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Vice Ganda’s much-talked about contribution to the “Piliin mo ang Pilipinas” trend not only surpassed others, but also courageously and creatively took on issues that have befuddled or angered Filipinos.

Vice Ganda could have ignored the trend altogether, or instead produced a socially-irrelevant yet funny video – but she didn’t.

In one fell swoop, Vice Ganda touched on the jeepney phaseout, the construction of a resort at one of the Chocolate Hills, and the Chinese Coast Guard’s firing of a water cannon at a Philippine military vessel.

The video provoked her followers and fans not just to praise her, but also to think about “choosing the Philippines, even if it is difficult or hard to do.”
In so doing, Vice Ganda gives something profound to think about ourselves and our concept of patriotism and love of country.

I could distinctly remember online conversations about “leaving the country” as a response to major political and economic news. While I think it is a valid response, and it is likewise part of our rights to express ourselves and even to renounce Filipino citizenship and to acquire another if or when that is possible, such a view should also be contested or debated.

I mean, I’m sorry but no country makes citizenship easy or effortless. Every country has its own set of challenges that citizens complain about. Often, it is overlooked or forgotten that the countries many aspire to migrate to were once like the Philippines: poor, backward and hopeless. What citizens elsewhere said, did, paid, or sacrificed for to make possible the wonders of a better life in other places — industrialization, modern mass transportation, environmental protection, and a strong sense of citizenship — is something that should interest us, whether seeking to leave or deciding to stay.

Filipino immigrants who later acquire foreign citizenship would confront their acquired citizenships’ and their new adopted country’s challenges. Many would be surprised or shocked that they have a voice or a say, or can be part of a political party, or even aspire for public office. Sadly, many bring with them a culture of silence and non-participation in politics and civic action, but that’s for another occasion to discuss.

Just like any other, Filipino citizenship is challenging and difficult. I wonder if there’s a textbook or class in elementary, high school or college that taught otherwise. We have to correct such misconception about “easy citizenship.”

Leaving the country may solve personal, career, or familial challenges. But whether that would fix national problems is doubtful. Overseas Filipino workers have remitted countless billions of dollars our way, but problems remain. Some may contend that we cannot afford to continue a “brain drain” of a lot of our best and brightest. Others may argue that the most intelligent and most creative in various fields should also be able to find solutions to the problems that governments are unable or unwilling to solve. If political actions or electoral candidacies fail, it ain’t the end of the world.

Perhaps what really irks many is the lack of political agency, or the sense that we could make things happen in our country as citizens. Many factors affect this, and I think most would agree that it is really the most difficult to change and consequently make more democratic and more inclusive. Would occasional or seasonal political engagements be enough? Would the powers-that-be surrender control without any fight? These and other questions wait to be answered.

Vice Ganda’s call to choose the Philippines presents an opportunity for many to think about the country, and the intersection of personal choices and national problems. It is a prescription against apathy, indifference, resignation, and cynicism, all of which deprive us of the proper mindset to be citizens actively seeking a role, a voice and the power to effect change in our country.

In a world dominated by colonial mentality and by the desire to give up, be a Vice Ganda. Choose the Philippines.