This afternoon, the President of the Republic of the Philippines will be giving her State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the halls of Congress. Outside, protesters will be busily waving their placards to get attention and hopefully, sympathy and support from people. According to the press, the President will be talking about her national social welfare program.

Whatever President Arroyo’s message will turn out to be, I think the national social welfare program is a very delicate issue to handle. The poor constitutes the vast majority of our population and getting them fed, clothed and sheltered by the government is a Herculean task. The economy alone is not in a very good shape, except of course for our currency that is being saved by OFW remittances.

I may not be among the poorest of society but I can see poverty wherever I look. I cannot blame the government entirely though because as I have always believed, we are what we make of ourselves. Given that we see corruption and injustice everyday, it is still our actions that affect our lives more than anything.

You cannot change a bad system overnight. Corruption has been existent since time immemorial. No amount of rallies, protests and coup attempts has abolished it. In fact, it is already living in the blood, the very component that ensures the flow of life. Unless there will be a change of heart and values among government leaders and the Filipino people, the system will remain rotten.

Actually, the idea is not to escape from the present system but to accept it and all its flaws. Do your thing and be a good citizen. Don’t add up to the number of wrong-doers. Just because some people are bad doesn’t mean you have to be one, either. We may have different opinions about how the government is doing its job, but the fact remains, we need to help the government in doing its job.

I think we should not let negative things stop us from living the good life we have always wanted. If we will let negative things burden us, then nothing will happen. Our lives will be miserable, and worse, we will lose hope. If the system will change, then good. If it won’t, then life goes on.