April 2016

There are forgotten heroes who died during the tyrannical Martial Law regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Among them are Edgar Jopson (Edjop), Abraham Sarmiento, Jr. (Ditto), and Artemio Celestial, Jr. (Jun). I had the honor of being in school with them – Ditto was my classmate in high school, Edjop was ahead by one year in high school and college, and I was ahead of Jun by a year.

For those of us who came into adulthood during Martial Law, it was a tumultuous, traumatic, and uncertain time. We lost a lot during martial law. We lost our political innocence. We lost our sense of security and certainty about the future. We lost our naivety. We lost 25 years of economic growth. We lost friends.

What can I tell the future generation of Filipinos?

That we were almost there?

That we lost it?

That we were on the cusp of greatness and prosperity and that we blew it?

That we did not elect the right president in 2016?

Where are we now?

During the past five years of the PNoy Aquino administration, the Philippine economy has grown steadily at an average rate of 6.2 percent a year, which has been the highest in the past 40 years. After having lagged behind other Asian economies and dubbed the “Sick Man of Asia”, the Philippines is now one of the more dynamic economies in the world and the country is seen as having the potential of sustained economic growth in the coming years.

Martial Law, Edjop, Ditto and Jun (and Bongbong)

Why I Will Vote for Mar Roxas as the Next President of the Philippines