a blessed generation

I mean that. Seriously. Truthfully.

I was born 25 September 1974. I was in my tweens when EDSA 1 happened.

And when I graduated from college, the Philippines was considered, globally, as a tiger cub in the mid-1990s due to President Ramos. Fifteen years remove from EDSA 1, the first impeachment, I think :- ), in the Philippine history happened. But prior to that, the Internet bubble burst.

I had a better grasp of what these events meant for I was finishing my graduate studies around this time. Specifically, I was writing my Strategic Management paper :- )

Besides that, I was in EDSA this time.

And during the first decade of the new millennium - my business-mind and 'chops' were honed by stewarding a boutique talent agency in the scandal-laden GMA presidency. The year 2001-2010 is the best time to learn, hands-on, what it means to run a business in precarious times.

On top of that, the industry I belonged to was hit by two powerful driving forces. One, a fundamental change. From an analog form of advertising to a digital, networked and dynamic one. Second, the fluctuating economy highlighted by the 2008 global financial meltdown. The advertising industry and the number of projects and the type of projects it cranks out, you see, is a leading indicator of the collective read of business minds.

It was also around this time, I intellectually plunged into the world of Kaizen, of Total Quality Management, of Lean Thinking, of Just-in-time, of Six Sigma and of Theory of Constraints among others.

And then Manny Pacquiao gave a jolt to Pinoy pride :- )

And now, I am offered another treat, a second impeachment. This time against Chief Justice Corona.

It is perfectly understandable to be wary of what's happening. But to be worried is really not the best thing to do right now. A crisis, as US President Obama suggested, is too valuable a thing to be wasted with worries.

These times and the unfolding events are the best times to learn what it means to give birth to a new Philippines. We are, currently, developing our own version of democracy.

Though it is easy to conclude that the spokesperson and the lawyers are making use of their 15 minutes of fame, I am thankful that the media is showing me, in dramatic details, how the government works. The powers of the Executive branch, of the Legislative and of the Judiciary and how it is related to each other to ensure a check and balance in the system.

I take this intelligently edited presentation over a classroom discussion :- )

And another thing, these events are highlighting, again, the brilliance of those people who wrote the 1987 Constitution. It's nice to be reminded that they, who came before me, were not asleep. I hope that when the generation after me comes, my generation will be judged the same way as I do for those who came before me :- )

Hmmm, I wonder now what kind of a President would a person of my age be when the time comes?

Being an optimist, that President, I think would be something else. For sure. For he saw, experienced and participated in a lot of transformation. From a dictatorship to a democracy. From an analog to digital technology. From a round world to a flat one :- )

A blessed generation indeed.

I am blessed and I am privileged that I am a Filipino at these times :- )

"... why think like mere men?"