I guess there’s some truth to the notion that one negative feeling is enough to shoot down all the positive vibes there are… or something like that.  I was supposed to write part two of my Boracay breakaway today, but after what happened waking up today–on a weekend of all days, i felt the need to rant a bit.

I admit, things are not going well for me professionally–not to mention personally, but that’s an entirely different story altogether–over the last two years and some months.  But that doesn’t stop me from treading on and keep on going on the direction I believe would lead me back to the kind of success I’ve had.  I believe that things happen for a reason and what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.  And that in times of struggles and challenges, you look to your closest ones for support and strength, only to find a hidden frustration and throwing back the blame at you for what has happened.

I was still groggy from waking up when I came down to have a semi-late breakfast at about 8:30 this morning.  I turned on the TV and caught the movie “21” on HBO.  It just started, and wanting to see again how gorgeous Kate Bosworth is in this one, I thought to myself, “what a good way to start the day.”  Then out of nowhere I was bombarded with “get yourself some short-term training courses, maybe you need to change to something different like computer repairs because your managerial skills might not be enough.”  I immediately sensed the very, very, very negative feelings that came with that statement.  Not wanting to get distracted to a good start to the day visually, I continued on with my breakfast while watching the TV.

Then came the sweeping remark:  “if you hadn’t left HSBC, things would’ve been better for you.  If you sacrificed your principles, you could’ve been promoted already like your other colleagues.  You shouldn’t go against your superiors or bosses, even if they’re wrong and/or your principles are right because it’s your job that could be affected.”  That, in it’s blunt and simple form, killed whatever positive vibe I had accumulated in a couple of minutes.  I just kept quiet as memories of events long forgotten and buried deep in my subconsciousness suddenly emerged like mushrooms after a lightning storm.  By this time, I resorted to tweeting what I felt (which I suppose some of you have already read) to relieve my sudden increase in frustrations.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear:  I never or have never regretted any of the decisions I’ve made in my entire professional career, and I’m not about to start now.  I may have made bad career decisions in the past, but that doesn’t mean I cry to the high heavens, dwell on it, and wallow in “oh, woe is me, what will my life be now?”  What I do is I live with it like a man, own up to it, suck it up, take whatever positive things that can be taken from it, and move forward, simple as that.  Yes, things may not be the same as what they were, but I still believe that there will be better things out there if I just be patient.  Think positive, be positive, stay positive.  It’s not that I lack the effort or that I don’t try, believe me, I do.  Those who really know me understand that yes, I may be frustrated with what’s happening in my current situation, but I choose not to show it and instead, focus all my frustrations in trying to make it better.  There’s no point in having self-pity or any kind of pity be thrown your way.  At the end, it’s how you do things that matter.

Now, let me go back a bit on what was mentioned about “principle.”  The problem with most of us–well, Filipinos at least–is that we’re all talk about having the right principle.  Stand up for this, down with that, do the right thing, blah, blah, blah.  But in reality, when it comes down to tight situations, it breaks down.  We give up principle in exchange for something that is sure in nature.  I would’ve wasted 14 years of good quality education–and ironically enough, good parenting–if I would’ve done things in the opposite way with what went down at HSBC.  I admit, I was keen on letting my superior that time get away with what he did me wrong, but I wouldn’t have forgiven myself.  I wouldn’t be even half the shell of the person I am inside if I done it.  That is why I really don’t regret what I’ve done.  I stood up for what I believed was right and true.  And even if it isn’t popular and things may have been different for me ever since career-wise, I would do the exact same thing if I were in the exact same situation.  Bet on it.

There goes my rant for this weekend.  I don’t want to say anything more since I think I’ve said enough… at least about this issue.  I don’t want to blow the issue out of proportion more that it already has.  Moving forward, I’ll just be what I mentioned:

Think positive, be positive, stay positive.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone.

The campaign for the presidential elections are at it’s highest in these final days.  To add more drama to it, software configuration problems on the Compact Flash (CF) cards used on the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines suddenly cropped up.  But I’m leaving all that to the Comelec.  What they don’t need now are distractions like calling for a manual system of voting AND counting, postponement of elections, etc.  Just shut up and let them do what they’ll say they do.  You can always kick their asses later if they do come up short, right?  For now, just shut the hell up stay the course.

