Sunday, March 04, 2007

The Letter of Harvey Keh



I finally received the email. But must I receive several of it? Nah. Seriously. Thank you to all the people who forwarded the message.

The message:
Dear Fellow Filipino,

Good day to all of you! Before I begin my letter... just a disclaimer, for people who know me they know that I love the Philippines very much and I am not really one who rants and complaints to high heavens about what is happening to our country and does nothing about it, in fact, I feel that at my relatively young age of 27, I have done much service to the Philippines by setting up Pathways to Higher Education which has sent more than 500 poor but deserving students to college and AHON Foundation which has already built two public elementary school libraries that have benefitted more than 3,500 students. Yet, after seeing how events in our nation have transpired the past few weeks and talking with some friends, I feel the urge to share with you my own thoughts and feelings.

Over the weekend, we saw the completion of two major political alliances for this coming Senate Elections that has just began here in the Philippines . Now we have two political forces with familiar faces nonetheless on opposite sides of the fences. On one end, you have Tito Sotto and Tessie Aquino-Oreta who were two major stalwarts of the opposition and the FPJ Campaign in 2004 hobnobbing with the woman (Pres. GMA) whom they claimed to have cheated FPJ in the last Presidential Elections.On the other side of the fence, you see Manny Villar, the former house speaker who was actually responsible for impeaching Erap now part of the United Opposition who is led by no less than... Erap himself. Now if you don't see anything wrong with this picture then you must be one of the many Filipinos who have accepted this very sad reality that there is indeed no permanent ideals that our government leaders stand up for but rather they just go where there self-interests can best be served. It is this kind of politics why I no longer wonder why good people like Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City or outstanding Bulacan Governor Josie Dela Cruz will find it hard or worse, never be elected to national positions.

It is with these in mind that I'd like to share with you what are events this coming May elections that will make me consider leaving the Philippines :

1.) If former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of Hello Garci fame wins in his bid to become Congressman of Bukidnon...seeking to replace a good man no less in incumbent Cong. Neric Acosta... We would really be the laughing stock of the whole world if we allow a man with the reputation of Garci to be one of our so called "Honorable Gentlemen".

2.) If Dancing Queen Tessie Aquino Oreta reclaims her seat at the Senate... I hope that all of us would still remember that dance that she did during the 2001 impeachment hearings after they voted to overrule the decision of then Chief Justice Davide... let us make sure that people like her never make it to the Senate again.

3.) If Richard Gomez becomes a senator... what does he know about making laws? We already have the likes of Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid in the Senate and their performance or lack of it would be reason enough not to elect another actor who has no prior experience in government to the distinguished halls of the Senate.

4.) If Gringo Honasan wins again.... have we not learned our lesson? I cannot believe that just because someone is charismatic then we will just elect him to become one of our senators despite the fact that he has time and again caused so much instability in our country... if we want a military junta similar to that of Thailand ... then lets all vote for this guy....

5.) If Manny Pacquiao becomes Congressman of General Santos City... everybody loves Manny the Boxing Champ but Manny the Lawmaker? Lets be realistic here, Manny is our Hero alright but I think it takes more than just great boxing skills and a desire to serve to be able to make appropriate laws that would help uplift the lives of the many Filipinos who live in Poverty.

6.) If Lito Lapid wins for Mayor of Makati City... I don't like Jojo Binay as well but Lito Lapid as city mayor of the country's finance and business center?!?! And do you really think he is from Makati and has good plans for the city? The Arroyos asking someone like him to run just goes to show you how much love and concern this government has for our country.

7.) If Chavit Singson becomes a Senator, Illegal Gambling = Chavit... enough said.

Now if all of these 7 things happen during this coming elections then don't be surprised if I decide to leave this country that I love dearly. Like I said during the first part of my letter, I feel that I have done much for this country but I think its time that Filipinos become more vigilant and critical in selecting our leaders for the sake of our future and the generations that will go beyond us. So I appeal to every Filipino who asks what can I actually do for my country... Choose and vote for the right people this coming elections, huwag na tayong magpaloko sa mga kandidatong maganda lang ang jingle o gwapo lang sa mga poster. Let us choose leaders who have a good track record for service and who are genuinely committed towards serving our country.

Manindigan naman tayong lahat para sa ating Kinabukasan at para sa Kapakanan ng ating Bayan!

Thank you very much for your time in reading this letter.

Sincerely,

Harvey S. Keh

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tina,

Do you agree or disagree with Keh on how pathetic life can be?

Village Tickler

The Purple Phoenix said...

Yes. It's sad that we have more rejects to choose from than -well- statesmen? Or maybe decent people.

I guess decency is not attractive in politics. There are a lot of decent people in the Philippine yet for some reason - they do not win.

lateralus said...

The letter was poorly written and it would never gain the sympathy of most Filipinos. It has 'I'm too smart for this country' written all over it. Such whining wouldn't get him anywhere. If he's so pissed, he could leave right away.

vic said...

To me the letter writer gave us his swallow reasons or alibi to leave the Philippines. You don't have to shout to the world how much you love the country or how much you have accomplished for her. It is pointless to question ones love and loyaly and allegiance to country unless proven otherwise.

The reasons he enumerated are just the symptons of the sickness of the overall political syndrome. If all the things on the list really happen, it would not make the situation any one bit worse or better if they won't happen.

But to each his own and I respect the writer's thoughts and points on this issue, but I'd rather if, he wants changes, to keep up the fight and not let up because things don't go his way...

Anonymous said...

goodbye, Mr. Keh...

mschumey07 said...

Keep up the good work, Jowana. Let the lackeys yack and I'm sure you are a lot better than them. They have nothing to back up the "bansot's" illegitimate stay in power.

I must agree with Vic, Harvey shouldn't give up, he must double his efforts. We need our democracy to mature, it wouldn't if we who know exactly what the real picture is do not do anything.

The Purple Phoenix said...

Thanks Sir Schumey and Sir Vic! I don't mind. At least I am being read and quoted by The Explainer himself. Plus, I like the fact that Lateralus reads my blog.

With regard to the letter of Keh, my only difference with him is that I won't leave the Philippines. I was once encouraged by my mother to study abroad but decided to stay here in the Philippines. But kudos to Mr Keh for having the courage of listing down the names of undeserving candidates.

At least he has some guts...that others don't. Right readers?

Anonymous said...

Dear Purple Phoenix,

Glad to drop by at your blog and it seems to me that you're interested in politics. Re: Mr. Keh letter, for me it is really
up to electorate who they will vote for. If someone of inferior
capability shall be voted for, we have nothing to blame but the
Filipino people themselves.

If a candidate, irrespective of his capabilities, shall be voted
by the people, we have no choice but to respect the choice of the
majority as long as no "daya" in the process. That's how democracy
works, majority rules.

Maybe it's true that the majority is not always right, but in a
democracy like ours we must respect them.

Bong Amora
San Pedro Laguna
OFW Riyadh

The Purple Phoenix said...

^ true. Kaya kahit ayaw ko kay FPJ dapat igalang ang boto niya. Di ba Gloria?