Press Release
March 12, 2009

Gordon calls for 'paradigm shift' to bring about genuine change

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today called for a paradigm shift in the way the Filipinos think, speak and act to bring about the kind of change that the country has always dreamt of.

Gordon said a community of people who think, speak, and act for the common good is what the Bagumbayan Movement, which he started, aims to create.

"It is time we change the paradigm. It is time that we have a Bagumbayan," he said.

"Kailangan natin magkaroon ng tapang at pagbabago sa ating pag-iisip at pag-uugali upang tuluyan nating mabago ang ating bansa," he added.

Gordon said the Bagumbayan Movement will be re-launched at the historic Manila Hotel on April 27, the date when Lapu-Lapu repulsed the colonial invaders led by Ferdinand Magellan.

He explained that Bagumbayan is the original name of Luneta where the heroes of the country were killed, including Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora (Gomburza), and national hero Jose Rizal.

As a movement, Bagumbayan is a grassroots organization committed to work towards change in the country by pushing for voters' registration and campaigning for poll automation to achieve clean, honest, orderly and credible elections. At present, it has more than 30,000 card-bearing members from all over the country and still counting.

Gordon explained that the Bagumbayan Movement seeks to rediscover and revitalize the Filipinos' identity by having a vision grounded on values and empowered by volunteerism.

The senator stressed the need for a dramatic change so that the country may depart from its current state where the social cancer known as corruption is committed with impunity and perpetrators go unpunished.

He said that change can start by electing the country's leaders through a clean, honest, and credible election which can be brought about by an automated system of elections where everyone can be certain that the votes of the rich and the poor will be counted.

"Dapat may sarili tayong pag-iisip, tayo ang magdedesiyon. Mahalin natin ang ating boto. Kahit pa sabihing matatalo ang kandidato mo, kung naniniwala ka doon sa kandidato mo, 'yun ang iboto mo," Gordon said.

He also said that it is time for the Filipino people to start breaking the walls in their minds by regaining confidence in their capabilities and being courageous about the future.

"Our quest is not for the victory of one man or woman in the 2010 polls. Our quest is for the victory of all Filipinos for Bagumbayan is where we Filipinos will find our future, not in foreign shores, but in our very own native Filipinas," Gordon said.

"We must have a vision for where we want our nation to be and mold ourselves to the values that will help us achieve this vision," he added.

News Latest News Feed