Now, back to the campaign.  Some days ago, a former colleague (but still a friend) posted a Facebook status that said, “for the thinking Filipino, this election should be a battle between Gilbert Teodoro and Dick Gordon. For those of you who have fallen into the trap of reasoning that voting for either will be a waste of your ballot, be logical. If everyone would just be responsible enough to uphold their principles, the RIGHT candidate can win.”  I completely agree with that sentiment.  But it also got me thinking.  “Why isn’t it?” I asked myself.  “Why would our people take a very important national exercise and turn it into a mere popularity contest?”  Initially, I thought that the problem was that we’re so deeply affected and hurt by everything that has happened to us negatively by the current administration that we seem to embrace every person identifying themselves as an agent of change, whether it be from a familiar political clan, or someone vowing to restore and finish what was started but was ousted.  But after much thought, a little bit of research and trip down memory lane, I began to wonder, didn’t this happen in every presidential election since, maybe the pre-Marcos dictatorship era?

Change is the keyword in the race to the presidency.  All 9 candidates have that as a battlecry (okay, most of them).  There’s no denying the fact that after 9 years of the Arroyo government, we want–demand–someone different and new.  Someone who will pull us out of the hellhole we’re in.  Someone man enough who will take the main wheel and steer us into the right path.  Almost all of the candidates have the credentials, amount of experience, and the (gulp) heart to really serve the country and be it’s rightful leader.  But the main question is, do they have the right intestinal and testicular fortitude to do so?  Let’s do a quick breakdown and see.

Questions still surround why Senator Noynoy Aquino still hasn’t taken a stand on the Hacienda Luisita issue.  After years of promised land reform by his mother, the late former president Cory Aquino, there’s still no resolvable agreement.  Not to mention his experience (or lack thereof) during his stint in Congress and the Senate.  Why didn’t he do something about that all those years?  His slogan of “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” (if there is no corruption, there is no poverty) is very broad to say the least.  Remember that the late president was pushed into the political limelight on the aftermath of her husband’s assassination, with no knowlege or leadership skills on how to run even a barangay.  Though democracy was restored (which was her only crowning achievement as president), her leadership was questioned by a number of attempted military takeovers.  Now, Noynoy is in an all too familiar situation.  Yes, things are different now, but whose to say that the ghosts of administrations past won’t come to haunt him?

Questions also surround Senator Manny Villar, mainly about the manipulation of the C5 road deal (does ZTE broadband deal ring a bell?) to benefit his businesses thus making more money for him, which, is now being (over)spent bombarding radio and television airwaves with his face using catchy jingles, all-star endorsements and rule-bending appearances giving props for party-list groups.  As i’ve mentioned in my previous entry, I never trust businessmen who turn into politicians.  With what we have all seen and heard, his campaign style is all to familiar.  Not to mention the so-called “black propaganda” being hurled at Senator Aquino allegedly coming from Senator Villar’s camp.  How are we sure that he won’t (as he claims) use it when he sits on the president’s chair?

I don’t have to go far when former president Joseph Estrada is concerned.  The mere fact that he was convicted of plunder speaks for itself.  He was pardoned, yes, but it was a goodwill gesture made by president Arroyo.  And now I think she wishes she hasn’t done that.  By parading that he was unjustly jailed, charged and found guilty by his so-called conspirators speaks that he’s continously slapping the face of the person who pardoned him.  Who’s to say that when elected, he won’t get back and seek revenge at his political enemies?

“Six years of no corruption,” bears the campaign slogan of Brother Eddie Villanueva.  Like Senator Aquino’s slogan, it is too general.  No specifics, no clear steps, no clear platforms.  What, he’ll leave it all up to the big G upstairs?  He’ll have preachers in every government office proclaiming every single working day for six years that corruption is a sin?  Look, I don’t have anything against practicing faith, but what he’s doing is far from a leap of faith.  It takes more, much more than a strong religious faith to lead a country such as ours.

