UP Ibalon Bicol: Taking Responsibility and the Kaya Natin Movement

Taking Responsibility and the Kaya Natin Movement

8/06/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

“Be not afraid!”is the wise counsel of Pope John Paul II to a world troubled by uncertainties. We need a moral figure like him who is not stranger to suffering to assure us that we’re not alone. What better memory can we have than recall Pope John Paul II, in the fading days of his life, displayed his harrowing battle with age and infirmity. Seeing him as a suffering human being makes us understand our own life’s vexing contradictions. We think what we can do about them.

To be pessimistic and afraid are likely reactions to the Kaya Natin movement---that group of well-intentioned, ethical and hardworking Filipinos formed by Jesse Robredo, Sonia Lorenzo, Eddie Panlilio and Grace Padaca in order to unite and save the country. They have a dream to improve our lot. In our most difficult time (now that inflation has steeply climbed to 12.2% last month,) they ask us to join ranks in helping save the nation. They are campaigning for accountability, honesty, integrity, and hard work to change the pernicious ills we have in our government.

Surely, attempts to make our country move forward encounter setbacks. It’s no different with Kaya Natin. Faced with herculean problems, we wonder what will come out of this movement. We question the credibility of the people who lead us. Our discouragement must be overriding considering our doubts. Many see a dreary landscape ahead. There’s this looming darkness in our future. This might have bothered Joe (not his real name) who wrote me his reaction to my blog entitled “The Challenge of Kaya Natin: Sabi baga ni Mayor Jesse Robredo, Kaya Ta!”

“Unfortunately, Grace Padaca is not the mayor of Isabela. She's the Governor.
I just have a little concern about "basic education." I do not know if I understand it completely, as we have leaders who were educated in the exclusive schools from the Philippines, the best even here in the US… but look! Why? As they say, "There is no value in education without education in values. Thanks!" ---Joe

This is how I answered Joe:

"Calling Gov. Padaca "Mayor" is underserved and I need to say sorry for my error. Thanks for the correction. It afforded me a chance to make a revision on the blog I posted.

Well, I think there's truth in your quote "There is no value in education without education in values." I presume all of us have some kind of value formation when we were in school. However, there must be some variability on the hierarchies we place on the values we learned. We imbibe and apply them at different vantage points in various periods of our lives.

Except perhaps for Jesse Robredo whom I know a bit because of Naga Parochial School, Ateneo de Naga, & UP many years back, I don't know the people who spearhead the Kaya Natin Movement. I take their word with a grain of salt just as I listen to Barack Obama's message which surely needs validation. Though they aren't perfect, the remarkable thing about them is their hopeful outlook and their willingness to take responsibility and do something about a problem. Isn't this part of the cornerstone of the values we desire? Whether Kaya Natin will be successful is something we reserve for the future.

I wonder if you have your misgivings about those Filipinos educated in the best schools. If you do, I share your feelings. Despite my exposures to those exclusive schools in RP plus my US education, I basically have a plebeian background. And I have a lot to desire for our leaders, including those in the FilAm community. I thought one way of helping is to post this blog and share my commentaries (maybe better than attending those induction balls, conventions and reunions of the associatons.)

So if one desires to help RP, there are many ways depending on one's time, commitment, and talents. Our "values" will be mirrored by what we do, just as we judge the plants around us by the fruits they bear... Hopefully, by starting with ourselves, we can make the world better.

I appreciate your input. I welcome you to visit the UP Ibalon Bicol Blog where I make my posts: http://upibalonbicol.blogspot.com/ "

N.B. You can join Kaya Natin! A Movement for Genuine Change and Ethical Leadership by sending an email to kayanatin@yahoo.com or you can reach us at (02) 426-5657.
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Labels: Accountability, Ateneo de Naga Univeristy, Change, Eddie Panlilio, Grace Padaca, Jesse Robredo, Kaya Natin, moral values, Obama, Philippines, Pope John Paul II, Sonia Lorenzo, Totie Mesia, UP Ibalon

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