the world and Asia where dictatorship exists.

Sabi ni Shakespeare sa Hamlet, “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form, in moving, how express and admirable! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals!

Tayong mga tao napakapowerful ng abilidad.

Sabi ni Pico, isang philosopher, “We shall live forever, not in schools of words – but in the circles of the wise, where they talk of the deeper causes of things, human or divine; he who looks closely will see that even the barbarian has intelligence, not on the tonque but on the breasts.

Huwag po nating sabihin na tayong nag aaral, tayong nakaupo ditto, tayo lang ang pwedeng making at makibaka. Dapat tayong lumabas bilang mga volunteers, dahil meron tayong hahawakan na ibang mga tao na makikipagkapit-bisig sa atin.

It is a choice to choose, to listen. It is a choice na umalis sa inyong upuan.

Democracy is not the end itself. It is being is lived in each decision of human being, to govern one’s destiny or not to govern. Kailangan tindigan, salitain, buhayin. To destroy or not to destroy. It is an active decision to be able to fight against to poverty, corruption, sickness, and illiteracy, worst that this is one of the most powerful sadly, apathy.

The Facebook generation is also our disease, our weakness, dahil sa napakaraming games, ideas na nakikita natin sa internet, minsan kinalimutan ang mas mahirap maintindihan ang sosaydad, ang complexity ng ating existence.

There is can be no justice when an individual, your neighbor suffers from abuse and fundamental rights are denied, some population like the Lumad. We are nowhere near dignity when five families control the Philippine economy and our legislature is controlled by dynasties – asawa, anak, magkakasama sa political family.

A consciousness is what Mabini reminded us: “In order to build the proper edifice of our societal generation, it is imperative that we change radically, not only our institutions but also our manner of behavior and thinking, purging ourselves of vices. And for me, it is a vice that we are silent.

What we envision in a human being, with spirit and soul, endowed not only with inalienable rights but also with unthinkable responsibility to God, to family, to fellow humans and to nature. For human governance to govern, it is essential that power be vested in a democratically constituted authority rather than in the hands of one. It is the power of the people to decide. Power personalized is power plundered for the power,” says Amwar Ibrahim of Malaysia.

Lest we forget that man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy and the rule of vote necessary. Kahit may demokrasya, minsan may diktaturya.

The fact that democracy is often abuse leading to chaos and stagnancy does not mean, dictatorship is the solution. Rather, the solution lies in purging democracy of its excesses such as mob rule or individual aggrandizement, leadership, social contract, public office. Lahat po yan merong criteria.

Paano tayo boboto?

It is also your choices not to vote. It is also your choices not to choose, and therefore maramdaman na p’wede palang magkaroon ang kabataan din na magkaroon ng desisyon – not to choose from choices.

It is also the notion of accountability, which is one hallmark of morally responsible government that requires us to lead or heed the voices of those who have been unjustly or unfairly treated. The Philippines has had more than 100 years of election.

Here in ARMM where I am from, we only have 30-40 years.

Let us not forget that the BANGSAMORO people are also Filipinos. Our brothers and sisters whose governments and waste of lives and their stories have been untold in our history books and therefore, our time to remind ourselves that we are part of your story, we are part of your history.

We will not be successful as a Filipino, as a country if including our million OFWs, if we do not develop this kind of consciousness that we are trying to champion in E-CHAMP in your own communities and in paradigm of interconnectivity.

Pag nagtapon tayo ng basura during election, it’s as if we did not care. ‘Yang pagkain na ‘yan can affect the ocean and the water. We must be coupled with patriotism, nourished with passion to serve and abled by science and technology, dahil may cellphone naman bawat isa.

This vision of our oneness as a Filipino in this oneness to govern ourselves in our faith, should be our guiding force. The Bible reminds us that created us this beautiful world for all to live in, but He also reminds us given the task of being stewards of his creation. ‘Wag kalimutan ang connection natin sa environment. The relationship which takes God and human being and all community of living together is emphasized in the covenant which God made with Noah, after the flood. Hindi pa natin nakikita ang daming namamatay dahil sa flooding at tubig.

More and more we must recognize the commitment to work for justice and to preserve the integrity of creation are two inseparable dimensions of the Christian vocations – to work for the coming of the kingdom.

Mga kabataang taga Mindanao, nag start off, nakikinig, dumaan din sa pagiging boluntaryo ang I share to you this pledge of mine when I spoke at UP Mindanao graduation: “Ako isang kabataan, I take my freedom with gratitude, I choose to live and speak in my own way and hopefully for the common good. I embrace my right to be a confident Mindanaon. I refuse to be a victim, to be labeled and boxed and let the voices of terrorism and conflict take away my image of self-peace. I will work hard to show the best of my culture and my inter-faith existence.

To you Mindanaoans, youth of our country.

Shine on. Shine on, sons and daughter of our beloved island.

Daughters and sons of a thousand dreams. Tend to those dreams with strength and courage.

Volunteer and fight for the bullet that you have – your passion. Shine on children of a thousand hope and congratulations! Padayon!