James Freeman Clarke, an American theologian and author, wrote in the 1800s, “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.”
Two years before the election, most politicians start laying the groundwork for their campaign. They expose themselves to media and public gatherings. When election comes, their names have top-of-mind recall. The list of elected senators shows well-known names.
Now, how about politicians salivating for the presidency? How long is prep time for a sure win? From news reports and commentaries, our country’s winner hired the services of a well-known British consulting firm to plot out a campaign that would deodorize, revise, and re-brand his and his family’s 36-year reputation.
Compare this with VP Leni’s and the PINK campaign birthed by people who believe in her advocacies and integrity. She declared her candidacy only in October, with no previous strategies and implementation plans. Everything was organic, funded by grace, and supported by volunteers for a total of only 6 months.
How does that compute?
Well, politics is short ranged. It begins and ends with the politicians’ term of office. So where can we find statesmen—those who think long term and are concerned about the future?
We find them in NGOs (Non-Government Organizations), community-based or grassroots groups that help improve people’s lives with concrete programs, instead of dole outs. They help victims of society’s ills such as sexual abuse, child labor, human rights violations, etc.
This was what VP Leni announced at her thanksgiving rally, attended by thousands of grieving kakampinks, as the election numbers took shape, “We will launch an Angat Buhay NGO and it would the widest volunteer network in the country's history.”
Angat Buhay is the flagship anti-poverty program of the Office of the Vice President, which is also the slogan of her campaign: “Gobyernong Tapat, Angat Buhay lahat.”
There are about 60,000 registered NGOs in the Philippines. Therefore, there are thousands of statesmen whose names are unknown. Many NGO members are retired politicians who saw up close their constituents’ needs and now, outside of government, are able to help them more.
These statesmen will be joined by soon-to-be-ex-VP Leni, on the first day she becomes citizen Leni, July 1, five days from now.
Some people argue that perhaps she was not born to be a politician but a statesman.
Whatever. This much I know—the over 15 million votes (the number assigned by Comelec) who believe in the concept of PINK, not as a color but as a mindset, will again volunteer to give their best to the Angat Buhay NGO as they did to the campaign.
Many verses in the Bible (NLT) remind us to be statesmen:
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
“And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” ( Hebrews 13:16)
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