New Faces... Hopefully New Politics

http://filipinochangemaker.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-faces-hopefully-new-politics.html

As the 2010 national elections become nearer and nearer, many young Filipinos are beginning to start looking at possible candidates whom they can elect to leadership positions in our government.

We have recently seen many presidentiables and their respective parties declare their intentions to run in 2010. Almost every month the two top survey groups, SWS and Pulse Asia release their latest tallies on who Filipinos would prefer to vote for in 2010.

This coming 2010, we will not only be electing our new President and Vice President but we will also be electing senators, congressmen and local government leaders.

More importantly, it will be the first time in many years that the Youth Vote (18 to 40 years old) will comprise more than 60 percent of the voting population thus, if a candidate is able to get even just half of this sector then s/he can be assured of having a strong chance of winning the election.

ENERGIZING YOUNG PEOPLE

However, many of these young Filipinos have not yet registered and some of them have chosen not to do so because they tend to believe that it is the same old faces whom they will be choosing from.

According to one of my students in Ateneo de Manila University, there seems to be no one who represents a new breed of politics in our country, a kind of politics that will always put premium on genuine public service over the interests of a few.

Looking at the last US elections, we saw how Barack Obama’s candidacy was able to energize young people so much so that they not only registered to be able to vote for him but they also went out of their way to campaign for him.

This is the reason why I think there is a need for new faces in our political arena who will bring in idealism and advocate for a more effective and ethical brand of leadership in our government. We have seen in the experiences of Gov. Eddie Panlilio of Pampanga and Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela that Filipinos are slowly but surely becoming more discerning and mature in choosing their leaders. Both Panlilio and Padaca campaigned without much resources and political clout and yet they were able to win because of the support of ordinary Filipinos in their communities who wanted to see change happen.

Right now, I believe that our country has many good young leaders whom I hope will consider to run for key government positions in 2010 or in the future elections.

NOT THE SAME OLD FACES

One of them is Atty. Alex Lacson, the well-known author of the book, "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country".

For those who haven’t read the book, the Harvard University educated Lacson shows us how simple things such as following the traffic rules and being a good parent to our children can help us build a better Philippine society.

Since his book was launched in 2005, he has been invited by schools, companies and socio-civic organizations to speak and share with them his thoughts and insights.

Another young Filipino that I’d like to see become a Congressman or Senator soon is former National Youth Commission (NYC) Chairperson and Microventures president Bam Aquino. I have worked with Aquino several times already even during our college days at Ateneo de Manila University and I have always known him to become a leader with a clear vision for our country. During his stint at the NYC, he founded the Ten Accomplished Youth Orgnizations (TAYO) Awards which honors youth-led organizations that are doing projects which help solve social problems in their communities.

Right now, he is helping alleviate poverty in our country through Hapinoy, a social enterprise which helps sari-sari store owners earn more through a more systemic and efficient way of procuring the products that they sell.

Three young women whom I also find very inspiring due to the work that they have done in the fields of education and youth development are Sol Delantar-Gonzalvo of Cebu, Team RP’s Atty. Eirene Aguila who hails from Batangas, and Ching Jorge of Bato Balani Foundation. Delantar-Gonzalvo used to spearhead the Ayala Foundation’s youth leadership program which trains college-level student leaders all over the Philippines to become better servant leaders for our country.

Aguila’s Team RP is currently with several groups in encouraging young Filipinos to register and vote in the coming elections. While Jorge’s work at the Bato Balani Foundation has seen her provide training programs to public school teachers all over the country while at the same time providing educational materials to public school students.

These young leaders have shown that age is not a deterrent for them to bring about genuine and lasting development to our country. Hopefully, we will have more young people like them bring a fresh perspective to how politics is run in our country. The challenge is for these young, effective and ethical leaders to find the courage to throw their hats into our electoral process and to finally give our people a good set of candidates that we can all choose from.

