Ka Bel

• Congressman Crispin Beltran of AnakPawis Party-List died yesterday. With his death, I wonder, "how will his proposed legislations, most of them pro-poor, get passed? The lowly representative lives in a very humble home. Perhaps, in layman's standard, just below the middle-class level, or even poor...Being in the position, for nearly 6 years (if I am not mistaken), he never acquired money or so much power to have his lifestyle changed.

• Ka Bel is truly a loss to the maralitang Pilipino, whom he served dearly. His demise, his life, his way-of-living must be challenge to all our power and money-hungry congressmen to re-think their politics and their lifestyles. Look at Ka Bel's home, it was just so simple, very much ordinary like all of us. No wonder he can relate to our needs better even wiser. While on the other hand, many of his colleagues own sprawling mansions in the suburbs of Metro Manila.
  

• I think Ka Bel must be proud with the way he died. He died as an ordinary man, worried about his home during the rainy season, typified a grandfather perhaps who worries his home during times that he has no work to do, he epitomizes the working class, the lowly-paid government servant, the humble labor leader and capsuled every single fiber of a Filipino in his daily struggle to survive, to seek for government reforms, demand for better quality of life, quest for political stability and yearns for a clean and honest government.
  

• For me, the death of Ka Bel, is no simple accident. It is poetic, it is symbolic. No rich Filipino would die falling from his roof because obviously his house is a mansion and he has servants to do it for him, but Ka Bel died fixing his humble abode. No rich congressman would live in a small house with the masses because they reside in high-walled Ayala Alabang or Forbes, San Lorenzo, or Corinthians.
  

• The death of typical man, with his great ideals. I salute Ka Bel for his life and for his service to the Filipino people.
  

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The Benefits of Being a Filipino Citizen

I don't know if my probability is correct, but I suppose 75% of Filipinos (or even larger margin) want to live and work in another country, preferably in a first-world country. Later perhaps (if the laws of their countries' of destination permit), our compatriots desire to acquire their citizenship.

But I just want to ask, are there still benefits to be a Filipino Citizen? Here are some of the benefits, I can think of and probably, their little downside:

1. The right to vote and be voted. Only Filipino citizens can exercise the right to vote and run in any public office (of course! ). Imagine, FPJ fought for his citizenship and a host of other local and national politicians just to get that "treasured" elective post!

2. The right to own property here in the Philippines. In our laws, foreigners cannot own real properties or even engage in "nationalized" industries, for instance, mass media. But if you are a Filipino, you can win the lotto and buy a radio or TV station without a hassle.

3. The right to practice one's profession. Yes, only here, where else??

4. The right to possess a Philippine Passport. Well, our passport is actually not so much to boast of, but at least, we are visa-exempt from all ASEAN countries, selected countries in Asia, Latin America, Israel and some handful more ( i have a separate blog entry for this), but I think, 95% of the time, Philippine passport holders are required to have visas in many countries.

5. The rights and privileges of appurtenant to a Filipino Citizen. I don't know what are these, so far we do not have a good system of subsidized housing, we currently have a lousy social security system and presently, we do have so many loopholes in our security and finally, our country is crowded, not to mention, litters.

But before I get cursed, let me say that having at least, a nationality, a citizenship is something to be proud of. It is hundredfold better to be a Filipino citizen, than to be a stateless person. Our economy, education and training are most of the time, recognized worldwide, than our African, Asian and even European counterparts.

While many still think and contemplate to change their citizenship, remember this: never forget that this country, we probably loathe, is the same mother who nursed us, defended us, protected us and gave us and identity peculiar to any other known people on earth.

We should be proud that we are Filipinos.
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