*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD
I was in my Gen Z age back in 2003 when I had the privilege of teaching at the Philippine Public Safety College, handling the Directorial Staff Course. At that time, I was deeply idealistic, my mind constantly alive with public safety and law enforcement theories I was developing and testing. My work later earned me numerous study trips and engagements with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. Among my students then was Lt. Col. Rodrigo Dulay Bonifacio—one of the finest officers I had the privilege to mentor. Even then, he carried himself with a mix of discipline, conviction, and a restless concern for our nation. Years later, I was deeply inspired when I discovered something even more symbolic about him: he is the great-great-grandson of Andres Bonifacio, the Supremo, the first true President of the Philippines. That lineage alone already carries a weight of history. And reading his words today, I can feel that same fire echo across time.
Just recently, I came across his Facebook post entitled “My Beloved Countrymen.” In it, Col. Bonifacio did not simply raise political commentary—he spoke with the grief of someone watching his own country being robbed in broad daylight. He lamented how ₱545.6 billion, meant to protect Filipinos from floods, ended up being siphoned through commissions and kickbacks. Only scraps—30 to 40 percent—were left for actual construction. The rest vanished into pockets that never had to wade through floodwaters or watch their children shiver on rooftops waiting for rescue.
And as if that was not enough, even the bonds meant to guarantee accountability disappeared when bonding companies themselves turned insolvent. It was betrayal on betrayal, treason masked as public service.
Col. Bonifacio’s message cuts deep: the Philippines is not poor—it is plundered. We are not drowning in rainwater alone—we are drowning in corruption. And every peso stolen is not just currency lost, but a future stolen: a classroom never built, a hospital never funded, a livelihood never created.
What struck me most was his call for courage from the highest leader of the land —you know who he is. Also he calls the attention of the chief executive of our nation that there is an urgent need of declaring a State of Emergency—not to silence dissent, but to silence corruption. Some may quickly equate this with dictatorship, but that is a shallow and a poor taste interpretation. This is not dictatorship. This is a constructive revolution—one not of guns and bloodshed but of discipline and accountability. A revolution by the people and for the people. A Democratic Revolution of the Citizenry, aimed toward the realization of a Progressive, Responsible and Organized Democracy (PRODEM).
This resonates deeply with me because Progressive, Responsible and Organized Democracy has been my own lifelong advocacy. As early as 2006, while serving as a Municipal Councilor in San Mateo, Rizal, I co-hosted the radio program Mabuhay ang Demokrasya on Radyo ng Bayan with my tandem anchor, the late Bal Domingo. It was during those fiery broadcasts that the concept of PRODEM—progressive, responsible, and organized democracy—was born, coined in an instant but destined to shape my outlook forever. In 2010, I institutionalized this vision further by founding the 1st Philippine Pro-Democracy Foundation, a platform that sought to inspire reforms and plant the seeds of a citizen-led democratic renewal and in 2022 it futher expanded thru registration of Timpuyog Pilipinas, a non-government organization founded by Retired Police Major General Thompson Lantion, this is a federation representing more than 12 million advocates mainly of ilocano organizations within and outside the country, plus other regional ethnic groups believing in the advocacy of national unity, love, and recociliation.
A decisive State of Emergency, if anchored on this vision,
could be the first step in evolving into what a progressive, organized, and responsible democracy advocates:
- From
Bicameral Waste to Unicameral Efficiency. Billions saved from redundant
legislative structures could directly finance classrooms, hospitals, and
infrastructure.
- From
Corruption to Federal Accountability. Regional governments, empowered
under federalism, would no longer wait on the mercy of Metro Manila but be
directly accountable to their constituents.
- From
Self-Interest to National Unity. The cleansing of the party-list system
would eliminate pretenders and restore the voice of the truly
marginalized.
- From Weakness to Patriotism. Funds wasted on plunder would instead strengthen our armed forces, fortify our borders, and defend our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.
In other words, Col. Bonifacio’s bold proposal of declaring a State of Emergency is not an end in itself—it is a necessary transition, a democratic revolution of the citizenry, that could finally turn the dream of a Progressive, Responsible and Organized Democracy into reality.
And so, I am left with a question, one that Col. Bonifacio’s name and lineage make all the more piercing: Do we need once more the spirit, perhaps even the reincarnation, of the Supremo Andres Bonifacio to rouse this nation into revolution? Or are we instead following the path of a Pedro Paterno—the consummate traitor—who chose his own survival over the salvation of the Filipino people?
The choice is ours. History offers us both roads: courage or betrayal. Which one we take will define not only our generation but the generations to come.
And in the end, I cannot help but wonder: what if Andres Bonifacio were born as a Gen Z? He would know the value of building rather than destroying, of choosing love rather than hate, of lifting rather than tearing down. For today, the enemy is no longer foreign invaders—the enemy is the Filipino who betrays his fellow Filipino. And when Filipinos kill each other, the invaders rejoice. If Bonifacio were Gen Z today, he would lead not a bloody revolt, but a Constructive Revolution— the call that Col. Rodrigo Dulay Bonifacio is urging the leader of our nation to do—an organized revolution of integrity, unity, love, progress, responsibility, patriotism, and evolving sustainable development.
Rise for the Filipino people. Rise for clean and honest
governance. Rise for a Progressive, Responsible and Organized Democracy