Gilbert Teodoro looks to me like a second coming of Gloria Arroyo when she was running for Vice-President.  He has “galing at talino” (skill and intelligence), and has executive experience being the former Secretary of National Defense.  Like GMA during her earlier years, she has the exact same attributes.  Yet, as I’ve also mentioned in my previous entry, his leadership skills are tainted by first, his and the National Disaster Coordinating Council’s (of which he was also chairman of at that time) response to Typhoon Ondoy’s relief efforts, his sudden jump from the Nationalist People’s Coalition to the administration party, and his choice of Edu Manzano as first mate.  Although he does a good job of masking those questionables by running a positive campaign despite being left for dead by former partymates and not getting in the middle of the wrestling match between Senator Aquino’s and Senator Villar’s camps, playing blind and deaf also means that you either don’t care, or are too privileged to care.

Many are turned off by how Senator Richard Gordon ta
lks and acts.  Some say he’s too brash, too abrasive, too strict, too intimidating, too proud.  Yet he was all these as mayor of Olongapo City.  He was all these as SBMA Chairman.  He was all these as Tourism Secretary.  And he is all these as a Senator and Red Cross Chairman.  He pulls no punches, puts people in their place when needed, and tells the painful truth… as it is.  I came across one of his statements which I also posted on Facebook a couple of weeks ago that says, “If I frown on you, if I shout at you, it means that I give a damn about you and I want YOU to improve. Not because you are a sorry excuse for a staff member, but because I really believe that you can be better and you owe it to yourself to be BETTER.”  Some people may say that the statement could’ve been said in a more positive way.  But that’s reverse psychology for you.  Still, others claim that he has the makings of a dictator.  He may be strict, demand results, but that is very, very far different from being a dictator.  Let me ask you, of all the presidents our country has had who were “nice,” where has it taken us?  Better yet, look at the countries our fellow Filipinos migrate to or find work at:  Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Middle Eastern states.  What do they have in common?  Tough governments, tough leaders.  Result?  Continued first world status.  Don’t you think it’s time that we have a president who not only has the track record of accomplishments, but has the right attitude to go with it?  A president who, with his attitude and his Vice-President who has the same attitude will get rid of the habits we’ve all abhorred in government officials and whip their asses into shape?  A president who will bring back respect to the government?  That is who Richard Gordon is.  He may be called “Dick,” but he’s certainly not a dictator.

But what’s more important is how we, as a people and as a nation approach this elections.  As one television network puts it, “ako ang simula ng pagbabago” (change begins with me).  That line couldn’t have any more truth to it than it already has.  Yes, we want change.  But if we continue with that mentality of “i won’t vote for him because he has no chance of winning,” or “his parents are great,” or “with the way he looks and stands, he’s presidentiable,” or “he has a catchy jingle and celebrities endorse him,” then the change we’re looking for will still be very, very far away.  Until we make a principled stand and do away with the negativity of past political ways can we truly say that we have changed as a people, and as a country.  Again, the next six years of our lives are at stake here.  The candidates may have all the right stuff in convincing us that one of them is the right leader for our country, but the real question is, do WE have that right stuff in us?

We still have time to make the principled and right choice.

“What this country needs is not just a change OF men, but a change IN men.” – Senator Richard Gordon

“Those in power should dutifully implement the laws WITHOUT FEAR, even if this would mean the loss of votes.  This is POLITICAL WILL.” – Bayani Fernando

I decided to open my latest entry with those two quotes by the tandem I’m supporting for this year’s election because these are very powerful words that are backed up by years of experience and proven results.  There’s no doubt about it:  we want change.  or rather, we need change.  Almost a decade has passed of unabated abuse of power, disillusioned progress, and unfathomable backdoor politics, so naturally, most of the candidates’ battlecry in their campaigns is change.  But now I pose the question:  do we really know what kind of change we’re looking for?

In my opinion, most of us Filipinos are afraid of change.  And I mean real, way-of-life-altering kind of change.  For one, some can’t do away with the apprehension of holding the first automated elections in the country and still want to have the old way of casting and counting ballots.  Nevermind that the Comelec is perceived to have been “ill-prepared” or were rushed into having the automated elections be held this year.  For God’s sakes, we’re already a technologically sound country, the texting capital of the world, with more and more Filipinos using the internet, and we’re still holding on to the old ways of writing down names and taking weeks to count the votes before a winner is proclaimed?  Give me a break!  I understand the apprehension, but why not give this automated elections a good run first and whatever mistake(s) are made, they can be used to improve on the next elections three years from now.

