Bad
news about politics, the economy and social development have been
occupying the front pages of newspapers and monopolizing talk
shows. As the year draws to a close, fears about 2009 are escalating.
While huge economies like those of the United States, Japan and
South Korea continue to worsen, forebodings about impacts on the
Philippines and Filipinos continue to deepen.
In
the Philippines, corrupt governance has been repeatedly identified
as a major cause of the continuing deterioration in the state
of the economy. Strangely, while citizens are spending sleepless
nights about the slowdown in gross domestic product, rapid rise
in unemployment, lower growth of overseas Filipino workers' remittances,
increasing levels of poverty and drastic reduction in social services,
it is still business as usual for politicians.
Congressmen
continue to be preoccupied with Charter change even as many Filipinos
are occupied with sheer physical survival.
Is
there hope for the country? Two weddings and a rally give part
of the answer.
Two
weddings
Weddings
are among the most enduring traditions in the country. For Filipinos,
the "marrying month" is not necessarily the Western-inspired
month of June. December is considered the best month because it
coincides with harvest time and Christmas. It is the month of
much hope and glad tidings.
Filipinos
continue to hold weddings, crisis or no crisis. In the space of
one week, I attended two different yet similar weddings which
gave beautiful messages of love and hope.
The
other Saturday, Noriel and Tina Tiglao exchanged marriage vows
in a beautiful garden located on Tagaytay ridge. It was windy
and foggy when the bridal procession wended its way in a path
lined with flowers to the altar where the groom and two pastors
waited.
The
small wedding party was made up of family members, friends from
the University of the Philippines and members of the International
Baptist Church. Classical music played during the rites heightened
the feeling of romance. The prayers were beautiful. Noriel and
Tina wrote their own wedding vows. By the time the rites were
over, the sun had risen, bathing everyone in glowing, morning
light.
On
Saturday, Regan Jomao-as, crush ng bayan of Silliman University
coeds, tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend, Jay Ann. While
Noriel and Tina were married on the crest of an ancient volcano,
Regan and Jay Ann tied the knot in a beautiful garden by the sea.
The setting was the brilliant Dumaguete sunset, just across the
mysterious island of Siquijor. Everything was different—the
vows which Regan and Jay Ann wrote, the advice and prayers of
two pastors, and the contemporary music, interspersed with beautiful
readings from the Bible, as well as inspirational writings. Eight
pairs of ninong and ninang (godparents) were actually long-married
couples, as shown by their white hair and slow gait. Again, the
bride and groom were surrounded by family, colleagues from the
university and classmates from high school.
By
the time the guests started dancing away, a full harvest moon
had cast its gentle light on the revelers. A tall, handsome groom.
A beautiful, glowing bride. A full moon, shimmering waters from
the sea and Venus, the star of love, twinkling brightly in the
heavens. How can one be afraid of a crisis?
As
long as the Filipino family stays together, the country will not
be rent asunder by the perfect economic storm which is brewing
in the horizon.
A
rally
The
day started with showers and blustery winds. The morning news
crackled with accounts of busloads of ralliers barred from entering
Metro Manila. I was on my way to chair a panel in an UNCTAD (United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development) meeting on united-front
work. Along Edsa, I saw jeeps marked UP Diliman speeding towards
Makati. My heart lightened. I knew the rally would go on as scheduled.
TV
newscasters billed it the largest rally ever held in Makati. I
remarked during my UNCTAD meeting that what was happening in Makati
is the perfect united-front action the global community was looking
for. Everyone was there—progressive organizations, civil-society
groups, political movements,
political parties, church people, workers, the urban poor and
students. Even the government was there, as personified by local
government officials and the policemen!
Fears
that the Filipinos can never be united might just be proven wrong.
Two people can build a family. Families build communities. Communities
can unite on an issue which threatens their freedom. Two weddings
and a rally illustrate this.
There
will be more weddings and rallies. And now for the next steps….
Two
weddings and a rally Opinion