By Atty. Howie Calleja
While we do not agree with the SC’s decision and may not fully comprehend the fraud and results of the election we must nonetheless move forward lest we get stuck in the issue of the past. We must move on and forward in Hope.
Despite the Supreme Court’s rejection of our final bid to disqualify Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from last month’s election, clearing the way for his inauguration tomorrow and the return to rule of our country’s most infamous dynasty … it is not a time to be discouraged or call a retreat. Hope Springs Eternal let us organize and strengthen our ranks.
While we are still trying to comprehend the gravity of fraud cheating and vote buying during the last the election, we can still take some sort of positive action. We can learn from this electoral exercise and start making adjustments to our future engagements — SEE, JUDGE, ACT. This experience will only make us stronger. We lose by quitting but by learning and recalibrating we will be victorious in the end. And, may I just add that during this time of confusion and doubt, our sense of togetherness will be our strength. So reach out to our fellow compatriots and give them words of encouragement in these difficult times. This can help us feel more positive about our country while also fighting of a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.
There are so many things that we can’t control— Our time is much better spent focusing on the things we can control—like how well we take care of ourselves, the subject matter of the conversations we talk about with other people, and how you spend our time. So, let’s not waste it on second-guessing what we did in the past and concentrate on what we can do in the future.
VP Leni’s pink revolution has not been seen as the end. On the contrary, it’s just beginning. And like in the past, we are in for the long haul and the new daybreak in our history may be sluggish, but there is light at the end of the long dark tunnel. Together we shall choose to be a part of the solution critically collaborating with our new government and humbly putting aside negativities to make way for growth and transformation. This is in spite of the weeds in the field that make it complicated for the wheat to grow and thrive in abundance. We still have lingering questions, but a silent inspiration from within gives us inner strength and resilience to bounce back to life anew guided by the Spirit of HOPE.
Finally, I also firmly believe hope calls us to cooperate with God’s design – to be disposed to God’s plan. Hope calls us to be discerning individuals through prayer and social action. Karl Rahner, the great theologian of the 20th century once said that what the world needs today is not a new technology or new pedagogy. What the world needs now are men and women accustomed to the ways of the Spirit. Men and women whose human spirit is infused with the Holy Spirit and whose natural knowledge is transfused with God’s wisdom to see in HOPE GOD’S PLAN in events we experience. ” Be open to the charge of the moment – the ways of the spirit that can permeate your life with a twin gift: love, generosity and understanding.
In other words, we should not simply pray for a brighter Philippines — but we have to live for a better Philippines and be the best Filipinos we can for everyone to see. Best examples for our motherland that open new doors, horizons and prospects for a better future. We must continue to fight and trust for the Filipino people no matter who or what they are. Together we can overcome, stand up and fight for what we truly deserve as a nation. Hopeful with our faith in God we will succeed for with him nothing is impossible. And with our trust in the goodness of the Filipino together we can stand with heads up high.