12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country

The Little Things That Count by Pepper Marcelo

My apologies to the authors for publishing this on Google Blogs, my intention is to share this article with other Filpinos who I hope would have a change of heart and stay put in the Philippines. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

A small book has recently surfaced which provides simple, easy-to-follow solutions to alleviate, says the author, many of the societal ills affecting the country today.

Written by Alexander L. Lacson, 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country is a short, modest guide on what and how every ordinary Filipino can contribute to improving our nation. Ranging from the straightforwardly simple (“Rule 1. Follow traffic rules”; “Rule 12. Be a good parent”) to the patriotic (“Rule 3. Buy Filipino”; “Rule 8. Vote during elections”), these “little things,” when done by numbers that multiply over time, will eventually accumulate to create a greater whole of good, says Lacson.

“These things are very, very simple; it wouldn’t cost money,” Lacson tells Planet Philippines in an interview. “They only need a change of heart and attitude in the way we do our daily things.”

Lacson cites Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, which posited that small deeds can “spur revolutions” in societies. Gladwell wrote about the high criminal rate in New York from the 60’s to the 90’s. With crime occurring a great deal within the subway system, two police officials systematized a method of simple improvements – from cleaning litter and graffiti, to posting undercover police in stations, to improving lighting facilities, etc. – which in turn, decreased crime to an unexpectedly remarkable degree, changing the culture of New York for the better. Because of his book, Gladwell was cited as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential
People this year.

Lacson believes the same theories could be applied and implemented in the Philippines. “Following our traffic rules is the first, because it’s the simplest of our laws in the country,” he writes in his book. “The moment we learn to follow them, that would be the lowest form of national discipline we could develop, and could lead to the development of the culture. For all we know, it could really happen.”

Here is Lacson’s list of the 12 little things every Filipino can do to help our country:

1. Follow traffic rules. Follow the law.
2. Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt.
3. Don’t buy smuggled goods. Buy Local. Buy Filipino.
4. When you talk to others, especially foreigners, speak positively about us and our country.
5. Respect your traffic officer, policeman and soldier.
6. Do not litter. Dispose your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve.
7. Support your church.
8. During elections, do your solemn duty.
9. Pay your employees well.
10. Pay your taxes.
11. Adopt a scholar or a poor child.
12. Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and love our country.

As Lacson sees it, the only reason we haven’t improved or progressed as a nation or culture is due to the pervading mindset of apathy and self-loathing. “Most of the African countries like Sudan, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Somalia, they are poor because they are poor in natural resources,” he says. “The Philippines is rich in natural resources. We’re only poor because of ourselves. We don’t do so much for the country. There is no love.”

Lacson traces this negative thinking back to our history, specifically the 1896 Revolution against
Spain. “What would have happened if that revolution won?” he asks. “That revolution was initiated by people like Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini. These Filipinos were the first to have the heart and vision for the country. They truly loved it. If they won, the government they would have established would have been truly Filipino.”

Instead, he continues, the Philippines was sold to the US, wherein they, and not the Filipino people, handpicked leaders to operate the civilian government. “And who were the people that they put in power? It was the mestizos. They were not people like Bonificacio, Mabini,
Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and Antonio Luna, who had love for the country. In their hearts and minds, the mestizos wanted to become Spanish. So what kind of culture do you think prevailed? Their culture, a culture that had no true love for the poor.”

This led, he says, to a perpetual cycle of self-loathing which is continues up until today. He quickly adds, however, that there is hope. “This is something we can change and stop. It is partly here [in this book].”

Lacson, 40, is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law (Class 1996) and has taken post graduate studies at Harvard Law School. He has had his own successful law practice for a decade. He chooses his clients and at the same time, frequently takes on substantial pro bono work, such as representing asbestos and toxic victims from former US
military bases in Clark and Subic.

Several years ago, during the administration of ousted President Joseph Estrada, he and his wife Pia, also a lawyer, were seriously contemplating leaving the country to go abroad. Fearing the country’s financial and political uncertainty, they had a long, serious discussion on what course of
action would be best for the future of their family.

“It was the environment, the government, the politics, the state of peace and order,” he cites as being the problems. “We thought of the security for the children. We thought if we worked 20 hours a day, we would get the same quality of life as people in other countries. But there, if
you work for just 8 hours, you get paid five times better than here.”

The decision to migrate depended on one central question: Will the Philippines progress in the next 20 years? If they thought yes, then they’d stay. If they both couldn’t imagine it, they would go abroad “while we’re still young and have our energy to establish our families
abroad.”

Lacson narrates that after a long discussion, he and his wife realized that the answer to the question is in them. They made the decision to stay despite an uncertain future, resolving to “do
more to help the country,” as well as convince and infect others with that same attitude. Besides writing the book, Lacson and his wife have also sponsored scholars from impoverished backgrounds, donated funds to charity, and joined various advocacies.

