In his thoughts and writings, Rizal envisioned our Motherland as a nation with a future "full of light and life." According to Dr. Onofre Corpuz in his Independence Centennial masterpiece, "Saga and Triumph: The Filipino Revolution Against Spain" (April, 1999), Rizal wrote in his well-known essay in La Solidaridad (18891890) "Filipinas Dentro De Cien A–os" (The Philippines A Century Hence) thus: "The new Filipinas would generate a breed of Filipinos who would derive energy from the memory of their pre-colonial past. They would create a future by their labor; they would work the land, the mines, and probably revive the maritime and trading skills of their forefathers. In the process they would be strengthened by a recovery of their old virtues, and ultimately they would attain a prosperous and independent existence."

Beyond this general admonition to his countrymen/countrywomen, however, Rizal took action – together with fellow members of the Propaganda Movement, notably Jose Maria Basa and Doroteo Ongjungco – by organizing a secret society called La Liga Filipina. Quoting from Corpuz: "Rizal invested the Liga with features that were landmarks in the development of Filipino nationalism. These features derived from the five stipulated purposes and concerns of the society, as follows:

In the light of Rizal’s vision for our beloved Philippines, what are our prospects for 2008 and beyond?

In the humble opinion of this concerned Filipino, of primary local, national and global urgency in 2008 are the five intertwined concerns of endemic diseases and healthcare; livelihood and jobs; justice and the rule of law; energy conservation and renewable fuels; and environmental protection and global warming. While billed principally as the initial exercise among 180 big and small nations to reduce carbon emissions and therefore global warming, the landmark United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Bali organized by the UN two weeks ago to update/upgrade the Kyoto Protocol (on its 10th anniversary) was, in effect, a broad-ranging dialogue among governments, experts/scientists, civil society, and multilateral institutions to focus on these five paramount threats to global stability and humankind’s survivability. Philippine leaders cannot, therefore, afford to neglect these key issues as they prioritize/converge/implement the nation’s policies, programs and projects for the year 2008.

The first four major problems are probably being addressed seriously by the incumbents in Government. However, the issue of environmental protection and global warming has acquired a new, startling dimension with the well-documented revelations of Nobel Prize laureates former US Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN panel of scientists headed by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri.

Starting now, those we elected to lead us – PGMA, Senators, Congressmen and local officials – can take a cue from the Bali Conference which forged a unified and strategic roadmap (over the up-to-thelast-minute resistance of the US delegation) for the medium-term so that the damage to Mother Earth by man’s abuse and indifference does not become irreversible. The Philippines – due to its archipelagic configuration and geographic-economic-political-cultural centrality vis-a-vis the great markets of the world – should, in fact, plan and synergize better for 2008 than other nations in the Asia-Pacific super-region.

So, what can we now expect from PGMA, the 14th Congress and elected local government officials in seizing available opportunities to expand our economy and deliver social services more effectively? At a time when Malacañang and our lawmakers cannot even agree on the 2008 budget before yearend? Must our people once more must suffer the loss of time, public funds, and competitiveness from such a repeat-fiasco? And why, under such circumstances, did both Houses vote themselves to enjoy an extended recess up to the last week of January, 2008? Are Senators and Congressmen/women intent on junketing some more or are they still hung-over from a surfeit of pork (lechon) barrel? If a majority of our people are disgruntled and continue to entertain thoughts of rebellion, insurgency, or violent regime change, it is simply because they are not seeing from those whom we elected to lead us any real reform, change, or new initiatives toward the betterment of country and people. And, the lack of hands-on, focused direction along the fast lane to progress from the skipper of our Ship of State is painfully evident. In other words, under PGMA, let’s create a bigger socio-economic pie for all Filipinos to share equitably. Kaya ba natin ito? (Can do?)

In two previous Sunday columns – "Smokey Mountain and the Enabling Component for New Wealth" (26 August) and "The Triumph of the Poor at Smokey Mountain" (02 September) – I called attention to the tremendous opportunity to create new wealth for our people through reclamation of our coastal assets in key clusters around and between our islands while simultaneously elevating/protecting/reinforcing/upgrading endangered areas along our shorelines where our masses live and work as in the low-lying areas of Tondo and Camanava (Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela). This is called "land mining" in sunshine investment, tourism, and retirement destinations (of the likes of Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, China, and Hongkong which the enterprising people therein have proven to be more environmental-friendly and economically viable than gold mining).

Unfortunately, my practical suggestions for enabling legislation to devolve from the National Government to our major provinces and cities the authority to undertake reclamation projects have fallen on deaf ears in Malacañang and both chambers of Congress – in spite of several investigations conducted related thereto in "aid of legislation" by the Senate Blue Ribbon and the House Good Government Committees since the 11th Congress. So, what next Mr. Senate President and Mr. House Speaker?

PGMA’s use of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) last 11 December to prioritize the 2008 legislative program should be applauded, but it was not nearly enough. There could be other priority bills, equally important to our enduring peace and sustainable development, that have been left out – take, for instance, the wish-list of foreign investors and businesspeople dubbed the "ready-to-go" bills transmitted to PGMA by the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce and Business Groups three weeks ago. Surely, there should be more frequent, regular, and predictable LEDAC meetings, given the facilitation of some pet bills as the outcome of that earlier LEDAC meeting.

Beyond just expediting the legislative program, however, LEDAC should be seen by PGMA, other elected leaders and sectoral representatives who are members thereof as a crucial institution for team-building and problem-solving. Republic Act 7640 which created LEDAC on 09 December 1992, in fact, mandates among others that: "It is the policy of the State to formulate after consultations with appropriate public agencies, the private sector, and local government units socio-economic development programs taking into account the requirements of conservation and ecology and in accordance with its constitutional mandate to promote a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged."

In practice, LEDAC could be positively utilized as a sounding board for addressing effectively a variety of emerging or current problems such as our peace processes, transport strikes, terrorist threats, coup conspiracies, extra-judicial killings, continuing calamities, logistics support for flagship projects and, of course, poverty alleviation.

Let us listen to the appeal of the Filipino soldier stated last 21 December 2007 on the occasion of the 72nd Anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines: "It is of primary importance that the Filipino nation awaken a sense of urgency. If we want to push our country forward, we have no time to waste, There are things to do, and we must do them now... Urgency is not panic. Instead it means being vigilant and prepared for anything that might happen. A sense of urgency pushes us to identify our vulnerabilities and strengthen them. It means to develop a well-thought out plan and effectively implement it..." (from "A Call for Urgency," Office of Strategic and Special Studies, AFP).

This statement could very well have been Jose Rizal’s more than a century ago. Leave it to the soldiers and the policemen to articulate Rizal’s thoughts about our better future. In their role as peacekeepers and peacemakers, they are among the poor who suffer the most in the absence of durable peace and sustained development.

Please send any comments to fvr@rpdev.org. Copies of articles are available at www.rpdev.org.