Be the change

Date: July 5,2022
Author: Sequoia

"Why expect for a change in your country, if you are not even willing to start in yourself."

This phrase struck me hard earlier during the testimony of a former NPA commander known with her famous screen name "LOLA". My admiration to her started the moment she opened her mouth that is full of wisdom and how she gained the attention of every body just before she started her formal testimony or story.

She was a child prodigy who was able to enter college at the age of 13 years old. In other words, she was really gifted in her mental capabilities since she was a menopausal baby. She grew up in a wealthy family. She was treated as the darling of the crowd, living a princess life. Everything was served to her and her parents even forbid her carrying her own bag at school. She had a nanny to do it. She was able to get all the material possession she wants. In short, she grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth.

But there was a setback, in spite of living a life that everyone would dream of, she lack of some attention and affection from her family. Her parents and siblings were so busy with their businesses and endeavors that she would only received a small amount of their time. That vulnerability became the channel of the NPA people to slowly persuade her to join the troops.

According to Lola, the first move of this specific people wasn't to make the young people hate the government. Their first tactics was to make the young people hate their parents. It is mainly because they believed that a broken family would result to a weak community, and will eventually result to a weak government as well. That makes some sense because we all know that family is the basic unit of society.

Later on, she joined the NPA group and went to the mountain. There, she became a commander at the age of 14 years old. Leading a four platoons with more than 100 people age ranges 10-50 years old. That fact just blown my mind away. Like seriously?

She admitted that she already killed multiple officers and soldiers with her own hand. In addition, she was also the first ever female sniper in their area. It took her 10 years before she realized things. She questioned herself if what she's doing was still for the country. Until such time that she decided to surrender to the government that she once betrayed. And it was the same government that helped her get her life back.

Now, she is working with the government and facilitates the Community Healing program for the NPA people who surrenders as well.

Hearing her story made me realized that most of the young people nowadays who's fighting against the government are all victims by brainwashing and wrong teaching. Lola even asked the parents to be more vigilant and guard their children because recruitment don't just happen in universities, it also happens in the primary to secondary years.

One of the lines that I can't also forget that she have said was,

"If you want to manipulate someone, make them mad. Mad people can't make right decisions for they are consumed with their emotions."

If you want to make our country better, then start within yourself. Be a better and responsible person and citizen of the Republic of the Philippines.

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