Starting the book in August 2004 as his answer to President Macapagal-Arroyo’s call for every Filipino to “sacrifice for the country”, he accorded whatever little free time he had to completing the book. “I wrote this while having a full-time job,” he says. “I read a lot, researched and spent a lot of time in the night, in the early morning and my weekends just to
finish.”

The book’s format is deceptively simple, furnished with memorable quotes from accomplished individuals, historical and political lessons on why the nation is in its negative state (and what we could do about it), and anecdotal tales of hope to inspire and take to heart.

After completing the book, Lacson approached and successfully corralled a number of prominent
individuals to write introductory essays praising his motives. This included former President Corazon Aquino, a symbol of the original People Power movement (since, as Lacson hopes, his book “will inspire a new form of People Power”); Eugenia Apostol, chair of Worldwide People
Power; Father Ruben Tanseco of the Center for Family Ministries; and PLDT CEO and Chairman Manuel Pangilinan.

Mrs. Aquino said in the foreword, “This book is very timely and practical because it is comparatively easy to do the suggested 12 little things to help our country. I truly hope that this book will be read by many, many Filipinos.”

In another foreword, Apostol, founding chair of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, wrote, “don’t do all the things Alex Lacson tells you to do, or else we’ll all end up in heaven.” Lacson published the book on his own with no major sponsor. He is currently in negotiations with local bookstore chains to release it at an affordable price.

With 12 Little Things, Lacson hopes to convey the message that the future of the country lies in our hands. “Not in the hands of generals, military officers, politicians, but the people working as one,” he says. “If every Filipino contributed to nation-building, if they just do one common
thing together and act as a community, we can change this country.

Impeccable Logic

Did God Create All That Exists?

A university professor of Logic challenged his students with this question:

"Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes, He did!"

"God created everything?" the professor doubtingly asked.

"Yes, Sir," the student replied firmly.

The professor countered, "If God created everything, then God created evil; since evil exists and, according to the basic logic principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Before such an answer, the students all became quiet. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that once more, he had proven that the Christian faith is a myth.

One other student then raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, professor?"

"Of course," replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The students snickered at the young man's question.

Unperturbed, the young man continued to expound, "Sir, the fact is cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is, in reality, the absence of heat. Every body or object is subject to study when it possesses or transmits energy, and heat is what a body or matter must have to transmit energy. At Absolute Zero (-460 F), there is total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created the word "cold" to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course, it does."

The student replied, "Once again, you are wrong, Sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is, in reality, the absence of light. Light - we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. One cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How would you know how dark a certain space is? By measuring the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally, the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now a bit uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this, the student replied, "Evil does not exist, Sir, or at least, it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. Like darkness and cold, "evil" is a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exists, just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name --- Albert Einstein

The Clock of Life

by Robert H. Smith, copyright 1932, 1982

The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.

To lose one's wealth is sad indeed,
To lose one's health is more,
To lose one's soul is such a loss
That no man can restore.

The present only is our own,
So live, love, toil with a will,
Place no faith in "Tomorrow,"
For the Clock may then be still.

Words of Wisdom

These are quotes I received through text messages, saved over the years. I need to clear my cell phone memory and it is such a waste to just delete them so I am transferring them here! Most of the quotes are anonymous.

O Lord, I leave the past to your mercy,
my present to your love,
and my future to your providence.
Amen
- Father Pio

When the student is ready, the teacher shall appear.

A successful person is one
... who accumulates wealth or honors for himself.
A significant person is one
... who without wealth or honors
... affects positively the people around him.
Indeed a person is worth not on what he,
or not even for who he is,
but for what others have become because of him!

Many people want to change the world;
Only a few people want to change themselves.
Few people realize that change must begin first within.
- Leo Tolstoy

Each second you can be reborn.
Each second there can be a new beginning.
It is a choice.
It is YOUR CHOICE!

If you have to change your life,
the first person you have to stand up to is ... YOURSELF!
- Dr. Phil McGraw

Repeat lessons until learned.
You cannot change what you do not acknowledge.
You teach people how to treat you.
Commit to change.
Pray for guidance and strength.
Love unconditionally.
- Life's Strategies by Dr. Phil McGraw

I can alter my life by altering my attitude.
He who would have nothing to do with thorns
must never attempt to gather flowers.

The hardest truth of all is ...
"In the end only one person can
drag you down or lift you up,
and that person is YOU!"

Life is really not fair.
Life's trials should not make us a BITTER person but a BETTER one!

What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves;
What matters most is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing course.

No one can go back and make a brand new start.
But anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending!

Action without planning is the reason for every failure.
But don't let the thought of failure freeze you to inaction.

The value of waiting ...
Is a value of a lifetime
If we know how to wait
Life shall be easy 'coz ...
GOD knows what to give us
In the right Time.

