Maraming Salamat kay Gng. Elsa Cruz mula sa aking Alma Mater, Lourdes College of Bulacan sa magandang pagpapakilala.
Magandang Araw-araw sa inyong lahat, nais kong magbigay galang sa mga lider ng ating bayan sa Pangunguna ng ating mahal na Alkade Kgg. Narding De Leon, Bise-Alkalde Kgg. Reggie Santos, at mga konsehal Kgg. Loreng Santiago, kgg. Robin Cruz, kgg. Tony Nunez, kgg. Tristan Cruz, kgg. Magic Dela Cruz, sa aking kamag-anak na sina Kgg. Roman Cruz, Kon. Tenteng Junio at kay Kon. Ruping De Guzman – na ama ng aking matalik na kaibigan. Sa tagapamahala ng ating katahimikan at kaayusan, P/Supt. Aurelio R. Ducay Jr. Sa ating masisipag na Kapitan Del Barrio sa pangunguna ng ating ABC President Kgg. Crisostomo Garcia, kay Kgg Rey Bautista ng San Roque nakasama ko sa partido, kay Kgg Seko Nicolas ng Sulukan, Kap. Felicito Chiapco ng Tabok at Kgg. Arvin Agustin ng Donacion. Lalung-lalo na sa sentro ng okasyong ito, ang mga guro at mag-aaral sa bayan ng Angat - ako’y nagbibigay puri sa pagkakataong ito.
It is a privilege of mine to be here. In May 1998, I was also here addressing the crowd campaigning for the local election as Municipal Councilor. And I’ve lost……Opo, tumakbo po ako at natalo. Hindi ako nahihiya na sabihin ito sapagkat ito ang nagbigay sa akin ng pagkakataong mapuntahan ko ang lahat ng barangay at makipagdaupang palad sa mga mamamayan. And after that lost, I said to myself that if ever there would be an opportunity to speak again this is true the only invitation I cannot refuse to accept, addressing the future leaders of this town. That is why when Ma’am Fe Valdecantos informed me about this invitation, I answer YES without any hesitation. You may be asking, “Why is that?” It is simply because of my attachment to my hometown, this is where I grew and developed values that my great grandparents, grandparents and parents have instill in my life. Kaya nais kong samantalahin ang okasyong ito upang pasalamatan ang pamilya na nagturo sa akin and nagbigay ng impluwensya upang maging isang mabuting mamamayan – ang pamilya Zafra, Villarama, San Pedro, Gonzales, Sincioco, Nicolas, Cruz, De Leon at Lopez.
That is why I am here. So thank you very much for the privilege. I am actually quite excited and nervous to address all of you. I don’t know if I am fitted to speak before you today for there are other successful sons of Angat who make this town proud and must rightfully take my place. I humble myself for this great opportunity.
I was also there in your place twenty years ago (1986), I was nervous and anxious to be in the position of an elected official for one week. I played the role of then Vice-Mayor and now our current Mayor Leonardo “Narding” De Leon, my office then is on the building beside the market. Nagtataka nga ako, halos lahat ng kasama ko ay sa Munisipyo nagoopisina at ako na Boy Vice-Mayor ay sa palengke. Akala ko nga Market Master ako, ang lamang ko lamang ay malapit ako sa tindahan ni Kon. Ruping dahil libre ang miryenda ko. Yes I was the only one who hold office there, and I think I was an outcast. But that experience taught me a lot of lessons that even you are being put down by other people there is no reason to be ashamed of – as long as you are doing your job and performed even more. Since then, Mayor Narding never looked back and never took it against them instead he focus on leading our town on where it is now – a progressive, peaceful and god fearing municipality. After that, he never lose an election and the town of Angat gave him 5 term as Mayor - it is indeed true that you cannot put a good man down he might take a rest but not quit.
It was a rewarding experience meeting students from almost all of the schools in Angat, and this is not an ordinary student – they are the best. Everyone should be proud on the trust and confidence your school bestowed upon you to lead this Municipality for a week. It is also a good venue to meet new friends. After 20 years I still remember my Girl Mayor, she was a very charming lady and daughter of our former Vice – Mayor, Hon. Cornelio Junio, she is Ms. Vilma Junio who happened to be a successful medical doctor in the United States of America.
