Dear Sen. Noynoy,
I wish to respond to your call for comments or suggestions as you discern whether or not to run for higher office, and rightly so, what mission to pursue if ever. You may please consider then-
First, the People. There's no denying now of the phenomenal renaissance of People Power and the widespread call for the RIGHT LEADER to step up. And it's not out of nostalgia for the euphoria of EDSA and Cory's presidency; it's because GMA turned out to be worse than Marcos. As you even stressed in your privilege speech marking Ninoy's assassination:
"Tinututulan ba natin, halimbawa, ang paglaganap muli ng katiwalian sa pamahalaan-o kontento na ba tayong magbulag-bulagan? Naa-alarma ba tayo sa patuloy na pagpaslang at pagkawala ng mga mamamahayag at ng mga tagapagtanggol ng mga api? Pahihintulutan ba natin ang garapal na mga tangkang palitan ang ating Saligang Batas para sa mga huwad na layunin? Ok lang ba sa ating tratuhin tayong para bang mga batang musmos na kayang-kayang tuksuhin at kutyain ng mga tagapaglingkod na ating hinalal?"
Verily, 2010 is no longer a mundane "winnability" contest among "presidentiables." It is a sublime struggle, as it should be, for good to win over evil. And whether by Ninoy's testament or Divine Providence, the ball happens to be in your hands now.
Second, the Mission. Surely, "the destiny of our country cannot be shaped by one family alone," as you said. Thus, you may very well SHEPHERD for genuine people empowerment the long clamor for structural reforms. With a constitutional convention-for a participatory process, you can lead the paradigm shift from a unitary nation-state controlled by "Imperial Manila" to a federalized system of decentralized administration. Indeed, it's you alone we can TRUST that such institutional diffusion of governmental power to the countryside will not be betrayed for self-perpetuation by a sitting president. As well, you can bridge that effort with our continued engagement with the international community, particularly for ASEAN integration which also requires constitutional alignment.
In fine, what lies ahead is a singular opportunity to empower the Peoples and Regions that make up our Nation as self-determining federal states, self-sustaining economies, and strengthened agents of their own social advancement for equal justice, lasting peace, and prosperity for all. PEOPLE POWER!
Third, the Means. As a practical matter, you may note Obama's prescient reply to Oprah's question about running for vice-president when Hillary was then undisputed frontrunner for president: "You don't run for vice-president; you run for president." And he went on to become President of the United States. But more importantly, history draws parallels and our people's cry for change can be fulfilled, and the mission at hand achieved, only with the RIGHT MEANS-the Presidency.
And if we may recall from one of JAMC's poems-
EDSA was but the coming of the dawn
Upon a people longing to be free.
We struggle on with courage and constancy.
LABAN!
Che Carpio
Columnist, Vox Bikol