BE HONEST ...
even if others are not ...
even if others will not ...
even if others cannot.

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.
- Nelson Mandela

To whom much is given, much is required.

There is no destination beyond the reach of one who talks with GOD.

When going through life
and traveling in the direction of your dreams,
the best way to get ahead is the simplest way,
one step at a time.
- A. Rogers

Our world has become a very dangerous place to live in,
not because of some people who are evil,
but because of many people who do not do anything about it.
- Albert Einstein

B4 Praying, Forgive.
B4 Speaking, Listen.
B4 Spending, Earn.
B4 Criticizing, Wait.
B4 Quitting, Try.
B4 Complaining, Appreciate.
That's the way to live Life!

Strange how people can be so preoccupied ...
with a life we cannot hold onto ...
and neglect an eternity we cannot run away from.

Is money the root of all evil?
No. Greed is.
Elvis nailed this one when he said,
"Sharing Money is what gives it value."

Buddha said, " My teachings are a raft meant to help you cross the river.
Once you get to the other shore set them down and go own with your life."

Our natural state is to be peaceful and happy until we disturb it.

The best six doctors anywhere,
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air,
And exercise and diet.

To keep the body in good health is a duty ...
otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
- Buddha

Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick our self up!

There are two ways to be fooled.
one is to believe what is not so.
The other is to refuse to believe what is so.
- Soren Kiergaard

No one is old until the interest in life is gone out of him;
until his spirit become aged, until his heart becomes cold and unresponsive.
As long as he touches life he cannot grow old in spirit.
A man is old no matter what his years when he is out of touch with youth,
with his ideals, its point of view; out of touch with the spirit of his time,
when he ceases to be progressive and up-to-date.
- Orson Marden

Hope is the companion of power and mother success,
for those of us who hope strongest have within us the gift of miracles.
- Sydney Bremer

The great man doesn't think beforehand of his word
that they maybe sincere, nor of his actions that they maybe resolute,
He simply speaks and does what is right.

People should know what you stand for.
They should also know what you wont stand for.

Many people cannot be happy
'coz they're only thinking of their destination.
We also have to enjoy the journey!

Success is getting what you want;
Happiness is wanting what you get.

It's amazing to realize that living in simplicity gives contentment;
we go as we came to this world with nothing.
Nothing is ours to keep.

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is home.

Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
Expectation of too much perfection will only make us miserable.

True healing comes when you can find joy,
and experience peace in your heart amidst the suffering.

Education makes a people easy to govern but impossible to enslave.
- Lord Chancellor Brougham

Cowards die a thousand times before their deaths, the brave die but once.
- Shakespeare

Knowledge without faith is like a prison.

Tell me and I'll forget ...
show me and I might remember ...
but involve me and I'll understand!

The hardest thing to remember as a parent is that you don't posses your children.
You have to let them be their own persons.

The best thing ...
to give your enemy is forgiveness;
to a friend your heart;
to your child, a good example;
to yourself, respect;
to all men, charity.

Let your actions convey your character and convictions without ever speaking a word.
Let your life exemplify your Faith, let it be filled with love.

Nonviolence is the first article of my faith.
It is also the last article of my creed.
- Mahatma Gandhi

The wealth of the world is more than enough for man's needs.
But the wealth of GOD is never enough for man's greed.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
- Andrew Gide

The Five Principles of Reiki

Just for today ... do not anger.
Just for today ... do not worry.
Honour your parents, teachers and elders.
Earn your living honestly.
Give thanks for every living thing.

Coffee

I receive this beautiful story as an email, from whence it originally came I do not know!

A group of college alumni, well-established in their careers, began talking at a reunion about the impact that a professor of theirs had made on each of their lives. They decided to go visit their old professor, who was now retired. During their visit their conversation turned into complaining about the stress in their work and lives.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive,some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, "Notice that each of you took one of the nicer-looking cups. You didn't take any of the plain ones. While it is normal for you to want the best for yourselves, that has become the source of your problems and stress. The cup itself adds nothing to the quality to the coffee. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups ... and then you began eyeing each other's cups. You compared the quality of your cup with the quality of a friend's cup."

The professor continued, "Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The style of cup one has does not define or change the quality of life an individual lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Here is the lesson for today: God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee! Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Joyfully give thanks to the Father. Spend time with God over coffee.

Von Voyage Daddy!

This was written by my very articulate sister Rona Banes as a tribute to our father who passed away last April 9, 2008 after being bedridden for four long years due to Parkinson's Disease.