Our occasion for today is the observance of Linggo ng Kabataan, it is stated in Republic Act 7160 known as the Local Government Code that every province, city, municipality and barangay shall conduct this activity. During this week, they shall hold office as boy and girl officials and shall perform such duties and conduct such activities as may be provided. There are lots of activities we need to conduct during the Lingo ng kabataan among of which are the following:
1. Commemoration of young Filipino heroes who made significant contributions to the development of the country or locality.
• Who among you haven’t ate at Jollibee, the man behind the phenomenal success is Tony Tan Caktiong. He began with an ice cream scooping station in Cubao and now, 500 stores later 20,000 employees with annual sales of P20B. But beyond this, he was able to provide jobs, incomes and opportunities for countless people.
(Sabi nga nila, pay may Jolibee daw sa isang lugar, ay masasabi daw natin na maunlad na. Mayor, kailan kaya tayo magkakaroon para lalo tayong umunlad)
2. Recognition and awarding of outstanding youth organization for their achievements and contributions to development,
• Have you heard about Gawad Kalinga, it started on a simple dreams of Tony Meloto to help provide shelter to poor families. Together with Couples for Christ, the group already constructed thousands of houses in collaboration with some private companies. Tony was the recipients of Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) and Ramon Magsaysay medal.
3. Awareness campaign on environmental issues, sports festivals and competitions, cultural activities, arts and skills exhibition, volunteer work, tour of historical places, and such other youth-oriented activities as may be relevant.
Ang tema ng ating programa sa linggong ito ay “Kabataang Angatenyo…. Kaagapay tungo sa Kagalingang Panlipunan“ sa araw na ito nais kong bigyan diin ang kahalagahan ng magagandang aral tungo sa kagalingan. I will focus of my talk is about values, moral & ethics. For I do believe this is the basic foundation an individual must have to faced future. Sino sa inyo ang nakakaalam ng pangalan ng mga taong tumulong sa ating paaralan? Sa Lourdes, nandiyan si Ka Natoy, Aling Belen, Mang Albert, Mang Boy, Mang Erning, Aling Celestina. Bakit ba nating kailangan na malaman pa ang kanilang pangalan? Dahil sila ang ang mga taong nagbigay sa atin ng dahilan para tayo magsikap at maging inspirasyon. Dahil naniniwala akong kung sino ang kasama mo ngayon sa paglalakad ay sila din ang makakasalubong mo bukas. Sana pagbalik ninyo sa inyong mga paaralan ay kilalanin ninyo ang mga taong tumutulong sa atin para maging maayos at maganda ang ating pag-aaral.
For a week, you will not only be part of the government as citizens but rather take the role of a leader. BTW, I will throw a question before you today - what is the meaning of government? Mr. Webster defines it as the exercise of authority over a state, district, organization, institution to set direction, control, rule & management. According to the book Re-inventing the Government by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler, the word government comes from a Greek word, which means “to steer”. The job of the government is to steer, not to row. Delivering services is rowing, and the government is not very good at rowing. Steering requires people who see the entire universe of issues and possibilities and can balance competing demands for resources. Rowing requires people who focus intently on one mission and perform it well. Steering organization need to find the best methods to achieve their goals. Rowing organizations tend to defend their method at all costs.
I have a story to tell, one day a child asked his mother what is the meaning of Government. The mother gave her the definition like what I said earlier according to Mr. Webster and Osborne/Gaebler and it puzzled the child. He cannot understand what government is. The mother continues and told her that the government is like a family. The President will be played by the mother basically because he plans and controls the family as far as budget and taking care of the children. The Father is the one providing money to the mother and we could called him as a capitalist, you will play as the citizen for you are already grown-ups, the Baby is our future for he will have a big contribution to the society when he grows up and Nanny she is the one assisting the mother in the house chores we can called her a worker.
From that comparison, the child understand what is government was, the mother asked his child to tell her what did he understand about government and he says that as the President (Mother) is busy attending to his job, the capitalist (Father) is giving her money to support her. As the citizen (Brother & sisters) is busy watching TV, the future (baby) suddenly cries for milk - the adult didn’t mind him because they don’t want to be disturb and the President cannot hear the future (baby) cry for she is busy preparing the meal. The workers (nanny) can not hear the future because the she is her room being abused by the capitalist (father). You may be laughing for the story is exaggerated, let us pause for a while and think about are family – is it the same ……. I hope not.
It is true that a government can be compared to a family in fact it is the smallest form of government. If our family is not shaped by the right values, ethics and morality how can we as the smallest unit contribute to the society at large. We are heading for a humpty road ahead, madami butas at lubak ang kalye ating dadaanan papunta sa isang maunlad na buhay.
