Twelve Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country
Wednesday, August 31st, 2005we don’t know where this country’s going to… and so i tell myself (and even some of my friends do) that i should leave this place, grab a greek hunk and live in the island of crete or whereva! hahahah!
i don’t know what wrath the Lord has put me in, why he made me a citizen of this nasty country. i am an intellectual good enough not to deserve a country as f*cked up as this…
but for those who wish to stay here, those who believe this still is paradise, here is a solution (hmm.. probably). a book by some filipino author… (sorry, boy, but someone summarized the contents of your book in one e-mail. does this mean less book sales? muwahahah!) read on, friends… guess we need a lot of convincing that there are things we could still do for this rotting country. (jose rizal is now my idol <am taking up P.I. 100, Life and Works of Rizal> poor boy, he had himself shot by those freaked out spaniards just for his country to be saved from rotting. i wish you never allowed yourself to be shot, mann.. wish you instead stayed in heidelberg or berlin or wherever and became a good storywriter or one of the greatest docs back then. if only you could see what the country you died for has gotten into… tsk tsk)
THERE’S a booklet making the rounds in Metro Manila that every
Filipino who loves his country should get hold of and read, and
hopefully put the points it raises into practice, in order to help our
nation…
"Twelve (12) Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country,"
by Alexander Ledesma Lacson, may be a "voice in the wilderness"; but
as Fr.Ruben Tanseco, S.J. puts it, what Alex proposes are "very
concrete, practical and doable" actions for us ordinary Filipinos.
A simple enumeration of these "twelve little things" will not Do
justice to the work of Alex. You’ve got to read the whole text, but I
shall try to compress a few lines for some of the items mentioned.
1. Follow traffic rules — Why is that the most important? The answer
is simple. Traffic rules are the simplest of our laws. If we learn to
follow them, it will be the lowest form of national discipline that we
can develop.
Since it is totally without monetary cost, it should be easy for us to
comply with, and therefore should provide a good start.
2. Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official
receipt. — If a seller does not issue an official receipt when you
buy a product, the seller may or may not remit the tax to the
government. Without an O.R., there is no record of the sale
transaction, and the tax that you paid may not be remitted to the
Bureau of Internal Revenue.
3. Do not buy smuggled goods. Buy local, buy Filipino. — It may not
be good economics to buy 100 percent local products. What I suggest is
for us to take a "50-50" buying attitude. This means that we must
develop the attitude of using 50 percent of our budget for local
products and the other 50 percent for imported choices.
4. When you talk to others, especially foreigners, speak positively of
our race and our country — this is best addressed to the rich and the
middle class in our country, who have contact with the outside world.
It is they who talk to, dine or deal with foreigners either here or
abroad. It is what they say and do which creates impressions about us
among foreigners.
5. Respect your traffic officer, policeman, soldier and other public
servants — There is nothing like the power of respect. It makes a
person proud. It makes one feel honorable. At the same time, courtesy
to others is good manners. It is class and elegance and kindness. It
is seeing the value and dignity in the other man. It is, in fact, a
mark of a most profound education.
6. Do not litter. Dispose your garbage properly. Segregate.
Recycle.Conserve. — As Louis Armstrong says in his song: "I see trees
of green, red roses, too, I see them bloom for me and you and I think
to myself, what a wonderful world."
7. Support your church. (or charitable/ civic organizations — 
8. During elections, do your solemn duty. — Honesty, more than a
masteral or doctorate degree, is what gives credibility. And
credibility is essential because it is a leader’s link to the people.
It is what makes the people look to one direction, follow a common
vision, and perform a uniform act. In short, credibility is what
makes people follow the leader.
9. Pay your employees well. — No exercise is better for the human
heart than to reach down and lift someone else up. This truly defines
a successful life. For success is the sum, not of our earthly
possessions, but of how many times we have shown love and kindness to
others.
10. Pay your taxes. — In 2003, P83 billion was collected from
individual income taxes. But 91 percent of this amount came from
salaried workers from the government and private sector, people who
had no choice since their income taxes were withheld mandatorily. Only
P7 billion of the P83 billion came from businessmen and professionals
like doctors, lawyers, accountants and architects,among others.
11. Adopt a scholar or adopt a poor child. — You can make a
difference in the future of our country by making a difference in the
world of children.
12. Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and to love
our country. — Today’s children will someday rule and lead this
world. But whether they will be bad rulers or good leaders will depend
largely on how we raise them today. Our future is in the hearts and
minds of our children.
There is no shorcut to a place worth going.