Another thing, I think that most of us feel that as a people, we’ve endured so much hardship that we need–no, we deserve–a break.  We feel that we have been through so much that we rely on politicians to help us out.  We ask the government–of all institutions–for help.  And when we don’t get it, we blame them too.  Almost all of the class D and E families have that “woe is us” mentality that they fall prey to opportunistic politicians, especially during election period.  With this mentality comes the “we’ll-vote-for-him-because-he-helped-us-out-personally-and-nevermind-whatever-crime-he-did” mentality.  I have witnessed this first-hand during a family reunion I attended this past December.  Unavoidably, politics and the election suddenly became the topic.  I was intently listening to uncles and aunts saying that they’ll vote for this candidate because he gave their family financial assistance of some sort.  I asked them about the issues being hurled against this candidate, and my aunt bluntly said, “i don’t care whatever scandals he did, or if he oppressed other people, as long as we were helped, i’ll vote for him.”  I was surprised and shocked at those words.  Another example, one of my favorite uncles will be voting for a different candidate.  I asked him why, and he said, “because when he was president, the dollar exchange rate was close to 55 pesos.  When GMA became president, the exchange rate fell to 45 pesos.  I don’t care if the economy goes down, as long as the exchange rate is high.”  What?  I mean, have we really gone this far?  I tried convincing him to change his mind, and his reply to me was, “they’re all the same.”  Sadly, that is also the mentality of most of our senior citizens.

Political analysts say that the youth vote will make a difference in this election.  Unfortunately, there are youth sectors who were raised with the old-school form of politics and are proponents of the same brand of politics.  The biggest irony i’ve seen is this so-called militant youth group was protesting the joint military exercises in the country, saying it’s unconstitutional, or it’s a form of meddling in our affairs, or even a violation in our sovereignity.  They take to the streets, to the US Embassy to express their “right to assemble.”  They become aggressive because of their so-called patriotism and become physical with the police who are in their way and when the police hit back, they cry foul.  And what’s more, 90% of the families of these militant youth groups have a relative or an immediate family member working in the US.  Talk about irony of ironies.

Which now leads me to the candidates.  Have you really took time and profiled all of the candidates running for office?  I must admit, before the filing of candidacies, I was hell-bent on supporting Chiz Escudero amid rumors of his plan to run for president.  But when he backed out, I decided to take the time to carefully scrutinize each candidate before I can fully support one.  Thank goodness Chiz backed out because it led me to supporting Dick Gordon and Bayani Fernando.  All the more that I’m thankful for Chiz backing out because it turned out that he’s supporting Noynoy Aquino and Jojo Binay.  I thought that he would be the symbol of change for the future of Philippine politics, turns out that he’s not.  Noynoy Aquino?  Same old politics; nothing to show for as far as legislative and executive experience is concerned which is a glimpse of what his mother’s presidency was like; no change.  Manny Villar?  Monetary politics; self-made progress which will transcend once he wins; no change.  Joseph Estrada?  Also old politics; also self-made progress; out to exact revenge against his political enemies once he wins; definitely no change.  Gilbert Teodoro?  Same administration; same intellectual talent; minimal results.

    

What we need is real change.  Leadership is not about being overly sympathetic to the people, but more on inspiring people to get out of their comfort zone and make the changes within themselves.  Leadership is about results and getting the job done.  Not about what is being promised during the campaign and backtracking on it after winning because of whatever reason(s).  Leadership is about instilling what is the common good for everyone, not just for the few.  I have been a Team Leader, an Assistant Manager, and an Operations Manager.  And the
kind of leadership I provide is the same as what Gordon-Bayani provides.  Results.  If we want real change to happen, it starts by not having the “shallow sure thing” mentality of choosing our next leaders.  It starts by all of us making the time and effort to believe that the presidency is about who is better qualified for the position, not someone who looks good or who is leading in the surveys.

Sadly, most of us think that as long as someone new sits in Malacañan Palace after June 30th, that is enough.  And that the people are always watching and that if push comes to shove, we’ll organize again and boot that person out of office by taking to the street en masse.  Really?  How does that constitute change if we ourselves cannot change the way we act, think, or look at things?  Let us do away with the old politics and infuse a better, more organized and disciplined politics.  With 13 days to go, now more than ever, we need to re-evaluate our priorities in this election and what we really want for our country.  Just a physical change?  Or a physical AND attitude change that will transcend to real results?  And with that, I ask you, “what does YOUR candidate have to offer?”