Harvey S. Keh is director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government. Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com

Going back to Self

Ever since moving back to Cebu, I have been haunted by old memories. Places that make you remember and people you don't really look forward bumping into. I had one of such moments today. Let's just say, for the sake of brevity, there are people who spite me for reasons I don't understand (ok, maybe I understand them now but that calls for another blog entry altogether.) and because I have been away for a long time, I have totally forgiven and forgotten these people. I dread that this day would come and I would have to struggle to restrain myself from doing or saying something that’s not nice. Today, I was nice. I even stopped to say more than just hello. I actually asked sincere questions and genuinely wanted to hear the answers. Maybe I actually underestimated my self and my ability to forgive and to heal from past wounds.

A few months back, I participated in a photography class and one of the other participants in that class actually knew me since our highschool days. I couldn’t believe what this guy told me. During the last day of our class, he said that he could not believe that I have “mellowed” and that I actually am friendly. HU-WHAT?! He said that back in the day, his impression of me was that of a fierce empowered chic, whom the boys could not or would not dare approach especially for small talk, for fear of being eaten alive. What a monstrous image of Sol. Makes me think if indeed I have actually changed that much or if I have indeed been a monster for a long time.

I never thought that this journey back to Cebu would also mean going back to self.

My Personal Saturn Return

A friend of mine, my soul sister Bea, sent me this email a few weeks ago about Saturn Return. Just wanted to post this here so others who are also experiencing their own personal Saturn Return will cope more easily.

http://www.saturnreturn.net/what_is.html

There is nothing merely socio-cultural about the pain of turning thirty. Astrologers have known for many centuries that it takes 29.5 years for the planet Saturn to make its orbit around the sun. That's why this crisis is called the "Saturn Return". When Saturn moves back to the place it was the moment you were first born, you are metaphorically reborn, but not before you are put through a series of tests. Choose your metaphor — meat grinder, crucible, tornado — anyone approaching their thirtieth birthday is already in the process of transforming, if they know it or not. And most of us don't jump up to shake Saturn's hand. (Order your Saturn Return chart.)

When you're born, Saturn occupies a certain space in your chart (the basic astrological thumbprint of your soul.) Consider this a roadmap to your inner and outer world. Dependent on Saturn's place in one of the twelve sectors, or signs of the Zodiac, astrologers garner much information about specific issues you face over the course of your life. What you're afraid of, in particular. Also the road blocks likely show up in your travels. Saturn makes you feel your wounds. Circumstances that you faced in childhood and adolescence return screaming for you attention at the Saturn Return, forcing you to deal with them. Saturn is symbolic of what you think is missing from your life, based on past experience. Whatever your insecurities, your Saturn placement will alert you to the causes and the cures. More than anything, Saturn's place in your chart shows you which lessons you came here to learn. (Read Where Is Your Saturn to find out where Saturn was when you were born.)

Saturn is probably not your A-list planet, as he is connected with such pleasantries as dentistry, divorce, broken bones, hair loss, authority figures, and aging. He has earned the reputation of cosmic taskmaster. (The depiction of Saturn that hangs in the Musee Du Prado in Madrid, painted by Goya, presents him as a monster, dark and bloodied, swallowing his children whole. This is not a party any of us would want to attend, frankly.) He was originally known as Kronos, and in the Greek myth, he did indeed eat his children to prevent Zeus from usurping his power. This is all a reminder to be humble in the face of both success and adversity. If the Saturn Return teaches us anything, it's that we should never give away the authority in our lives. Saturn reminds us that time is indeed ticking; that it's now or never if we want to accomplish anything in this world. (For more on the mythology of Saturn, explore Mythology.)

If you're in your mid-to-late twenties or even in your early to middle thirties, you are close to the heart of your Saturn Return, and are probably feeling the crush of Saturn's black boot more than you ever have before. If everything feels like chaos, if your relationships are breaking down and you're questioning your career, your friendships, and your very life, it is likely that it's just the ripples of your Saturn Return descending. Although men experience Saturn Returns as well, it's vital that women look deeply at their father issues during this time. This is because Saturn symbolizes the father (personally and universally), and can set us up with very particular responses to the men in our lives, as we attempt to fix whatever was broken in our relationship with our dads.

