Dear Manny,
I heard from the news that you publicly declared your support to those who are against the Reproductive Health Bill. I have nothing against you, anyway, it is your personal opinion and everyone’s entitled to that since we are living in a democratic republic. I am just concerned if that is really a reflection of what you feel, or you are just pressured to go anti-RH because you are a devout Roman Catholic. I am concerned because as a public figure, many people look up at you, and I want you to be more intelligent with your decisions so you will be able to influence the people to the right path leading to better future.
Manny, you know how it feels to be financially-challenged. You know how hard it is to work hard just to ensure that your family will have something to eat every day. You were once in that situation. You once experienced selling vegetables and sweet delicacies to your neighbours so your family can survive. You once experienced punches from strangers and be paid few hundred pesos for small-time boxing match. And I am sure you don’t want to experience that again.
Manny, you are very lucky. You were given the opportunity to become rich. And I admire your devotion to the Lord, our God, and I am glad that you put Him first in everything you do. You are now one of the richest athletes in the world. You have a lot of endorsements now, both local and global, and you are paid handsomely for every fight that you stage. You are now very far from the young Manny of GenSan who sells vegetables and breads to his neighbours.
Manny, I believe you have read and understand the RH Bill filed by your colleagues in the Congress and Senate, or at least someone has explained its content to you. Even if you did not finish formal education, I know that you know that having bigger population gives more disadvantages than help. Can your conscience take that while your children are studying in an international school and receive the best education they can have, the children of your fellowmen are squeezing themselves in a small classroom with 70 or more other pupils? That while you can hire private tutors for your kids, the kids of your constituents can only see their teachers few hours daily because classes are divided in morning and afternoon shifts to accommodate everyone. These children even share one book with other 5 or 10 students. And when you get injured, where do you go for treatment? How about us? We line up for several hours just to get vaccinated in community health centers. We queue for days just to get hospitalization aid from PCSO. Maybe it will take weeks before we get serviced if our population becomes bigger.
Few days ago, you celebrated your victory from Mosley back-to-back by Aling Dionesia’s birthday. She requested a hand bag worth a million pesos. It is easy for you to give the caprices of your love ones because you are rich. It’s easy for you to say you’re anti-RH because even if the numbers of Filipinos increase over the years, you still can give them the things your family wants, maybe up to the 5th generation of your children, even without working.
Manny, I am not saying that you should share to everyone your hard-earned money. But instead, I believe that if there are less people competing for opportunities, it will yield better life for your fellow Filipinos. Let’s face the reality, Mr. Congressman. We don’t have enough jobs here in our country. Our government’s services are poor. They cannot even control the price of gasoline and basic commodities. They cannot even provide basic health services to our poor fellowmen. And these men cannot even afford to eat at least three times daily. We don’t have enough to support the incoming generation. We have to control our population, Manny. We don’t want to live in a dog-eats-dog world, do we?
Last election, you decided to support Noynoy instead of your long-term ally, Madam Gloria. And for the first time after one year of his term in office, Noynoy has made a rational decision. It is now the opportunity to show your support to him and show the people that you are one with the vision of the present administration.
Manny, please think twice. Your soul will go to heaven if you die, not because a bishop or any member of the clergy said so if you follow their illogical thoughts, but instead God will look at what you have done for the betterment of your fellowmen. You are given the power, the money, and the popularity to influence people, use it to proclaim God’s real will — and that is to live a responsible life mindful of others.
Yours in the service of our fellowmen,
Dynes
