Atty.Pamatong Published a book MERITOCRACY OF THE MASSES and he gave a copy for free to the following: 1.President of the United States of America, 2. Secretary General of the United Nations, 3.Supreme Court of the United States of America, 4.US Congress, 5.US Senate,6.The President of the Republic of the Philippines, 7.The Vice-President of the Philippines,8.Senate and Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines,9.The Supreme Court of the Philippines, 10.The National Library Philippines, 11.The PNP, 12. to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 12.AFP Library, 13. To The Philippine Military Academy, 13.AFP General Staff College, 14.the Universities and colleges in Metro Manila, 15 To the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippine,16 to different Religious Organizations in the Philippines,17.and many others. =======================> The primary purpose of this manifesto is to explore a new ideological frontier for a totally honest system of government aimed at reshaping our current societal structure thereby making it more satisfactorily responsive to the ever-changing needs and problems of our people. As such, any political proposal raised in its succeeding pages deserves to be either affirmed - or thoroughly reviewed and constructively revised - rather than destructively criticized. Meritocracy is the very essence - indeed, the quintessence - of a genuine Democracy. Consequently, it should not be viewed as something different from an ideal Democratic order. For, assuming that Democracy is indeed a rule by the People, then no one among the People, especially the poor and the underprivileged, should oppose a wisdom-defined, love-oriented social order where the best, the brightest and the most honest work not primarily for themselves but for the whole country, if not the entire human family. The heart of our present system of government is MONEY or materialism. This manifesto seeks to change that heart with a Merit system of government in which elective and occupational positions are conferred fairly and justly on the basis of merit rather than ascriptive factors such as race, gender, ethnic group or wealth. In short, our current system of “democracy” needs a “ heart...........plant.” That NEW HEART is the heart of Meritocracy. While the word “Meritocracy” appears to be a new ideological concept, it should be pointed here that, over the course of many centuries, most, if not all, educational or learning institutions have been founded upon the tenets of Meritocracy. In school, no student can graduate without passing all required subjects. Nor can any student be classified as cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude absent exceptional MERIT justifying the grant of such an honorable academic recognition. Unfortunately, and unlike our educational institutions, our government is not based on the same principles of Meritocracy which has been successfully tried and tested in most educational institutions, especially Harvard University. Rather, as I have repeatedly stated in this book, our government is based on the oppressive policy of Money-talk-cracy, where only the moneyed are given the maximum opportunity to run the affairs of the country. Reward for individual talents, merits and intellectual capabilities, however, should not be the only concern of any meritocratic undertaking. Rather, any wisdom-defined and love-guided merit system should be aimed at the welfare and progress of an entire societal organization, if not the human family as a whole. If the human race is to come out of LIFE alive, then no one --- however poor and humble, sickly or unlikable --- should be left behind. For life, no matter what life, is priceless, unique and unrepeatable. Thus we should either embrace each other and rise to the glory and perfection of the gods together --- and rule the universe with God --- or not at all. With regards to ex-President Joseph E. Estrada, it had to be emphasized here that, during his campaign for the presidency, he endorsed the term “Meritocracy” itself without drawing or defining the specific political coverage of his commitment save that which relates to the proposal requiring the president to spend a period of time in the Visayas and Mindanao so that he will be accessible to the common people as well. (Note: This idea was underscored in the previous editions of this meritocratic manifesto. Later, Pres. Fidel Ramos mouthed it, and Pres. Joseph Estrada said amen. But, understandably, I was never given any credit for it.) Additionally, President Estrada promised (but failed) to utilize the services of the “best and brightest” in running the government but, given the moral high grounds, ideals, and essence of Meritocracy, such commitment needed a greater measure of Meritocratic quality, vitality and clarity, and should have had specifically included the term “the most honest” as one of the criteria for the selection and appointment of public employees or officials. On the other hand, I wish to inform the readers that this manifesto appears to be the only --- if not the first --- book on the subject of Meritocracy in this country. So far, the records of the U.S. Library of Congress do not show any significant volume of research on a Merit System of government, except a book entitled “The Rise of Meritocracy” by Michael Young which, in reality, is against Meritocracy. The idea of a meritocratic way of life and governance dates as far back as the glorious civilization of ancient Greece and the time of Confucius in China but the it had never been fully tried and tested anywhere in the world excepts, perhaps, in educational and military institutions. For my part, the word “Meritocracy” first dawned upon me at the revolutionary campus of the University of the Philippines sometime in 1965. Coming as I did from the peasantry, I must admit that I was very fascinated by both the word (meritocracy) and what I intuitively perceived to be its potential contribution to the national as well as international communities. Since then, and through the years, I joined - and , sometimes, spearheaded - more or less 34 major public demonstrations in Cebu and Manila in order to help bring about the establishment of a Merit System of government in our country. When Marcos declared martial law in 1972, I escaped from the Philippines through the southern back-door but, unfortunately, the Malaysian authorities apprehended me and dumped me into a torture chamber at the Tawau Detention and Lockup Facility in Sabah, North Borneo for 120 days, together with my companion, Atty. David C. Martinez. However, it was there - in a dark, lonely, secluded prison cell - where I started making notes on the first draft of this meritocratic document. Eventually, after brief sojourns in Brunei and Japan, I was rescued by the United Nations through the help of the Catholic Migration Commission and the United States’ Mission in Geneva, Switzerland. Accordingly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees helped me obtain a permanent residence status in Canada but on my way to that country - and upon the advice of the late Raoul Beloso, former Chairman of the Small Farmers’ Commission, and Attorney Loida Nicolas Lewis - I abandoned my Canadian residence and decided to seek political asylum in the United States where I published the first and succeeding editions of this manifesto. Sometime in 1992, I returned to the Philippines and, through the assistance of ex-Commodore Mike Appari, distributed copies of the book to all Congressmen, Senators, and members of the Ramos cabinet, including Mr. Fidel Ramos himself. Five years later, Sultan Macapanton Y. Abbas, Jr. sent me a facsimile of a speech by then Vice President Joseph E. Estrada wherein, among others, the latter unilaterally entered into a morally binding covenant with the people. Said he: I intend to head a government that is based on Meritocracy; the best and the brightest will help me run the government. While the inclusion of the term “the most honest” would have unequivocally defined the ideological borders of Pres. Estrada’s position on Meritocracy, I was nevertheless immeasurably emboldened by this morally supportive declaration coming as it did from one of the highest officials of the country. Consequently, through the assistance of Boy Morales, I visited President Estrada at his residence at 1 Polk Street, San Juan, Rizal, where he personally reiterated his commitment to a Meritocratic form of government. That was the only reason behind my all-out support for Estrada’s campaign for the Presidency in 1998. More than using the fullest power of my paper, the Asian American Voice, I set up the only ............
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:47:01 +0000
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