When the lights and sounds of roman candles and firecrackers welcomed the new year, it sealed the thought in my mind that a year has just lapsed -- and it's 2007. I told myself, "Here we go again."
Along with the millions of people who cling to hope that every election is an opportunity for Filipinos to choose well and face a brighter future, I started the year with optimism that 2007 will be a hallmark of more significant events for our country. I started the year with a belief that any event that will unfold in this land of heroes will boost the dignity and pride of every Filipino.
In solitude, I silently wished that this year, more Filipinos will muster the political maturity by accepting the simple humane reminders that nobody has the monopoly of competence, and that there is a difference between a right and a privilege. In that way, our electorate will graduate, little by little, from the old practice of mudslinging by questioning why someone is running with whom and for what position.
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That one important day in May 2007 is soon to happen, and all that's turning out around us are already parts and parcels of what that day is all about. The thrill that is brought by party struggles, publicity, name recall and platforms are stimulants of the coming elections. It's going to be a rollercoaster ride for candidates, voters and fence-sitters.
You and I will swim with or against the political current by choosing who to believe in or who not to give a chance to serve our people. You and I will once again judge our candidates' competence and credibility, and that judgment will define the worth of the principles and ideals that we are willing to stand for - for our families, for our homes and for our country.
We will eventually troop to our precincts, cast our votes, and eagerly await for the results. Many of us will sigh, "Here we go again."
But isn't it amazing to realize that there are instances in our lives when we can say "Here we go again"? It means that we have repeatedly been given chances and options to take part in a common pursuit and help build our nation. The short statement is proof of the reality that we have never been deprived of our constitutional right of suffrage. To say "Here we go again" is an indication of our constant gamble for a better leadership, and a change in old, ineffective systems.
Today, I engrave my hopes in an imaginary stone from Mt. Sinai - a hope that the political exercise in May 2007 will be clean, honest and credible which will erase the trauma which every Filipino went through in the Presidential elections of 2004; a hope that the elections will be a most efficient vehicle to achieve good governance, a hope that every elections in our country will fuel each of us to fulfill our moral duties towards our country.
This is a year of many hopes. And it's not the time to give up on hoping that the best and brightest legislators and executives will make it to the august halls - men and women who are responsive, brave, selfless, catalysts of change, and agents of restoring the Filipinos' dreams.
2007 is another year for personal and political revolution. And it's a beautiful feeling to say, "Here we go again."
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Malu B. Fabia is an economic development specialist and NGO convenor. |
