Cheers to the Yesteryear!

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The year that was had finally ended with a bang. Well, not the doomsday kind of finale, but with the usual extravagant display of pyrotechnics bidding 2012 goodbye and welcoming the new year on a very high note. Although surviving 2012 was not easy, it nonetheless presented opportunities for us to develop our character as individuals and as a nation. Thus, 2012 is regarded as one of the most momentous time in Philippine history.

It was in the year 2012 that we, as a nation, though divided, witnessed yet another spectacle of traditional politics at its best with the ousting of the supreme magistrate of the land. Then soon after comes the much heated debate on the Reproductive Health Bill that sends the country in partition among fundamentalists and idealists. I believe that these divisions, among many others, are results of how we have become less apathetic of traditional politics. Evidently, we were in unison as we grieve for the loss of the late DILG secretary Jesse Robredo, whom we look up as a beacon of good governance. And remarkably, we were all hands in defense of our national territory in a stand-off with the aggressive China.

Then, being one of the most social media savvy, we Pinoys managed to forward our cause and defend out freedom of expression over the world wide web via the Black Protest which overturned the passing of the controversial Cybercrime Law. On the other hand, however, I think some netizens failed to realize that not even the freedom of expression is absolute. It does not give us the privilege to harass anyone by posting mean-spirited messages online which could lead to cyberbullying. Hence, I hope we can all be more responsible posting over our social feeds. We all know It's for the better, you can't say #Amalayer, pun intended.

Last year also offered good sources of inspiration and international recognition courtesy of the Fighter of the Year win of the Filipino Flash Nonito Donaire. In addition, the Philippines is also recognized as one of the top tourist destination in the world. Plus, Filipino beauty is not to be outclassed after the back-to-back-to-back runner up wins in the most prestigious beauty pageant in the world, the Miss Universe, with the recent addition of first runner up Ms. Janine Tugonon. And in a predominantly Catholic state, we also saw divine inspiration with the canonization of the second Filipino saint Pedro Calungsod. More importantly, the Philippine economy was at its best for the past decade. On a more personal note, it was last year that I started to officially write blogs. So this year, let's prep up our new year's resolution, try out as many firsts and, together, look forward to a better year ahead. Cheers!