(We yield this space to the joint statement of the student leaders of Ateneo de Iloilo – Santa Maria Catholic School in Iloilo City due to its timeliness. – Ed.)
AS MUCH as we want to look for silver linings to what is happening in our country, we have become witnesses in the past years to foul situations: happenings and actions that run contrary to the values that our parents, teachers, and elders have taught us. We have seen and heard the deliberate circumvention of and disrespect for the law and the human rights that they ought to protect. We have witnessed how government positions are reduced as mere pieces to power-play and corruption. We have felt the results of a mismanaged healthcare system that has claimed thousands of lives. We have been embroiled in an educational crisis that has festered into negligence that has glorified incompetence and mediocrity, bred historical distortion, and permitted the malicious spread of fake news and disinformation through social media, even as a pandemic rages on.
Is this the future we are meant to have? Can we aspire and ask for something brighter and rosier?
Hence, it is our hope that circumstances in the country will improve: that in the next six years, we will have leaders who value the Filipino people, respecting their rights regardless of age, sex, culture, ethnicity, and social status; leaders who ensure that the rule of law is maintained and enforced by a justice system that is fair and equal to all; leaders who are humble enough to recognize the flaws in our economic, educational, agricultural, political, and medical systems – and have the wisdom and competence to correct these with the proper measures; leaders who are willing to walk with the last, least, and lost; leaders who will stand for what is right and what is truthful.
Most of us cannot vote yet – but you can. And so, here is our plea: vote for us national leaders who will embody servant-leadership, those who lead by example and will prioritize the nation before personal interests. Entrust to us leaders who will be the exemplars of the Filipino bayanihan spirit, who will seek out to lift our marginalized, vulnerable, and oppressed brothers and sisters. Give us leaders who will translate their faith into just actions.
Vote for us. Vote for our future.
Mayo 9, 2022: Araw ng Pagbabago, Araw Nating Pilipino.
* Ateneo de Iloilo student leaders: Carmela C. Javellana (Senior High Student Council, Vice-Chairperson); John Carlo S. Legaspi (Senior High Student Council, Grade – 12 Councilor); Sophia Angela J. Ansino (Senior High Student Council, Grade – 11 Councilor); Larah Danielle J. Ansino (Junior High Student Council, Chairperson); Margarita S. Cachopero (Senior High School The Ripples, Editor-in-Chief); Denz Joshua J. Tinong (Senior High School The Ripples, Associate Editor); Ignatius B. Tan (Senior High School The Ripples, Literary and Arts Editor); Lawrence L. Mendoza (Senior High School The Ripples, Cartoonist); Seana Christel A. Tura (Junior High School The Ripples, Editor-in-Chief); Meliza Evelyn T. Tugbang (Siklab, President); Cassandria Fae R. Cabra (Siklab, Hiraya ng Pagbabago); Alexandra Nicole B. Balaoing (Siklab, Hiraya ng Pagbabago)
