JUAN PAOLO RAMOS

DATINGUINOO
Applicant
 ESSAY

1. What is your envisioned career path?

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Your life is your biggest message to the
whole world.” I treat my life to be my biggest contribution to the world, so that
when I expire, my actions will linger. Every human being has the power to make
a change.
I have been exposed to the fields of law, education and public service. It
is fro, these fields that I learned that neither wealth nor intelligence can make a
great society. It is heart, love and compassion. Currently I am enrolled in my
second degree which is Law. I plan to finish my graduate studies and pass the
Bar examinations, and pursue a position in the government as Public Attorney,
where I can be of service for free in behalf of the government to the poor sector
who cannot have equal access to justice. Now that the Philippine justice system
is manipulated by the rich, the poor has been deprived of their rights to access
judicial services. It is my calling to share my services to those who cannot afford
it. While serving as public attorney, I would like to continue working alongside
the organizations I have worked in the past when I was still a child representative
to make sure that child abandonment, prostitution and child abuse and forced
labor is wiped clean in the country. Being an abandoned child myself in past, I
feel the social duty to make sure every child like me gets the care they deserve.

2. How will you benefit from the 2nd SEAMEO Leadership Forum? What do
you think are the actions or activities you could implement based on what you
will learn from the Forum?

I cannot imagine myself being successful in life if I won’t have the ability to
lead. This is the exact field where the 1st SEAMEO Leadership Forum will help me.
The opportunity to meet people who have been able to succeed in fields like
politics, governance, law, journalism and the like will give me the morale boost
to fight for my vision, and the technical know-how on how to deal with people
and pressing circumstances. Upon reading the vision of SEAMEO and the
tentative program itineraries, I am of the view that this forum can help me
improve my skills of Leadership, not only in leading other people to success and
unity, but in leading myself most of all. Because we are the masters of our own
fates, and before we govern other people, we must govern ourselves first.

What the Philippines lacks now is an effective system of involvement of the

people. This is what I would like to explore into in the 2nd SEAMEO Leadership
Forum. I would like to know more on possible ways on reaching out to the
people, making them informed and aware of what is happening around them,
foster in them concern and vigilance instead of apathy and tolerance. And
from that information, help them to make informed decisions and wise actions
so that they will be able to weigh the consequences of what is happening
around us. This is very important to me because if this society fails, we all fail.

3. Why should you be chosen to participate in the Forum?

This is my second time to apply to this forum. I want to share my optimism

and passion for change in the forum. I am delighted by the pleasant idea that I
will be given the chance to sit and listen to respected people and learn from
them and get as much knowledge and experience that I could possibly have so
I can echo and rechannel them to individuals in my country.

I am a staunch believer of progress. And in this modern times when my

country struggles to cope up with the dynamics of international politics and
global economy, every experience a citizen can acquire can help initiate
change in the society. I take on the responsibility of improving myself so that one
day I can contribute to my country through the practice of law and education.

I see this forum as one big boost to my personal cause of self

empowerment en route to societal improvement. I believe that a person who
has value and respect for this forum is what makes him deserving to attend this
forum.

Thank you and more power.