By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

ON Monday, we troop to the polling places to vote for many reasons. Others vote to move this country forward. Others vote to move themselves to positions of power. Others just respond to monetary stimuli.

 

The bougainvillea

 

the bougainvillea watches the road

that always heaves with shovels

as it is being paved again

every three years,

as fates change

with a vote

bought

for

a

sum

equal

to a meal

for a day, enough

to quell the thirst and

the hunger that remains

for another three years, starving

as the bougainvillea grows and blooms

with

very

little

drops

of

rain

and

the

hot

rays

of

the

sun

The government we deserve is in our hands. And also, it is not. The system needs to reform. Institutions tasked to safeguard the electoral process is laden with power and influence peddling. The persons handling them are instruments of the powerful and the moneyed. Joy Cruz Napolitano says, “I am still putting my trust in the Lord. Whoever wins, I believe it’s God’s will.” I asked, “Isn’t it unfair to God to attribute the outcome of human activity whose methodologies are often ungodly?”

The will of God is in the change of hearts. It is a slow process of becoming, a revolution from within. It is not won by a single electoral process. It is a constant struggle of good and evil. Good governance requires a vigilance as dedicated to ensure the survival of a child. It is won over time. Until we learn to love this country as much as we value our own children. Until we recover the God in us.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments