Kapampangan People Power

Prof. Randy David's Remarks at the Launching of the Book “Luid Ka!”
Feb. 24, 2008
Betis Church Grounds, Guagua, Pampanga


I congratulate the authors and the publisher of this lovely book. And I am very honored to be invited as a speaker at its launching. This book is more than just a colorful documentation of the citizens’ movement for good government that jelled around the improbable candidacy of a Catholic priest, Among Ed, for the governorship of Pampanga in the 2007 election. I like to think of this book as a celebration of the recovery of the Kapampangan self-esteem, of pride and will to greatness, after decades of demoralization and helplessness to which many of us have been consigned in the face of unremitting misrule by corrupt and incompetent leaders.

It is perhaps fortunate and fitting that “Luid Ka” is being launched on the 22nd anniversary of the Edsa I People Power Revolution. The coincidence is an important reminder to us that the history we make at the local level is an integral part of the larger tapestry of the Filipino nation’s achievements. It is also a way of telling us that whatever we do at the local level may not amount to much unless we can once and for all correct the bigger systemic dysfunction at the national level. We cannot ignore the looming crisis in the national government. How the crisis at that level is ultimately resolved will also determine the long-term course of politics in our province.

The wider national significance of Among Ed’s campaign in the early months of 2007 was not immediately apparent to many of us until much later when Pampanga politics took center stage in the national media. Wherever I spoke in Metro Manila or in remote provinces, I was surprised that people who knew that I was Kapampangan would come up to me to mumble their good wishes and express their solidarity for Among Ed, and, often, even to fork out a few pesos from their wallets as a token contribution to a worthwhile quest they could identify with. Among Ed’s quixotic candidacy generated so much good will among a broad range of sincere Filipinos everywhere that I began to wonder if people’s interest in Among Ed was not a result of the fact that Pampanga also happens to be the president’s home province, and that the gubernatorial race was therefore seen as a proxy fight against an unpopular president.

Yet, ironically, as I recall, the significance of Among Ed’s candidacy was deliberately kept local. It was as if the two politicians he was running against had nothing to do with the president, and that the core issues in the campaign were limited to jueteng and lahar and nothing more. Today, six months later, the picture hopefully is clearer – that provincial politics forms an integral link in the chain of traditional politics which extends from the farthest barangay to the corridors of Malacanang. To be able to break that chain and begin an enduring campaign of reform nationwide, we must start somewhere. I have always believed that the weakest link in the web of traditional politics – the point where decisive intervention can produce the most surprising results – is at the local level.

We have seen that people power may succeed in overthrowing regimes, but it does not necessarily produce good government. Good government is the product of painstaking organizing at the level of the community. More than sheer anger, what it demands is the awakening of the spirit of greatness in every citizen. The spirit of greatness is in great abundance in our shores. But perhaps, what has been lacking is the spark of madness that compels individuals like Among Ed to decide suddenly to leave their comfort zones and risk everything in the name of an idea. I think this is what happened here in our province in the months leading to the May 2007 election. Now we know that all it takes for the rest of us to momentarily forget ourselves is for one person’s fire to rekindle our dormant spirits in a moment of seeming helplessness.

As I leaf through the rich pages of this wonderful book, I realize that this is really what this book seeks to preserve in memory -- that we, our generation, did not lose hope, and never gave up the nation-building project of our ancestors even when holding our hands up in surrender seemed the most logical thing to do.

But we all know that as important as it may be, moral courage is never enough. To build a fire, we need more than a spark. We need fuel, a constant wind, and an occasional stoking to keep a fire going. The fire can die any time, its embers easily appropriated by those who specialize in the making of passive fuel: charcoal. They will wait patiently until the fire has exhausted itself. Then they take over as if nothing happened. This is what can happen in 2010 – the old habits are quickly restored, and the enemies of reform are once again safely ensconced in their positions.

We can prevent this from happening if we don’t abandon the fire, if we don’t hasten its exhaustion by our bickerings, if we stay focused on the real goal – which is the cooking of the meal we have promised our people. We will not succeed in this if we leave the fire untended, or if we stop supplying the fuel, in the false belief that our task is finished because we have elected the ideal cook. Among Ed cannot do it alone. Indeed, no one can do it alone. The campaign during the election was nothing but a spark, nothing but an occasion to bring us together, to make us work together so that in the process we might discover our talents, our resources, and our weapons. Beyond that, we have to organize ourselves into something less spontaneous and more enduring, less quirky and more consistent, less transient and more abiding. We must organize ourselves not only for the here and now, but especially for tomorrow and beyond the boundaries of our province. Only in this way can our social reform efforts bear fruits and be truly worth memorializing.

It is natural, especially after an unexpected victory, for disenchantment to seep into the thinning ranks of a reform movement. There is no cure for it – except the capacity for patience and generosity, which we must all find in our hearts if we are to consecrate ourselves to the ideal of good governance of which, whether we like it or not, we have become its unlikely stewards. In a sense, for reformers, winning can often be more difficult than losing. So much is expected of Among Ed and the movement he has catalyzed. People tend to forget that he is only one of the many elected public officials of the province. He wields no absolute powers. He must work with the other elected officials even as he pushes the agenda of reform. He has no choice but to work within the political culture he seeks to transform. This is the difficult part. Traditional politics can either swallow you or neutralize you – even before you can deliver the first blow. We must all do our part; this is not just one man’s crusade.

I am happy to be here on this rare occasion. My only regret is that everything I have come here to say, I could only say -- not in Kapampangan -- but in a borrowed language. Dacal pung salamat.