Dear friends,
Like any country, Israel in the Old Testament had a share of good and bad kings. The Prophet Isaiah gave Israel a hope that someday they will have a good leader. Isaiah is at the same time a guideline on how leaders should do their job.
Isaiah 32:1-2, 7 (GNB) says, “Someday there will be a king who rules with integrity and national leaders who govern with justice. Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a place to hide from storms. They will be like streams flowing in a desert, like the shadow of a giant rock in a barren land. A stupid person is evil and does evil things; he plots to ruin the poor with lies and to keep them from getting their rights. But an honorable person acts honestly and stands firm for what is right.”
Based on what Isaiah wrote, here is my hope on how the elected leaders of the Philippines should do:
First, our leaders should have integrity and should maintain their integrity despite of the temptations that will come their way.
Second, our leaders should be just and must do everything that they can that our land will have justice.
Third, our leaders should give refuge to those who need help. And literally, they should see to it our country, which is prone to flooding due to typhoons, should have a good drainage system, and should give shelter to those who will be displaced.
Fourth, our leaders should see to it that our food supply is sufficient to all Filipinos. Food security includes investment on agriculture and taking care of our God-given natural resources.
Fifth, our leaders must be honorable (as they are formally called), and should be honest in all their dealings. We hope that our leaders will stand firm on what is right despite of the enticement to become corrupt.
Sixth, our leaders must not do evil things, and must not trample the rights of the poor. They must seek to elevate status of the marginalized.
Let us hope and pray that our elected leaders will live up to what Prophet Isaiah has written.
May God bless the Philippines!
Sincerely,
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Director
Office of Communications
Central Philippine University