20/03/2025
IFUGAO – WILL THY WILL BE DONE?
(A Call for Unity, Wisdom, and the Strength of a People)
High in the mountains of Ifugao stand the majestic Banaue Rice Terraces, carved not by a single hand but by the collective strength of a people. Generation after generation, the Ifugao ancestors shaped the land, not through the command of one leader, but through the unity of many. This was the essence of baddang—the spirit of mutual help, where no single ruler dictated, yet the work was done, the land was cultivated, and the people thrived.
But today, as politics divides and the will of the people is tested, we must ask: Will the strength of unity endure, or will division erode what our ancestors built?
Politics in the new millennium has turned neighbors into adversaries, and elections have become a battle of power rather than a duty to serve. Leaders rise, not to uplift the people, but to claim victory over their rivals. The cycle of vindication after every poll deepens wounds instead of healing them. The people—who should be the heart of democracy—are left as mere spectators, or worse, pawns in a game where progress is often sacrificed for political revenge.
But Ifugao’s history has already shown us the way. The terraces were not built on division. They were not sustained by selfish ambition. They stand today because the people worked as one, without waiting for a leader to command them. This is the lesson we must remember. True progress will not come from political triumphs, but from a people’s collective will to rise above politics.
So to the voting populace, to every citizen hoping for a better future—let not politics decide who we are. Let not division dictate our fate. Let us stand as our ancestors did, guided not by leaders, but by a shared purpose, by a will stronger than any force that seeks to divide us.
The future is ours to shape. The question remains—will thy will be done?