Pinoy Speaks: What do you think of our country?

Last November 2015, I did a survey regarding how a regular Pinoy view our current state in the Philippines. I gave questionnaires. The questions are the following:

1) 3 things that you love in our country?
2) Overall satisfaction in our country (5-highest, 1-lowest)
3) What are the things that needs improvement to make our society better? And do you see our country rising to the top? If yes, how long would it take?

I asked 40 people, mostly college students and some adults. I did manual survey not online survey because I believe it will be better to do it personally.
Here are the results of the survey:

1) Most of us thinks that the thing that needs to be improve in our country…

Of course, none other than our Traffic/ Transportation problems. Almost all of the people who answered the survey told me that traffic is the thing that needs most improvement. According to Enrique Peñalosa, Mayor of Bogotá,

 “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. Its where the rich use public transportation" 

Which is proven to be true. Look at those rich countries in Asia. In Hongkong, you will see that most of them uses MTR(which is equivalent to our MRT/LRT) as their main way of transportation. Their train station is very clean, unlike here in our country where an elevator isn’t even working. I hope that the next administration will focus on improving our public transportation, for it will make Filipinos more productive and efficient. We have to admit that there is no perfect country, but there is a country better than the other, and we can be that kind of country.

2) Beautiful sceneries. Beaches!

This is the most answered thing on what the Filipinos love in our country. I’m quite surprised here because I’m not a fan of beaches. Our country is really beautiful, a tropical country where a lot of trees and plants grows, an archipelago that is surrounded by water. Our very own Puerto Princesa Underground River is included in the 7 wonders of natures in the world. If we will all unite to make our country clean, imagine how spectacular this place can be.

President Benigno Aquino III said 

“The Philippines has vast minerals that are still untapped. It has one of the world's largest deposits of gold, nickel, copper and chromite. Through responsible mining, we intend to generate more revenues from the extraction of these resources.“ 

Which I believe is true, we have the resources to be one of the most powerful country on Earth. If utilized properly, there is no question, our country could be one of the greatest.

3) With a satisfaction rating of…

3.2!. It’s really good to know that a lot of our fellow countrymen are still contented with the way they live in our country. According to a study done before, Filipinos are one of the happiest people in the world. Despite all the struggles a regular Pinoy faces in his life, you will always see his brightest smile shining through. To be honest, our country really needs a major improvement. Flashfloods, traffic and crime are the few of the many things we need to address in the Philippines. With this being said, if all Filipinos will unite towards a common goal, there’s no reason to doubt that someday we will have the highest satisfaction rating of our lives. Having this kind of mentality will boost the energy of people to do good things for our country that can result into improvement

"Kung panaginip lamang ang umasa sa pag-unlad, managinip tayo hanggang sa kamatayan."- Heneral Antonio Luna

This is a powerful statement said by Gen. Antonio Luna in the film Heneral Luna, we have to keep on being positive at the same time, do things that will benefit our nation. We have to make sacrifice if we want change. Change is sacrifice, we will lose our dream of a better country if we don’t sacrifice for our motherland. Our heroes didn’t die for us to have a bad life, they want the best in us. They want us to be the happiness species in Earth. They want us to be free from the sufferings of our invaders. You can be a hero my friend, we can improve the quality of life of our fellow Filipinos. I hope that the next time that I conduct a survey, our country will get the highest rating of 5.

4) Filipinos still believe…

They still believe that in the near future, our country will be one of the best in the world. They believe that if there is unity and a better government this country will be one of the best nation in Earth. It is the belief of the majority that will push everybody to do their best for the country. It’s a collective effort, one person cannot simply do it by himself, it will take millions of Pinoys whose dreaming of a better Philippines. One day, our kababayans will not go to other countries to search for greener Pasteurs because our country will provide better job opportunities. One day, people will not just work for monetary values. Instead, we will work to contribute for the improvement of our nation and for the greater good. Never stop believing mga kababayan! If there is a will, there is a way.

Still not convinced? How about the answer of this little girl.

At age 11(she's 13 now), she believes that someday our nation will be great. Picture a group of youth, doing things for the country. A future generation where people would find joy based on their contribution for the goodness of human being, not on monetary values.

To end this, I just want to quote what President Manuel L. Quezon once said:

“My fellow citizens: there is one thought I want you always to bear in mind. And that is: that you are Filipinos. That the Philippines are your country, and the only country God has given you. That you must keep it for yourselves, for your children, and for your children's children, until the world is no more. You must live for it, and die for it, if necessary.

Your country is a great country. It has a great past, and a great future. The Philippines of yesterday are consecrated by the sacrifices of lives and treasure of your patriots, martyrs, and soldiers. The Philippines of today are honored by the wholehearted devotion to its cause of unselfish and courageous statesmen. The Philippines of tomorrow will be the country of plenty, of happiness, and of freedom. A Philippines with her head raised in the midst of the West Pacific, mistress of her own destiny, holding in her hand the torch of freedom and democracy. A republic of virtuous and righteous men and women all working together for a better world than the one we have at present.” 

Together, we can make this country a better place. Together, we can live better.

Image Credits:

• http://www.directgreen.net/blog/e-trikes-vs-traffic-pollution-in-the-philippines/
• http://mikeniconchuk.com/2012/02/02/islands-of-daisies/dsc_0141/
• https://angbagongfilipino.wordpress.com/category/smile-of-the-week/page/3/
• "Bayanihan 2" by Bonvallite - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bayanihan_2.JPG#/media/File:Bayanihan_2.JPG