Reflecting on choices
The user wants a story reflecting the biblical parable of Pilate offering to release Barabbas or Jesus, linking it to the 2025 Filipino election (Halalan2025) and how people continue choosing the corrupt over those with true capabilities. I’ll need to revisit that Bible story, draw the parallel to today’s challenges with leadership choices, and tie it into their concern about a “bleak future” if corruption continues. I’ll craft a reflective narrative, focusing on the choices we make and their consequences.
Thought for 7 seconds
The Crowd Roared for Barabbas
Jerusalem, A.D. 33.
It was the eve of Passover, and Pontius Pilate found himself caught between Roman order and Jewish uproar. A customary pardon could calm the mob, so he offered them a choice:
“Whom shall I release to you?” he cried from the balcony—
• Jesus of Nazareth, the healer who preached mercy, or
• Barabbas, a thief and rebel already condemned.
The logic seemed obvious: free the innocent, keep the criminal. Yet the chant that rose from the temple courtyard rattled the marble pillars:
“Barabbas! Barabbas!”
Pilate washed his hands, signifying that the verdict was theirs, not his. In that moment the crowd chose short‑term anger over long‑term truth, spectacle over substance, the loudest voice over the wisest one. And history recorded the tragedy: the Son of Man went to the cross while a proven criminal walked free.
Two Millennia Later—Same Choice, Different Names
Fast‑forward to 2025. Twenty‑three days from now, Filipinos will file into polling stations for #Halalan2025. The ballots will not list “Jesus” and “Barabbas,” but the pattern is hauntingly familiar:
Candidate A Candidate B
Track Record Transparent, competent, delivers on promises Enveloped in scandal, unexplained wealth Campaign Funds Lean, grassroots Overflowing, backed by dynastic money Message Reform, accountability Handouts, spectacle, fearmongering
As in Pilate’s courtyard, the decision will not be made by one ruler alone; it will be made by the crowd—by us. If we let bright billboards, cash envelopes, or concert‑like rallies drown out character and capability, we risk reenacting the ancient tragedy on a national scale. We will again raise Barabbas on our shoulders and nail our own future to the cross.
A Bleak or Bright Tomorrow
- If we keep choosing thieves, potholes remain unpaved, classrooms remain overcrowded, and hospital beds remain unfunded—because public coffers quietly refill private pockets.
- If we choose integrity and competence, progress may feel slower, but roads endure, books arrive, and children grow into citizens who no longer laugh bitterly at the word gobyerno.
Twenty‑three days is a blink in eternity, yet it is long enough to study platforms, verify résumés, and follow the money trail. It is long enough to prove that the crowd has learned from Calvary.
Let us break the cycle.
Vote as if the next generation were watching—because they are. Choose builders, not plunderers; leaders, not looters. Refuse to shout “Barabbas!” ever again.
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet; stronger still than the bribe.”
Make it true on Election Day.
