Dear Mr. Keh,

We are thanklful for your genuine service to your fellow filipinos through your various civic works. However, your letter of appeal to filipinos citing 7 reasons that would make you leave the Philippines is short of shallow, if I am allowed my opinion.

Yes, for the record, you sited the following 7 scenarios that would make you think of leaving our beloved motherland, to wit:

1.) If former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of Hello
Garci fame wins in his bid to become Congressman of
Bukidnon...seeking to replace a good man no less in incumbent
Cong. Neric Acosta... We would really be the laughing stock of
the whole world if we allow a man with the reputation of Garci
to be one of our so called "Honorable Gentlemen".

2.) If Dancing Queen Tessie Aquino Oreta reclaims her seat at the
Senate... I hope that all of us would still remember that dance
that she did during the 2001 impeachment hearings after they
voted to overrule the decision of then Chief Justice Davide...
let us make sure that people like her never make it to the Senate
again.

3.) If Richard Gomez becomes a senator... what does he know about
making laws? We already have the likes of Bong Revilla and Lito
Lapid in the Senate and their performance or lack of it would be
reason enough not to elect another actor who has no prior
experience in government to the distinguished halls of the
Senate.

4.) If Gringo Honasan wins again.... have we not learned our
lesson? I cannot believe that just because someone is charismatic
then we will just elect him to become one of our senators despite
the fact that he has time and again caused so much instability in
our country... if we want a military junta similar to that of
Thailand ... then lets all vote for this guy....

5.) If Manny Pacquiao becomes Congressman of General Santos
City... everybody loves Manny the Boxing Champ but Manny the
Lawmaker? Lets be realistic here, Manny is our Hero alright but I
think it takes more than just great boxing skills and a desire to
serve to be able to make appropriate laws that would help uplift
the lives of the many Filipinos who live in Poverty.

6.) If Lito Lapid wins for Mayor of Makati City... I don't like
Jojo Binay as well but Lito Lapid as city mayor of the country's
finance and business center?!?! And do you really think he is
from Makati and has good plans for the city? The Arroyos asking
someone like him to run just goes to show you how much love and
concern this government has for our country.

7.) If Chavit Singson becomes a Senator, Illegal Gambling =
Chavit... enough said.

Wouldn't it be more patriotic for you to remain in this country should these seven scenarios happen? You mean to say that you are willing to abandon the Philippines just because of 7 people? Is that patriotism? Sure, your achievements count for something, but if you threaten to leave because of these 7 people, what does that make you? Our heroes Rizal and Ninoy, exiled though they were, chose to return home to face danger while you threaten to do the opposite! Your intention is commendable, inspiring and calling on the voting public not to vote for these people (I certainly won't vote for these 7 people, trust me).

We are still a free country. People can vote for whomever they please. We cannot blame the masang pilipino for voting for these 7 people, much less teach them to vote wisely by threatening to abandon them.  I said this before, it takes time to educate voters. It will take generations before we can come up with true intelligent electorates.  This, i think, is all the more reason for you to stay if the 7 people are elected.  It is up to people like you and me to set the stage for a thinking electorate. Trust me, we won't even live to see that day come, but at least we know we have done the right thing and stayed when others chose to leave.   

Do not abandon the country because of these 7 people. They are only 7 reasons for you to leave, as opposed to millions of reasons to stay.

If by May, heaven forbid, these 7 people do get elected and you decide to abandon ship, so to say, then good luck. There will be many more willing to pick up where you left off.  Those who chose to stay against apparent insurmountable odds.  These are the true patriots of the motherland.

RODEL BANARES

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Here is the complete text of Mr. Keh's letter:

Dear Fellow Filipino,
Good day to all of you! Before I begin my letter... just a
disclaimer, for people who know me they know that I love the
Philippines very much and I am not really one who rants and
complaints to high heavens about what is happening to our country
and does nothing about it, in fact, I feel that at my relatively
young age of 27, I have done much service to the Philippines by
setting up Pathways to Higher Education which has sent more than
500 poor but deserving students to college and AHON Foundation
which has already built two public elementary school libraries
that have benefitted more than 3,500 students. Yet, after seeing
how events in our nation have transpired the past few weeks and
talking with some friends, I feel the urge to share with you my
own thoughts and feelings.

