4 post-rally reflections
yesterday the trillion peso march and baha sa luneta protests took place. it was an eye-opening experience. a tangible and collective representation of the disgust, contempt and hurt we’ve only really been able to express online & to each other. here are 4 lessons i learned while walking the streets of EDSA alongside thousands of our fellow filipinos:
to care is to know
to know is an act. to seek information and to learn about the state of the nation, how we are affected and who to hold people accountable takes effort but it is a worthwhile one. it’s easy to swipe through, roll our eyes and just complain but we can only care for our country to the degree that we know its suffering (not just how we are suffering).
as my eyes jumped from sign to sign, i myself realized i could better understand our political situation. my pursuit of knowledge amidst my curiosity is a reflection of how much i really care about my country. for me that means: asking more questions, not just watching the reel or reading its comments but further investigating, tracking the progress of the hearings and finding out how best i can contribute from where i am. i want to be better informed because i better stand in solidarity with our crying nation by doing so.
taking part means making preps
admittedly, this is my first time to take part in such a rally. it’s unlike election rallies, house to houses or other political events i have engaged in because there aren’t flyers that are passed out to give, tarps made for you to hold or people you’re made to follow. no, when you show up, you show up as you—representing what you believe and stand for.
therefore, even the way you prepare is an outward expression of why you are taking part. i came to the rally with my dad, family members, and with my tito kiko pangilinan (who bravely fights for us from inside the senate) to demand the arrest of the corrupt and recovery of stolen funds. but if i were to go back a few days before the rally, i would’ve loved to have plastered on my shirt or on my own sign not only what we believed as a collective but what i believe as me. it takes on a whole new meaning when what you stand for in a sea of many stances is your own.
well, now i know. i would’ve loved to hold up a sign saying “THAT BOY IS CORRUPT. PTSD ON THE DAILY.” (i’m kidding 1/2).
we are different but not entirely
i can confidently say i have not stolen billions of pesos from the people i vowed to protect and serve and care for. but with no confidence, can i say i am righteous and corrupt politicians aren’t. we do not sit at the judgment seat; Christ does. and the bible says that we have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.
again, though our sins differ, we’ve all made mistakes. acted in ways we’re not proud of and wronged those we’re meant to love. so i am encouraged by this time to consider how, in my little ways, i can also be corrupt in my thinking and doing. and extend grace to these people, as God extends grace to me when i fall short. it’s not a matter of letting them off the hook, we need fight for our right to demand accountability, but it doesn’t hurt to notice if calling people out makes us think we are better than them because from Heaven’s perspective, no one is.
prayer is true power
marching, screaming and standing with the filipinos on EDSA felt powerful. the energy was there, the feeling of oneness. but in the mass we joined before the march, the priest reminded us that while physical intervention is what we were exercising today, it is through spiritual intervention that we can really be liberated from such evil. there is a synergy between the two. when we take action against evil and ask for divine guidance and deliverance from He who is goodness himself— that’s when we will truly see strongholds fall.
in the absence of a rally that i can join, a post that i can share, or a hearing that i can tune into…i am committing to really pray for our country and those who were given the authority to lead it. i am choosing (though it is hard) to believe Romans 13:1 that says “there is no authority except that which God has established”, so if He established them, He has the divine authority to judge them too. personally, there is no greater punishment than such.
i had a wonderful time at the march, it is so fulfilling to be part of this side of history. there is only hope and better days on the horizon, i truly see that. may this short reflection remind you so.
Consider which of the 4 lessons you can relate to & apply today?
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but take heart, I have overcome the world”
