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Filipinos
are not grateful or optimistic, we hate ourselves because we see
nothing good in our country. We laugh because it would hurt too much
not to, we complain because it would be too risky to act. So we should
make it a point to remember our history and teach it to others. Not
merely our centuries old struggle against colonialism but also the more
recent fight for justice, fairness and prosperity. We should visit the
newly re-opened Ayala Museum, and take our kids with us. We should pass
on good news, and there is a lot of it to be found! Though the
infidelities of artistas are more newsworthy than the years of hard
work of Dr. Carmencita Padilla and our Lingkod Bayan awardees or the
laudable conduct of our relief and rescue workers, there is more good
news than bad. The bad news is just more fashionable. But something has
to change first!
Filipinos
have no self-discipline, we do not follow the rules because no one else
does. So we must do the right thing, adhere uncompromisingly to our
moral standards. We cannot control the behavior of others, but we can
control what we do. We are a country rich in faith, both in quality and
in diversity, but whether we proclaim the Apostle’s Creed or the
Shahada, there is one thing I’m sure we would all agree on: If we are
only good because of fear of punishment and hope for reward, then the
faith we posess is hollow. If we were better Catholics, Christians,
Moslems, Hindus, Jews and Buddhists; we would be better Filipinos. If
we were to say: “I do the right thing and I do it for myself, no matter
what the conduct of others”, then you would see a renaissance. But
something has to change first!
Filipinos
are petty, so we must stop being petty ourselves. We have shot down
ideas and shut down programs, not because of their quality but because
they were born in the minds and built by the hands of a rival or a
predecessor. Our definition of success is individualistic, even though
our own history teaches us that no radical change has ever occurred in
this country that did not incorporate the goals of the powerful with
the goals of the many. The government cannot be depended on, so we must
think of public-private partnerships, of entrepreneurship for economic
development. But something has to change first!
Filipinos
are corrupt; our government is incorrigible, our children are gambling,
cheating each other on Ragnarok, addicted to whatever drugs they can
afford, our graduates do not meet the standard of education that
industry requires; so we must donate to our schools, both public and
private. We must give back to teachers the luster of their profession
and the dignity that comes with a proper salary. We must think of
win-win situations, of living in integrity. But something has to change
first!
That something is me.
That something is you.
So
to hell with what the world, the media, the millions of cynics may say!
Because “yes, the Filipino can” and soon the Filipino will! I refuse to
lose hope in the Filipino, because I refuse to lose hope in my family
and friends, I refuse to lose hope in myself. Thank God, I can change.
Thank God, I can work, inspire, lead, act and care!
Whatever else the future brings, thank God, thank God I’m a Filipino!
Maoi
Arroyo is the CEO and founder of Hybridigm Consulting , the first
biotechnology consulting firm in the Philippines. Hybridigm enables its
clients to commercialize technology, partnering with them on the
journey from science to enterprise. Hybridigm’s current client roster
includes private equity investors in the UK, start-up biotech companies
in Shanghai, as well as six existing local biotech entrepreneurs.
Ms. Arroyo was
a member of the inaugural class of the Master's in Bioscience
Enterprise, a professional practice program developed by the University
of Cambridge, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
(HST) and the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is a recipient of a
British Chevening Scholarship and obtained her first degree in Biology
(BS) from the University of the Philippines.
She is also a
co-organizer of the Philippine Emerging Start-ups Open or PESO, which
is a technology and innovation based business plan competition
organized by alumni and friends of the Massachussets Institute of
Technology.
This essay is an excerpt from her blog, Manilenya .
Ang Bagong Pinoy - Building a better Philippines, one Filipino at a time
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