Over the weekend, we saw the completion of two major political
alliances for this coming Senate Elections that has just began
here in the Philippines . Now we have two political forces with
familiar faces nonetheless on opposite sides of the fences. On
one end, you have Tito Sotto and Tessie Aquino-Oreta who were two
major stalwarts of the opposition and the FPJ Campaign in 2004
hobnobbing with the woman (Pres. GMA) whom they claimed to have
cheated FPJ in the last Presidential Elections.On the other side
of the fence, you see Manny Villar, the former house speaker who
was actually responsible for impeaching Erap now part of the
United Opposition who is led by no less than... Erap himself. Now
if you don't see anything wrong with this picture then you must
be one of the many Filipinos who have accepted this very sad
reality that there is indeed no permanent ideals that our
government leaders stand up for but rather they just go where
there self-interests can best be served. It is this kind of
politics why I no longer wonder why good people like Ramon
Magsaysay Awardee Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City or outstanding
Bulacan Governor Josie Dela Cruz will find it hard or worse,
never be elected to national positions.

It is with these in mind that I'd like to share with you what are
events this coming May elections that will make me consider
leaving the Philippines :

1.) If former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of Hello
Garci fame wins in his bid to become Congressman of
Bukidnon...seeking to replace a good man no less in incumbent
Cong. Neric Acosta... We would really be the laughing stock of
the whole world if we allow a man with the reputation of Garci
to be one of our so called "Honorable Gentlemen".

2.) If Dancing Queen Tessie Aquino Oreta reclaims her seat at the
Senate... I hope that all of us would still remember that dance
that she did during the 2001 impeachment hearings after they
voted to overrule the decision of then Chief Justice Davide...
let us make sure that people like her never make it to the Senate
again.

3.) If Richard Gomez becomes a senator... what does he know about
making laws? We already have the likes of Bong Revilla and Lito
Lapid in the Senate and their performance or lack of it would be
reason enough not to elect another actor who has no prior
experience in government to the distinguished halls of the
Senate.

4.) If Gringo Honasan wins again.... have we not learned our
lesson? I cannot believe that just because someone is charismatic
then we will just elect him to become one of our senators despite
the fact that he has time and again caused so much instability in
our country... if we want a military junta similar to that of
Thailand ... then lets all vote for this guy....

5.) If Manny Pacquiao becomes Congressman of General Santos
City... everybody loves Manny the Boxing Champ but Manny the
Lawmaker? Lets be realistic here, Manny is our Hero alright but I
think it takes more than just great boxing skills and a desire to
serve to be able to make appropriate laws that would help uplift
the lives of the many Filipinos who live in Poverty.

6.) If Lito Lapid wins for Mayor of Makati City... I don't like
Jojo Binay as well but Lito Lapid as city mayor of the country's
finance and business center?!?! And do you really think he is
from Makati and has good plans for the city? The Arroyos asking
someone like him to run just goes to show you how much love and
concern this government has for our country.

7.) If Chavit Singson becomes a Senator, Illegal Gambling =
Chavit... enough said.

Now if all of these 7 things happen during this coming elections
then don't be surprised if I decide to leave this country that I
love dearly. Like I said during the first part of my letter, I
feel that I have done much for this country but I think its time
that Filipinos become more vigilant and critical in selecting
our leaders for the sake of our future and the generations that
will go beyond us. So I appeal to every Filipino who asks what
can I actually do for my country... Choose and vote for the right
people this coming elections, huwag na tayong magpaloko sa mga
kandidatong maganda lang ang jingle o gwapo lang sa mga poster.
Let us choose leaders who have a good track record for service
and who are genuinely committed towards serving our country.

Manindigan naman tayong lahat para sa ating Kinabukasan at para
sa Kapakanan ng ating Bayan!

Thank you very much for your time in reading this letter.

Sincerely,

Harvey S. Keh