June 27—Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24; Psalm 30, R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15; Gospel—Mark 5: 21-43

With your kind indulgence, today I wish to reflect on and honor the life and legacy of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

The only son of our country’s two icons of democracy, he was the reluctant president, i.e., while others ambition, plan and prepare for it, he sought it out of a sense of duty and destiny.

There are three points for reflection: one, “pwedeng mangarap ulit”; two, “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”; and three, “the Filipino is worth fighting for.”

I shared this story the day President Noynoy died. Almost 12 years ago, on the day he announced his candidacy for president, a man on the street being interviewed by a TeleRadyo reporter said, “pwedeng mangarap ulit.”

This statement of the man defined my hope for our country and people then, a hope that to this day I hold dear in my heart and spirit. It also defined my hope in the presidency of President Noynoy.

It was the apt launching pad for his journey to the presidency. It was a journey that was later on further defined and inspired by a more concrete expression of this dream, “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”

This sealed the deal, so to speak, and he laid out the path to the fulfillment of this dream. The dream was to lead our people out of poverty. Eliminating, slowly but surely, was the means and not the end. Thus the path that would lead to the dream was the “daang matuwid.”

PNoy ‘brands’

These are signature PNoy “brands”: “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” and “daang matuwid.” They defined and gave life to his leadership and service; inspiring a nation and its people.

I, personally, felt “pwedeng mangarap.” Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would see in my lifetime the possibility of eliminating, slowly but surely, corruption.

This was given a boost in the election of Pope Francis in 2013, and the reforms and transformation in the Catholic Church that I thought I would not see in my lifetime were coming to life.

The first half of the 2010s was truly a time of hope, a time to dream. For me, I—and I am sure many others—owe this to President Noynoy and Pope Francis.

Both were reluctant leaders, dark horses in a race usually dominated by more seasoned contenders. Their ascension to power was a signal of a new period of the leadership people seek, a leadership that gives life to dreams and inspires hope.

In his penultimate State of the Nation Address, President Noynoy said, “The Filipino is worth dying for. The Filipino is worth living for … The Filipino is worth fighting for.”

This was his presidency, in the day to day, in the policies and programs he started, in the legislation he pushed, in his leadership of his team, he showed “the Filipino was worth fighting for.”

Let it not be said that he left us only with dreams and hopes. There are concrete expressions of these dreams and hopes.

As Rep. Joey Salceda pointed out, his policies and conditional cash transfer program lifted 7.7 million Filipinos out of poverty. His management of the economy gave us one of the best periods of growth.

His two other flagship programs, the upgrading of our public basic education system and the start of a universal health-care program, are long-term programs that would bring the benefits of development to majority of our people who are immersed in poverty.

Good governance

Such a path is long and not without challenges, such is the “daang matuwid.”

But it is not a “trickle-down” strategy. These are basic services our people have a right to and are foundations of development.

This was President Noynoy fighting for the Filipino, for us, for our future. He was fighting for all of us, not just the poor and marginalized. For the measure of a nation’s well-being is how well its most vulnerable sectors have access to opportunities for a better life.

The not too visible result of “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” is good governance, which former Cabinet secretaries Edwin Lacierda and Rogelio Singson, and Rep. Joey Salceda point to as what made possible all the gains in the areas of social services and economic development.

All these are the concrete expressions of our hope—“pwedeng mangarap ulit” and “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”—and President Noynoy’s commitment that we are worth fighting for.

Like Jairus and the afflicted woman in today’s Gospel, President Noynoy brought the case of the sick man of Asia to the Lord. Imploring him (“Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live”) and placing all his hope in him (“If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured”).

Because of this, President Noynoy’s plea for and hope in us, the miracle happened. It is possible to dream again, to eliminate corruption and to create a path to a better future.

President Noynoy, you showed us the promised land is real and possible. You led us to this. It is now our turn to make a choice and lead ourselves into it. Maraming salamat po.

—CONTRIBUTED INQ