When I heard the breaking news about the pork barrel scam, I did not get it. I thought it was just another blown-out-of-proportion news about politics, because seriously, some serious exposes from before have now been nearly if not at all forgotten. For weeks, it was on the news – on transmitter, on television, even on social media. And then I thought, who is this Napoles and why is she being accused of taking away Filipinos’ “kaban ng bayan”?
So I started following the news regarding the said issue, and it is much bigger than I thought.
Names of popular senators such as Revilla and Estrada were being dragged with the pork barrel issue. Even former Senate President Enrile’s name was being included among the long list of legislators involved in the said expose.
I was like ‘what the heck is going on?’
Because seriously, I didn’t get any of the information being broadcast on television or in social media regarding the issue. The statistics, the numbers – none of them I understood. I just knew that some ten billion pesos was stolen from the Filipino taxpayers. Where did it go? To a few’s businesses and luxuries, as we all know. And that’s all it took for me to get up from my bed August 26th, and to join million others on standing up for what we think is right and what should be right.
In a democratic country like the Philippines, expressing feelings through protests is not a new scenario. When I was reviewing for my boards last year, I witnessed several rallies in Mendiola regarding scholarships and state universities conditions, even regarding agriculture. But what I’ve seen earlier was much more different. It looked to me as if it was a celebration – of democracy, of being a Filipino, and of being a united Philippine nation. Yes, most of the people who took part of the said event were from the metro, but it was more than enough for me to realize that we were gathered at the Quirino Grandstand as one – one in principle, one in belief.
I posted in my Instagram account a photo of a ‘kuliglig’ driver while feeding his baby. What struck me the most was the feeding bottle. It did not contain milk. It had a green-colored liquid in it. It would contain too much for it to be infant’s vitamins, so I thought, man was it soda. Then I was still thinking about the reason why I was going to join the rally that day, and the answer was given to me right there. Even though they were not physically present in the rally, because obviously, they had much more things to attend to than what’s happening in the grandstand, I wanted to represent them. And each and every person who attended had represented at least one person being punished by poverty in the country, no matter how many times they took selfie photos and/or creative shots of the said event. The mere fact that they were present was enough. That’s what I want to believe in.
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And they said, “This is just the beginning.”
Yes. This is the beginning of more empowered citizens fighting for accountability and transparency among government officials. There’s nothing to be scared about if these officials were hiding nothing, right? This is the beginning of a more united nation – because no one else will uplift the Philippines but the Filipino people.
I just hope the event does not go to trash just because of others’ apathy. And by others, I mean most of us, the naysayers. One thing I learned about the Million People March was how to be involved in such events. We must immerse ourselves even more to the harsh realities happening in our country, day in and day out, to know what rallies are calling out for. Million People March, in any way, first and foremost, tried to change apathetic citizens to one much more involved and nation-caring individuals – and I am loud and proud to say that I am one of those ‘changed’ citizens.
My friends and I were roaming around the event for me to take photos of such grandeur. People of all ages, from different walks of life, had their own ways of protesting – some were shouting their beliefs, some written facts and phrases on boards; some played bamboo instruments while dancing, some danced to the folk songs; and many others took photos, and gave people thumbs-up like saying ‘I agree with that, amigo!’ Exactly at noon, we were at the front of the event’s main stage. The announcer said the crowd would be having noise barrage the moment the clock hit 12 noon. It was surreal experience – everyone was crying ‘Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!’ and ‘Makibaka!’, and it literally gave me goose bumps (I had almost dropped my phone while taking a video of the crowd because of the goosies). That was the time I realized, I AM PROUD TO BE A FILIPINO.
This is just the beginning…
I call for: punishing/penalizing everybody involved in the pork anomaly; work for a much more efficient system and policies, with near-to-none loopholes, in fund allocation, in project planning, and in law implementation. Yes, I do not want pork abolished totally. Pork in its very sense is the Filipinos’ money. It wasn't called ‘Priority Development Allocation Fund’ for nothing. And its misuse is the cause of all these issues lately (and this is why I don’t want other laws such as RH be enacted just yet). It has to be used according to the Filipinos’ subsequent priorities and needs. It just has to be used effectively and efficiently for the development of the country – on its infrastructures, agriculture, and education among others; and more importantly, work on a nation with sufficient TRANSPARENCY and firm ACCOUNTABILITY.
I seriously don’t know how I am going to be part of realizing such conditions and next-to-Utopia agenda, but I knew attending Million People March was a very huge step already.
My Papa told me before: ‘Try mo lang sumama kahit sa isang rally nang makita mo kung anong ipinaglalaban ng ibang mga tao.’ I never ever forgot about that. Now, I got it, and I’m glad I did it - be part of yet another historical event in the Philippines.
MAGKAISA TAYONG MGA MAMAMAYANG PILIPINO PARA ISULONG ANG NAGKAKAISA AT PROGRESIBONG BAYAN! MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!!!