Dr. Jesus P. Estanislao By Jesus P. Estanislao   Now that Clink Hagedorn has put forward two simple, straightforward transformative proposals (keep the best we have; learn the best from others, whilst adapting them smartly for our own benefit, without losing our soul and the Filipino spirit), he follows them up with four areas where we need to focus a lot of our attention in the decades ahead. These are:

• Formation. By this he means a continuing program for people to improve and become better as individuals in all aspects of their life. He says: “Formation develops a person to be of character, selfless, loving, and caring.” Here, Clink echoes what many others have been saying: We all need to improve ourselves as individuals, so each Filipino becomes the ultimate governance asset to bring about our Dream Philippines. In particular, he puts a focus on “spiritual formation, values.”
• Food Security. This is another way of saying that no Filipino should go to bed hungry at night. In other words, we have to provide ample opportunity not only for spiritual strength, but also for material comfort. Perhaps, there is no absolute need for luxurious living for everyone; but there is an absolute need for everyone to be able to take proper care of their basic material needs. Clink adds: “No superpower has food shortage; no inventor can work without first securing (and providing for) their family´s sustenance.”
• Education. There is wide agreement on this, but Clink does put an emphasis on continuing moral education. He says: “If people are not aware of what is right and what is wrong, how would our country move forward?” He goes further: “Education is a key, (particularly) continuing education through aggressive information drive.” Moreover, we should drop the idea that education is limited to the classroom in school. We should reach out, continuously, also to “those already outside academe.” In addition, there is need for creative advertising. Clink observes: “We eat (at) Jolibee, KFC, Shakey’s, and McDonald’s because the television says it is good, and because we have to imitate “other people who love doing so, for example, actors and actresses.” We need to bring this creative pitch into our continuing education for life for all.
• Strict enforcement of the law. There is no question that Filipinos would follow the law, if it is strictly and fairly enforced. Clink observes: “Filipinos follow traffic rules upon entering Subic, because the traffic rules are properly and strictly enforced there.” He then adds: “Filipinos, when abroad, are well behaved and follow rules, because there would be no excuses there, if they break the law.”

The four critical areas to focus on may look “obvious,” although more than a few would wish to discuss them further. But Clink has chosen to stress spiritual or values formation, which can be closely related to continuing education for life for all, and for strict enforcement of the law. He does not forget to underscore food security, which is a code for a bit more of material comfort for everyone. Those who wish to pitch in and contribute their ideas are welcome to do so. Please feel free to agree or disagree with Clink Hagedorn, who has done us a great favor by putting forward his ideas. We hope others will challenge them with the idea of further enriching and strengthening the good points he has chosen to emphasize.