As we hit the Saturn Return, we are women about to leap off the cliff of little-girldom. We feel estranged from external support systems. Now we can't be taken care of by daddy, boss, boyfriend, husband, priest, or doorman. We have to learn to fend for ourselves, and figure out what truly constitutes the ground below us. What internal resources do we draw upon for a safe landing if we are to make this leap? Once we finish our Saturn Return, we usually have a much better idea.

Saturn and Contemporary Culture

Our culture condones the phony notion that we're mini-adults when we graduate from college. Off we go into the world, to create our own reality TV series. When we're still in our twenties, it sort of feels like that. As if we're trying on costumes in order to figure out which lifestyle fits best. Some of us change careers and boyfriends as often as we get fresh manicures. Some of us get stuck early, in marriages, jobs, bad situations of all sorts. Others seem to be having a grand old time. But no matter how much fun some claim to be having, women of this age tend to freak out, en masse. (Men do, as well, but the cultural impositions they face are different.) Even though marriage and children are delayed as each generation progresses, many of us are still stuck in the moldy consciousness of our parents and grandparents. If we haven't met our mate by the time we turn thirty, we may never, we secretly fear. Weddings are often dreaded events. Are you the last of the cousins to be married off? Does everyone want to find you a nice husband, even though you have other things on your mind? Even if you're proud to call yourself a feminist, the little voice of ancestral marriage-minded maidens might echo in your ear.

Extended Adolescence

One thing that seems to be true of the twenties is that it's usually a time of inordinate confusion. The rare person knows their life's denouement in their third decade on earth. Sure, there are prodigies, actors that make it big as teens, athletes that find their calling while the rest of us flounder like fish on land. Do not be jealous, because these folks represent .9999999999 percent of us. If you're in your twenties and feel completely lost, you are in the majority.

The twenties are known by some to be that relatively easy era beyond the strife of adolescence, a time of openness, discovery, and experimentation. You are no longer a wildly hormonal zit-driven hater of your parents. You've likely graduated from at least one institution, according to statistics, probably at least one institution of higher learning. But anyone that’s a hair beyond twenty-five knows that any light reading of the late twenties is as fake as a Louis Vuitton in Chinatown. Like most myths about aging, this one is a doozey. The twenties can be hard. Really, really hard.

But why, god, why is it so hard? The universal complaints of the Saturn Return show us that it is not a simply a falsely imposed cultural construction. Western culture (American in particular) is the only one that force feeds this value system on its people. Our culture allows us to vacillate wildly through our twenties, party like frat boys, and then by the eve of our thirtieth birthday expects us to have an engagement ring and a 401 K in hand. We learn early that if you haven't gotten your act together by that fateful date, it's probably all downhill. Thirty continues to be a threatening mile-marker on life's highway. When we hit this age, inner and outer chaos descends. (In our navel-gazing culture, it is probably a slightly heavier burden to bear.)

Aging Gracefully

You may be thinking, "I'm not actually AGING yet." But, dear one, you are. Everyday, your cells are dying, your eggs withering, and your chances at marrying one of the less than 50 percent of the male population on earth are dwindling. We're not mentioning this to depress you, but simply to illustrate the things you understand unconsciously — the true reasons you probably screw up your relationships and drink to excess. As we get closer to thirty, we recognize our mortality looming. The first time a fish or a friend or a grandparent died when we were kids, we understood it intellectually — things have endings. They die. They leave. But until our own bodies get it (and some get it earlier than others) we can't take life seriously. Turning thirty is serious. It's the moment that it crystallizes in you that you are not going to live forever. You are not a child anymore. Welcome to the real world.

