By her own admission, GMA rightfully assessed that "over thelast decades,our republic has become one of the weakest, steadily leftbehind by its more progressive neighbors." Forty years ago, we wereonly second to Japan in economic stature, and way ahead ofSingapore,Hongkong,Malaysia, and Thailand.
Today, at our presentgrowth rate, it will take us 30 years to get to where Thailand is today.
1. A population of 160 Million; 2. Of those, 70 to 90 million (equivalent to our currentpopulation) will live below the poverty line; 3. Our national debt is estimated to be at US$200B (compared toUS$28B when Marcos fled, and US$53B today); 4. We will be competing, not against Thailand or even Vietnam,but against Bangladesh; 5. We will be the most corrupt nation in Asia, if not in theworld (we're already ranked 11th most corrupt nation byTransparencyInternational).
The signs are clear. Our nation is headed towards an irreversiblepath of economic decline and moral decadence. It is not for lack ofeffort. We've seen many men and women of integrity in and out ofgovernment, NGOs, church groups & people's organization devotethemselves to the task of nation-building, often times againstinsurmountable odds. But not even two people's revolutions, bloodlessas they may be, have made a dent in reversing this trend. At best, wehave moved one step forward, but three steps backward.
We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as apeople, can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to thespiritual realm. It's time to claim GOD's promise of healing of theland for His people.
It's time to gather GOD's people on its knees to pray for theeconomic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. Is prayerreally the answer? Before you dismiss this as just another ramblingof a religious fanatic, I'd like you to consider some lessons we can gleanfrom history. England's ascendancy to world power was preceded bythe Reformation, a spiritual revival fuelled by intense prayers. Theearly American settlers built the foundation that would make it themost powerful nation today - a strong faith in GOD and a disciplinedprayer life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turningpoints, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land.
In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival andin the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today,led by Rev. Paul Yongi Cho. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nationwhen other economies around it are faltering. Even from a purely secularviewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For here there is genuine humbling andseeking of GOD through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows.And this, in turn, will lead to general prosperity. YES, we believe prayercan make a difference. It's our only hope.
Today, we launch this email brigade, to inform Filipinos from allover the world to pray, as a people, for the economic recovery andmoral reformation of our nation. We do not ask for much. We only askfor 5 minutes of your time in a day, to fwd this email to your closefriendsand relatives.
This is the kind of unity which can make a big difference. Of course,if you feel strongly, as I do, about the power of prayer, you can be moreinvolved by starting your own prayer group or prayer center. We havetried people power twice; in both cases, it fell short.
Maybe it's time to try prayer power. GOD never fails. Is there hope?YES! We can rely on GOD's promise, but we have to do our part.If we humble ourselves and pray as a people, GOD will heal our land.By GOD's grace, we may yet see a better future for our children.
MISSweety
