Monday, November 27, 2006 Echaves: After the summit, what? By Lelani P. Echaves
WE CAN either curse the darkness or light a candle. We’ve heard that line before. But it bears repeating, especially as the inevitable Asean summit nears.
We can rant endlessly about the ubiquitous traffic snarls wherever we go. We can nitpick about the never-ending re-asphalting works that always cause our tardiness at our workplace. And we can whine about Citom, Tedman and the police force delaying our otherwise smooth ride to anywhere in the city.
Or we can leave for work earlier, thank the city and national governments for the metamorphosis of the corrugated roads with the potholes into stretches and stretches for the smooth drive or ride. We can also choose to feel safer now that everywhere we turn, policemen and other law-enforcing officers are considerably visible. We can choose to whine and grumble ad infinitum, or thank the Asean summit for these new developments and readjustments in our lives.
A reason for the resistance to all the rerouting, the alerts about closed routes when the foreign dignitaries conquer the streets from hotels Shangri-la to Marco Polo Plaza, and the frenzied beautification of the city is the bending-over-backward for non-Filipinos. But hey, who among us Filipinos really receive our visitors without prettifying first our abodes more than usual, without planning and serving a special dish or two on the dining table, or without laying out the best finery for the banquet table?
One of the joys of traveling in the US and Europe is the sight of streets, center islands, and plazas with rows of crisp and healthy plants and flowers in a riot of colors. Except for Baguio, scenes like these are non-existent in the Philippines. Now, thanks to the Asean summit, center islands are abloom with yellow and orange flowers and the streets are cleaner. And if a motorist doesn’t appreciate this while waiting for the traffic to ease up, then he must be dead to the world.
The resistance could also be because of the strengthening cynicism of “After the Summit, what?” After the rains of the Christmas season and the floods, do we say hello again to corrugated roads and potholes? Back to missing policemen, Tedman teams and Citom, especially during peak hours? Back to chaos in the streets as jeepney and taxi drivers resume their king-of-the-road antics? And back to weeds in the center islands and roadsides? Shall the “ningas-cogon” mentality reign anew?
Not if the commitment takes firm root to always put one’s best forward, says the Dilaab Movement. The group knows that an even greater challenge exists for Filipinos after the Asean summit: “How can we, as individuals and groups, ride on the crest of the summit towards genuine and sustained transformation?” To help provide answers, as well as complement the government’s preparations for the summit, a forum unfolds this Thursday, Nov. 30 on “Heroic Christian Citizenship: Igniting Spaces of Hope, Asean and Beyond.” Venue for the morning forum is the Cebu Provincial Capitol Social Hall.
The speakers include retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.; lawyer Alexander Lacson, author of the “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country;” Fr. Carmelo Diola, overall coordinating steward of Dilaab Movement; and Chief Supt. Samso Tucay of the Philippine National Police. The reactors are Ernesto Aboitiz of the business sector, Koni de Guzman of the government sector, and Eman Nazareno of the civic group.
Dilaab is a church-based movement, which envisions itself as helping to give birth to a transformed Filipino nation through heroic Christian citizenship. This citizenship is hinged on the conviction that doing little acts of good citizenship on a daily basis, such as obeying traffic rules and segregating garbage, can be acts of loving God and neighbor.
