we can disagree with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the numbers, we can hardly object to her laudable 10-point program for the next six years.
Further, these objectives are do-able, and are easily understood and appreciated by the citizenry.
However, the ultimate success of the 10-point program does not depend so much on reconciliation with the political opposition, or disadvantaged sectors, or militant civil society, but, more importantly, on changing for the better the "national psyche" or a "cultural revolution" of sorts, but not the Maoist kind which should be the priority mission of President Macapagal Arroyo upon which depends the success of her own 10-point program by first restoring the self-esteem and the national pride of the Filipino, and his sense of fraternal comradeship.
Every Filipino citizen, regardless of social class, work sector, religion, and level of education, must be made to obey the laws and regulations, without hesitation and without exception, by example commencing from the President herself, to the Vice President, senators, congressmen, generals, teachers, policemen, businessmen, judges, janitors, and drivers, whether the violation stems from petty graft, or massive corruption, or conscious defiance of the law, or careless disregard of traffic rules and etiquette.
As in South Korea, Japan, US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, China, Australia, and others, crime must not be made to pay, and the law must be applied evenly, as the people would like to see, as in South Korea, ex-Presidents quickly convicted and sentenced, and made to restitute ill-amassed wealth; sons of scion families and politicians behind bars; military officers court-martialed; police scalawags summarily dismissed; rapists sentenced to death by lethal injection; drug lords beheaded; pickpockets, as in Saudi Arabia, punished by the severing of the fingers; and death by firing squad for rebellion.
Indeed, while crime and punishment differ from country to country, there is a common thread running through them.
On the one hand, tourists feel safe travelling and visiting these countries, provided no domestic laws are violated, and on the other hand, there is a deep reservoir of kinship, brotherhood, nationalism, pride, self-esteem, even to the point of arrogance, fanatic loyalty to the flag as in America, France, Britain, Japan, and elsewhere, that bring acts of courage, patriotism, and sacrifice, whenever the occasion warrants, or to paraphrase former President Fidel V. Ramos, the act of caring for our brothers and sisters; and sharing the bounties of nature, windfalls and good fortune with others; and daring to extend the helping hand, and be competitive in the international arena of competition.
In plain language, Filipinos must learn to "visualize" national interest above self which can be interpreted in many ways from paying the correct taxes; to exposing smugglers; to fighting drug addiction; to minimizing extortion by traffic law enforcers; to disciplining taxi drivers; to exposing corrupt government clerks; to Cabinet members to lead by example; to obeying traffic rules and instinctively yielding to other motorists as in Bangkok without losing face or flaring up.
When all is said and done, it is extremely difficult to articulate or quantify core values, or restoring them, and imposing discipline, which cannot be painless, upon which the greatness of the nation depends on, and the success of the objectives, such as GMA’s 10-point program, will rise and fall.
If we have not succeeded in articulating the importance of restoring core values; changing the people’s psyche towards brotherhood and nationalism; restoring the Filipino’s self-esteem; pride in being a Filipino; law abiding without exception; and aggressively competitive, we beg the readers’ indulgence though we are confident our readers understand what we are talking about.
You be the judge.