But it's not nearly as bleak as it it sounds. The beauty of endings is that they almost always signify new beginnings. And the thirties offer a chance to start over, to get things right that you've been screwing up and spinning out about through your teens and into your twenties. Now you finally have the chance to get it together — that's why Saturn offers you all your shortcomings, faults, and wounds on a silver platter. Not to make you feel bad about them, but to give you the opportunity to reach your highest potential. Growing up is hard to do, and many of us choose not to do it. We grow stagnant and die, rather than letting go and beginning again. Instead, you have the grand opportunity to get right with Saturn and get a grip on turning thirty.

Star of Sea and Sky

Marie Sol

(Star of the Sea and the Sky)

by Nines Terol - Zialcita (soon!)

When the Universe dreamed you up

It thought of bright skies and blue waters

Of the highest hopes and the deepest passions

Of the best of the sea and the sky

It was no wonder, then

That your childhood saw you

Drawn to the ocean waves

Gazing at the blazing heavens

And dreaming of infinite possibilities

Star of the sea

Queen of the sky

You are a wonderful conglomeration of contradictions

A beautiful pearl of a paradox—

A little girl's fervent hope

Residing in a woman's earnest heart

The Earth could not be more blessed

To have you in her womb

The Sun could think of nothing less

Than to share his light

Through your life

* * *

There was a reason why

Your name chose you—

Anyone else would have been

An injustice

To the gifts of the world

Nobody else could radiate

And fill all corners of the globe

With your energy

Your love

Your dedication

Your joy

Nobody else will compare

And as you go on your way

To bigger dreams

And distant lands

We will remember

Why we were once gifted

By the Sea and the Sky

It is to fill lives

With hope eternal

And wisdom unbounded

To open dreams

With unfolding possibilities

And infinite reach

To serve

With the deepest love

And stand

With the highest ideals

Thank you, dear Sol

For the gift of You

May the Universe's light

Shine upon you

And make all your dreams come true

Written by Nines Terol on the occasion of my exit from the Ayala group, 14 March 2008

TYING THE KNOT

When Friday afternoon came, it was like heavy dark clouds where lifted and suddenly the skies were clear again. The AYLC interviews just ended and we screened the 155 wanna-bes for the 10th AYLC. As I typed in the scores from the last panel of interviewers, I said to myself "I am getting married!!!" My wedding was never really top of mind the last few months as I have a very demanding (and sometimes thankless) job complete with never-ending deadlines that require total focus.

So now, with barely two weeks to go, I can now tell the world that I AM GETTING MARRIED! Imagine, I will soon be Mrs. Marie Sol Delantar - Gonzalvo?

YOUR MODERN DAY HEROES

left to right -- snow white ralph, queen mother vicky, starfish thrower dred, peter pan kitt and cinderella sol during the Ayala Foundation Christmas Party called 'AFI Hollywood'. I would like to thank my fairy godmother Mildred and her magic wand for helping me win the 'Best in Costume' award. + 14 December 2006, Ayala Museum, Makati City

WITH LOVING THOUGHTS OF MOMMY DEL

Mommy Del, you will be forever in our hearts... fondly remembered and sorely missed. We love you!

HIS ROYAL HUNKNESS

My boyfriend just got his blackbelt in karate! A task that has been nine years in the making, he finally gives in to the challenge and surpassed it too last Dec 1 to 3, 2006. Congrats to the one true hunk in substance and in form.

DEALING WITH TUBERCULOSIS

The results from my executive check-up last October came in the week before I was suppose to leave for Korea. My company HR said two things - go see the cardiologist and the pulmonologist. So I did, the day before my trip to Seoul. Good news is, the Cardio said my heart is A-OK and has ruled out any possilble heart problems. Bad news is my Pulmonologist has confirmed that I have asymptomatic latent Pulmonary Tuberculosis class III and has put me on 6 months medication. It also meant that I have to be on two week bedrest.

I know this only means one thing, my body is telling me to take it easy. So for the first time, after several years, I am taking it easy.