manny villar WAS poor. noy noy IS of the rich elite.

The Philippines was once the Tiger of South East Asia. Today, we're a turtle. John Maxwell once said, the fate of any unit lies in the capacity of its leader. Manny Villar is right when he says that the country has been led by one social class alone- the rich, Philippine elite.

Last I heard, Philippine demographics show a population of 88% impoverished and 1% rich, elite. What has been the consequences then of the rich ruling a predominantly impoverished country?

Think of it this way. There are two communities: The Orange Community and The Yellow Community.One of the Yellows leaves his community and decides to live in the Orange Community. Not only does he "live" there, he decides to "lead" there because, among other reasons, he believes he is better equiped and more knowledgeable than the rest. What will happen?

 Most probably the Oranges will be suspicious of the Yellow character; this is only normal for the yellow dude is in fact an outsider. Luckily for this yellow fella, the Oranges are good-natured, hospitable, and trusting people. They don't become malicious of the Yellow man. In fact, the Oranges like him- he's whiter, more pleasing to the eyes. They are impressed by the language that he speaks; he sounds intelligent and sophisticated. Most importantly, they are enthralled by his charisma; they believe that Yellow man will indeed be an honest, competent, and selfless ruler. They let him lead.

But almost automatically, reality unfolds: because Yellow is yellow, it does not understand Orange. The Yellow man does not feel the way the Orange people feel. The Yellow man does not speak the way the Orange people speak. The Yellow man does not see the way the Orange people see. In short, the Yellow man has a completely different world-view and world-experience; one that makes him dumb as to how to relate to the Orange people, let alone lead them.

This is the plight of the Filipino people. We have been ruled by a person not of the orange- not of the poor- but of the yellow- the rich; the 1% elite. No wonder the problems of the poor, of the majority of the Filipino people, have not been met: no one prioritizes them. The rich leader would rather address what is familiar to him and that which is beneficial to his kind. By doing this, power is securely maintained.

Manny Villar is an exception. He is of the Orange- of the poor. Today, he has successfully made his way into the realm of the Yellow- into the realm of Philippine politics wherein the key players are of the rich elite. He is the outsider and sadly, he is not very welcome.

But because most, if not all, of the Orange-of the poor- possess a certain tenacity, Manny Villar will not stop until he becomes the rightful leader of his people. Manny Villar continues to fight until he sees his kind slowly but surely escape poverty the way he did.