Sunday, June 17, 2012

HAVING granted our freedom was the most important event in the history of our country. Our forefathers sacrificed their lives just for us to be free against foreign aggression, tyranny and slavery. But were these sacrifices by our Filipino martyrs and heroes worth it today?

Good governance is what we aim for. Many years have passed and our country has experienced political cataclysms, financial and moral turmoil and military upheavals. The past events taught us hard lessons. The cries of our forefathers who were victims of fatal injustices oblige us not to repeat the sad, brutal, and violent experiences they had.

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Leaders come and go and because of the influence of power and money, they either left bad or good legacies. Forty years of my existence, I have seen faces who are not satisfied with how our country is run by our leaders. Some of our leaders keep on repeating acts of corruption, injustices, and greed for power. There are good leaders, too, but at times the corrupt ones prevail.

History shows that we are deprived of real good governance. What is good governance? The true function of a government in all its branches is the security, peace and well-being of all the country's citizens which is the divine purpose of all humanity. It is only when government transcends its spheres that it comes in conflict with conscience of man. According to James H. Fairchild, "It should always be remembered that the great end of a government is human wellbeing, that law and authority are nothing in themselves, and that all their sacredness arises from the uses which they serve, the machinery of government is valuable, only for the work it does: in itself, it has no value, the most grievous of all imperfections in government is the failure to secure the just and the good results."

This years' commemoration of Independence Day in the City of Baguio was held at the Convention Center by public and private sectors with guest speaker Police Regional Director. Benjamin Magalong.

The celebration speaks of Freedom and Good Governance with the theme "Kalayaan: Pananagutan ng Bayan Para sa Tuwid na Daan." Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said, "Whatever we do, it should abide on truth, justice, equality and brotherhood. The blood of our heroes runs in our veins so greatness shall be ours in the future." He added, our leaders fight for our freedom 100 years ago, this freedom that was given to us, we have to use it as freedom to teach, freedom to serve, freedom to help and freedom to build. He continued, "Leaders should serve their constituents well; offer wider opportunity in employment, eradicate hunger and evils in the society, help fight corruption and continue the legacy that is handed to us by our forefathers."

The police force is serving to eliminate graft and corruption and help maintain peace and order in the country. These statements were shared by Magalong. He added in his privilege speech, "Let us ignore those people who are talking behind our backs; they belong behind our backs, and everybody should walk the right path and unite ourselves for a better nation." Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara reiterated we should live to be an independent nation and prove to the world that we can be self-sufficient.

Despite the present social ills we are experiencing, let us not forget we are absolutely free. Let us use this freedom towards becoming a responsible citizen and continue doing great things for our country and fellowmen.

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Freedom and good governance