It is a difficult task to gather up all the memories and pick only a few to illustrate the life of Dr. Ricardo G. Santos a.k.a Daddy, Lolo, Tito Carding, Doc Carding, Doc Puto. But here are the roles I remembered Daddy playing while I was growing up:

DOCTOR: Kung merong OFW, Daddy was a DFW (Domestic Filipino Worker). In the 70s and early 80s, he braved the highways from San Agustin, Isabela (where he used to have his practice) to come home to us here in Marikina until the political situation at that time became too sticky for an impartial doctor such as he was. For Daddy made no distinction either between rich and poor patients or between government and rebel soldiers. He was devoted to his profession. Gagamutin niya kahit sino, may pambayad man o wala (basta clinic hours! pero pag-emergency bangon siya!).

MR. FIX-IT/HANDYMAN: Daddy loved tinkering with machines and had a talent for repairing them. Magaling siyang magmekaniko ng kanyang Beetle. Magaling din siyang tubero. TVs, electric fans, anything under sun, he would study how things work and figured out how to bring life back into them. Walang kasangkapang naitatapon noon at malamang di kikita sa amin ang Love Electronics :)

TENNIS PLAYER: Growing up, I remember summer mornings tagging along and going with Daddy to the tennis court (be it sa Sumulong, sa Sports Center or sa Marikina Transit). I always looked forward to these times even though all I ever did was sit in the shade, drink my Coke and be thankful that I was not the one hitting the ball under the blazing sun. Almost everyone in the family took to the sport especially Kuya Ricco but not me, payatot kasi at lampa…the lightest tennis racket was still too heavy for my gangly arms. I was always proud of Daddy and his fluid movements in the court: it was like a dance when he executed his backhands, forehands and smashes. And it was also good to know that he could beat the hell out of his tennis buddies at his prime.

FRIEND: Daddy had a way with people. At first encounter, you’d think he was masungit but in reality he had an easy smile, loved to tell jokes and gave good advice to those who asked him for it. As a doctor, he was a friend to his patients, someone they could come to for help and medical advice without fear of being patronized and looked down upon. He was a tolerant and open-minded man but he had no patience with hypocrites: ayaw niya ng plastic. Kay Daddy, dapat magpakatotoo ka.

UNCLE: I received a text message from one of my cousins, Gerry, last Wednesday when Daddy passed away. He said that he will treasure those moments he had with my dad when he was still in the clinic and the times he had a chance to talk with Daddy in our house. Masarap kasing kausap si Daddy. Masarap kakwentuhan.

LOLO: As a lolo, he will be sorely missed by his grandchildren: Ponch, Micah, Liann, Ruann, Adriel, Misha and even 3-month old Sofia. Sabi nga namin ang yaman niya sa apo. And true to Daddy’s signature dry wit and humor, which he kept to the end: when Ate Ruby would ask him, “Daddy bakit ang gagwapo at ang gaganda ng mga apo mo?” He would reply without hesitation, “Bakit gwapo naman ako ah!”

FATHER: As a father I used to fear his wrath when I was still an innocent youngster but growing up I think I became one of his (and mama’s) biggest headaches. I was the proverbial black sheep of the family, the prodigal daughter, sutil kasi. But seriously, he was a wonderful father. Mama and Daddy made a lot of sacrifices so they could provide us, their children, with a stable home and a good education – the best legacy a parent could ever give to his/her child. Sa awa ng Diyos, walang naging PAL (palamunin) sa amin. The most memorable advice Daddy had given me that made me the nightmare of my former employers was: “If you’re not happy with what you’re doing, resign!” Not that he wanted me to give up easily but he knew the importance of finding one’s place under the sun by doing what one loves/enjoys doing because it is in this manner that we can reach our full potential and a shot at happiness. Just think of the consequences if he had forbidden me to study European Languages in UP, I would not have become a French teacher. Then I would not have taught French at Alliance Francaise and thus I would not have met my husband, Xavier, thus walang Misha and Sofia! Sayang di ba?

HUSBAND: Last but not least was one of his most important roles: that of a husband to Mama, to Coring. 49 years of marriage is a long time to be married. I admire my parents because they never lost the “spark”, that “lovin’ feelin”. Of course, through the years, nandyan yung tampuhan, samaan ng loob, nagtatalikuran sa kama, bigla na lang magshoshopping therapy si mama. That’s understandable. Marriage is a lot of hard work. Pero nakakatuwa sila kasi sweet sila kahit habang nagsisipilyo, nag-kakalabitan, they loved teasing each other and there was always a twinkle in their eyes. Daddy and Mama were a true example of the devotion a husband and a wife can bestow to each other. With this in mind, I would like to commend mama for taking care of Daddy 24/7 not just in the last 3-4 years of his life when he was beset by illness but since the day they got married 49 years ago.

It is hard to sum up in a few minutes a life that spanned 79 years. I would thus just like to thank Daddy for who he was in the many roles he played because he together with Mama gave us, his children: Ricco, Ruby, Ruth and myself, the love and direction we needed to become who and what we are today. Hopefully, we can pass on this legacy to the grandchildren. Oh and Daddy, where ever you are, don’t worry aalagaan namin si Mama.