Women of Butuan.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Rina Jimenez-David

I KNOW I've declared that maybe it's about time we just closed shop and declared the Philippines bankrupt. But that was born out of disgust at the antics of a number of our congressional representatives who acted in consort to impeach the Chief Justice and destroy just about the only remaining public institution with some credibility and respect.

I mean, if our so-called political leaders could be so reckless and malicious, then what's the use of keeping faith in our nation-state, right?

Wrong. The past few days, I've met people who've shown me that they not only continue to believe in the Philippines and have faith in the future, but also by their example provide reasons even for cynics like me to continue to hope and believe in the worth of the Filipino.

I've just returned from a "lightning" trip to Butuan and Gingoog, principally to attend the graduation rites of an adult literacy program known as "Project Kasanag."

"Kasanag" means light, and it's the name given to the city literacy program of Butuan. These particular graduation rites, however, had a personal meaning for me and, I'd like to think, for the graduates.