| 31 October 2009
Jaeyoun Kim’s ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
Jaeyoun Kim is a South Korean who wrote this essay when he was a student at the University of the Philippines sometime in 2006. In it he claims that the Filipinos' problem is not corruption but the lack of love for our country.
Decades on, corruption still exists but in a more sophisticated, deeply rooted and centralised form. It has spread extensively in all walks of life that corruption seems to be the norm and a part of the Filipino culture. How could we have allowed this to happen? Could it be true that we have not loved our country enough? And is it also true that ‘all we need is love’?
How can you say that the Filipinos do not love their country? You are talking about the people who brought `PEOPLE POWER’ to the world. We were the people who put our lives at stake by lining up the streets and in front of the Dictator Marcos’ tanks and armaments. We won the People Power Revolution without a shot being fired!
We are also the people, who through People Power Revolution, brought about the first Impeachment Trial in Southeast Asia. It led to the downfall of the then President, Ejercito Estrada.
Of course we love our country, but successive exercise of People Power Revolution did not bring change to our political landscape. Corruption got worse even with succeeding presidents vowing to curb graft and corruption. Even though Cory Aquino was able to restore democracy in the Philippines, the 1987 Constitution that she inspired, was toothless. It kept the power in the society in the hands of the politicians and the rich and powerful. The poor became poorer and the rich, richer. The old pre-Marcos system was kept intact.
The sad and obvious result was people’s disappointment and apathy. As corruption deepens in the three branches of government, people had become numbed to it. It became part of their lives. Sadly, it became part of our culture! Law became selective in favour of the rich and powerful. Many judges were bribed, bought or coerced. Laws were reformed, revised and amended, again by the powerful few. So where do the ordinary people fit into it? Besides being the recipient of a defective law, NOWHERE.
Of course we love our country and still do. We have not deserted it but we have learned to accept our misfortune. We have become tired of and disillusioned by People Power Revolution. So, is all we need _LOVE?
The only solution to our society’s problem besides love is the shifting of real power in government from the privileged few to the people. How do we do this? Since our one judge system is flawed and is prone to corruption, we should change it to a jury system where juries of ordinary citizens have the final say in civil and criminal cases. As Winston Churchill once said “ONLY AS LONG AS JURIES OF ORDINARY CITIZENS HAVE THE FINAL SAY, GOVERNMENT REMAINS THE SERVANT, NOT THE MASTER OF THE PEOPLE.”
As historian De Tocqueville in his book “Democracy in America” said _ THE JURY SYSTEM IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY OF ESTABLISHING THE PEOPLE’S RULE AND THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY OF TEACHING THEM HOW TO RULE.
However, there are many Filipinos who will not advocate the jury system simply because the idea came from the west. After years of being free from the Americans, they still retain their suspicion of the `colonial mentality’. A typical example of this type of Filipino is Francis Rae Camtugan who wrote in the Philippine Jury System’s (an affiliate of Philippine Jury Campaign Int’l (UK) Ltd.) Facebook that:_ “There is no need to copy the American Jury System or any foreign jury system. The jury system was created and perfected in the West. It fits the culture and societal structures of some Caucasian groups. Getting a foreign judicial system and introducing it to the Philippines is like getting a temperate-region plant and trying to cultivate it in a tropical climate. The different ethnic groups can create their own or modify the currently existing systems as to conform to traditions.
So what's next? - Pattern ASEAN with the Socialist European Union, elect a minority President, get rid of the peso and devise a new currency for the Southeast Asian nations or more free trade? I understand that the idea of having a jury system is merely an offshoot of some people’s inclination towards more Western values and internationalism.”
As a people, we do not have to re-invent the wheel to find a system that will work for us. Many inventions in the field of science and sociology came from the west, even the World Wide Web. They are generally good, so why abhor them just because they are western? Grow up, Francis.
Francis’ diatribe was followed by April’s retort, “Although I do agree about "NOT" copying the American Jury System. I agree Not because it is American but because our people is not yet politically mature as a whole to handle such a system.”
The Filipinos will not reach political maturity if they do not have the means and exposure to situations that will lead to political maturity. By analogy, birds do not learn to fly by jumping up and down in their nests. They have to fall and as they fall, they must learn to fly. Does this address your doubt, April?
This is how the Filipinos will reach maturity and on the way, they will learn their duties and responsibilities as citizens; be able to judge their own peers and learn to rule and be ruled. Our country’s leaders will be deterred from corruption because they know that the people can sue government officials for irregularities and mismanagement. Corrupt leaders will not be shielded by their money and power. THE PEOPLE RULES.
Finally, when the people has the sovereign power and sit next to each other whatever religion or social status as jurors, they become equal in the eyes of God and Man. The enmity between the Christians and Muslim brothers will be quelled. There will be reconciliation and thus we will all live in peace.
So, to sum up this response to Jaeyoun Kim’s essay about the Philippines _ YES, WE LOVE OUR COUNTRY BUT THAT LOVE MUST BE NURTURED AND KEPT BURNING BY THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE THE MASTERS OF OUR FATE THROUGH A JURY SYSTEM.
Comments
But why are we so poor? Is it our poverty that encouraged our politicians and their cronies to exploit the situation for their self-interest? I can see your point in this. Take for example, our squatter problem. The political leaders of the area allow them because they are their voters. Demolishing their squats means they are heartless, so, less votes for them.
However, is it not the corruption in government that caused the poverty in the first place? Think about it. :roll:: :-?:
I really believe that love, along with faith and hope, is the word power that can change this nation, Our Philippines.
I pity my nation because many of my fellow Filipinos have no faith. Worse, they lose hope. Worst, they have no love.
I pray that all Filipinos will give a great consideration about this matter.
Let us try to ponder on this passage from the Holy Bible, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." --II Chronicles 7:14.
May Yahweh bless Philippines through His Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus. Amen
I think there are still many Filipinos who love their country and are willing to sacrifice and offer their time and money for a better Philippines. However, there are also many who have lost hope because fighting for a better Philippines seems to be a lost cause. This is due to apathy or lack of concern from Filipinos who are already satisfied with their lives and are afraid to rock the boat. Many just doubt if the Filipinos are worth fighting for!
With little hope, a bit more love and plenty of faith in the fighting spirit of the young generation to promote a jury system, WE WILL BE ABLE TO REBUILD OUR COUNTRY TO ITS FORMER GLORY AS “ASIA’S SECOND-RICHEST COUNTRY” BEHIND ONLY JAPAN.
:idea:
Yahweh loves this country!
Many Filipino step the Philippine Flag just to be renounced and get a new citizenship in Korea. They try to forget the Philippines because of hardship in life wherein the government is making it terrible by stealing money from the coffers
Its true love could changes and we need to love the Philippines. If we love our country then we would forget our self and our own pocket. The Government will stop stealing money from the coffers and the system would be transform.
Read related articles…
http://betterphils.blogspot.com
By observing ourselves, let me point out something very basic.
As migrants, let's compare ourselves to others, especially to those of our ASEAN neighbours. How many migrant Pinoys that you know, would deliberately and wittingly teach their children Tagalog or a regional dialect? Only but a few! And yet, if you visit a family, let's say of Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, or Korean origin, you notice that parents converse with their children in their own language. Doesn't this say something? Some Pinoy parents told me that out of convenience, they would rather speak English to their children. I kept telling them that there is nothing wrong about their children being bilingual or trilingual. Didn't Rizal said something about not loving your own language? Just a thought.
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