I am not really fond of campaigns of any sort, especially the ones I see on TV. But when I saw the TV ad for Ako Mismo, I felt that this is something I believe in, something I will commit to. I felt excited the first time I saw the ad because finally the sentiment that me and my friends share is now being aired all over the country. Many more may realize that the problem is not the society but the people in it because people make societies. So, I signed up for Ako Mismo not because I saw Ely Buendia there or Ramon Bautista, people who I look up to. I signed up because I believe that in order for this country to change is through individual change. Like Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” When I went to the Ako Mismo website, I liked the campaign even more. Because you have to commit to something first before you register. They will ask you what you will be commiting to so it really starts from yourself.

As I browse through blogs about Ako Mismo, I saw different reactions about it. One I particularly noticed is the article ON “AKO MISMO” by Bikoy. Though I share some of his sentiments, I do not agree with him taking a hit on the campaign that encourages an individual to start a change. I am not defending the Ako Mismo campaign, I am defending the idea the campaign is giving people. I agree that many people posted their obligations as commitments and other things that are too normal. But the ones who should be taking a hit are those who posted those commitments. And this nation’s problems can be blamed on every individual, they can be blamed on your neighbor, your girlfriend, the man sitting next to you on a jeep, every single one. It is true that what is rotten is the system. But people make the system. While it is true that the system can make a person, that same system is still a product of people’s behavior. So, a change in the people will lead to a change in the system.

We build the government and if every individual will change for the better, we will have a better government. At the same time, a good government will never be effective if every individual under it does not follow. Why is vote buying effective? Because the market never closes, there are many people selling them. If no one will sell their votes and stay away from vote buyers, just and worthy people can be put into place. Yes, people are poor so they have to sell their rights but it is not the only way to earn, to eat. Take for example the stampede at Ultra, they blame poverty for the tragedy, they blame the government for the poverty, they blame the organizers for their lack of security. Poverty didn’t trample upon those victims neither did the government nor the organizers. People did. Poverty can not be a justification to act without discipline. If we will all act orderly of our own accord, very little security is needed.

People must change. Let us not rely on the government for change. Let us all change for the better and the rotten system will die away eventually then a better one will take place. The change we want cannot happen overnight, it cannot happen after a huge rally, it cannot happen after the elections. The rotten system is deeply rooted in this soil and we are the tip of the roots. We have to dig deep and plant a new a one. That will take a very long time but it will happen if every one of us will make it happen.

Sign-up for Ako Mismo if you feel like it. Try to come up with a commitment of your own when you register, do not look at the Wall of Commitments for an idea.

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