with Carlos Antonio Leonardia

It would have started with the passing of Cory Aquino, when we were suddenly brought back to the good old days when a country’s leaders were actually trusted, respected, and looked up to.  If the number of people that flooded the streets during her funeral cortege would be taken as any indication, then it would be safe to say that walls of apathy and indifference that had surrounded the Filipino people and insulated its corrupt breed of “leaders” from the wrath of the nation that they had been wantonly sodomizing had begun to crumble.

Then came the decision of Mar Roxas to withdraw his presidential ambitions to give way to Noynoy Aquino, which after a short period of discernment, led to the announcement of the only son of Ninoy and Cory that yes, he would be running for president.  The thought of a presidential candidate who could be as decent as his hero-parents were made up for the perceived shortcomings of the relatively inexperienced Noynoy and his stock quickly rose, especially if the surveys taken after his declaration are to be believed.  The entry of Noynoy became the game-changer in the presidential race for 2010.

Shortly after came Typhoon Ondoy and the great flood, a veritable act of God that struck the country just a few weeks after the administration had declared that it had picked sitting Defense Secretary and concurrent National Disaster Coordinating Council Chairman as it’s candidate for the 2010 presidential polls.  Typhoon Ondoy and the floods that followed not only submerged Metro Manila, it also unmasked how pathetic the disaster response capabilities of the government had become.  The survivors of the floods seethed in anger after either rescuing themselves, being rescued by complete strangers, or waiting for days without food or water for the government rescue effort to reach them.  How could the government response in most technologically advanced and thickly populated cities in the country be so terrible?

Consider this: Taiwan’s premier, Liu Chao-shiuan, resigns after taking responsibility for his administrations slow response to Typhoon Morakot which killed hundreds.  In the Philippines, where not even the gravest accusations of massive corruption can move the president to resign out of shame or delicadeza, the head of the NDCC, which is supposed to be the government agency responsible for handling the response to any disaster hitting the country, will resign not because of his agency’s pathetic response to Typhoon Ondoy, but because he is being asked by the opposition to quit his powerful government post because he has declared his intention to become the next president of the country.  The geniuses in this administration must think that Filipinos are either masochists or totally stupid.

In the aftermath of Ondoy, the spirit of volunteerism and the bayanihan spirit that was rekindled and has engulfed the survivors of the great flood have put the government relief effort to shame.  Students, workers, CEO’s, corporations and media outlets have joined hands in helping the victims of Typhoon Ondoy and it would probably be safe to assume that more and more Filipinos are coming to terms with the fact that if they work together, they are more powerful than any government.  This massive relief effort by the private sector that is getting the job done better than the government serves as a reminder to the Filipino people that they, and not the people they have elected, are the real government of the Philippines. 

Because of Ondoy, Filipinos have come together once again to achieve a common goal, something that was last seen on EDSA in 1986.  The Filipino people are tired, they are angry, and as seen from the massive relief effort in the aftermath of Ondoy, they are no longer apathetic and indifferent. 

Since elections are just around the corner, and another overthrown government is out of the question, it is up to those who are genuinely concerned about the future of this country to channel this energy into something positive.  If we can harness this energy and unite behind a common candidate who is truly deserving of our vote, work as we did in the relief effort to prevent cheating during the elections, and send a stern warning to all politicians that this nation have just about had it with the brand of leadership that we have been force-fed this past decade, then there might be reason to be hopeful once again.