The prevailing perception nowadays is that the Philippines is a country with a substantial, sometimes dramatic, decline in ethics, values and personal responsibility. Examples of this perceived decline include – some Filipinos appear to have a little sense of right and wrong: domestic, school and workplace violence that now are too commonplace: teenage pregnancies that occur at an alarming rate; drug abuse and pornography; aggression and violence, rape and sex molestation, pervade the news media, the entertainment industry and the internet. Lifestyle checks of government employees indicate graft and corruption. In fact, it is reported in the newspapers that the Philippines ranks second as the most corrupt in the world and number one in the number of prostitutes.
Moral education should occur at home, but should also be taught, modeled and reaffirmed by members of the community (including teachers, friends, extended family and others). Today we have a new term for teenagers, we called them screenagers for these are the people who grew up watching television and playing computers, these devices baby sits for them. Economic and other pressures may cause some families to voluntarily or involuntarily fail to meet their responsibility to teach morals and values to their children. Every child should learn values, morals and ethics. Every adult should strive to be a hero to a child. Every adult should be responsible of being a model for morals and values by example. We should encourage children to consider the long term effects of their behavior, instead of concentrating on immediate gratification.
If, however, a child does not receive adequate moral training at an early age, society should not give up on that child. Community groups and school must intervene to teach morals. If they fail to do so, society may have to intervene later in a more costly, less effective, and more punitive manner, such as through the criminal justice system. It is both more successful and cost-effective to instill values at a young age that it is to instill them later on in life.
It is timely that we should raise the bar of our ethical and moral standards, and this is the special role of the family – a role that could spell the difference and propel the growth of the country. The “Golden rule” defines a standard that can guide human relations in all respects, relations among neighbors and family, interaction with strangers. We can conclude that “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” remains a fundamental ethical requirement and an essential element of our social contact.
Five to ten years from now, almost all you have completed your college diploma. It is important that we should think right now, what we want to do with our careers, either serve our countrymen locally or work in other countries. It is your call depending on your perspective but I will give you a school of taught for you to think or consider – right now we have a migration flock of nurses to the United States, Europe and Canada basically because of the high salaries ranging from P150,000 to P500,000 a month. It’s cool, and I have no problems with that. In addition, we have doctors who became nurses for the sake of seeking a greener pastures sometimes I’m beginning to think of if being a doctor is a prerequisite for becoming a nurse. Tatay, tapos na akong maging Doktor. Ang galling talaga ng anak ko eh di pwede ka ng mag-aral ng pagiging nurse.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are having a “brawl and brain drain”. I am not surprise, if tomorrow instead of sending our loved ones to an emergency situation using an ambulance, we are using airplane. Instead of bringing them on local hospital, we are bringing them to the hospitals in the United States. Why? Because we have no good doctors anymore, they are all in the United States. I may sound rude but it will happen, it is a matter of time unless we kept off our eye on the green money and instead focus on what we can contribute to help this country moving.
We should never lose our heart for our country. Yes, we have a career and family to take care of, but we should never ever forget we have a country to serve.
You may ask, How? How do I serve the country? One way is actually quite simple. I’ll share with you the answer of Butch Jimenez – VP of PLDT for Marketing and I will give you the same answer – If you are great, if you are smart, if you are the best this town has ever produced, then, please STAY. Just Stay in the country. You would have actually done a great service to our country just by staying.
But if you can’t stay, or you don’t want to stay, that’s fine. If you think you want to make it out there in the world bigger, that’s ok with me. But I want to ask two things for you.
First, go out there and prove to the world how great Filipino is. In whatever field you’re in, prove to the world how special we Filipinos truly are.
Second, don’t just plan to COME back. Plan to GIVE back to the country. If you that, if every Filipino who goes out there in the world – and there are millions –proves to everybody how great the Filipino race is, and not only plans to come back, but actually plans to give back to this country, in less than one generation, we will be an even greater nation.
Lastly, for the last 37 years of my life, I have realized one thing, “There is no destination beyond the reach of those who walk with God.” We just need to take God’s hand and walk with him. Because when you do, whatever destination we are hoping to reach, and if God walks with you and takes you through, there will be no destination beyond our reach. And if you reach your destination, don’t ever forget that “of those to whom much is given, much is required”. Take an extra step to help others in need, Dahil SMART Tayo.
Maraming salamat po.
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