“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” #MillionPeopleMarch

It was Mahatma Gandhi who said ““Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” This quote resonated on the day a million people marched to Luneta. Okay, it was not exactly one million but that is not the point. The message was tweeted or re-shared a million times.

You might ask “Why do you think thousands responded to the call to march to Luneta that was sent out via social media?”

It was simply outrage that our government officials are pocketing their hard-earned money. Each one of us are taxpayers whether we pay it in one form of the other such as income tax or VAT. We expect government to use our money for the purposes it was intended. Citizens expect our money will be used for the benefit of the Filipino people and not for the privileged few. Facebook event went viral because it is the nature of social media. This is Generation C, the connected Citizen . We are not only connected but greatly informed and empowered. I didn’t see the original post. I first learned of the event because it was shared by my friend Jane who normally does not attend rallies. One (the original poster) shared a compelling wall post that connects with people and connects those people with other people. The message was passed on and it resonated with our respective communities .

And the message, Enough is enough. 1)Scrap Pork 2)Account for All Spent Pork 3)Probe/punish Abusers of Pork.

Once I accepted the invite in Facebook, the rest of my friends chimed in and so with their friends and their respective friends. I felt it was my responsibility to ensure that my friends who accepted the invite felt safe to join. This is the main reason why I answered the call to volunteer.

I did not expect to take charge of the Command Center but I was ready to be flexible. The truth is I wanted to be where the action was , to be with the people and to share my views on why the pork barrel needed to be abolished. Being stuck in a Command Center just blew all my plans away. To top it all, I will miss taking photos of the various banners and gimmicks.

I managed to take this meaningful “Kawatan” video of Jograd de la Torre though.

I know I missed many photo opportunities but I am thankful that my friends were all part of the change they wanted to see.

After the Million People March, the next question is “what next”? It is the time to engage with friends on what you know about the pork barrel and continue to push the message “Scrap the Pork Barrel”.

1. Know what the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) is.

Click to enlarge2. Let us remain vigilant and continue the march. We can push for the Full Disclosure Act that demands full transparency from the agencies of government. Rally once more and maybe if Congress hears the deafening cries of every Filipino (there’s almost 98 million of us now) they might just pass the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) once and for all. We can also knock on Malacañang’s door, or at PNoy‘s residence to remind him of his promise three years ago to pass the bill.

My personal goal is to continue engaging with the legislators on twitter using the hashtag #PDAFKalampag, attend the Senate Blue Ribbon Hearings on the Pork Barrel Scam every Thursday and lastly, to share articles about good governance through Blog Watch.

Change starts today. Now na! That is why you must be the change you wish to see in the world.