"Have I Come In Vain?"

Written and Owned by Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal

(A special poem written for a better Philippines)

Silicon Valley, Northern California

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Oh, Philippines, I have come to you

With delight and enjoyed your warmth.

I had my adventures and also cared for your poor

And with God's blessings, helped gave them life.

I have shared my wealth with good intentions

Knowing there are dangers lurking around.

I have developed remote areas,

Built them roads and even a beautiful house.

I fell in love with you and your daughter,

We built our dreams and family together

Only to find ourselves unexpectedly

Targeted, victimized, and in grave danger.

Loving the Philippines and its challenges

Has unbelievably turned into a huge horror

Brought about by greedy people

Who like to wreak havoc and terror.

People who are supposed to help and protect

Turned out to be self-serving and in cahoots

With arrogant and evil ones

Bent on destroying people's lives.

Is this what awaits OFW's and visitors,

Fil-Ams, foreigners, and investors?

Is there protection for us wanting to stay

And help in your development?

O, Philippines, what should I tell my family,

How should I face my aging parents?

Can I look forward to the future of my children?

With lives almost ruined, our future is compromised.

Dearest one, have I come in vain?

Why are you quiet, almost blind and deaf?

Why does my family bear so much pain?

Will you just turn your back or watch and do nothing?

Our travails may not be the last,

We could just be among so many

That just suffer and bear in silence,

Victims of a criminal enterprise.

You long to be modern, you want progress

For your people, but with endemic and rampant corruption

Those who are bound to help, sadly,

Are sleeping with and aiding the devils.

You claim to protect human rights

Why then are mine not just trampled

But blatantly ignored?

For a better Philippines, wake up and shake.

Now is the time to rise up

Against terrorists and criminals

Intent on destroying you and your people,

Your children and their future.

Will you help me now before it's too late?

Will you help yourself and protect

Society and your image internationally?

It's a global economy, they say.

Let us join hands and clean up the Philippines.

For I do not want to ask and nag myself,

Along with my grieving wife and children,

"Have I come in vain?", "Have I come in vain?"

I have loved you then, but it's a struggle now

To continue doing so what was once my paradise

Turned upside down and turned into hell

Because unscrupulous people remain unchecked and unpunished.

To those who share our love for a better Philippines,

We share our predicaments, we hope not in vain

For the Philippines to become a better haven,

Yes, that is our ardent wish for everyone.

Let us live under a God, a Christ who has not come in vain

Among us, to save us, so let us in turn, help ourselves

In love for country, to protect our society

And be an integral part of a harmonious humanity.

We thank our family and friends

Even strangers who hold out their helping hands

For in this world, we are but one,

One in the name of the Lord, united under His love.